Today, more people than ever before in history, live in city's. Urbanisation is an ongoing trend. Especially in what we call the third world.

I grew up in a small town myself, and when i was young i Always used to envy city people. It seemed to me that that's where all the action takes place. City's seemed exciting places where people are free to live however they want to.

But now i'm older, i feel more and more that i was incredibly Lucky, privileged even, to have spent my childhood outside of the urban jungle.
I still love big city's, but it realy seems to me that city folks realy mis out on something. It saddens me to think that there are billions of people who have no idea how beautiful nature can be, or what it feels like to be in a place where you don't hear the constant sound of car engines, airplanes or police helicopters, or where you can literally smell what season it is, and where you can see the stars at night.

What do you people think about city's versus the countryside?

I have lived in both urban & rural areas. Never anything that would be considered a big city but close enough that i could (& still can unfortunately) hear the noise of the expressway & trains constantly. There are small sections of wooded areas but mostly it is lower-middle class suburbs. Mine is nicer but also secluded & a lot quieter than the rest of the city.

I much prefer a more secluded rural setting where i am out in the hills surrounded by nature & the neighbors are not right on top of my house snooping & trying to figure out the reason behind my kramer-esque shananigans. Privacy & freedom for me are so much more valuable than convenience stores & crowds of people i will never know.

The hard part for me is that i have essentially lived so long in an urban enviornment it has made me reliant on living in an area where there are warehouses & businesses on every corner to find work at. I am currently working my a** off to move out into the sticks somewhere & buy land to build a home on. Its going to require some real effort on my part to break into a new career late in life & change the way i live but ultimately i think moving back into a rural area should allow me to live the way i want without fear of neighbors calling the cops on me for chemistry endeavors or small scale grow operations.

I'm way off the beaten track with only 3 other houses beside me, we're the only people there 90% of the time.
I love it, the city is not the scene for me. Being able hear wolves in the back nine, deer running through the yard, having an actual piece of forest on your land - so amazing. I wouldn't trade my simple house in the sticks for a million dollar house in the city.
I am so grateful for it, but there are definitely disadvantages, having to travel to get anything, being away from a Dr, bank, etc. is a bit of a pain.

Concombres, I hope it works out for you, I appreciate the privacy as well!
when your out in the sticks, all your neighbours grow anyway!

Don't worry and don't be sad. I think that the majority of the people that live in cities are in complete understanding of the beauty of nature, due to living in the city and understanding the juxtaposition of the situation that they are in. When this beauty is experienced, it is less likely to be taken for granted by those that do not see it every day.

I live out in the country, surrounded by two farms and the rest being wooded. Personally I'd never go back to anything other than something along to how I'm living now. I've enjoyed being in the bigger cities and towns near me, I've had some great times in those places, though.. my best times have definitely been out away from the hustle n bustle of it all. I agree with the others here.

Yeah, you're probably right. When i went camping with some friends from the city, they got totally excited when they saw a deer. I had just something like:"what's so special about a deer?".
And they freaked out a bit when i said "wait till you see the snakes".

I guess I'm the first person to say they live in a big city and I love it.

I grew up in the suburbs but went to school in the city and fell in love with it. The idea that there's always something going on no matter the time of day or night, the fact that I can step out of my building and i'm a block or two away from really amazing food and the overall vibe of living in a big city are incomparable. After a few years I moved back to the 'burbs to be closer to my family and it absolutely drove me nuts. Things shutting down at 10pm?!?!?!?!?!?! No noise, no energy.

I'm very fortunate to live where I do (San Francisco) during this point in history and I try to not take it for granted, but instead squeeze every bit of life I can out of it.

I do love the mountains (Tahoe) and the deserts, but nothing compares to living where all the action is.

and contrary to what Dreamer says, it does NOT cost more to park your car here than he makes in a decade :-p

I'm a country boy 'till the day I drop. Too each their own right? It's just where I'd rather be as 90% of the things that interest me are not man made. And not to be crude but the little things, like being able to wake up, step out on the front porch in your boxers and take a leak etc. After you've done things like that your whole life being in a city is just rule after rule after rule etc. Nature, to me, is like the wheel, I dont see anyone reinventing it anytime soon.

I grew up in the suburbs and hated them once I started doing psychedelics. I would walk around tripping thinking "what the hell is going on in all of these houses? What kinds of disturbing things are going on in there? Are all of these people just waiting to die?"

Now I live in a city where I go to school and work, and I am far happier here. I like being surrounded by a plethora of diverse people with interesting perspectives and motivations, but I am fortunate that there is very good urban planning in my city that allows for me to find quiet spaces when I need. My partner and I are planning on moving out to a city in Colorado; we know that we want to work in cities and make change within them, but we also want quick access to nature.

Our ideal setting would be a place like Boulder or Denver. We want the benefits of city-life (great food, interesting people, constant events) with the ability to walk or drive a short distance to access secluded and beautiful natural spaces.

It is a difficult tradeoff as I work in the environmental field. I want to constantly be reminded of what I am protecting but I must be in populous centers to do what I do. That's why we are trying for places that offer the best of both worlds.

i could do that... but probably just the one time...

We basically match up completely on this topic.
I'd grown up in the country with so much space/privacy it was great.

Now I'm living in the city and while it's nice there's people/places around, I very much look forward to once again living in a rural area without sirens blaring every 10 minutes and all of the other noise/lack of privacy/shitty air that comes with where I am now.

They call it an urban jungle at times like you mention above but I think that's a horrible phrase. I miss being surrounded by green and waking up to fresh air and birds chirping. This urban jungle feels like a mental jail instead. Yes I'm free but not in the way I'd like.