Living near people or big separation

[lph]

Surely, lph you don't think North America is full of urban megacities?

Not at all. But Norwegians tend to think of Oslo as The Big City. Most visitors don't
(eta: Jolt, I think the population listed includes suburbs and residential areas quite far away from the town centre, which is pretty compact. But I get your point )

Interesting that you mention feeling unsafe in the countryside at night, in the dark. I feel a lot more unsafe in an urban environment at night. Pitch black woods I feel very safe in.

[Jolt]

Interesting that you mention feeling unsafe in the countryside at night, in the dark. I feel a lot more unsafe in an urban environment at night. Pitch black woods I feel very safe in.

Same here...nobody is around in the middle of nowhere to cause any trouble! I've spent a couple of nights by myself camping (granted, both occasions were in campgrounds so it's not like there wasn't anybody nearby) and felt perfectly comfortable. I feel most unsafe in the middle of big crowds in the city, even during the day--there's the sense that if you needed to get out of a bad situation, it wouldn't be possible because there are a bunch of other (potentially panicked, violent or just clueless) people and no clear path of escape.

[Reesha]

I definitely miss the kind of darkness at night where you can't see your hand stretched out in front of you.

On the other hand, I miss the nights with piercingly bright starlight. I don't get either in St. Louis.

[shootingstar]

The only time I experienced pure night black and stars galore was on top of Mount Kea in Hawaii where there is an research observatory.

But we were outside to see th whole night sky canopy of stars and multiple constellations. It was truly amazing and riveting.

Who would ever have a sky like that often in a residential area?

I understand about feeling threatened in the city but the probability of something happening can be just as real as out on country road with no one to witness anything. In fact there have been several home invasions...in the suburbs for all these cities I've lived ..simply because the homes aren't close to one another and no one is around to hear/see anything during the work week, etc.

The phenomena of gated communities in the U.S. which is much more dominant compared to Canada, reflects that type of perception/reality.

It occurred to me, gated communities in Europe are probably...rare. Though one would have to research this...

[lph]

The only time I experienced pure night black and stars galore was on top of Mount Kea in Hawaii where there is an research observatory.

But we were outside to see th whole night sky canopy of stars and multiple constellations. It was truly amazing and riveting.

That really is an amazing sight One I sometimes see in the mountains in winter, but even there rarely.

[jessmarimba]

I'd like to clarify my answer. If I had my way, I'd live somewhere that if it snowed 2 feet, I could either walk (snowshoe?) or cross-country ski to where I wanted to go. So...remote but close enough to a cluster of important places, or near in to a smaller town. I'm imagining Telluride - without the tourists

I don't like people who drive in snow like it's nothing. I had three morons try to pull out in front of me this morning - fortunately they just spun their tires and no one actually made it, but you can't cut people off in this weather and expect them to be able to stop on a dime!

[Owlie]

I could be happy either in a cabin away from everything or in the middle of the city. It's the suburbs I hate. I'm surrounding by people but nothing useful is in walking distance. Except a gas station, which by nature probably needs driven to.

This. Or in my case (and the case where I grew up), there are things within walking distance, but there are no sidewalks. I could walk to the grocery store or the bank (it's about a mile), but they only recently put in sidewalks.
I have lived "in the city" (technically an older Cleveland suburb, but it was spitting distance from downtown). Everything I needed on a daily basis (grocery store, coffee shops (yes, that's necessary), post office, bank, some very good but cheap restaurants) was within walking distance. If I needed anything else (Target, Whole Foods, yarn), it was a short bus trip away. (Cleveland had pretty nice public transit).

Here, however (not helped by the fact that it's a very white-bread area), there are no sidewalks, and while everything I need on a daily basis is in walking distance, there are no sidewalks.

[Norse]

DP likes the benefits of living in/near a city. I think they are ok, but I could do with a lot less people and would prefer to live somewhere more remote or even in Duluth or further up the North Shore in MN. So, our "compromise" of the past 11 years has been to live 15 minutes, by car or bus, from downtown Minneapolis in an inner ring burb that is heavily forested, has no street lights, street parking or sidewalks and has 3 ponds on our "block" - looks more like a gerrymandered congressional district - and lots of wildlife. Yet, we are 5 minutes from a TJs. Also, the biking possibilities from our front door are amazing. We have pretty good spot. I am still hoping for the North Shore for retirement though.

[GLC1968]

I know I'd never be happy living in a big metropolis. I tried that in Boston when I was young and even then, it was a bit much for me (and I was in my partying 20's!). Now? No thank you.

On the other hand, we are currently a bit too far out for my tastes. I love having a little land. I love even more that my neighbors aren't close to us (they have way more land than us), but our 6 month old car already has over 10K miles on it. If I could afford enough land to buy privacy closer in to town, I'd do it.

There are a few smaller cities where I would bet that I could be happy. I'd need lots of green spaces, easy commute to work and at least a tiny bit of my own land (postage stamp is fine if it includes dirt!). Portland would work if I actually worked in Portland. Unfortunately, moving there would make my commute to work complete hell, so it's not really a viable option. Boulder, CO was also very cool, but I don't have a job there either.

Oh, and I totally agree about darkness in the country or forest! I walk our yard in the pitch black and it doesn't phase me. Running near my office in the winter dark (even at 5pm) freaks me out.

[redrhodie]

My small city has it all. I'm really lucky. It has stores and restaurants, nice architecture, parks, beaches, and a few beautiful cycling options, which I'm content riding over and over again. Most of this is driven by tourism, which has its drawbacks, but at this time of the year, it's pretty serene. Neither my bf nor I work in this city, but it's halfway for each of us to our jobs, and he takes public transportation to his, so we get by on one car.

I wouldn't go back to big city life. It was too stressful, and I wouldn't be happy cycling in that kind of traffic. DBF would go back in a heartbeat. It's been a big loss to him that we moved. He especially misses the entertainment, and I admit, being able to walk or subway to the see our favorite bands, or the ballet, was really great.

[emily_in_nc]

I like small cities too. Moved here to Belize from Chapel Hill, NC, and I think if I were to move back to the US at some point, it would probably be right back to Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC. It's progressive, there's plenty to do, good restaurants, good cycling infrastructure, fantastic medical facilities, a great bus system (free -- thanks to UNC), and decent weather.

But for now, I'm loving Belize, the "small city" of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, and living car-free.

[Reesha]

I am in the hunt for nicely isolated towns with great amenities that are surrounded by outdoor playground. Lake Placid was like that, I'll be looking for it again some day, particularly in the northeast. Brattleboro, VT strikes me as a place like that, so does Bethel, Maine, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Hanover, NH, etc etc. Le sigh.

I like St. Louis, it has everything I'd want in a city, but I don't like being so far away from the mountains and it's a long way to get out somewhere truly peaceful and isolated (1 hour drive +)

[emily_in_nc]

I am in the hunt for nicely isolated towns with great amenities that are surrounded by outdoor playground. Lake Placid was like that, I'll be looking for it again some day, particularly in the northeast. Brattleboro, VT strikes me as a place like that, so does Bethel, Maine, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Hanover, NH, etc etc. Le sigh.

I like St. Louis, it has everything I'd want in a city, but I don't like being so far away from the mountains and it's a long way to get out somewhere truly peaceful and isolated (1 hour drive +)

Moab?

[missjean]

If I won the lottery tomorrow I would find a wonderful old small farm someplace in the foothills of the mountains of NH or VT. Then I would find a loft kind of apartment with a terrace, or big balcony, in a big city.
I love being away from everybody, but I also love all the things there are to do in a city. The main thing I need is privacy and a space outdoors I where I can grow some plants.
But, until my lucky ticket shows up, I’ll make do with my half an acre with lots of bushes growing along the perimeter.

[SweetOutdoors]

Personally, I like being around people. It is the TYPE of people that is the issue, ha ha. I live in the Austin, TX area (great biking routes) but I am also a mother and there are some parts of town which give me the heebie jeebies. However, I get frightened pretty easily since I'm small, ha ha, when my friend moved into a....well....not so nice part of town I ended up downloading a personal safety app created by an Austinite called real alert and believe it nor not it helps with cycling as well. I feel a little better but I am still a scaredy cat to the core. I'd rather have GOOD people to be around but I think a lot of you are right. Being around the necessities play a big part.