People write songs about it, make movies showcasing it, and in general over-idealize it to every extent. It seems everyone wants to move to the city. Myself included. Unfortunately, I'm here as a small-town girl gone city-side to tell you that the city is not all that it's cracked up to be.
I was absolutely one of those people who glorified the whole idea of moving into the city. I wanted to be a city girl. I wanted the hustle and bustle, the world at my doorstep, to be able to do whatever I wanted without being considered an oddball, and I absolutely wanted the ever-present things to do. The list could go on forever. And some of that, I did get. But with all the positive, there are just as many negatives.
The hustle and bustle that everyone dreams of just means "traffic" when you take off the rose-colored glasses. The world definitely isn't at my doorstep, and not being an oddball just means you never feel like you stand out. And there are certainly things to do, but that just brings annoying tourists to town (and more traffic).
Everything is way more expensive than it ever was back home, especially groceries. The roads are confusing and you can forget using your cruise control ever again, it's dirty, scary at times, and you can pretty much guess that wherever you go, some stranger will approach you, and majority of the time they're going to make you question your safety.
So, needless to say, I was in for a bit of a rude awakening when I moved from my tiny hometown of roughly 35,000 people to New Orleans (roughly 384,000 people, in case you were wondering), all by myself. I didn't exactly get the movie-worthy reality that I was hoping for.
But, beyond all the negatives, there's a reality that nobody writes, sings, or acts about. For all the strangers that approach you, among the scary ones, there are those that genuinely speak to you out of kindness, giving you the chance to meet someone new, and rediscover your hope for humanity. Furthermore, you get to experience things you never have before. New Orleans introduced me to crawfish and enjoyment of a city park that I never have before. It also taught me that it's okay to do things by myself. I've learned how to remain calm in all that horrible traffic in a way that none of my friends from back home could ever hope to. I've also been exposed to ideas that I never would have been had I stayed cooped up in a town where everyone is practically brainwashed to think exactly the same way.
All in all, while you should not think of the city as a be-all-end-all place to live (as I mistakenly did), it's definitely an experience that will change you, possibly for the better. You can't help but grow as a person when you're faced with obstacles and experiences that you've never encountered before.
All that said, I think I'll (happily) stick to being a small-town girl.
