Coming from a small, rural town, life in the city was definitely a huge change for me. In all honesty, I probably experienced some culture shock when I first moved to Cleveland. I mean, the city is very different from the country.

It was just a little bit overwhelming, considering before moving to Cleveland, I had never lived outside of my hometown before. And I do miss the openness of the countryside. It was definitely a huge change for me. But despite all of that, I’ve actually found that I like the city better than the country for several reasons. In fact, I can name five.

1. Public transportation

In rural Ohio, there is no such thing as public transportation. Cleveland, on the other hand, has a rather large system of buses that not only take you pretty much anywhere in Cuyahoga County, but some also take you into Medina County or Lorain County.

I love my RTA U-Pass. and I literally have no idea what I would do without it. Public transportation is so convenient and having access to it is definitely what makes the city better than the country.

2. Diversity

Growing up, I really wasn’t exposed to people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. In fact, if you told me that I would have friends who come from other countries or different backgrounds two years ago, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Here in Cleveland, diversity is everywhere, and it is absolutely amazing.

Even though I’ve been here for almost one entire school year, I’m still fascinated that I can get on the bus and hear people talking in another language or walk across campus and see people from so many different backgrounds.

3. Easy access to healthcare

Here at Cleveland State, we have to take an Intro to University Life class, and for that class, we have to do a report on an issue facing urban areas. The issue my group was assigned was health disparities, which confused me since Cleveland has several hospitals, including the Cleveland Clinic which is, frankly, one of the best in the world.

Now, health disparities are caused by a variety of factors, but I initially thought that health disparities couldn’t exist in urban areas because of the easy access to hospitals. In the country, most hospitals are pretty much “bandaid stations,” and if you need more than that, you have to drive anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to the nearest city.

But here in Cleveland, if you need to go to the hospital or the doctor, you have so many options to choose from, and I believe the hospitals are almost all accessible by bus.

4. Things to do

When talking with my friends at CSU who have lived in the city their whole lives, I like to joke that the only thing to do in my rural hometown is watch the corn grow. In all seriousness, that’s not all there is to do since you can also watch the soybeans or wheat grow (just kidding).

It was a little overwhelming at first to have so many things to do. There’s the art museum, Little Italy, Downtown, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, professional sports games, restaurants, Playhouse Square (the 2nd biggest theater district in the U.S.), and so many more places to go to and do things.

5. The energy

There is just this kind of inexplicable energy to Cleveland, which actually what initially drew me to it. I can’t really describe it, but it’s always there. Perhaps it stems from the fact that there’s literally tons of things to do or the fact that so many different people from so many different backgrounds are interacting with each other.

I just can’t describe it. You’d have to experience it first hand to understand.

I mean, it’s not that I hate living in the country (I actually don’t). There are some things that I miss, but in all honesty if I never went back, I’d be okay.

And yes, I know there are those stereotypes of the city, especially Cleveland, being dangerous (my one friend, when I told him I was going to CSU, proclaimed “But they just had that killing up there!” in reference to the Facebook killing last year). But that doesn’t necessarily mean that rural areas are completely immune from crime and danger. And you have to learn how to take care of yourself and protect yourself.

I truly think that everyone should experience living in a city at least once, especially if they come from rural areas, like I did. The city is not only amazing, but it also changes you for the better. It encourages you to step out of your comfort zone.

And I am thrilled that I have chosen Cleveland as my home for the next for years