When I say I’m from a small town, I mean it—my hometown is quite literally called Littleton. Where I come from, driving around town is considered a legitimate activity, going shopping for anything besides food involves at least a week of planning (because the nearest mall is 2+ hours away), and you can’t leave your house without running into five different people who want a full update on your life, from how your family is doing to what you’re currently watching on Netflix.
All of this seemed completely normal to me, until I went to college. Most of my college friends are from big cities like New York City or Los Angeles, and I’ve come to realize that we're from completely different worlds. They are consistently amazed that I’ve never been in a Costco, that I had no idea what Pinkberry was and that I’ve never had pizza delivered because that just isn’t an option where I come from. It is a two-way street, however: there are an endless amount of things about their city lives that I simply cannot comprehend.Not too long ago, I was driving somewhere with a couple of my friends who are from New York City, and one of them was explaining to the other how to get to a certain restaurant.
“Oh, you just take the orange line from 38th Street, switch over to the blue line at Lexington for 12 stops, cross over to the uptown magenta line, pass go, collect $200, and then you just have to walk a couple of blocks and you’re there!”
Or at least, that’s what it sounded like to me. My city friends continue to insist that it’s "easy" and "convenient," but I don’t understand public transportation, not one bit. And it’s not even that I haven’t tried, because I have—but just looking at a subway map or bus schedule with all the different times and places and locations and colors makes my brain feel a bit like this:
I’ll stick to driving myself everywhere, thanks. And speaking of public transportation...
2. Ubers
So you’re telling me you get in a stranger’s car and let them drive you somewhere? Just like that? And you’re not creeped out or scared to do this, despite it going against every "stranger danger" rule we were ever taught growing up? And even if you leave out the potential creeper factor, you really trust these complete strangers to drive you? I barely trust my best friend of over 10 years to drive me anywhere, let alone some random person I’ve never met before.
3. How you go grocery shopping
I’m beginning to realize that most of these are in some way related to transportation. But nevertheless, this is something I just cannot imagine. For me, grocery shopping simply requires a car; how else are you supposed to get all of your stuff home? I simply can’t wrap my mind around how you would do this when you’re relying on public transportation. Do you take smaller trips and only get a few things at a time? Do those weird little cart things I’ve occasionally seen people pushing around in New York City actually carry a significant amount of groceries? Do you carry everything?? Just how?
4. Security at high schools
This may seem like a minor thing, but to me, the very idea of having police officers and metal detectors at a high school is just...
The only time there was anything resembling security at my high school was after someone left an intricately detailed threat against the school sprayed painted on a piece of public property. And even then, the “security” pretty much amounted to the principal and a couple teachers checking our bags for a couple of weeks.
5. How anyone can possibly afford to live there
Never mind the simple fact that in comparison to small towns, there are endless amounts of things to do in big cities and places to go, which is wonderful, but also very costly. I’m trying to get an internship in Boston this summer. After realizing how much renting an apartment in Boston would cost, this was my reation:
That is all.
