The change from waking up to the smell of cow manure to waking up to the constant sound of sirens and cars rushing by is definitely eye opening. Being from a small town, where the traffic consists of getting stuck behind a tractor, to now being an endless line of cars stretching for blocks; the obvious type of traffic, you get to learn the way of city living in a city like Seattle, Washington.
Being from a small town, public transportation is limited and practically nonexistent so once I moved to the city, it was either, walk everywhere or learn how to navigate around the endless ways of public transit. There are buses, taxis, UBER, lyft, a light rail or a street car (just to name a few). Walking everywhere is obviously the first choice but when you want to go somewhere that is not worth walking an hour and a half to, then you cough up the few dollars and take the bus.
You get free exercise everyday as well. Instead of driving through Seattle, which, let's be honest, is a waste of gas, you can ride your bike or walk... if you want to face that that is James Street. It is one of the many, really long hills that you will walk, not only down, but back up in Seattle. You get nothing but muscular thighs and big calf muscles here but who's complaining.
The dynamic of people is completely different from a small town to a city as well. In a small town, it feels like everybody knows everybody else's personal business, even if it should be kept quiet. There is no short of rumors in such a small town where as in a city, you come in being completely anonymous; as just another face among the thousands of other people walking down the street so the idea that you can re-invent yourself in a new place is no understatement.
I, like everybody else, loves food. In Seattle, or any major city, there is no short of food. Any type of food you can think of, you can get in a city. The culture that surrounds the food industry is always changing, as any other industry, so there is not a single place that you couldn't find to eat at whether you're vegan, vegetarian or gluten free and there are endless restaurants within walking distance of almost anywhere you are. Before I was in the city, we were constantly debating on the same four or five places that had made their way onto the list of favorites for the family and you can only order the same thing so many times without it getting old.
Going to any new place should be an amazing experience, and mine so far in Seattle has been nothing short of adventurous. You will always encounter new people, a new atmosphere and a new culture and being in a big city like Seattle, these possibilities are endless and extremely convenient to be a part of. Don't be afraid to escape your own cow town and experience a new type of living.
