I Love The City, But I Will Never Live In One
I'd much rather have a backyard, a driveway, and be able to see the stars.
I have a special relationship with the City of Brotherly Love. I lived in Philly for a significant amount of time, I go to school in Philly, and my favorite sports teams play in Philly.
I love Philadelphia, but I don't think I will ever be able to take up a permanent residency there.
I have always loved the city, and I always will. There's just something about being so close to everyone and everything; there's a kind of intimacy you don't get if you live in the 'burbs. However, you also don't get any privacy in the city.
If I have anything to say about it, I will never live in the heart of any city, but I will also never want to live on a private farm that is isolated from society and in the middle of nowhere.
I'd much rather prefer a quiet town, somewhere in the middle, where I don't have to worry about if I'll have space to park my car, if my dogs will have enough space to run around, or if I'll be able to observe the natural beauty of the night sky through all the smog and light pollution.
When you live in the city, there's barely any space for anything on the outskirts of your property. If you don't know how to parallel park (and I sure as hell don't), then you're screwed.
It can also be impossible to get places. Public transportation is incredibly unreliable, and sometimes there are just too many damn people in your way. I love the atmosphere of the city and all the lights at night because cities never sleep, but I also really like being able to see all the stars instead of light pollution.
To put it quite simply, I don't feel as though I would be comfortable growing and nurturing a family in the depths of North Philadelphia, or really any city, for that matter.
I'd much rather have a two-car driveway, a garage, a front yard AND a back yard, and more than five feet separating us from our neighbors.
Even living half an hour outside the city, I still feel the effects of city life. I live near an airport, and a train station and my town is not the quietest suburbia.
When I flew across the country, I happened to glance upwards, and I was floored by how many stars littered the night sky. Of course, it's the same sky, but I had no idea how much I was missing out on.
I took pictures of the sky at nearly 10 pm, and to this day it is the bluest blue I have ever seen. There is simply no way to describe it.
Comparatively, the sky where I live now (really close to a city; I can see the skyline from my street) at night is always a yucky looking gray, sometimes with a light yellow tint. I don't want to live somewhere that light pollution clouds the sky, and quite frankly, my lungs.
I remember being frozen in my awe at the beauty of nature on the West Coast, over an hour from the closest city. There is just nothing that compares to the atmosphere of a small town far enough away from a major city that the effects are less detrimental, but close enough to be able to go into the city if the need or want should ever arise.
Another thing I noticed about places that aren't the city, or really close to one anyway, is that it is so much either to breathe. I mean, I could literally taste that the air was cleaner, which sounds crazy, but it's real, I promise.
I've lived many places over the course of my relatively short time on this Earth, and the one I disliked the most was my house in Northeast Philadelphia. It was always loud, bright, and usually didn't smell the greatest.
When I get to a point in my life where I am ready to raise a family, I don't want it to be in a cramped row home. I don't want to have to worry about my children's safety every time they set foot outside. I want space, freedom, grass, and the comfort of suburban life.
I love the city, but I know for sure that I will never be able to settle down in one.
