Big City — Small City
2019.10.29 — Thoughts Afloat
Disclaimer: These are my biased opinions. There is no absolute.
What sparked today’s Thoughts Afloat?
- Trip to The Old Smoke (aka London) in October 2019
- Observing friends’ student-life, work-life and family-life cultures there
- The pleasantly naggy question in my mind when I visit a new city:
“Can I see myself living here?” - Comparing the London life with my life currently in Brussels, which is a smaller city: 15 kilometres from N.West to S.East
For all future mentions in this post, the frame of reference I have for
- Big city → London
- Small city → Brussels
Summary: For you folks who want it in a nutshell,
- This is a #NoteToSelf that I am a “Big City” guy, in my current stage of life. This blogpost is me making a case for myself to prove it.
- Big cities offer more options (underpinned by a higher population) with more competition per option.
- One city can never offer everything. In almost every case there is a trade off for one aspect over the other. Comes down to choices.
Big City vs Small City
I. Housing 🏠
Big city
More expensive, especially if you want to stay closer to work
Small city
Cheaper, even if you want to stay closer to work
II. City Transport & Commutes 🚍
Big city 👎🏽
- More traffic; longer commute, especially if you live farther away from work
- More options: Metro, tram, bus, etc
- Taxis / Ubers are more expensive
Small city 👍🏽
- Calmer traffic; shorter commute; getting around is a bit easier
- Number and frequency of transport options can be lesser
- Taxis / Ubers are not as expensive; bikes are an awesome option
III. Food & Restaurants 🍲
Big city 👍🏽
- More options for different cuisines
- More competition, thus restaurants need to provide better experiences to stay ahead. So one could argue, quality is also, on average, better
Small city 👎🏽
- Lower number of options
- As the competition tends to be lower, restaurants can get away without having to provide the best service
IV. Job Prospects & Career
Big city
- More companies, more opportunities but also more applicants (read competition)
- Usually higher salaries given the more expensive lives
- Great for early career as it exposes and throws a person into the competitive hustle #EatOrBeEaten
- Multilingual, thus not as stringent for expats / non natives to apply for jobs
Small city
- Lower number of applicants; roles usually have more specific requirements
- Knowing the local language usually is a criteria to be well considered
V. International Travel ✈️
Big city 👍🏽
Airports are more accessible; cheaper & better connection options available
Small city 👎🏽
- Lower options of flights and more expensive connections
- If there is no direct connection, add the travel time from home to the airport (in a bigger city) and back
VI. Community 🧗♂️
Big city 👍🏽
- Easier to find a community for whatever your interests might be, mainly given the higher population
- Apps like Meetup and Facebook / LinkedIn groups can usually cough up more options for your searches
Small city 👎🏽
- Rarer to find groups for very specific interests
- An opportunity here is that if a certain group doesn’t exist, you can take the lead to set it up
VII. Healthcare & Hospitals
No opinion at the moment
What about you — Which option would you prefer and why?
Feel free to comment below. Would love to hear from you! :)
