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Urban vs. Rural
Scott...
1) Rural people and urban people are different.
2) Rural life and urban life is different.
3) Rural populations are smaller then urban populations (on a location:location basis.)
4) Rural people are not all hicks.
To paraphrase a line I was told while in the service, "rural doesn't mean dumb." (The original line was, "southern doesn't mean dumb.")
Believe it or not, many rural people do not want to live an urban life. They also do not want urban values invading their world.
If you have a town with 1,000 people in it and 10% (that's 100 Scott, I know you are not good at math) of it's population are living out of wedlock and you compare it to a city with a population of 1,000,000 people with a 10% out of wedlock figure (that's 100,000 people) you might get the impression that urban values are gaining ground. Actually they are not, it's just a bigger number (same percentage) because you are drawing from a larger pool.
In regards to marriage and it's declining numbers... Rym pointed out most of this is occurring in the urban areas. Now, which area is better off? The low marriage urban area or the high marriage rural area?
I'd rather live in a high marriage rural area, in fact I do!
Rym, yes us older folks do like to tease the younger kids about how bad marriage is. It's fun! It's akin to your concept of "freakin' the squares."
I've been married for almost nine years now and I have a daughter. I'm very happy as a married man, much happier then I was as a single man. Do my wife and I always see eye-to-eye? Of course not! Do we have fights? Sometimes. Do I purposefully work long hours to avoid her? Never!
Is there less sex then when I was single? Yep! Is it a bad thing? No, as I no longer WANT to have sex every night. It's just a fact, I have other things I want to get done. Besides, if sex is the main focus of your relationship, what does that really say about your relationship?
1) Rural people and urban people are different.
2) Rural life and urban life is different.
3) Rural populations are smaller then urban populations (on a location:location basis.)
4) Rural people are not all hicks.
To paraphrase a line I was told while in the service, "rural doesn't mean dumb." (The original line was, "southern doesn't mean dumb.")
Believe it or not, many rural people do not want to live an urban life. They also do not want urban values invading their world.
If you have a town with 1,000 people in it and 10% (that's 100 Scott, I know you are not good at math) of it's population are living out of wedlock and you compare it to a city with a population of 1,000,000 people with a 10% out of wedlock figure (that's 100,000 people) you might get the impression that urban values are gaining ground. Actually they are not, it's just a bigger number (same percentage) because you are drawing from a larger pool.
In regards to marriage and it's declining numbers... Rym pointed out most of this is occurring in the urban areas. Now, which area is better off? The low marriage urban area or the high marriage rural area?
I'd rather live in a high marriage rural area, in fact I do!
Rym, yes us older folks do like to tease the younger kids about how bad marriage is. It's fun! It's akin to your concept of "freakin' the squares."
I've been married for almost nine years now and I have a daughter. I'm very happy as a married man, much happier then I was as a single man. Do my wife and I always see eye-to-eye? Of course not! Do we have fights? Sometimes. Do I purposefully work long hours to avoid her? Never!
Is there less sex then when I was single? Yep! Is it a bad thing? No, as I no longer WANT to have sex every night. It's just a fact, I have other things I want to get done. Besides, if sex is the main focus of your relationship, what does that really say about your relationship?
Comments
People VOLUNTEER to go out and risk their lives fighting bushfires and you can't clean out your freaking gutters!
Moving even 20 minutes closer to the city would double my rent or halve my living space. Having a large house in which to throw regular parties and have large gatherings of friends is very important to me, and it's something I can't have in or near the city. I also have mountains to climb, fresh air, and easy access to travel (two major interstates, a train station, and an airport).
I'd love to have a job in or near Beacon, but high-level technology jobs barely exist outside of the big cities.
Commuter traffic into and out of New York City moves very swiftly, and the police all but ignore it. I'll often push 90MPH yet pass no one. They almost always enforce speed limits only on non-commute roads, such as the Northbound Taconic during the morning rush.
Choo Choo!
Here are the stats:
The violent crime rate in urban areas is 74% higher than in rural areas. Suburban residents experience about the same level of violent crime as urban residents, except for rape and sexual assault.
Property crimes are higher in an urban setting versus a rural setting. (higher by roughly 57%)
One thing I have noticed is that it's just plain harder to commit many crimes in rural areas because everyone knows each other.
The statistics also show that there is no real difference in the rate at which crimes are reported between rural and urban areas. The one difference is in rapes and assaults. They are much more likely to be reported to the police in rural settings. (36% vs. 29%) This category includes domestic assaults and rapes that occur in the home (e.g. child sexual abuse.)
You can spin it any way you want, but the evidence shows that rural places are safer places to live.
Study after study has shown that people who live and/or work in urban areas are more stressed than their rural counterparts. (A recent study showed that even the pigeons have learned to live with stress!) The trade-off is that there is more opportunity in an urban setting. If you value money and material things, I suppose the trade-off is worth it.
I only ask because how do you get an accurate representations of crimes that were not reported. Because if they know about them, were they not reported? Did they go door to door asking people whether at some point in the past were they raped? I need to see the methodology.
The second statistic I quoted was found here.
The major difference is money. I suspect many people don't want to admit this, so they just use the excuse that there are no jobs. What they really intend to say is: "There are no jobs that will allow me to acquire the material goods that my city job will allow me to." That to me is quite sad.
I live in a rural area and get paid well. If I moved to a city, there is no doubt that I would get paid more. The only thing that money would be good for is crap that I don't need. It just isn't worth the trade-off to me to live in an area that is more stressful. My area is also a fantastic area to raise children. Hiking, skiing, swimming, etc. It's all right here. I just can't imagine giving that up so we can afford a Hi-Def TV in every room. I suppose that if you are disciplined and set the money aside, and can retire early then it may be worth it. I'm fortunate enough to have an incredible pension deal that allows me to retire fairly early. I also don't see my urban friends living that frugally. They waste a TON of money just because it's the way of life when you are in the rat race. (Rym and Scott actually appear to be frugal, which is to be commended. Nonetheless, that comes at a price. Increased commute, smaller living quarters, etc.)
Having said all of this, some people just enjoy the city lifestyle better. Assuming it's not for a materialistic reason, I totally respect that. I was merely addressing the "there are no jobs" complaint.
Although, the argument that 'we have "X" in the city, and you don't have it in the country' (insert whatever you want: theaters, videogame stores, boardgame stores, anime stores, ethnic restaurants, etc.) is unavailing to me. We go to plenty of events in the city. We just have to drive 2-3 hours to get there. (Montreal or Boston) Our driving to the city from time to time is a whole lot less driving than the average commute for a city worker.
Okay, I'm stepping off my pedestal now.
Unlike Atlanta, where I currently live. They'll take anybody. Even Philadelphians.
Speaking of rural vs urban, though, down here in the "Dirty Dirty" it's pretty interesting. There's Atlanta and then there's Georgia. I never tell people I live in Georgia because Georgia is full of dumb rednecks (hicks to you Northerners). Atlanta is full of transplants from everywhere else and the occasional native Georgian. The concept of a true urban center has escaped the city planners of the ATL, however. You must drive everywhere. Walking is nigh unheard of. The streets aren't in a grid. I mean, hell, the city burned down twice (once Sherman and once in 1910) and they still couldn't build it right!
Material goods never really figured into my attraction (heck, if I liked large houses and lots of things, I sure as hell wouldn't live here). For example: If I want to speak Japanese, I can go into a Japanese bar on Saint Marks with my Japanese friends and speak Japanese...it's like I am teleported back to Tokyo, without being going more than a kilometer from my front door. That wouldn't happen in a little hamlet in Middle America. No matter what place you are longing for, no matter what kind of hobbies you pursue or people you like to associate with, you are sure to find them easily in the city and they become part of your daily life. Just going into the city occasionally is not the same. That's like being a tourist, in a way...enjoyable in its own right, but hardly encompassing the true feel of living in an urban center. The energy level is so much higher - I feel so much more aware when I am in the city. I think some people can't handle the sensory overload, and it tires them out, makes them stressed and nervous. Small town life is much more SIMPLE. Some people prefer that...Just don't try to convince us that your way is better, or that we are greedy and making excuses. You country mice can have the boonies, I'm a town mouse at heart.
The fact is both are different and each has it's own redeaming qualities.
Urban areas have lots of man-on-man violence while rural areas have more automobile-on-animal violence.
In an urban area you do not *need* to own a car, in a rural area you do.
I've got no problem whatsoever with people who prefer to live in the city - unless it's purely for material purposes. But then again, it's their life. Well... Scrym have been alleged to prefer man-on-man activities.
Scott is smitten with both me and Rym? Rym can draw? Finger cuffs?
I think you are getting the roles bollixed...There is a good deal of comicing going on, and once I was accused of being a lesbian for butchley kicking too much ass in gym class floor hockey, but I think the resemblance to a Kevin Smith film end there.
Plus "I don't want to get married and screw my life up" sounds more like me on a rant than anything else. House Frau is not exactly the role I see cut out for myself. I can't see myself entering into a marriage that would change my position or occupation other than suddenly I would have better insurance and tax breaks.
We get that but with bumper to bumper traffic usually not that often hear about 4-10 wrecks a morning yet no inforcement other then the police pulling over the trucks carring stuff for the construction zones > But couldn't that be due to more people crammed into a tighter space? More people could just mean there is a higher chance due to the amount of people in the area?