If people could choose their ideal place to live, their personalities hobbies and tastes would undoubtedly have a great influence on their choice. Would they choose a small town or a city?

A great many people prefer to live in small towns because life there gives them a much greater sense of belonging to a community than life in a city. Such people like to be involved in the activities of the community and they are heavily concerned with issues that affect the town. They join local clubs, such as book club, tennis club, bridge club and protest groups. They may even become engaged in local politics. Their circles of friends live near to them and they see them very regularly. The small town is the centre of their world.

This is not for me. I need more space and greater freedom in which to operate. I m also quite a private person, although I am not at all reclusive. When I am in the mood, I can be extremely sociable, but I also enjoy my own company. At times, I prefer to be solitary. The people in small towns are more likely to drop in unannounced than people in cities and that may not always be convenient to those visited.

Because they are so community –oriented, people who live in small towns, tend to be much more interested in the lives of their neighbours than people in cities. This can be seen as friendly concern, but I see it as inquisitiveness. I much prefer the anonymity of the city where you might not even know your neighbours. I realize that this can cause problems for elderly people who might need the help of neighbours from time to time, but I do hate to feel that someone is poking their nose into my affairs.

The case for life in the city is, of course, much more positive than this. City life has a great many advantages, particularly those of a cultural nature. It has theatres, mostly providing a wide range of entertainment from opera and serious drama to lightweight comedy and musical. It also has a great many more cinemas than the average small town, which might have one or none, and these provide a wide-range of films from the popular to the more esoteric.

One would really miss the libraries, art galleries and the museums if one lived in a small town. Some small towns may do have libraries but they may be of a limited selection only. Only a place with a significantly large population can provide a wide range of exhibitions & the above mentioned facilities, which are extensive and interesting enough to attract visitors in large numbers.

For me, life in a city caters to most of my cultural needs. This, more than compensates for the disadvantages of crowded streets, traffic jams and street crime. The small town is definitely not for me !