I spent most of my life in small cities and towns. I didn't have large group of friends, didn't have crazy "friday nights", concerts to go to or stay overs in high school. At the age of 17, I went to a small island -North Cyprus- for university and studied in one of the smallest towns for 5 years. After graduating, I came to Turkey and am still living in a fairly small city. However, recently I visited Istanbul -the most crowded, diverse, touristic and developed city of Turkey- and stayed for a week. I had the chance to experience big city life, amazed by it and compare it to slow living in towns.
Your watch is always lying. Be quick!
Time runs differently in big cities. Days are shorter, minutes and even hours means less, and your watch is always lying. You need to re-learn how to read your watch.
"We have one hour till the event starts" means "We are so late!"
Circumstances can change rapidly, and the traffic is your worst enemy. You need to find a way to beat it, like leaving home way earlier than the normal time or using different apps like traffic forecasts. You need to plan your day ahead not to be surprized or hate your life.
Don't dare to consider all the options. It's a rabbit hole.
Opportunities are endless and you don't have time for this! Deciding on how to spend your time can be very challenging. It's great that you have countless activities you can come up with, hundreds of cafes, restraurants, entertainment venues, malls and all sorts of things, but if you leave space to ambivalency, you will be eaten by the greatest monster fast living at 3 am in your sleepy bed. Unsurprizingly, exhaustion will be your best friend in the next morning.
Strangers are strangers.
When I was studying in the small island, Cyprus, my approach on people I haven't met was different. Possibility of coming across with the same "stranger" again is very high, so you don't treat people as strangers but more like neighbors. You salute people you see on the street, in the market, and you can start having conversations like you know them for a long time. Asking questions about their lives or helping without asked are not accepted rude, instead welcomed. Having random conversations about the types of breads, their prefference of breakfast time can lead to family, children, or your school grades.. You consider "strangers" as friends, not as a possible danger..
Now, let's come to the bright side.. Although my post seems like a merely negative criticism for big cities and the fast living, of course I experinced many positive feelings during my visit.
Eating grass for dinner
Firstly, we can take the reason why I went Istanbul in the first place. I like living in small towns, close to nature, in a slow and harmonious way, but I can't eat grass for dinner! Job opportunites and new developments in small towns are so little, you can die in a job you don't like, or worst, you can't even find one. However, there is always new areas you can work in, different opportunites and experiences that are waiting you in big cities. You can make a fresh start with new impressions. (Do you really want your boss to remember you peeing your pants? I thought so.)
Kiwi conversations with an Australian.
Okay, strangers are not your friends anymore and it's so sad, but your potential friends can be all around the world! Cultural diversity is such a great thing to have around. One night, you can find yourself discussing on Kiwi bird with an Australian. You can listen about amazing experiences, different cultures and odd traditions, or life goals and dreams! Mine are all about the birds, so kiwi conversations are highly welcomed here (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
You like ocean if you know how to swim.
As I mentioned earlier, you have endless opportunities in terms of social activities, places to visit, new experiences, tasting new dishes. There are lots of alternatives in every service. It creates competition in almost everything, wages, prices, quality of services, and so on. If you know how to manage your time, traffic and get the benefit, you might have a pretty balanced life. You like ocean if you know how to swim!
To sum up, -small towns, big cities- they both have negative and positive sides. My likes, and things I put importance differs in different stages of my life. For now, I need to find a way to support my family economically. I need to get out of my comfort zone, experience things that are strange to me till now. I need to learn how to swim, how to turn strangers into real friends. Maybe I can even have bird conversations on the way!
What are your opinions on big cities and small towns? Which one do you like the most? Do you feel out of it when you spend days in one of these? I would love to see your opinions, experiences or feedback!