I have been privileged to taste both rural and urban area lifestyles and both have their advantages and disadvantages. If we are talking about nature, a peaceful environment, fresh vegetables and fruits, natural food without being processed, and cool rivers and streams, then we should pick rural areas. There is this kind of tranquillity that sweeps you off your feet in the village and you wouldn't want to leave since it's always a calm area where there isn't a large population; everyone seems to recognize and know each other by name and families.
Life in rural areas doesn't bring chaos, though we might think of wars, those are in the past. Our forefathers already fought and claimed freedom for us. Lol
Now, when we are talking of opportunities, good hospitals, schools, companies, big houses, estates, etc, we shouldn't go far because this is where the urban area is more fascinating and seen as a good choice to live in. Many people would love to go to the city for greener pastures. When you see an individual from a rural area coming to live in the city which is the urban area, they assumed he or she is coming to make it because, to them, it is a big London where people visit and makes money overnight. This is the mentality of a few living in the village because of lack of exposure and being uneducated to understand some things.
My environment is a city, also around the school area because there is a college of education. The majority of those living here are students. Once school is on break, the environment is always as quiet as a mouse, and one would think we are in the village; maybe we should call it both rural and urban areas.
At the school market, women and men hardly sell stuff because they know they wouldn't make many sales. Students dominate the area which makes everywhere lively when school is on and dry when they have gone home. Though, there is still good development which makes it more like a big city; we have hospitals, schools, estates, and companies.
This would be my second time staying behind and not going home when schools are on break and the funny thing is that we enjoy some things; I mean those who stay and didn't travel.
On a normal day when school is on, it's always frustrating not having light for many days and even when they bring it, it only lasts for 2-3 hours and that is it. But when students have travelled home, we start to enjoy light even at midnight. This never happened in the history of where I stayed.
They celebrate two festivals every year. One is called Odun Moko. It happens once a year in Ondo town. During the celebration of the festival, women across all age grades are prohibited/forbidden from coming out in the morning of its celebration till evening when it would come to an end. They believe when a woman does, she dies or would not be able to conceive again.
The second one is called Odun Ogun (festival for the god of iron). In this town, these people are fond of eating dog meat. Once a year, they celebrate this moment by killing and sacrificing to their gods. Any dog they see roaming around, they trap with charm, kill and sacrifice. There is this kind of powder they pour on your body also if you are found outside and didn't do their bidding by giving them money.
I was lucky on this day when I went to get something at the supermarket. They requested money which I told them I didn't have. They were about to pour the powder on me and I had no choice but to give them. I couldn't buy some things I already budgeted for that day.
Since this area is good on its own, I still would prefer to relocate to a better and more developed urban city because of the following reasons;
They use well water which is common in every house except for some in the estate where they have boreholes which pump water into the house. The water around this area dries up quickly and we would start looking for water up and down. During the dry season, you have to wake up as early as 4 am to fetch from the well in your house, else, you might have to regret not waking up at that time when you start finding water, searching every house. The worse is, many of them lock their well and wouldn't give you water unless you are lucky on some days.
Another reason is that this environment is kind of boring and demotivating. Though this perspective changed when I read a book titled Atomic Habits by James Clear where I could make such an environment favour me. Still, I would rather relocate because of the water issue as it's kind of challenging.
Another thing is that those around the area aren't inspiring. The majority of them do not understand that phones can make money for them. They are always busy doing other things like watching movies and chatting all day long and it's kind of draining when you are surrounded by those types of people. It's hard to be motivated or creative in such an area. I would like to move to a more upgraded place where you'd get inspired when you see those with common and similar goals as yours.
My area isn't encouraging when it comes to interaction with each other. What do I mean? They only communicate in their dialect and this is one reason I had a problem speaking English fluently. Thank God for my online friends on social media where I try my best to type and speak in English just so I can keep improving. This is one reason I prefer to be indoors the whole day.
It's hard to find 10% of people conversing in the English language because most of them speak Yoruba and even their dialect which is different from the main Yoruba language. It sucks!
I was even shocked when I saw that the school I graduated from isn't encouraging too because you will see many lecturers communicating in Yoruba and the said dialect. If you are from Ondo, then you should know the language. Sometimes, it makes me laugh with the way they speak, apologies to the Ondo people 🤣🤣
They make the environment filled with their dialect and it's hard to improve on your own. When you try to communicate with them in English, they reply in their native language.
At least there are some areas where you will enjoy light even if it's not constant or 24 hours, but you won't be deprived of it, at least 9-10 hours daily. This area is infuriating when they'd take the light for two to three days and when it's back, they only leave it for 2-4 hours and that is it. On some days, we are lucky to have 6 hours and that is it.
Another reason I would want to relocate is that many of them have the mindset of "learning stops once I finish school". I have tried explaining to a few people that you will always learn because learning never ends till you die. You have to always be updated on daily basis. It's so funny seeing how some could not embrace using Google to make research and learn things online. They don't spend time on the Internet.
I was amazed when a guy asked how online skills work. I explained and the kind of questions he asked afterwards makes me wonder why he went to school because we both finished in the same department. He and others do not know they could learn digital skills online until I had to explain and he was happy I did. I have tried to onboard some to Hive, but only a few who cared joined.
As I said earlier, I would love to be in a place where I can be inspired to see other people thriving to be the best and always on the move learning different things. I want to be in an area where things would motivate me instead of the other way around. I have always been complaining about this area for a long time because it has affected my spoken English just because there aren't those who encourage that. Why should I be wasting my time communicating in English and the next thing is to get a reply in their dialect or Yoruba language?
So, I would want to move and find a better urban area where there are good opportunities and those whose goal is to keep improving daily.
