Live In the City

Hey Guys! Sorry, no April Fool's joke here. If you want your fix try here, here and here.

Right now I'm living in a city for the first time in my life. Before that it's been entirely suburbs and college towns with a horrible half decade spent in a rural community. Now that I'm in Portland, though, it's come to my attention that I should have done this a whole heckuva a lot longer ago. From a traveling perspective it's a great decision!

More Opportunities
Since I've been here I've explored way more than any other location I've ever lived and my options are still unlimited. Not only are there more places to explore but I have more chances to hitch a ride with someone and see a new location. Already I've found friends that have given me rides to the Oregon mountains, the coast, the zoo, and several surrounding parks. I've only been here for a few weeks !

Renting Out is Easy
Okay, so you stupidly bought a home. Well if you bought it in a popular city area then congratulations! You'll be able to rent that sucker out with ease at anytime and explore the world while your mortgage gets paid by someone else. In contrast, my parents still live in a rural area and they're struggling to sell their house so they can enjoy their retirement. Sure, it's a smaller location but you've been practicing minimalism so it's not a big deal, right?

Going Carless is Easy
I haven't had a car the entire time I've been in Portland. Public transit costs me less than 90 bucks a month and riding a bike is free. Compare that to the $300+ bucks I used to dish out commuting to work each day when I was in the Bay Area. All that money is now either being saved or spent on doing the awesome and amazing stuff that cities have to offer.

Cities are amazing. I know that you may think they feel overcrowded or whatever but get over it. People are everywhere and when you learn to accept that, then the world becomes a better place. Right now I'm in a nice quiet neighborhood where it feels more like a suburban area but I can walk just a couple blocks and end up in a well populated city area with concerts, movie theaters, arcades, and just about anything else I want to enjoy.

If you're still not convinced, leave a comment saying why you don't like the city. It may just surprise you how different it actually is.