Many city-dwellers dream of fresh, clean air, lovely cottages surrounded by gardens and wide green fields. Why not leave the city forever and move to the country?

Polluted Hell.

Do you wake up with a start several times a night because someone’s car alarm went off without any reason yet again? Do you hate those partying monsters who think that you should be really grateful for having the privilege of listening from one a.m. until dawn to that tantalizing noise they call music? Well, frankly speaking, I don’t. And honestly, spending two hours in a traffic-jam, desperately trying to get to work on time, wishing you had a gas-mask on gets on your nerves, to put it mildly. Not to mention the overcrowded Underground. We must admit it – living in a city is becoming absolutely impossible.

Your Personal Paradise or…?

If you decide to move to the country, there are certain benefits to enjoy. First of all the air is so much better, You can actually smell flowers, new-mown hay and other wonderful fragrances of countryside instead of smoke, garbage and the Underground. If you have children, the move would do them good – they won’t have flu as often as the do in the city and there is a far lesser chance of them acquiring allergies.

Secondly, if you are luck enough to find work close to where you live, a daily trip to work will become a very pleasant pastime. You could even walk to work! Good-bye claustrophobia!!

And last but not least, there is an evident financial benefit – houses are cheaper in the country-side. You can get a much bigger place for the same amount of money. Also you are most likely to have a nice garden in front of your new house. There is so much to do in the country if you are a nature-lover and like small communities.

However, what if you don’t like small gossiping villages? What if simple idyllic country-life does not appeal to you? You would miss the crowds, the night-life, cinemas, discos, clubs, theatres and other entertainments of the city. You would miss your noisy neighbours and, come to that, even the traffic jams! Well, then, the best choice for you would be to stay in the city and find means to relax when it all becomes too much. How about a yoga class? Or escaping to the country for a day or two instead of a lifetime?

While country life is an excellent choice for families with children and people in their retirement, younger, socially and career-orientated people might prefer the crazy rhythm of a city despite all the disadvantages of city-life.