Every Thanksgiving I make the trip home to Petersburg, IL. I have lived in big cities ever since college (San Francisco and DC ). I love city life. Right now I live in Dupont Circle (Matt and I live in
the 'office'). We are surrounded by good/inexpensive restaurants and pubs. Half a block away is the first museum of modern art in America (the Phillips Collection). There are five starbucks within a three minute walk (which actually is silly...). There is always something going on in our neighborhood. Again, I love city life.
However... being back home reminds me that I am thankful for being raised in a small rural town. (the pic on the right is of Petersburg's square... my mom currently works in the courthouse in the background)
I was talking to my mother today about crime in DC. This past July a crime emergency was issued in DC after there were 14 separate murders in the first eleven days of the month. In my home county, Menard, there has been only one murder in the last 25 years.
There is also only one traffic light in my county...and it is still considered new.
Outside of crime and traffic, this trip, I put my finger on another big difference between cities and small towns. Everything in a small town is much more local. The only way I can think to explain what I mean is to give an example. Rigth now in DC, the talk around town is the War in Iraq, the firing of Donald Rumsfeld, and the Democratic coup in Congress. Here in Petersburg, everyone is frantically talking about the new police officer in town that has a chip on his shoulder (apparrently he has issued a record number of traffic tickets and the first parking ticket in Petersburg's history). Every single person I have seen has talked about this poor guy. I think a mob is forming on the Square as I write this (yes...the torch and pitchfork kind).
Growing up in a small town, you are sheltered from a lot; crime, traffic, pollution....but also popular culture, diversity, and non-agriculturally based commerce.
I wouldn't trade growing up in Petersburg for all of the silk in China... but for now... I like city life.
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