I've lived in a rural area and I don't really see how it's much different from a city. Sure you have to drive further to places, but in cities you might have a shorter distance but have the same amount of time to get to that shorter distance due to traffic. My internet connection here is fine, I can get gigabit if I want but since my internet is free and several hundred Mbps down/up I'm content. I never really thought of cities as a place to interact with people. Wouldn't most people just kind of live their lives and ignore everyone? Isn't it awkward to just... stop someone on the street and try to have a conversation? Very few people do that I'd think. I think most people just want to go from point A to point B. Idk I don't live in a city maybe people love randomly chatting up randos on the street. I know it happens here in stores a lot.
The school I went to was also one of the best in the state apparently despite being an independent school district. We had smart kids there apparently because I got one A- and ended up at rank 40 in my class during my second to last year in school. Not sure if that means the school was good, bad, or if my grade was just competitive as hell. Some cities have good schools though, I don't think all cities have worse schools than rural places. Some rural schools are complete trash too.
I've got the opposite experience with open-mindedness but not in the way you think. Most people I've met when I told them I lived in a rural area thought of me as racist, uneducated, close-minded, a farmer, homophobic, and thought that I was just stupid. I once was called "cousin-fucking pond scum" by someone after they learned I lived in a rural area. They judged me because I lived in a different place from them. So now I judge urban people based on a few bad experiences I had. Maybe... people judge rural people for the bad experiences they have, or have heard of? I think it's also just a stereotype that we're like this. I don't think it's true in my experience. I just think that there's a few people who are idiots that ruin it for everyone else while I try to be a normal person like most people do.
The people who went to my rural school were pretty damn accepting of people and I don't think there was a racism or homophobia problem other than a few idiots but you're going to always have idiots wherever you go. I think people who generalize rural areas for that are only judging the morons and not for the 99% of people who just go around and live their lives like normal people, just like how I judged urban people in the above paragraph for the morons that treated me badly even though most probably wouldn't care much. It was mostly religious and class (ESPECIALLY class) problems we dealt with where I live.
I moved out of my parent's house to a place in-town and I can't stand the noise. I can't stand hearing cars drive by when trying to sleep or people doing loud things outside and I especially can't stand the fact that people litter around where I live. This is just a small town so no way I'd function living in a city but that's just a personal problem on my end honestly. Blessed are the people who can ignore noise.
We have a clinic, a dentist, grocery store, bar (because everywhere needs a bar), and some gas stations. Some cool parks and walking trails too. Basic needs met, but if you live in a city you're probably not used to the lack of options and lack of entertainment venues. Eh, most people have their preferred stores anyways and I don't like having tons of options I just pick what I like and move on. I do most of my shopping online so no need to travel to department stores. Traveling 20+ minutes to get stuff kind of sucks, and if you're someone who likes to go to movie theaters or other entertainment venues the distance is going to suck too. One thing I'll also mention is crime. Cities tend to be more violent and have more criminals (since there's more people obviously). Rural places are usually pretty chill, though it takes just one homicide to drive the per capita murder up super high. Mostly gonna just get vandalism and drug stuff. Still gotta be on guard cause you never know.
A lot of people when they get old or get money always get away from cities or take vacations to get away from them. Take that for what you will. I think it'd be cool to visit some cities but not stay there for very long. Idk I don't think cities are that bad just like rural areas aren't as bad as people think. Depends on your personality and what you're used to. Oh, and if you want to bother with a car or not. In a city you sometimes have the option to not get a car. In a rural area, yeah you have to get a car, at least here in the US you do.
Nowhere is perfect. But some places are more perfect for some people. Depends on who you are and what you want.
