Comparing and Contrasting the Benefits of City Living and Rural Living
The United States is divided into a mix of rural and metropolitan areas. Each style of living has reported benefits and drawbacks, therefore, the question of which lifestyle is more beneficial still exists. The benefits and disadvantages of metropolitan and rural living will be measured on the variables of longevity, reported personal happiness and economic benefits for both groups. Longevity, or how long the average person lives, fluctuates between those in rural and urban environments. Sub-factors related to longevity include exposure to pollution, access to health care, physical activity level and diet. Rural areas have lower levels of pollution, but health care access is limited and residents typically must driver further in order to seek care. Specialist doctors are not always available in rural areas, forcing residents to temporarily relocate for intensive treatments. Personal happiness is difficult to quantify, yet many researchers have developed happiness measures to detect levels of personal happiness in rural and urban populations. Factors related to personal happiness include fulfilling work, access to green spaces and social support. Although rural areas have better access to nature, maintaining social networks may be more difficult give the distance between residences. Economic benefits relate to both the cost of living and the opportunities to make money in both rural and urban populations. While cities have more job opportunities, major metropolitan areas having higher costs of living and require more income in order to pay rent. Rural areas are typically less expensive to live in, but job opportunities tend to be scarce and require long commutes. This analysis will compare and contrast the differences and difficulties associated with rural and urban lifestyles and highlight how to best adapt to the challenges that each lifestyle presents.
Works Consulted
Takano, T., Nakamura, K., Watanbe, M. “Urban Residential Environment and Senior Citizens' Longevity in Megacity Areas: The Importance of Green Spaces”. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 56.1 (2002): 913-918. Print.
Knight, John and Gunatilaka, Ramani. “The Rural-Urban Divide in China: Income but Not Happiness?”. The Journal of Development Studies 46.3 (2010): 506-534. Print.
Henderson, Jason. “Building the Rural Economy With High-Growth Entrapeneurs” Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (2002). Web. 21 Feb 2014.
Thesis Statement: The United States is divided into a mix of rural and metropolitan areas. Each style of living has reported benefits and drawbacks, therefore, the question of which lifestyle is more beneficial still exists. The benefits and disadvantages of metropolitan and rural living will be measured on the variables of longevity, reported personal happiness and economic benefits for both groups.
