Our son moved to Chicago, loved it, then moved to New York, and loved it even more. sigh I'm so allergic to traffic, nowhere to park, crowds and the high cost of anything you do in the city, I don't even like to VISIT cities, much less LIVE in one. And I do realize the benefits. So often, people discover that small towns and rural areas are not as friendly or tolerant as the stereotype. "Live and let live" is often much more widespread in big cities. Tolerance. Sharing space with others. A lot of country people seem to get territorial and distrustful of stranger or anyone not born in the area, and some are suspicious of their own kin. If I didn't have to drive, I think I could love city life, as long as I was within walking distance of Central Park or some hiking trail. The older I get, the more I encounter "urban rejects" and people who hate people, and for me the urge to live in a city gets more appealing all the time. (Now to get the husband on board.) Thanks for this, Joan - you inspired me to write a second freewrite based on this prompt!