Country Living vs. City Living: The Honest Truth

I grew up in the city.

Not a huge city, but definitely a neighborhood kind of childhood. I had neighbors to play with. I could ride my bike around the block. There were houses everywhere, people everywhere, and there was always something going on.

And I loved it.

But somewhere along the way, I started falling in love with the idea of something completely different.

Land. Space. Views. Quiet.

I remember thinking about what it would be like to have a house surrounded by trees and fields instead of houses. To look out the window and see nothing but open land. To have room for my future kids to run around.

It wasn’t necessarily a childhood dream. It was something that grew on me as I got older.

And eventually, that dream became our reality.

We moved to the country and built our house on 20 acres.

And while I absolutely love it, I’ve also learned that country living isn’t all sunsets and wide-open spaces.

There are some very real tradeoffs that come with choosing this lifestyle, especially when you’re raising kids.

So after living it, here’s my honest take on country living vs. city living.

I grew up with neighborhood kids.

This is probably one of the biggest differences.

Growing up, I could walk outside and find a friend. There were kids up and down the street. You’d ride your bike around the neighborhood, knock on someone’s door, or just wander outside and see who was out.

My girls don’t have that.

We have 20 acres, but there aren’t a bunch of kids living on those 20 acres with us.

If my girls want to see their friends, we’re getting in the car.

Right now, they’re young enough that this doesn’t bother them. They’re perfectly happy playing outside, exploring, and making their own fun together and with mom and dad.

But I do think about the future.

What happens when they’re 10 and want to walk to a friend’s house? What happens when they’re 13 and want to hang out with someone after school?

They’re probably not going to be casually walking down the road to meet up with friends.

We’re going to have to be intentional about it.

And that’s one of the things I think city living does really well for kids: community is built into the neighborhood.

Luckily, we have awesome cousins and family that come over often, or we go to them, so they get lots of play time, but it is something I think about for sure.

Halloween is a whole different experience.

Here’s something I never thought about before moving to the country:

We don’t get trick-or-treaters.

At all.

Growing up, Halloween meant walking around the neighborhood with every other kid on the block. Porch lights were on, people were outside, and you’d come home with a ridiculous amount of candy.

That’s not really our reality now.

So we’ve gotten creative.

Thankfully, my parents live in the city, so we go to their neighborhood for trick-or-treating. It’s actually become a fun little tradition.

But it’s one of those funny things that you don’t think about when you’re dreaming about country living.

You’re thinking about the acreage.

You’re not thinking, Wait…where are my kids going to trick-or-treat? Lol

Club sports are something I think about.

My girls are still young, so we haven’t entered the world of club sports yet.

But I think about it. A lot.

Because eventually, there could be soccer practice three nights a week. Or softball. Or gymnastics. Or volleyball. Or whatever activity they decide they absolutely love.

And when you live in the country, everything takes a little more planning.

A 6:00 practice isn’t necessarily a quick 10-minute drive. It could be 30 minutes. And if you have multiple kids doing multiple activities?

I can already see the logistics becoming interesting.

This is one of those things I won’t pretend to have an answer for yet.

Maybe we’ll become the family that spends half their life in the car. Maybe we’ll find activities closer to home. Maybe my girls won’t care about club sports at all.

But it’s something I know we’ll have to navigate as they get older.

But I LOVE our small town school.

One thing I feel really confident about is the school we chose.

We absolutely love our small country school.

There’s something special about a small school where everyone knows everyone.

Their teachers know them. The families know each other. There’s a real sense of community.

And while I know things can change as kids get older, right now I love the environment my girls are growing up in.

I love that their school feels like a community instead of just a building.

I also love the slower pace.

There’s less noise here. Literally and figuratively.

There’s less traffic. Less rushing. Less stimulation. Less of that feeling that you need to constantly be somewhere or doing something.

My girls can go outside and just…play.

They can get dirty. They can explore. They can run. They can spend an afternoon outside without us needing to pack everyone into the car and find something to entertain them.

And I think there’s something really valuable about that.

There’s also something I appreciate about the influences around them.

I won’t pretend that living in the country means my kids are completely removed from the outside world.

They’re not.

And I don’t want them to be.

But there is something comforting about knowing that their everyday environment is a little quieter and a little smaller.

There aren’t as many people coming and going. They’re not surrounded by the constant activity of a city. There’s just less of it.

At the same time, I work in the city. So my girls still get a little taste of both worlds.

They see the country life at home, but they also get to experience the city through my work, our activities, restaurants, shopping, events and everything else that comes with it.

And honestly, I think that’s a pretty great balance.

I don’t want to raise kids who are afraid of the world. I want them to experience it.

I just don’t think they need to experience all of it, all the time.

And then there’s the career part of this story.

This is something that makes me laugh when I think back to college.

I went to school for fashion design.

And I was told more than once that if I wanted a career in fashion, I’d probably have to leave the Midwest.

Because fashion careers happen in New York. Or Los Angeles. Or other major cities.

The Midwest wasn’t exactly considered the fashion capital of the world. (Little did anyone know that the remote-work world was about to completely change what was possible — I don't work remote, but it is a little ironic).

Today, I have a career I love while living in the country.

I actually still choose to commute into the city because I love my job that much, but that’s a story for another day.

The point is, I didn’t have to choose between the career I wanted and the lifestyle I wanted.

That's something huge I hope to pass down to our girls — you can literally do whatever yo want, as long as you're willing to work for it.

You trade convenience for space.

If I had to sum up country living in one sentence, this would probably be it:

You trade convenience for space.

Need groceries? You’re driving.

Want to grab dinner? You’re driving.

Kids have practice? You’re probably driving.

Need something from Target? You’re definitely driving.

But then you come home. And there’s 20 acres. There’s room to breathe.

There’s no house directly beside us.

There’s no traffic outside my window.

My kids can run around.

We can sit on our porch and watch the sunset.

We have space to dream about what our property could become.

And for me, that trade has been worth it.

So which is better: country or city?

Honestly?

Neither.

I think it depends on what you want your everyday life to look like.

City living gave me an amazing childhood. I loved having neighborhood friends. I loved being close to everything. I loved the convenience and the community.

And now I’m intentionally giving my kids something different.

I’m giving them space.

I’m giving them a slower pace.

I’m giving them a small school and a close-knit community.

I’m giving them a childhood where they can run around on 20 acres and hopefully grow up with a deep appreciation for the outdoors and the simple things.

But I’m also aware of what we’re giving up.

There won’t be neighborhood kids knocking on our door every afternoon.

Halloween requires a little more planning.

Club sports may require a lot more driving.

And pretty much everything requires getting in the car.

But maybe that’s okay.

Because I don’t think there’s a perfect place to raise kids.

There are just different versions of childhood.

I had the neighborhood. My girls have the acreage.

I had the convenience. They have the space.

And maybe the best part is that they don’t have to choose just one.

They get the country at home and a little bit of the city through my work and everything we do outside of home.

And someday, they may grow up and tell me they want to live in the middle of a city.

If they do, I’ll understand. Because I grew up there, too.

But for right now, when I pull into our driveway, look out at those 20 acres and see my girls running around…

I still think we made the right choice.