I'm a country mouse & I think I always will be. There's something about having my space, breathing the clear air, & my bare feet in the grass. <3

In the middle in suburbia. Thank you for using an illustration from one of my all time favorite books!

City mouse all the way. If I had children I would like the countryside but I don't want kids.

Are you really a country person if you live minutes away from a midsize city? I mean, when you say "country" I imagine small town, rural, middle of nowhere. If you can be in a midsize city in 30 minutes, you're not in the country.

I grew up in a town of 900, went to college in a town of 200,000 and after college moved to a large urban area. I always say it's even. The things I didn't like about one I like about the other. It makes it hard to find the perfect place to settle though when I like (and dislike) things about every size town.

No, I think you can be a country mouse even if you live near a city. I grew up on a cattle farm in a farm house and played in the woods all summer. We also went to school in a nearby small-to-mid-sized city. I still felt very much like I lived in the country. I understand that nothing can compare to the ranches out west, but that's really just the difference between living in New York or Columbus: both are cities, just different types. I am a country mouse at heart, and hopefully someday I can go back.

I can't imagine myself not living in a metro area. That said, I see now you meant the mentality of being a city person or country person "at heart" so I guess I can see how you could live in a midsize city or metro area and still be a country person. I have friends who live as far from the city as they can while still being able to have a reasonable commute, and they'd be happy as clams if they could just move out to the middle of nowhere. I, on the other hand, have consistently itched to move closer to the city. The cost of living got higher, but I was happier being so close to urban density.

Having grown up in a very small town and a few not-rural-but-heavily-wooded areas, I can confidently say being a kid in the country is awesome. It’s so nice to run around and not worry about what humidity does to your hair.

The city’s a nice place to be a young adult, but I’m not even in my 30s yet, and I’m sick of it. Maybe it’s time to compromise and move to the suburbs.

I grew up in a megalopolis, then went to university in a suburb, spent my salad days in a high-density city, then went rural. It depends where you are in your life and what you want from the world. I miss the anonymity and culture (music, arts) of the city, but not the noise and crowds. I detest the small-town thinking, gossip, and power plays by the connected where I live now (it's junior high redux, really), but I love the surroundings and the open space. Life is compromise.

It's a tossup as to where it's best to bring up children, too. Some of the highest meth and heroin use among young teens is in rural-to-suburban areas in the heartland. If kids want trouble, they will find it.

I'm in the country now, and I've lived in both kinds of places, as well as suburbia. I've liked all of them. I liked being able to walk more in the city; I like not having to lock things up as much in the country, as well as having more space (bigger grocery stores!) and more access to the outdoors. I keep realizing that who I'm with is more important to me than where I am, for the most part.

@violentcello - I'd be interested to know what you hate about city life so much. I have asked several friends who choose to live in the outer ring of suburbia, and a lot of their answers have to do with "traffic" and "congestion"...all of which we avoid by having other options, like public transportation.

I suppose I live in a suburb...but we have friends whose ultimate desire is to live in the middle of nowhere miles from their next neighbor, and I think they find our area suffocating.

I loved the city and moved to it when I became an adult after growing up in the burbs. Until I felt too unsafe to stay. I do miss being able to walk to the nearest 7-Eleven and food store.

Now it's a twenty minute back and forth to the convenience store and food shopping is 12 miles away on windy back roads. My husband does 60+ mile round trip a day commute. Even he would prefer staying a country mouse! There are more bugs and smells and with all the animals around you can't go barefoot in the grass. Skunk poop aplenty! But I wouldn't go back for all the tea in China!!

Ah, yes. My husband & I just had this discussion. We started our married life in a rented farm house & bought a house at the edge of town where we have a big garden & yard. It is great to have that space for children growing up. My husband recently got a job in the city and we have decided to keep our house & rent an apartment in the city. We love what city life has to offer but would miss our garden & the tranquility of our home. In mid-life, it is the best of both worlds!
[In agreement with the previous comment, it depends where you are in your life.]

I've lived in hardcore rural (closest mid-sized city over an hour away), suburban, urban and currently country. I consider 'country' as a place where there is no traffic at night, and you can see most of the stars, but that is entirely relative as PI pointed out. My country home is about 15 minutes drive from a city of 50,000, I have a well and private septic. My neighbors have horses, chickens and at least one very vocal turkey. I like having land and growing stuff in my veg garden. I love seeing deer, fox, turtles and hundreds of colorful birds in my yard.
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Anyway, I've been reasonably happy in all environments except the hardcore rural. This was during my early teen years and I was left home alone a lot as my single mother worked the dinner shift at a restaurant. The isolation was terrifying for me, and pretty much ruined me for that sort of place. Even as an adult I can't relax in that environment without at least 3 other people with me.

I enjoyed the perks of urban living for 7 years, but didn't miss it much when I left. Having a city so close is a nice compromise. I don't care much for suburbia because of the lack of privacy and nothing to make up for it. At least in the city there are a million fun things to do as a bonus.

@Pi, For me, I think being a misanthrope and an asshole makes living among a lot of people difficult.

Honestly, congestion is a big part of it. I work just 13 miles from my house, but it takes about 45 minutes to get there. I know it could be sooooo much worse if I lived in a city bigger than Denver. Public transportation is OK-ish and will do in an emergency, but it’s not great. To get to work, I’d have to take a bus, a train, another bus and then hike through two parking lots and a field. Again, I know other people have it worse, but I think I’ve just reached my limit. The city was great when I was going out all the time, but considering that I frequent the same two or three bars and restaurants, I think a smaller town could satisfy my needs very easily.

@VIOLENTCELLO: I want to have a beer with you.

@Jess13 Cheers!

I always idealized the life of a country mouse. I loved the idea of the open space, times of quiet, friendliness, a simpler life. Then I moved to the country after my husbands job took us to a very rural location. Maybe it was the location we moved to but the inconveniences, the ignorance, and quiet really got to me. When my husband and I moved back to the urban area where we grew up I fully embraced my city mouse life.

This is a move I'm considering making next spring. (It's even worked out so well that we'll likely get a brief stint of country life before making the complete plunge.) I am terribly interested in any blogs, articles, etc. on this topic!

Awww. When I was a kid my cousins always teased me about being a country mouse. When I grew up and moved to the big city, I was convinced I was a city mouse. Then as I got older I realized I needed to be a suburban mouse. (Sigh!)

I'll take either! Just keep me away from everything in between. The 'burbs are not for me.

@ Pi - reasons not to live in the city: rubbing elbows with people on the subway, the stench of gasoline, snow turning grey in minutes, garbage trucks, dumpsters, the noise, you can't smell the spring air, dog poop, crowds, small/no yards, cost of living, roommates, people wearing high heels upstairs, lack of parking space, parking tickets, traffic, lack of public transportation, drunks at 2AM....
I think you live in the Bay Area which is one of the few metro areas I would consider moving to, so maybe you are just lucky to call such an awesome city home.

City, city, city, CITY! I'm right there with CarolinaZhangDesign--I can see the country (or pseudo-country) being good for raising kids, but I ain't going that route, so it's an urbanite's life for me.

I grew up in the country, and it bored me to tears. There is NOTHING to DO! I absolutely despise it. I love having people to see, things to do, variety and spontaneity and culture. I like that I can walk places, I like that exciting events happen on my doorstep. Sometimes things like parking and traffic can get annoying (and honestly, it's mostly when the surburbanites stumble in and don't know what the eff they're doing), but if you ask me, it's a small price to pay for the energy and stimuli of the city.

I have never been closer to my neighbors since moving to the city. The quiet little dive bar below my apartment is a hub for a radius of several blocks, very "Cheers"-y. It's one of the greatest senses of community I've ever known.

I grew up very rural. I moved away to the city because I needed to feel connected, to have everything accessible. Growing up, my closest neighbors were my grandparents, and it was a 10-minute drive to the edge of our medium-small town. And I have loved the city. But the nature, trees, hills, wildlife I grew up with was always a part of my core, what felt like home. The older I get, the more that life appeals to me, draws me back. I suppose I live in between now, part suburban I guess but a far cry from track housing. Walking distance to public transportation, to restaurants and shops and theaters and bars, but still get to wake up to birds and chickens instead of buses and hobos. Even still, there's a part of me that fantasizes about raising babies and animals on a big patch of land in the country. We'll see...

I grew up in NYC, but also spent a lot of time in a remote spot in The Adirondacks so I can do just fine in either --it's the in between suburbs that I can't handle at all.

@HHRI - No, I live in the DC area. Maybe it's just my perspective, but all of the things you listed I either don't mind, have avoided, or don't particularly get bothered by.

Being surrounded by people on the subway doesn't bother me, I don't have a lot of noise around me and what noise I do get doesn't bother me, the spring air just means allergies, all of my neighbors pick up after their dogs, I don't mind crowds, I've always had a small or no yard, the apartments I've lived in had carpeting so no upstairs stomping, I don't drive very often so I rarely deal with traffic, traffic tickets, or parking troubles, and I have access to a really extensive public transportation system. And I don't live in walking distance of bars, so no drunks at 2 am. We do, however, have lots of skateboarders.

As far as high cost of living, yeah it kinda sucks, but I'm fortunate that we can still live in the area and that our job market isn't nearly as bad as others.

I grew up in an Adirondacks town of 2000 people and had 28 kids in my graduating class. I hated every second of it. I live in a mid-sized city now and have never looked back. For me the best part is being car-free. I started bike commuting a couple months ago - 3.7 miles each way - and lost weight without even trying. The car dependency of the country and suburbs makes me shudder.

I occasionally get people back home clutching their pearls about crime, but it's mostly in certain neighborhoods that are easy to avoid. People get way too worked up about that.

I'm a suburban mouse at heart. Grew up uber rural in a town of 900 people, had to drive at least 30 miles just to get to a grocery store. Movie theater required a 50 mile drive, one-way. Rural was a great way to grow up in some respects, but it was before the Internet and isolated, though lovely. Went to college 3000 miles away in a mid-size city that seemed like a metropolis to me. I could not sleep for the first three months because of the lights and traffic sounds (which I now realize were fairly minimal). I now live in one of the top 10 largest cities in the nation, but it is a very suburban city, very spread out rather than up. I love my suburban ranch home, with it's backyard and two-car garage. And I love the proximity of everything else - shopping, parks, arts, sports. I can take public transit everywhere, but I don't have to share walls with strangers.

I grew up in a rural area, went to college in a small city next to a much larger city and now live near San Francisco. I don't think I'd ever want to live in a full on City, like New York or even San Francisco. I like quiet too much and it's never, ever quiet in the city. Living in a small town within 30 minutes or so of a big city seems perfect to me.

The one sort of place I would never, ever live, though, is any city or town that exists solely for people to sleep there. Even my rural area had little shops, a few good restaurants and a little downtown square to run into people at; those heartless bedroom communities are awful.

I grew up in a small, rural, logger town of 15,000 people and fled as quickly as I could to a large city. I have since wandered and found myself in several large, dense cities. I once rebelled against the country mouse mentality because I thought I had to be different and more exciting than that. Since "finding" myself in the dense city living, I was surprised to find that I really am a country mouse at heart, but I prefer the endless celebration of diversity that one typically finds in city living. So I have come to negotiate these two and find that my utopia is a city that feels connected to the natural world. Where forest, trails, ocean, and mountains are all easily accessible and within reach to maintain that calming inner serenity that can be difficult to come by in the sometimes stressful city life.

I'm evenly split and it's a struggle. If I was wealthy, I'd have two houses but I'm not so I don't. When I lived in the city I craved the country. Now that I'm in the country I crave the city. I hate being fickle.

@ Rose123 - I've had the same bike since 1997. It was my very first grown-up bike and I'm quite attached to it. Unfortunately, it's a mountain bike and not ideal at all for urban cycling. For one thing, mountain bike tires are too thick and heavy to get much speed. I've since gotten new thinner, smoother tires but a couch potato on a street bike can still outrun me any day of the week. A lightweight street bike with very thin tires is optimal if you ride in the city a lot.

Some upgrades I recommend include a bike bag such as a pannier or rear rack, a headlight and additional flashing light for nocturnal riding, and, most importantly, a handlebar cup holder for your travel mug. I've people in cars ask me where I got mine while we were stopped at intersections.

Also, make sure you ride in the road in the direction of the traffic. Contrary to popular belief, bikes do not belong on the sidewalk! And WEAR A HELMET ALWAYS! Urban cycling without one is literal suicide.

"If you can be in a midsize city in 30 minutes, you're not in the country"

^Tell that to all the cattle farmers that live around me. If there are miles & miles of pastures, too many cattle to count, barns full of hay, folks in overalls driving tractors & hanging laundry out to sun dry then my commute to town doesn't matter. We live in the country. That's all there is to it. :)

My home for the past 37 years has provided me with both urban and rural amenities - at the top of a steep hill (little traffic) in San Francisco.
Surrounded by neighbors who rarely use their yards or decks, we've always had chickens in the backyard and Cooper hawks overhead....
Great Thai or Indian food delivered when required, weekly farmers' market and city diversions just down the hill.
It doesn't get any better than this.

Pros and cons to raising kids in both areas. from what I have seen, a lot of the country kids where I live have never been to a museum; have never eaten that wasn't meat n potatoes, and just aren't exposed to the culture that would make them more open minded about other people. Kids in the city often struggle with stress more, peer pressure to fit in, and hardly know what it means to do a days worth of hard work. This does reflect a lot on the parents, however. I suppose if you can give you kids the best of both worlds, by all means, do it. I prefer both :)

As much as my current location irritates the living daylights out of me, I still think I'm a city mouse (just in the wrong city). I grew up in the suburbs and visit often, so I *know* that's not for me. I have no experience of the country, but I'm pretty terrified of vast open spaces--most likely as a result of too many horror films growing up-- so I am willing to bet that's not going to work out either.

Still, the only cities I have lived in are Very Large Cities, and they breed their own kind of madness. I am placing my next bet on a mid-size city and hoping I can stay carless there.

@Rosekraft, I lived in SF for many years, half of them enjoying a bird-filled garden that was bigger than my house, walking the beach every day, loving all the city had to offer. But I also experienced a lot of negatives in the city (or The City): drunks, drug addicts, gunshots at night, nasty neighbors who considered themselves "old San Francisans", general urban blight. Every time I return to SF I wonder how I tolerated the overwhelming density...but of course it was not nearly so crowded then as it is now. It's not that one way of living is better or worse, but that both come with pros and cons.

beach mouse? sigh...the country is so clean and nice....the city offers instant life and interactions of all kinds..and the country also offers such a respite from the 'interactions of all kinds'. yes...I need three houses..but have an apartment in countryish suburbia..nah...it's suburbia..

Both would be ideal. We're lucky enough to have a place in a major metropolis, and a retreat by the sea/mountains. I love both, but if I had to choose, I'm a town mouse!

In a perfect world, I would have a hip, modern loft in the city and a cabin in the country for weekends and holidays. I'm both.

I'm definitely a city mouse! But we live in the suburbs because of the great public schools for my daughter.

I grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin, went to a college in rural Minnesota, and immediately after lived in Tucson and then the Twin Cities. I will never go back to the rural life.Imagine not being able to get a Newsweek at any local store, have your high school revolve around sports and cars, and never see a person that isn't white (and pretty red-necked). Sure, we had fresh vegetables and home grown meat; we had to plant, pick, feed, clean up after, and butcher.
I can go to any one of 50 libraries in a 50 mile radius, go to the grocery store .5 miles away, see the Rembrandt exhibit at the museum, and go to a variety of theatres without the neighbors saying, "Gee. I wonder where she has gone to."

We live in either an outer urban area or an inner suburb, you decide. Public transit, great shops, restaurants, movies, farmers' market, fun stuff. But we have a small house with a small yard and dedicated parking, solid public schools, low crime rate.

We're happy mice.

I love this post. I love what you wrote. I love what you say to yourself when times seem chaotic -- "There are no wrong turns." I'm writing that above my desk THIS MINUTE. I love the question you posed.

I am a big-city kind of mouse who always finds a sweet country-mouse kind of spot to live in while enjoying the sophistication and moral challenges inherent in big-city life.

I would like to pull this off in Dublin, Paris, and in some as-yet-to-be-named South American city.

I love the city, but I think I can live in the country if and only if there's a big university in the town. I love universities and I just think they make everything nicer. All the homes I've been in are always within 30 minutes of a university and I can't imagine living far away from one. So I guess I'm a university mouse?

I am a country mouse for sure, and I intend to stay that way. The downside isn't missing out on attractions because the rarity just makes them more of a treat. Honestly, the biggest drawback for me is living in a place so shaped by the religious ideas of a single group of people. I would like a little more diversity... And a lot more separation of church and state.

(For reference, my town does not have a stop light, has zero fast food chain restaurants, and the closest Walmart is fifteen miles away and is NOT a Supercenter--it's tiny and does not have a produce dept., deli, bakery, frozen dept., an automotive center, or its own Murphy's gas station. And the next town over just got a McDonald's last year and it made headlines. But I bet for every 15 people we have at least one church.)

Country mouse - but I too live 40 minutes outside of a mid-size city, and I work there, so I like having the best of both worlds. I can shop and go for coffee in town, and then head home to my hills, green pastures, frogs and crickets (which in season will give NYC traffic sounds a run for their money in volume, though I'd definitely take frogs over cars). If I lived in town, I'd have a bike. In the country, I have a horse - the relationship is much more satisfying. As well, the country village I live outside of is a "tourist town" - people come up from the city to hang out and take in the sites, which also means we have decent services, amateur theatre, great restaurants and live music venues. But you really lose your anonimity in the country - everybody knows everybody, and I do find that a bit odd at times.

If I had to live in the city, there are definitely some areas I could live with, but country mouse suits me fine. Can't do the suburbs though - too much 'sameness' and ticky tacky :)

I need to be where there are pizza deliveries and wine stores.

I live in paradise in a city. We see plenty of wildlife - I was just watching a bunch of egrets. At this time of day, the parrots will start chattering soon. In the canal outside our house I see manatees (and boats and paddle-boarders) going by. At the end of my street, if I turn one way it's just a minute to the beach. Turn the other way and it's just a minute to shops and restaurants, theatres, art museums, historical homes and just about everything I could want.

Paradise. And it's no problem getting a pizza delivered.

I've lived all over the world and in all kinds of areas - big cities, medium cities, a city by the sea, rural/country, etc. Currently live in a small college town in the Midwest. It's absolutely perfect for this stage of my life. Great restaurants and coffeeshops, though there are not many of them; locally grown veggies from the farmer's market are delicious; university, with endless wonderful events; cost of living is cheap; silence and the beautiful starry sky. In the winter there is snow and fire in the fireplace. I miss my cities, but not enough to miss the horrible air, the stress, and the constant worrying about money.

Eventually I would like to live in a cabin in the woods.

Definitely a city mouse. I agree with several comments...it's the suburbs that are the worst (at least where I live). I am currently on the very border of suburbs and the city (Chicago) and always find myself longing to be downtown. While I love to visit "the country," I would never be able to live there. Who the hell wants to drive 10 minutes to pick up a gallon of milk??

i have always been a city mouse but i do like the allure of a cabin in the woods. i think proximity to a city would be a big factor. if i could get into a medium-sized city within 2 hours, then i could handle the country pretty easily.

the only thing i can't do is suburbia. it is the worst of both worlds. none of the space and privacy and none of the cool quirky culture of a big city. the suburbs is where dreams and aspirations go to die.

Cutest entry and comments. I'm a country mouse at heart, but living in the big city for now (and loving it too). There are so many good points to both. My future dream is off-the-grid living... cheers to choices!!

I suspect it's what you are familiar with more than anything. I have always lived in suburbia except for a brief foray in "the country" in my teens (farmlands around us, although our house would have fit in the suburbs) and a brief foray in a mid-sized city in college. Of the two, I much prefer the city, although New York seems intimidating to me, slightly alien, not welcoming...

I want the amenities near (food, services, consumer goods) without all night traffic noise and crime, among other things, so I guess the suburbs is where I do belong. Plus, I can garden but I don't have a mile long dirt road to plow! There are tradeoffs!

I live in a big city, regularly feel the grass under my feet in my yard, see lots of wildlife, catch fireflies with my son, shop in independent stores and know the owners, and know (and even like) all my neighbors. But I get the added advantage of walking everywhere, public transportation, diversity, world-class museums, even the beach! Count me in as a city mouse. We can always visit Grandma & Grandpa to get our country fix.

City mouse in the house! Holla!