ASEAN Hive Community Challenge #112 : Rural Life Vs. Urban Life

It's been a while since I participated, so I'm glad to be back.

The ASEAN Hive Community Challenge this week requires us to reflect and compare Rural Life VS Urban Life, and here's my take on it. However, I want to share my story and how we lived back and forth in the city and the countryside.

I was born in Lapu-Lapu City, but even before I turned a year old, my parents decided we live with my paternal grandparents in a small city in the island of Negros. Well, due to the nature of my father's job, we didn't stay there for a long time and we transferred back to my and my mom's hometown. We lived with my maternal grandparents for a while before my family decided to live in Cebu City.

Not long after that, my father was again transferred to a small town of Pinamungajan (countryside of Cebu) when I was around 3-5 years old. I enjoyed it there. I met some friends and started going to a daycare center. However, something happened (I don't know exactly) which made us decide to go back to Lapu-Lapu City. I couldn't finish my studies in the countryside, but luckily, I was able to join the Preparatory Class despite it being in the third term already.

I graduated and started my life as an elementary schoolkid in the city. However, before I graduated elementary, I huge challenge for our family happened that I decided to go back to the countryside for high school. Yes, my parents considered my decision. I couldn't stay in the international school because getting the scholarship there would let me change my religion... and getting into a Science High School funded by the government wouldn't mean being able to save money because of all the projects and extra-curricular activities.

I thought the cheapest and most sensible choice that time was to live in the countryside again. Living part of my high school life which was almost a complete turn from the life I used to have actually became one of the best days of my life. I love it there! But, in the middle of my third year of high school, we had to go back to the city... unwillingly, I had to agree and just thought that it would be a good opportunity to prepare for university.

Until now, we live in the same city where I graduated high school from... but despite not graduating with my friends from the countryside, they always invite me to their reunion. (I attended more get-together with my batch there... and never attended a reunion in my high school here in the city). I guess the fact that I spent more time with my friends in the countryside played a role... and I get the chance to visit the place again because reunions are mostly held in that place. <3

Urban life is fun and really convenient. You can get anything and do anything easily. There are a lot of shopping malls, schools, hospitals and so on. Everything is so accessible! I believe it's an ideal place for students or people trying to earn a living since there are more opportunities here. People who love entertainment would also undoubtedly choose to live in the city.

I'm not a huge fan, though. Despite the convenience, I don't really like the hustle and bustle. I dislike getting stuck in traffic and be swallowed in a crowd. It makes me dizzy and really uncomfortable. Luckily, I work from home now, so I don't have to endure these things. And every time I decide to go out, I try to avoid the rush hour.

On the other hand, the countryside isn't very convenient depending on the area you live in. Nowadays, they're getting better in that sense, though. There are now some bigger shops to buy your daily needs from. However, choices for important establishments like schools and hospitals aren't that many. Public transportation can also be a problem. Also, some places don't have good internet access which is essential for my job. (This last point is just a personal issue. lol)

However, if you love the peace and the quiet, then it's the place to be. The life in the countryside is what I long for. I would really love to live there again. The fresh air, luscious green and blue spaces... they're everywhere. I'd love to bask in nature and forget all my life's stress.

In the end, our choice should be based on our priority at the moment. Despite my desire to live in the countryside again, it would still be a challenge because of work. For now, I'll enjoy living in my current place. Even though it's in a city, it's located in the suburb, so it kind of feels like the countryside. I might not see a lot of green spaces, I surely feast my eyes and heart with blue ones.

Thanks for reading and see you around!