City vs Country?

Written a while ago, this one has a certain poignancy......

One thing I do find as I get older is that I become less and less the pure city boy that I always prided myself on being. I've lived in central Birmingham most of my life, pretty much all my adult life and find it a wonderful, vibrant place to live.

I've always said I'm a city boy at heart, loving the fact that everything i want is available to me pretty much instantly, I love the noise and the life of cities. I love the beauty that can come from anywhere in a city, whether it be the layout of a shop window, the clash of ancient and modern architectures or even something as mundane as a paper bag swirling and dancing in the breeze, trapped in a vortex created by two buildings funneling the wind into one spot.

But I find, more and more recently I'm also looking at the country with something akin to envy. Because it's everything I haven't got, peace, tranquility, solitude. The natural beauty of the place, the simplicity really does appeal. Add this to the fact that most of what i demand from a city in terms of physical things can be accessed online and it begins to look tempting.

My other problem with modern cities is the Monoculture aspect of them (wiki link): the idea that every city defaults to the same basic mix because the big corporations push out all the great independent traders.

One for the future I suppose.