18 Nov For life or not
big city for life or not
Big cities are so far not for FAMILY making…well at least as it seems like: TOO EXPENSIVE and TOO DEMANDING
Hastily booking a one-way ticket but still doubting…
A classic ‘debate’ moment always happens. Happens with me. Think of PROS than CONS.
Well, travel from one big city to another, for work, is anyway rather temporary — for 1-3 years to 10+ years — and usually till retirement: a one year in a big city equals about 3 years in peaceful countryside. All approx.
This creaking sound of rails, screeching cars,… Who would not look for…um, cozy nature surrounded atmosphere, laying on the beach, or on the garden after all.
Living in New York then in London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Shanghai, St.Petersburg — I found, at least, one simple thing in common — those cities change people, and not in a fav way. Simply saying all become greedy; all try to fool you to pay more for this and for that… Sure there are some exceptions, but only a few exceptions, who didn’t cling on the classic ‘capital’ dweller.
Once ‘outsiders’ become more rushing , more high-pace doers, then fast life-living, who is stubborn to simplicity — a simple joy of sitting in the park, walking down the lake is seen just for light-minded/ low-wage folks . Then all grows to indifference to other’s grief, paranoia to lose power and comfort, heavily lean on self -justification and materially, materially, materially driven. Sooner or later keeping one pace, being in this you-come-you-go environment, wears you off, totally squish you out:
Drains all the fun you had in clubs, drinking with friends ,chatting out casually in topish-popish restaurants, world-class events, sitting on the softest couch in your few thousands sq meters house.
You might think ‘Huh, WHAT? Pleeeeeese! What am I? A silly goof? If I would have a HUGE house, a million dollar car, I would be jumping out of my trousers everyday, thats how happy I would be. What to be sad about?’
This period I would call as “drowning”. And the best is to foresee this crashing point, jump-out for recharge or die-out will go fast.
Once sedle down...
‘money making’ zone, another reality — huh, thats cliché indeed…
Like in Moscow and Shanghai I notice how folks foster physical attributes, like tech gadgets, mobile tools, cars, wear, and outside looks as whole. Better watch more respect type of thing. Like a show-room of what you can afford, those ‘upgrade’ privileges that all dream about; expensive car — respected on the road( by police and other drivers); new-model gadgets — superior at school or at work; luxury brands — attractive and loved,… All those mentioned tools for show-off and be easily spotted by others.
Ahh, still cant describe how shocking it was for me in Shanghai to see what a total ‘face-in-da-screen’ routine they have there; hrs young people spend browsing their phones, playing, texting, swiping online-shops. So addictive. TOO rare, almost impossible to see someone standing on the street casually looking around; If you, by chance, in Shanghai try to find that man, woman, girl, boy,… whoever — in the metro — who would not look at the phone FOR DA WHOLE TIME.
NO JOKE. I thought in Moscow its bad, then Paris seemed to champ this title of gadget-lovers, before I moved to Shanghai. And I bet, in Japan its even worst, so to complete my chart of “face in da phone” I need to visit that tech ‘Valhalla’, till then my feedback is quite poor.
Living in Hightower, you in power
Life in skyscrapers — this you-touch-you-buy life — usually limited by the office walls and taken as a ‘must-have’ reality till you retire. Here, you surely not focused on your health, more on wealth, and thinking you can fix everything once you get rich.
Would get ‘coins in you joints’ — simply relying on expensive medical care, that would be peasy to afford then in 10…er, in 20…ok, in 30+ years.
In most industrial cities you grip on self mechanism of reluctance, sympathy- blocking: ‘Someone out there dying of hunger? And so what?’, ‘The genocide is happening in …Well, what that word again?’, ‘ Sorry for your loss, but oh well …?’. Looking more to reinforce your position and views, and ignore whoever contradicts it.
To have money — thats the ‘A’ KEY that orchestrate you values and views on stuff around you; how much you would get from it, how costly this would be, where to invest,…. And so this been said, thicker pockets brazenly open so many doors and at same time closing other doors, more sincere and simpler routes.
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