Is where you live important? Does it matter if you live in a large city, suburban area, or in a more rural setting? Do you think that where you live contributes to how happy you and your family are?

What about safety? Does that play into where you decide to live and raise your family? What about the school system and things like that?

I live in a small town area in Michigan and by small I mean the population is about 15,000 for the city and about 70,000 for the county. Small right?

Now it’s not so small that you know everyone and they know you and all of your business. That is just small for me.

I like where I live though. The schools are great and my kids are doing incredible there, we live within a 10 minute drive to town, and there is relatively low crime in our area.

My front yard in the fall

We are centrally located so it’s only 25 miles either east or west to a large city and the capital of the state and then two hours or so north and south to even larger suburban areas.

Now there are some downsides. We don’t live in town and I’d really prefer to live in town in a big old house with a nice yard. Like I said we live about 10 minutes outside of town, but we have a large yard where the kids have a lot of room to run and play. We have room for the pool, playhouse, swing set, trampoline, and a garden for me. I just wish that there was a place for the kids to ride bikes…. our road is super busy and there is no way they kids can even be near it!

There are upsides and down to living in a small town. Your job options are limited unless you want to drive 45 minutes to work every day, but if you’re lucky you’ll find a great job in town. I did and it’s a pretty good place to work and they allow me to be with my family often.

Restaurant options are limited, shopping… uggg… not the best unless you’re a huge Walmart fan, and finding something fun for the family to do together is limited to bowling.

But like I said before, it’s a pretty safe place so we can bring our bikes into town and the kids can ride all day and we don’t have to worry to much about them. They can go to the park and I don’t have to follow every move they make.

I’d love to live in a huge city like NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, or even Boston. I love large cities and all that they have to offer! The museums, libraries, bakeries, and restaurants. There is so much to see and do, so much history to soak in. You can just step outside on a warm, sunny day and go for a walk and find something new everyday. Living in a smaller area these types of things simply don’t exist.

For now I’ll settle for visiting my favorite cities and playing tourist as I wander the city. Besides if I live in a large city where would I go on vacation…. a small town?

Where do you live? Is it a rural, suburban, or large city?