Why I live in the big city

1. I'd rather see and smell the homeless than forget about them.
2. Life would be boring if everyone looked like me.
3. I don't have to drive. Ever.
4. By middle school my kids can take themselves wherever they need to go.
5. Each year I discover neighborhoods I've never seen, and people I never imagined existed.
6. Bumping into people in the grocery/playground/subway is much easier than always having to plan to see them.
7. Our library is enormous.
8. Free summer concerts, fabulous parks, incredible museums.
9. I can give up trying to keep up with the Joneses: their monthly rent equals my annual housing bill.
10. Learning to get along gets bumped way up on the priority queue when you're living on top of each other.

I also like having a giveaway table in the laundry room (it's our own Freecycle), groceries around the corner, a neighborhood playground where the world congregates, having friends of different ages, Chinatown, and good Art Deco buildings.