I think I’ve always associated big cities with the “I’m invincible!” mentality that’s essentially a prerequisite of being a young adult, and that’s why I was never fearful about moving to London, the United Kingdom’s largest city.
In the back of my mind, my thought process was like this: I can pack lightly, so living in a shoebox of an apartment isn’t a big deal. I’m energetic enough to keep up with the pace of a city always sprinting. And it’s a good thing cities like London feel like they’re never asleep, because I don’t need sleep, anyway.
Rational or not, and whether it’s put into words or not, it’s safe to say a lot of young people look at city life this way without acknowledging its realities (you actually do need sleep!!). In the back of my mind, I think I’ve always seen a suburban lifestyle as defeat, the situation you opt for if you can’t handle the intensity of city living.
While London is incredible and I’m so thankful to be here, it’s humbling to live somewhere so big and bustling and, honestly, scary. All the parts of city life I thought I’d excel at — the fast pace, thousands of new faces and introductions, constantly moving from one thing to the next — have reminded me I’m not invincible.
If it’s something you can do, move to a big city for a bit. Do it for the street markets with food and art. Do it for the nights you can go to a show just because it’s a Monday and you have nothing else to do. Do it for the never-ending museums and historical sights. Do it for public transportation and bus rides that never fail to entertain. Do it for the gardens and parks, do it to turn an area you know nothing about into a home.
But mostly, do it to learn a little bit more about yourself. For me, it’s reminded me I’m not invincible and I can’t rely on my own strength to sustain me. I need things like sleep, and I’m absolutely seeing the tremendous appeal to a house, yard, fence, 800 dogs, etc., in a neighborhood of similar houses.
I’m not done with city life just yet, which is good, because there are so many more I want to explore. But we all need a dose or two of humility, and I’m thankful London is reminding me of that.
