I love living in big cities.
Growing up in downtown Chicago, I didn’t know much else. Sure, we’d go to the suburbs now and then, but it was rare. I walked or took a city bus — not a school bus — to get to middle school. For high school, I’d take the train, then either a bus or bike. When I landed my first job the summer before junior year, I biked two miles each way along the lakefront.
My appreciation for city life only grew this summer when I spent two months in San Francisco, a city even more compact and bike-friendly than Chicago. I took fewer than five Ubers the entire summer, yet I managed to explore nearly every corner of the city and all of the amazing places within it without a car.
Gainesville, of course, is different. Not necessarily in a bad way – there’s value in experiencing the variety that comes with living in different environments, including medium-sized college towns. Still, I’ve definitely felt more limited here.
Outside of campus, bike lanes are scarce and I have little trust in drivers to watch for bikers compared to drivers in a big city. The bus routes are decent, but the hours, especially on weekends, are limited. And when you try to take the bus somewhere just off a route, you often end up walking on streets without sidewalks (something I hadn’t seen before), which feels pretty unsafe.
I’ve realized the main difference between big cities and smaller towns boils down to one key thing: In big cities there are no excuses. There are two reasons why.
One, everything you could want is already there: stores, restaurants, activities, communities. Two, to get to any of these places, you don’t need a car.
This combination of access and convenience creates an environment where there’s little excuse for not being able to do what you want. It’s a unique kind of freedom. I do not feel this way in Gainesville.
I’m not saying you’re wrong if you prefer the suburbs — I’m sure getting gas all the time and going to the same mall for every hangout has its own charm. But if you’ve never lived in a big city, I’d strongly suggest considering it, at least for a summer or after graduation.
As for me, Gainesville will be the smallest city I live in for the foreseeable future.
Ethan Niser is a UF computer science freshman
