Transcript

A: It’s so lovely to see you again. After that ferocious feline chased you off, I never thought you’d leave your country cottage.
B: Hm, yes, I don’t much care for the city, but I really needed to buy some Stilton cheese.
C: The country mouse is on to something. Cities allow for large markets that provide specialized products, like gourmet cheese.

A: You can’t buy fancy cheese or much else that’s good in the country.
B: No, no, I’ve got Amazon Prime, I can order almost anything else online.
C: Amazon Prime is a great example of how transportation and logistics can deliver a wide range of products across America and the world.

A: You can’t sample cheese when shopping online, and there aren’t great specialized services, like whisker waxing salons, out in the country.
B: But when I order online, I can avoid the crowds. I hate lines and I hate traffic.
C: The average commute time for a New York City resident is 40 minutes. The average commute time in Montana is just 18 minutes.

A: I just listen to music when I’m stuck waiting.
B: Well I have a short commute, and I can hear the crickets at night.
A: True, you don’t have to deal with traffic, but jobs pay more in the city.
C: On average, wages go up by about 5% as metropolitan area density doubles.

B: Sure, you make good money, but what about housing? I’d never pay such sky-high rent.
C: Housing prices also typically go up by about 5% as metropolitan area density doubles.

A: Yes, but I have the best museums, shows, and restaurants.
B: This cafe is very nice.
C: City dwellers basically share the fixed costs of supporting a variety of cultural institutions. Urban density also increases the bump rate, the chance of meeting someone new and exciting.

B: But cities are dangerous.
A: I always feel safe in the city, there are so many eyes on the street.
C: Crime is an unfortunate reality in American cities, but most have become a lot safer since the 1980s. In fact, New York City has a lower murder rate than the country as a whole.

A: And really the best thing about cities is the endless novelty. The new opportunities, the new ideas, the new rodents, it’s all so exciting!
B: Give me my warm, safe cottage any day!
A: Okay, but while you’re visiting, wanna catch a show? You know, Cats is playing!

Speaker 1: I’ve lived all my life in the country, first as a child, then as an adult, farming the land. I married someone from the same village, and we set up a home here. All our family members are here in this same village – none of us has moved away. Now that I’m retired, I no longer work as a farmer, but I still live here. I’m much too old to want to try anything different. City life is not for me, although some friends tell me it would be much more convenient!

Speaker 2: There is nothing to do here in the evenings and at weekends. School is OK – you have your friends around you and it’s fun – but outside of school… oh, it’s so boring. It’s OK if you like long, quiet walks, I suppose. But I don’t. I like going to cafés, the cinema, and shopping – all the things that only the city can offer you. But I shall have to wait until I finish my exams. I want to go to college in a city—that’s my aim. And I won’t be coming back if I can help it.

Speaker 3: I want to move out of this city – the noise, the dirt, and the fumes from all those cars and buses are absolutely awful, and they’re getting worse. When I visit my friends who live in the country, I’m so jealous. They can walk in the fresh air and just relax. I’m sure they have fewer colds and illnesses than we get where we live now, always being in hot, confined spaces, like buses, trains, and offices, with hundreds of other people. I just hope I can fulfill my dream one day, but it seems rather unlikely, I’m afraid.

Speaker 4: I live in a tiny village in the country – we’re about thirty kilometres from the nearest town, let alone a city! Don’t get me wrong, I loved the city where we lived. I have a real passion for history, and I loved visiting all the museums and exhibitions. But now, well, I landed a dream job! I’m the manager of an old castle. I run the visitors’ centre and give talks about the castle’s thousand-year history. This more than makes up for what I am missing, believe me.

Speaker 5: I’ve just retired from my job as a city banker. All the working life I’ve lived in the city – I had to, you see, because of my work. And my wife worked in a city bank, too, so it made sense for us to live in a flat close to where we worked. But now, at long last, we have moved into the countryside. We enjoyed our work but now we are pleased to be far away from all the hustle and bustle of city life.

Speaker 6: We moved here—my husband, children, and I—into the city about ten years ago. We decided our children would have a better way of life—more activities, but even more, because we wouldn’t have the problem of having to drive our children everywhere. The regular buses and trains are so convenient! I think it has suited us all very well, and I don’t feel any sadness about leaving our old way of life behind. You know, there aren’t any buses at all in the village where we used to live!