[Eric]

When it comes to picking a place to live and teach, do you prefer the country or the city? I'm into the country, myself.

[fishead soup]

I find the countryside in Korea dismal at best. They usually try to snag you into these positions by talking about beautiful scenery and clean fresh air.

[Eric]

I don't mind the countryside and there are a few nice areas tucked away. Especially on the south coast near Geoje Do and NamHae. The air, thats a tough one. Especially this time of year, Yellow dust from china...

so outside of korea are you into the city or the country?

[little sage]

I've always taught in Daejeon, which is about 1.5 million people mostly jammed into blocklike apartment complexes, though the newer ones are looking nicer and nicer. I do think it's an efficient use of space and I wish there were less urban sprawl in North America. The number of superstores creeping across Southern Ontario is really sickening.

Anyway, I ramble. I would love to live in the country, but I find myself disappointed every time I visit the Korean countryside. It is so full of trash, I'm always shocked. The prettiest little places that I come across seem to always be marred by plastic trash, leftover food, broken soju bottles. It makes me so sad.

The countrypeople are really cool, though. Curious, joyous, hardworking and they know how to eat well. I spent 2 weeks volunteering on a little farm near Jirisan and stayed in a wee house in a valley. The hot water supply for bathing was broken so we had to boil water to wash, in February! The neighbours were especially cool. For a special holiday they prepared 5-grain rice and side dishes and delivered some to us even though we had never met them before! I think you would be hard pressed to find that kind of generosity in any city these days. It was wonderful and refreshing and made me think of a time when people actually needed each other to survive.

Cities are exciting, but city life is so anonymous. I vote for country life.

[fishead soup]

The Architecture has a way of spoiling even the nicest scenery.

[asiaexpat]

im a country mouse but am forced to live in the city--actually i am a suburb mouse. To me the city means live in condo or apt. Suburg is house with small plot of land , and country is house with big plot of land

[fishead soup]

I think everyone lives in an apartment in Korea.

[Eric]

Quote fishead soup

I think everyone lives in an apartment in Korea.

That's a pretty safe bet.

[mesmark]

I like the country but would like to be just outside the city.

I'm also more of a suburb mouse.

I want to go home and have it be nice and quiet with neighbors I know. However, I want all of the options available that a big city offers only a 20-30 minute drive away.

[i2i]

i'm a country mouse trapped in a city mouse's body/mind/soul. this is from spending lots of time in big asian cities but coming from a small town in mid-west america.

[Dr T]

I live about 2 hours from Tokyo. When I am there I am always thinking about the country and eager to get back. I have always lived in cities (Toronto and Vancouver) but now I feel a little jumpy when I am not in the country. So - country mouse for me, thank-you.

And yeah, I live in something akin to prison barracks which really spoils the beautiful scenery here. A compound situated in a pristine valley.

[Eric]

welcome to the site, Dr. T!

[mrcards]

I'm a city mouse. Plain and simple. I have lived in the country for more than half of my life, and you know what...it's boring. Sure, it's beautiful, the trees, the grass, the air, the stars, the birds...hey wait, maybe I'm a country mouse...? lol! I know that the country obviously has a lot of great things going for it, but I like the convenience of having everything you need, right downstairs. I lived in Taipei, a relatively small city with 2.4 million people in it. That is a city! And I loved it! Even the crazy traffic, the pollution (well, didn't love that), the people, the action, the buzz...that's what I like. I like things going on, not nothing going on. Ha, you know what I mean? Thanks for listening and you can close your ears now.

[nasidah]

I'm a country mouse. The place was beautiful, clean and fresh. I can breath without pollution. Not worried with the safety and the people full with sweet smile.

[mrcards]

Yes, there is no substitute for fresh air!! Gotta love it! That makes me think of Taiwan, driving my scooter, stopped at a red light with 70-100 other scooters beside me filling the air with exhaust. Ugh! Fresh air, please....

[simplyesl]

Coming from a country that has 20 million people (Aus) I'm no living in the downtown area of a city with just under 18 million (Shanghai). From a country that has the cleanest air in the inhabited world (it's true) to a city where the sky is a smoggy-gray. I'm a city person, but I like all the adventure that the country has to offer, too. I lived in the 'burbs, an hour to some of the best beaches (north and south), 20 minutes drive and your in the country. Don't forget the blue sky!

[michèle 2]

I used to be a city mouse. born, raised near Paris ( about 13 million inhabitants including its suburds) I enjoyed lively streets , lots of people going around, music in the streets and in the underground but today I must say that I'm quite a country mouse and enjoy walking in the country and along beaches, breathing clean air, i could stay hours watching the waves of the ocean. I 'm still living near Paris but I look forward to escaping from Paris . Overpopulation, pollution, noise...

[vanchisel]

What kind of a mouse am I? A Jamaican mouse story will suffice:

A country mouse came to the big city (Kingston) for the first time. The hood rats wanted to show him who's more famous on the block. Almost exhausted and without been impressed the country mouse said:

"I'll show you who's king rat in the country. I'm so famous they don't even know what to call me. One of you mice, run across the street and I'll demonstrate what I mean."

So, the fastest mouse sprint to the other side. A human said, "Hey, look at that mouse!"

When he came back the country mouse said, "Now, watch this."

He leap frogged the traffic across to the other side and a human said, "Hey, there goes another one."

When he came back, the country mouse said, "What did I tell you? They don't even know what to call me!"

[Pix]

To me the city is abnormal.

Country people often develop inner resources to entertain themselves and find even the orange haze of a street lamp an insult to the beauty of the night.

[clivehawkins]

[quote=Pix]To me the city is abnormal.

If you live in the city, when did you last here the sound of a bird's wings as it took flight, startled when you passed near the tree it was resting on?

You're quite right, of course. But where else could you hear the cough of an asthmatic pigeon?

Seriously though, I like the city for the convenience but find myself being ever drawn to smaller and smaller ones, while spending most of my free time in the mountains, or at least away from traffic and graffiti. So I guess I'm a country mouse who doesn't know it yet!