[praneshp]

Because you asked: Actually, I'm happy to give up a year or two of my lifespan in exchange for a much more urban lifestyle in a place a lot of our (wife and I) friends live. Assuming a regular lifespan somewhere into the 70s or so. I'd die earlier of boredom in a small town (I'm from one in India). Of course I might feel another way in ten years.

When I was driving to work, I felt that the stress would give me chronic stress issues, or make me drop dead one day at 40. That I am not ok with.

[anon374939]

Yeah, I couldn't live in a small town either. Its important to note though that Boston, Chicago, Philly or any number large metros are actually quite larger than San Francisco and have more vibrant downtowns with much more affordable suburbs. Agree that having friends and family around can make all the difference. Driving indeed can be stressful, my work happens to be just 10 min from home and I'm a 30 min drive away from a great city. After making the move I do feel like I have the best of both worlds... relaxed and low stress suburban lifestyle with a massive and vibrant urban center nearby. I've also found that the fiscally conservative and low stress lifestyle is more conducive to travel, which I've been able to do a lot more often now (being in the East coast probably helps too, with lots of major cities just a short flight away)

[praneshp]

I was going to disagree with a bunch of things you said about the cities you mentioned, but I liked your last two lines! You seem to be happy, so it doesn't really matter why, I guess. I hope that continues being the case.