Comparing cost of living, environment, and career opportunities between cities and suburbs

¶ … life in the big city and life in the suburbs based on the cost of living, environment, and career opportunities.

Generally, cost of living in suburban areas is less costly than in the big city especially in terms of the most basic human necessities.

Food

In the city, you have to buy your food from the market or grocery which makes it more expensive due to the additional margins applied to it by these establishments. However, you get access to a wider variety of food products to choose from in the big city.

In the suburbs, you live closer to the sources of the food that we eat such as farms, poultry houses and the like. Thus, the food products you buy are not only cheaper but also more fresh and organic.

Shelter

The high demand for realty in big cities boosts its prices to the roof, thus, more often than not; it becomes unaffordable to a person earning average income. Having a house in the big city holds a certain prestige to it but you have to spend good money to get it.

ii. In suburban areas, average people get the chance to own adequately sized houses and lots with cheaper costs. Nevertheless, if one or more family members are working in the big city, living in the suburbs might shoot up your transportation costs. Recent studies suggest that buyers underestimated the costs of their long commutes and those expenses can add up to more than the buyers saved on the home (K. Schalch, 2008).

III. The big city and the suburbs have very different environments each with its own pros and cons depending on your preferences.

b. Pollution

i. Since the big city holds a bigger population, it suffers a higher degree of all kinds of pollution. More people do not only mean less space for nature but also more waste created on a daily basis.

ii. Less people in suburban areas mean they could enjoy nature more. It is not uncommon to see a neighborhood lined with trees and surrounded with ponds where you can fish in the suburbs.