City life; would I change it?

This topic is actually very interesting and I enjoyed reading about what others wrote, the good thing is that I learned a thing or two about other localities. But one thing I realized is that the topic is open to different interpretations by everyone. Some people chose to talk about the specific area (neighborhood or street) they stay while others talked about the general city or town.

I do agree that even in an urban area, some element of rurality do exist and while you might live in a city, your immediate area might be considered rural or in most cases: suburban. This mostly happens if you stay on the outskirts of a city or town but in my case, I stay right in the middle (or close enough) to a big city in Nigeria; the ancient city of Benin.

According to Wikipedia, Benin city is the fourth largest city in the country (I'm even surprised to find that out) according to a 2006 census but I'm pretty sure that must have changed by now. I have lived in this city all my life and all my education from kindergarten to the current university level has been done here, I'm never far from home 😆.

_{The university of Benin. Picture taken by me}

I have also lived in the rural area but not for a long time (the max is 3 weeks). Before now, my family frequently travels to my hometown where my grandmother stays which is typically a rural area. One thing I do notice whenever I'm in my village is that the air is a lot fresher compared to the city. Whenever I return to the city after staying in the village for a while, it always feels like the air is stuffy even when I'm outside but after a while, I get used to the whole thing.

You know what's worse? Some of my friends that stay in Lagos (a very popular and congested city) always say that the air in Benin is much purer, it makes me wonder what they are breathing over there in Lagos 😆. My immediate area where I stay is also an urban area and the road is well-tarred, I even have a hotel opposite my house. My area is located very close to the center of the city and the main market (New Benin market) is roughly 30 minutes walk from my house.

In addition to that, my university is around 20 to 30 minutes drive from my house and there are lots of businesses lying around. One problem with this city is that there aren't a lot of business opportunities lying around as compared to some other cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Portharcourt which is why a lot of people relocate to those cities, especially Lagos.

_{Lekki, Lagos. Picture taken by me}

I have also been to Lagos and I came to one conclusion; I don't like the life over there. I have gotten used to the quiet life in my city but Lagos is on another level; you have to struggle to get anything over there. I'm a very gentle person but I almost became a thug just after staying in Lagos for a month 😂 I remember when I was returning back to Benin and I kept swearing that I'm never going to leave.

Will I never leave?

If I had the chance of changing to another city or even a rural area, will I take it? I think it depends on the location. Lagos? Definitely not, unless I'm going to be working from home and be paid a huge salary 😆 the major factor I will consider before I think about moving from this city is financial freedom. If I have a steady flow of income, I definitely won't mind moving to another city or town.

Places like Abuja, Portharcourt, and Ibadan are on my list of places to consider if I ever want to move. I have stayed in Portharcourt before and I can tell that it's a very good city (much better than mine). My uncle stays in Abuja and he tells me that it's much better than Lagos and Benin, and as for Ibadan, I do know some people who stay there and the standard of living over there ain't bad.

But ultimately, I will quickly jump on an opportunity that will take me out of this country, as long as I'm financially stable and will have a good job when I go abroad. Benin city is a great place and relatively less chaotic when compared to other cities but like I earlier stated, it lacks a lot of opportunities due to the fact that there aren't lots of industries lying around. But I guess that's the sacrifice it had to make; sacrificing opportunities for a quiet city.

Thanks for reading

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