Advantages of a country with one big city
Today is the first day of the trip away from Buenos Aires, the megacity of Argentina. I’ve arrived at Iguazu Falls (staying at the massive Sheraton right in the park). It is the closest thing in South America to Niagara but less straightforward and more complex. The lush scenery of the surrounding subtropical jungle and warm mud-colored water is also quite different. Puerto Iguazu is a backwater town of 28,000 people, steaming in the heat and humidity of the southern summer. But really when you think about it every place in Argentina outside of B.A. is a backwater. The negative consequences of having one huge city dominate a country are obvious: congestion, traffic, pollution, high real estate prices. But perhaps there are positive consequences.
In Argentina people move to B.A., if they arenīt already there, when it is time for university. After graduation, they stay in B.A. to work at high-level jobs. If you make friends in college, chances are that they’ll be living within an easy Metro or taxi ride for the rest of your life. Unlike Americans, Argentines don’t sag in the evenings, exhausted from their jobs. Perhaps there is some napping at 6 or 7 but your friends might call you up at 9 pm and a big group will meet for dinner at 10.
Compare to the U.S. Friends gather in, say, the Boston area for college. They disperse for graduate school, each taking the most advantageous offer regardless of location from universities that might be anywhere in the 50 states. After graduate or professional school, people who might have become friends disperse again, each one taking the best-sounding job offer regardless of location. We achieve a lot in our careers and make reasonably good use of our vast territory but wouldn’t it be nicer if our friends weren’t strewn out across a 3000-mile wide continent?
Ian MacAllen
December 16, 2003 @ 12:12 pm
It could be argued that by stringing friends across the 3,000 miles of the united states that you always have a couch to sleep on anywhere in the country.
On the other hand, the reality is that Americans do spend their entire lives making and then breaking bonds of friendship. I would suggest that New York City suffers less from this though, having a lot to do with the concentration of universities, jobs, entertainment, and culture.
justin
December 16, 2003 @ 12:29 pm
If someone is willing to acknowledge that a life of fulfillment in surrounding yourself with beautiful relationships is worth fewer career opportunities then then maybe the “one big city” is better. I guess its fortunate for Argentina that its culture supports this. Since I threw out my tv in 1991, I’ve been starving for social interaction of the “european” type, in which I spend time with friends in a centralized public meeting place every evening. It started with a trip to Finland in the later 90’s, where the whole city would descend on the downtown area, and the police would cordon off streets, every night. Unfortunately, civic planning where I live in the Northeast makes no allowance for this type of interaction, choosing instead to build theatres and shopping malls/districts. Its been a source of frustration for me. But now that I think about it, setting aside those constraints, I’m never quite comfortable committing to building deep friendships because I know there is a good chance everyone I know will move away at some point. My friends are either a.) highly career-oriented, or b.) unable to afford the obscene cost of living in these parts. Question for other readers: what’s it like where you live? Is there a fairly permanent collection of 30-something residents? Are there convenient public places to meet and pass the time? A town/city that combined those features would be ideal for me.
John Q. Narcissist
December 16, 2003 @ 1:06 pm
Who needs friends when you have a therapist?
John Q. Narcissist
December 16, 2003 @ 3:24 pm
Who needs frends when you have a therapist?
PatW
December 18, 2003 @ 4:08 pm
Very true. I have lived in six states in the last ten years. The down side is as Phil described — your friends are very far away, but the up side is that you know exactly what kind of place you’ll eventually like to settle down.
PatW
December 27, 2003 @ 2:03 pm
Very true. I have lived in 6 states all over the U.S. for the past ten years. I never set out to do so, but professional school, jobs, and other reasons contributed to my peripatetic life.
The advantage is that I have good friends all over the place, so I have people to visit when I travel. The disadvantage is that they are so far away, and friendship becomes very difficult to sustain.
There is one good thing about great distance that you overlooked. There are a few people who I’m glad are buffered by great distance from me. These are the fools who repeatly annoy me but do not have the common sense to detect distain. You can’t avoid them even if you try. The only way is to move and hope that they get the message.
Naum
January 2, 2004 @ 12:28 pm
Flying all around the U.S. can be a tiresome task… …especially on coach fare…
Naum
January 2, 2004 @ 12:29 pm
Flying around the U.S. can be a tiresome task … especially on coach fares…
Naum
January 2, 2004 @ 12:29 pm
x
Naum
January 2, 2004 @ 12:30 pm
dfadfa
dasfafda
asdfasdf
asdfasdf
asdfasdf
asdfasdf
adfasdf
adsfadsf
adsfadf
adfad
Naum
January 2, 2004 @ 12:30 pm
BUG
Emre Safak
January 3, 2004 @ 10:10 am
Hardly! I greatly envy the evenness of prosperity over American cities. Many developing countries exhibit the “megacity syndrome”, with the problems you mentioned.
The answer to your question depends on several factors, e.g., how outgoing you are, and how much spare time you have. People are increasingly working longer hours and barely have enough time to see their friends over the weekend. My family happens to live in another continent, and I see them twice a year. The rest of the time, I use telephone and Internet messenging. Other than the seven hour time difference I have no problem. As for friends… I think I could not manage to have ongoing relationships with more than a dozen people, and keep track of their lives. Finding a dozen friends in any city should be possible.
Emre Safak
January 3, 2004 @ 10:11 am
Hardly! I greatly envy the evenness of prosperity over American cities. Many developing countries exhibit the “megacity syndrome”, with the problems you mentioned.
The answer to your question depends on several factors, e.g., how outgoing you are, and how much spare time you have. People are increasingly working longer hours and barely have enough time to see their friends over the weekend. My family happens to live in another continent, and I see them twice a year. The rest of the time, I use telephone and Internet messenging. Other than the seven hour time difference I have no problem. As for friends… I think I could not manage to have ongoing relationships with more than a dozen people, and keep track of their lives. Finding a dozen friends in any city should be possible.
Emre Safak
January 3, 2004 @ 10:11 am
Hardly! I greatly envy the evenness of prosperity over American cities. Many developing countries exhibit the “megacity syndrome”, with the problems you mentioned.
The answer to your question depends on several factors, e.g., how outgoing you are, and how much spare time you have. People are increasingly working longer hours and barely have enough time to see their friends over the weekend. My family happens to live in another continent, and I see them twice a year. The rest of the time, I use telephone and Internet messenging. Other than the seven hour time difference I have no problem. As for friends… I think I could not manage to have ongoing relationships with more than a dozen people, and keep track of their lives. Finding a dozen friends in any city should be possible.
Emre Safak
January 3, 2004 @ 10:13 am
Hardly! I greatly envy the evenness of prosperity over American cities. Many developing countries exhibit the “megacity syndrome”, with the problems you mentioned.
The answer to your question depends on several factors, e.g., how outgoing you are, and how much spare time you have. People are increasingly working longer hours and barely have enough time to see their friends over the weekend. My family happens to live in another continent, and I see them twice a year. The rest of the time, I use telephone and Internet messenging. Other than the seven hour time difference I have no problem. As for friends… I think I could not manage to have ongoing relationships with more than a dozen people, and keep track of their lives. Finding a dozen friends in any city should be possible.
c8to
January 4, 2004 @ 7:32 am
its a good point.
i went to school in the city (sydney) 22km north of my house. subsequently i have no friends that live within 20km of my house.
even this small distance is a pain…because you cant just hang out…you have to get in your car and trek in…