Big cities : why some people leave and some come back

We hear a lot of these days about the problems of living in cities: crimes, pollution, crowds, and so on. This article tells about one married couple who grew tired of these problems and left the city, and another couple who grew tired of living in the suburbs and moved back into the city.

THE LEMONSES

It was a difficult decision for Stieve and Joyce Lemons to move away from the neighbourhood where they both were raised in Chicago. About six years ago, the Lemonses began to have doubts about the quality of life in their old neighbourhood. Families who had been there for a long time began moving away. Many homes were changed into appartments. Property values decreased as welfare families and illegal immigrants moved into the neighbourhood. Crime increased.

The Lemonses made their decision. They bought a home twenty-five miles outside the city. It is located on several acres of land, which Joyce calls ”Our own small corner of the world where no one bothers us.” The house payments are three times more than the city rent but Steve says it’s well worth it. Also, he can’t help admiring the quietness of country lanes, walks and paths, and isn’t even upset when his car gets into a road pothole. He adds, “Never under any circumstances would I move back into the city. I would change jobs and leave the state first.”

THE COXES

When Mr and Mrs Cox decided to move into a condominium on the lake in Chicago, they wondered if this would make life more difficult for their sons. The boys were used to a large house, a yard, a good public school, and friends who all lived nearby in South Holland, Illinois. The Coxes do not regret their decision to leave their hometown. The boys swim in an outdoor pool at their building. They take art classes given at a huge park next to the lake. The public school they attend is considered one of Chicago’s best.

Mrs Cox says she actually feels safer in her new home than in South Holland, where she was afraid to go out for a walk alone after dark. “Here, streets, alleys and avenues are well lighted, and there are always policemen around,” she says. “The fact that people are out at all hours in this area makes you safe.” Mr Cox works at the real estate company that owns the condominium that the family lives in. He hated commuting from South Holland, a ninety-minute drive to his city office.

Grocery shopping is easier now for Mrs Cox. A store in the appartment building fills immediate. Costs are more reasonable at a supermarket that is within walking distance. “We sold our second car,” says Mrs Cox. “I walk everywhere. I think it’s healthy. In the suburbs I was always driving them somewhere. There wasn’t much time to develop my own interests.” And both parents have more time to spend with their children. “We feel more like a family now,” says Mrs Cox.

Exercise 1

Choose right answers to the following questions or find the right end of the statements.

1. What is the main idea of the article?

a. Big cities are bad places to live.

b. Some people are happy living in cities and some are not.

c. There is a lot of crime in cities.

2. The Lemonses want to stay in their neighbourhood because

a. families began to move away.

b. property values decreased.

c. they were raised in that neighbourhood.

3. They decided to leave because

a. they didn’t feel safe in the city.

b. the city rent was very expensive.

c. Steve wanted to change jobs.

4. The Coxes were worried about their sons because

a. the boys swim in an outdoor pool.

b. the boys play in the park.

c. the boys were used to a large house.

5. Mr Cox is happy because

a. he doesn’t have to commute any more.

b. he has a better job.

c. the food prices are cheaper in the city.

Exercise 2

Answer the following questions, then discuss your answers with your classmates.

1. What is the worst thing about living in cities?

a) heavy traffic b) broken street lamps c) street clocks which are always slow d) other

2. What is the best thing about living in cities?

a) You can find a new job from an advertising pillar b) There are interesting activities (movies, restaurants, and so on) c) Nobody cares what you do d) other

3. What is the best thing about living in the suburbs?

a) You have more room (a big house or a yard, for example) b) The smell of trees and flowers c) Few pedestrians d) other

4. What is the worst thing about living in the suburbs?

a) You have to commute to work b) Pavements and kerbstone roads are quite rare c) You have to go everywhere by car d) other

5. Are cities good places for children?

a) yes b) no c) sometimes d) other

6. What would you look for first in deciding to move to a new area?

a) an appartment with a low rent b) a neighbourhood with pretty house c) good schools d) other

7. Most people live in cities because

a) their jobs are there b) they like interesting activities c) they find the people who live there interesting d) other

Exercise 3

Choose one of the following situations to act out.

1. The Lemonses are explaining to their two daughters why they have to move out of the city.

2. Mr and Mrs Cox’s two boys are telling their parents how they feel about living in the city.

3. A real estate agent is trying to rent the Lemons’s old appartment to a young married couple. The couple are asking questions about the neighbourhood.

4. A reporter is talking to a group of people who live in a city “slum” (poor, rundown neighborhood) about why they dislike living there.

Exercise 4

Fill in the correct preposition for each blank space

1.People who make their decisions to move . . . . . . cities have two main reasons: inner-city crime and bad schools. 2.It was difficult for my family to move . . . . . . the neighbourhood where my parents were raised . . . New York. 3.Five years later, the Smiths began to have doubts . . . the quality . . . life . . . their old settlement. 4.“I never knew what to expect . . . the neighbourhood, and I was always worried . . . my family’s safety”. 5.When all the family moved . . . a condominium. . . the lake . . . Washington, they thought this would make life easier. 6.The boys swim . . . an outdoor pool . . . their building and . . . a nearby indoor pool . . . bad weather. 7.Alec doesn’t feel safer . . . his new home than . . . the old one, where he is afraid to go . . . . . . dark. 8.Mr Cox works a ninety-minute drive . . . his city office. 9.I don’t want to work hard every day only to come home and lock myself . . . .

Exercise 5

Use the correct word in the sentences below.

A. inconvenience, convenience, convenient, inconvenient, conveniently

1. The litterbins are very . . . located here.

2. It is very . . . that all gutters have gutter covers.

3. The . . . of shopping is a good thing about city living.

4. I hope it will be . . . for us if we don’t repair the drain pipe in our house.

5. If stone-covered streets cause . . . , we can make bituminous surface.

B. neighbour, neighbourhood, neighbourly

1. George is a good . . . .

2. He has always been very . . . to me.

3. The gas main in the . . . should be carefully checked.

C. to change, change, changing

1. There have been many . . . in education in the past few years.

2. . . . methods are improving skills.

3. It is difficult to . . . the torn electricity cables.

Exercise 6

Put each of the following words or phrases in the passage.

City Life

cosmopolitan	pollution	congestion	to breed crime
metropolis	urban	cost of living	anonymity
stimulation	commuter	city-dwellers	irresistible lure

Most people in developed countries are (a) _______, many drawn by the (b) _____ of the (c) _____. The attractions of the city are many: the (d) _________ atmosphere (foreign restaurants, different languages, international companies), the (e) _________ of cultural events or the simple hope of finding work. All too many find, however, that the glamorous façade is false. One can be very lonely in the city and the (f) ______ which at first seems to give freedom and protection later leaves just loneliness. There is a lot to do but everything is expensive. The (g) _____ is high. There is (h) _____ not only of the physical but also of the moral environment and the various pressures of (i) _______ life cause cities (g) _______ Above all, perhaps, it is the daily stresses and strains of the city which make life there a matter of survival rather than of enjoyment. Many a (k) _____ struggling to work through the rush-hour (l) _____ asks, ‘Is it worth it?’