small town girl?

As I was driving my mere six miles into work today, I was flipping through my programmed radio stations. Button #3 is a station that comes in from Boulder/Denver. I tuned in just as they were announcing the traffic report. It made me realize how lucky I am that I never have to deal with traffic! I remember the days of listening (in fear) of what the Chicago DJs would tell me about what to expect my travel times to be. My decision to take the Edens or the Kennedy depended on their words of wisdom. (The fact that I even knew what roads the Edens, Kennedy, Stevenson, and Eisenhower referred to was a feat in and of itself. I don't know what out-of-towners or people who recently moved to Chicago must think the first time they hear a traffic report in that city! It really is its own language.)

Anyway, while I'll always have a special place in my heart for Chicago, I do not miss its traffic. I value cities for their diversity, culture, and abundance of activities. The hustle and bustle of a big city can be thrilling. I have to admit that I love seeing skyscrapers clustered together, creating a skyline of steel. When everything is lit up at night, the sight can be quite dazzling. So, while I have a certain fondness for cities, I think living in the mountains has made me less of a "city girl." I am starting to understand why people who have grown up in the country feel claustrophobic when they are in big cities.

My small town in the mountains is just wonderful and I appreciate so much about it when I drive from place to place.
I like how things around here are more spread out, not stacked on top of one other.
I love that I see trees and sky and a lake when I drive into work, not just concrete, stoplights, and other cars.
I like that the roads follow the contours of the land instead of being laid out in a static grid.
It's nice that I spend more time in 4th and 5th gear while driving, instead of constantly going from 1st to 2nd because of stop and go traffic.
I love that while I have access to pretty much everything I need, the focus of the area is more natural than commercial. Stores and businesses don't dominate the landscape, mountain ranges do.

I feel very blessed to live in such an amazing place. It's changed me to a certain extent. I don't think I could live within the urban or suburban sprawl again. This is the kind of place where I belong now.

What about you? I recognize that we're all different and we're drawn to various places throughout our lifetimes. Does where you live match up with where you are in life?