Imagine, you’re walking out of your one-bedroom apartment and through the bustling streets of a huge city. The traffic is loud, important business people speed by talking to someone foreign on the phone, and the sidewalks seem to overflow with all different types of people, animals, and more. At the busy crosswalk, the light turns red, giving you time to somehow try and think over all the noise and chaos. You sigh, the city is definitely a wonderful place, but there’s a part of you that wonders, how different is it to live in a small town? You suddenly remember hearing your friend say something once about a little place called Aspen, Colorado.

Living in a big city is definitely full of excitement, most people move to or live in one hoping to be somebody, to make it big in something they love, and for a dozen other reasons. But, big cities come with struggles of their own, trying to fit in, too many people around, sometimes it can be just too loud, too overwhelming in general.

Small towns, like Aspen, tend to present more appeal to many people. Small towns give a person a tight-knit community, smaller schools give kids more opportunities and living in Aspen, newcomers are exposed to countless ski mountains and other outdoor activities. You can get only a few other places.

It can be much harder to find these 3 things in a larger city but big cities shouldn’t be dismissed completely. Because of the tightness and importance of community in a place such as Aspen, gossip becomes a tremendous problem, in a town of this size everyone seems to know everything about everyone which can be harmful to some. Smaller schools give kids immense opportunities to play sports and take new classes, but it can be hard to find a sense of belonging, something a bigger school in a bigger city can easily fix by allowing students to blend into a crowd and find more friends.

Blake Christensen, an AMS 8th grader who moved from Denver, Colorado, to Aspen almost three years ago, noted that he prefers Aspen rather than Denver because of the multiple benefits.

“I liked living in Denver but since being here in Aspen, I prefer it. I get to ski every weekend and it’s not a hassle to get on the mountain. I also feel a lot more comfortable at school because it’s smaller. I think it’s cool that I can try out basketball without ever really playing and still be able to participate on the team,” Christensen said.

Overall, the benefits of living in a small town outweigh those of living in a city. Living in a small town is definitely something that everyone should experience in their lives.