When it comes choosing a location for accommodation, it has never been a matter of where but what. In most areas of my country that I have lived and stayed for a while it wasn't because I chose to stay there more like there was something I needed to do which would warrant getting an apartment, the reasons are never constant, it is either work, school or some sort of family vacation. Which kind of seem like my purpose determines where I live, that makes me sound like an adventurous wanderer but no, I'm far from that.
I was born in a town called ketu in Lagos State, a semi developed area. There wasn't any sort of farms or bushes around, all you would see are buildings, industrial facilities and companies. Having to grow up in such area I never knew other kinds of rural area existed especially farming and all apart from what I learnt in school but it was different from having to experience it, having to feel it, all I heard was theory. It is kind of hard to miss something that you are not aware of its existence but then everything gradually changed as my late grandmother continued to visit and came along with farm products from the village. well it is no longer a village anymore.
I slowly began to pay attention to the items she brought, it was different from the ones we bought in the market because it was fresh and more healthy, to an extent it taste better. So whenever we visited my grandmother's village, my first thought would be to follow them to the farm. In those days my late grandmother doesn't farm anymore but she still had farm lands used by her relatives for farming. The more we visited the village the more my passion for agriculture grew. You have no idea how it feels to watch plants grow, to harvest whatever you need to eat by yourself, it is an unfathomable feeling that transcends all senses.
After a while we moved from ketu to my father's new apartment he built in ikorodu. Compared to our former residential area this new neighbourhood is just like a village or should I say a town under development, a new site. On getting here it felt a little strange because everything was different but similar to my grandmother's village. During those days the primary occupation of most people in this area was farming and raring of animals. Two things I love the most existing in one place which is raring of livestock animals and farming.
I fell in love with our new home instantly, I was really happy having to have something close to a wild life experience but everything wasn't a bed of roses, I could remember the first time I saw a snake near the fence of our compound, I screamed so loud that I nearly lost my voice. We have two lands here, one is where our home was built and the other is just an empty fenced plot of land but never knew my father agricultural fantasies were similar to mine. The more my late grandmother came to visit in those days, gradually she taught us how to farm, my dad really paid a lot of attention to it. that was how it all began. we were not the only ones farming in the area so borrowing some farming tools and ideas were not difficult.
After which I went back to school in pursuit of my national diploma in gateway polytechnic Ogun State. I wouldn't say the environment of my school looked similar to an urban area more like a developing community but having lived in a rural area for so long, I guess a part of me was also in search of a place that looked similar to home. As life would have it during my industrial training days I had to go back to the city, that was when I lived in opebi and Ikeja area of Lagos state, I definitely had a lot of fun there though there was nothing green around me all that existed were buildings and large factories.
As if my change of location wasn't enough, in the pursuit of my higher national diploma at Moshood Abiola polytechnic in Abeokuta Ogun State, I had live in the center of the great city of Abeokuta in a town called Panseke.
Well it wasn't as urban as Lekki or VI but Panseke is one of the most amusing town in Abeokuta, I lived there for about 3 years and after my graduation I had to move back home. The funny thing was, I thought my area in ikorodu was a rural area till NYSC did me dirty and deployed me to a real rural area, somewhere in Oyo state, known as Owotoro community.
From my experience of living in both urban and rural area, if I were to state the advantages and disadvantages I can definitely mention few.
- Power supply: In most urban areas there is usually adequate power supply due to the level of development compared to rural communities. This factor makes businesses that depends on adequate power supply thrive which is why people prefer to stick around in urban areas.
- Good roads and better means of transportation: This is not general but within most urban cities there is usually good roads and multiplicity of means of transportation. Which makes it a lot easier to move around without any hindrance apart from traffic.
- Access to better infrastructure and facilities: The availablity of better infrastructure such as schools, health care facilities, banks e.t.c is common in urban cities. Which makes livelihood less difficult.
- Employment opportunities: One of the reasons why people migrate to urban areas is to seek out better opportunities. Since the level development in urban areas has created availability of employment opportunities compared to rural communities.
DISADVANTAGES
- Expensive livelihood: living in the city might be all glamorous but the cost of living is high. Especially when it comes to purchasing groceries, majority of these items are brought into the city to make more profits. Compared to the rural areas where you can easily get access to farm products, most urban areas don't have that privilege, there is also issue of high cost of accommodation and other bills.
- Air pollution: Compared to rural areas, the numbers of industrial facilities that exist in urban areas has made it a lot difficult to breathe fresh air, not to talk of smoke that originates from vehicles and generators.
- Over population: Everyone is seeking out greener pastures by migrating to the city, which makes urban areas more populated compared to rural areas. One of the consequences of over populated urban areas is traffic jams.
- Low cost livelihood: In most rural areas, the residents still engage in farming. Which reduces the rate of scarcity of farm products, especially items such as vegetables and fruits. Apart from that the cost of house rent and all is a lot cheaper in rural areas.
- Wild life experiences: If you are the type that craves a little bit of wild life experience, like farming, raring of livestock, going hunting e.t.c it is a lot easier to have access to it in rural areas.
- Less population: Compared to urban areas the population of people in rural areas is not that much. There are some rural areas that are also crowded due to their close proximity with urban cities.
DISADVANTAGES
- Bad roads and less means of transportation: Most rural areas have bad roads as a result of less investment in the transportation sector. Due to this there is less means of transportation, there are some rural areas that the only available means of transportation are motorcycle, bicycle or boats.
- Less development and infrastructure: Well if you are the type that loves getting things from shopping malls, pharmacy and also visiting health care centres with good services and equipment, such things are not available in most rural areas.
- Security challenges: Most rural settlement usually have security challenges which involves banditry and kidnaping. The numbers of security operatives available in rural areas are not really equipped compared to those in urban areas.
If I were to choose between living in an urban or rural area, it will definitely be a tough choice. The truth is I love both but then I can't deny the fact that I was more exposed to a lot of employment opportunities during my days living in an urban area. I think I would prefer a semi urban area, not too rural and not too urban. Having a taste of both categories is more preferable to me.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Urban or natural" in hive learners community.
Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
All pictures are mine or else indicated otherwise