Austin's current population is about 672,000... the population of the metro area (Austin and the surrounding counties) is over a million.
The current population for the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan is ~317,000... the little town I grew up in there had a population of about 2200.
I prefer the "big city" now, though... at least, I prefer this "big city". I don't think I'd be as comfortable in Dallas or Houston (of course, they're both much bigger than Austin.)
I dunno about now, but when I lived in Austin it still felt "small town" even though it was a large city even then. The atmosphere there doesn't scream metropolis to me.
hehe, yeah, I still consider Austin kinda small. It's amazing. I never used to think the D/FW metroplex was big. I really thought a city of less than 100,000 to be tiny. In my experience, a city with a population of only 4 or 3 digits was inconveivable.
Dang! Born and raised in the city. (my high school graduating class was the smallest of the three high schools the city had at 540. The other two schools had 700+ that year. By the time my brother graduated from HS, the city had (and still has) 5 high schools.)
The whole state of Vermont has about 600,000...which is a big increase from what it was when I was little, I believe. But it's less than many biggish cities.
I think I'll always prefer rural areas, but nice cities with character are wonderful places to visit!
I guess it all depends on how spread out the city is. If it's large enough, you don't feel as cramped when your trying to run errands, etc.
I live in a suburb called Kendall, which used to be mostly Everglades. Now it's one of the most heavily populated areas in Dade County.