I was stationed in Seoul back in the 90s. The city's population density is about 2X that of NYC and 4X that of Los Angeles. At one point in my tour, I was able to take a week's leave and travel to the USO "resort" on Cheju Island, which sits off the south coast of the Korean peninsula, and turned out to be one of my favorite vacation spots I've ever visited.
I did not realize how much stress and anxiety built up merely by virtue of being in a city like that, until it was gone. If my experience is like others, city dwellers simply become accustomed to the stress of living there, and assume it is part of the human experience. One does not even notice it is there, but feels immediate relief when it is gone.
The background noise of high density urban areas alone erodes the mind, heart and soul with its constant din. Some may claim that they “get used to it,” and while it may recede into the subconscious, its effects are always there.
One does not even notice it is there, but feels immediate relief when it is gone.
And yeah. That is very much what happened to me when we moved out here. And thanks to Keurig, I don’t even miss the visits to starbucks in the Denny regrade. :)