City Me VS Country Me

The environment changes people, I know this first-hand. Every time I move, my habits and routines are changed and replaced with different ones. It happened to me when I moved away from home for the first time, when I moved to the US, definitely when I moved to India and it is happening now again since we moved to the country about 10 days ago.

City Me

It is 12pm already and she just finished having breakfast. She goes to sleep late and wakes up late, never before 10am. She doesn’t set the alarm clock unless she has a morning appointment. Breakfast is kinda fancy consisting of eggs probably garnished with tomatoes and cilantro atop the most delicious local bagels, a side of fresh fruit, coffee and possibly some juice or even a smoothie.

Her caffeine of choice is black tea.

During the day she does her household duties including laundry, making the bed, and cleaning. She works on her blog processing photographs, writing and editing. She may go out to buy groceries or to a chiropractor appointment. Lunch is late (for American standards) around 3pm. In Mexico, where she’s from, lunch is around 3:30pm and it is the biggest meal of the day. She likes that system better.

She might watch The Ellen Show or Jeopardy. She might also do some paid translation work.

Leisurely activities during the weekend and sometimes during the week might include going to the movie theater, visiting some gardens, hanging out at a coffee shop, dining out, having brunch, and strolling by the farmers market.

She might also be taking a dance class once or twice a week and volunteering at the cat shelter or the homeless shelter and every now and then she takes a walk to the park and visits the ducks.

If she stays-in she doesn’t bother about looking good and simply wears her most comfortable house pants and a t-shirt. If she goes out, and especially during the weekend, she likes to wear flowy dresses and sandals or espadrille wedges. During colder months, she will wear heeled boots or riding boots, a coat and definitely a scarf. She wears a scarf yearlong.

Country Me

She sets the alarm everyday. It varies between 7am and 8:45am. She makes a simple breakfast: a bowl of cereal or a smoothie. She doesn’t care about fashion too much and soon ruined a pair of jeans from partaking in a DIY home project remodeling the kitchen by painting the big kitchen island. A project that took her about 6 hours.

She drinks coffee when offered to her, which is pretty often. She has lunch earlier than city girl because she wakes up earlier than city girl. She eats fast food about once a week but still likes to cook every night for dinner and make yummy to-go lunches for her hubby that makes his coworkers jealous.

She saves food scraps to feed to the neighbor’s chickens and she puts a 7 year-old’s hair (whom she had never met before) on a ballet bun for her dress rehearsal.

She works on her blog during the day and does the occasional translation work.

She listens to the train go by a few times a day and she plays croquet on the lawn. She goes out in search of wood for another DIY project and makes blueberry pies.

During the weekend she has to drive at least 20 miles to find the right places she needs to buy things for her home or find better restaurants and movie theaters.

She goes to bed early and more tired and watches less tv.

---

Sometimes city me and country me are deprived of themselves in the opposite world. For example, city me always wanted to grow vegetables and herbs, but often lived in an apartment or a temporary rental. City me also loves animals and peacefulness often fantasizing about owning lots of land away from the city with lots of animals. As a kid, we had a family owned ranch away from the city that we used to go to on the weekends. I guess that’s why I can live in both worlds.

The main thing that country me misses from the city is the food. I might sound snobby but the food in the city is way better than in the country.

What are some habits that changed when you moved?