Country Mouse, City Mouse

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it" -George Augustus Moore

Winnipeg has always been my home. My Dad was born here and grew up a city kid. My Mom was raised on a farm two hours west of the city and was raised a country kid. I was a child with cousins and relatives both in the city as well as across rural Manitoba, and when it came to visiting family, that meant the best of both worlds for me.

Quading down the dirt trails

I was always curious about the "country life" vs "city life" dynamic and which I might prefer. The city was certainly home for me, but visiting the country often involved exciting activities I could never do in the city. Shooting potato guns, trips on the quad, riding horses, learning about tractors. Whether people were having fun or doing work, there was simply more space for everything. The country was quieter and relaxing and I always seemed to learn something useful. I was outside often and even chores seemed to be more fun (the riding lawnmower was a favourite of mine). Above all, things seemed to move at a different pace; a more flexible, natural pace.

By comparison, the city is a whirling dervish. Busy bodies, appointments, schedules, everything in motion. People often live close to the things they need and the places they go, because it takes longer to move around. The city is noisy but things are convenient, and they have to be since everyone is quickly scurrying from one engagement to the next. Events bring people together in large numbers, and they meet in large buildings for large and fancy reasons. Restaurants are certainly a gem of city life, and with the amount of restaurant turnover in Winnipeg, we can always look forward to something new.

The Country Mouse and the City Mouse

I remember asking my Mom if it was a difficult decision to move into the city. She replied that she came to Winnipeg for school, met my Dad and ended up staying. I knew her to be very happy in the city, but on family visits to the country, I witnessed her spirit transform. The return to the environment of her youth seemed to empower her. A strong connection still existed, and I assumed it was because, to her, the country was home.  I wondered whether I would find it difficult to move out of the city and call the country home should the opportunity one day knock.

The country mouse and the city mouse have very different lifestyles, yet both achieve a pleasant degree of balance in their daily motion. Have you experienced a few weeks living in your counter-environment? Could you see yourself living in that place long-term, or will the landscape you grew up in be the only place you consider home? At A.D. Group, we meet many people who are moving into the urban Winnipeg for the first time. We enjoy educating people about life here in the city, and finding the right home for families call just that: "home".