Abu Dhabi: The Best of Both Worlds?

Growing up in a small town you kind of always grow up in awe of the big city and wanting to escape to it.  Small town life is just boring compared to the bright lights and fast pace of big cities. There's just more to do, more to see, more to know in big cities.

I had the pleasure of growing up in a small town but going to college in Philadelphia. Go Owls! Go Hawks! I fell in love with Philly during the six years that I lived there. Between the cheesesteaks and pretzels, and the great shopping and entertainment, and the many cultural events, there was never a dull moment living there. It really is an awesome city! But after a while, or I guess with age, you begin to appreciate the things that a small town has to offer. You start to realize that quiet can be a good thing and that your time could be better spent than sitting in traffic, and you start to despise the big city.

Living in Abu Dhabi has been the happy medium for me so far. I get the feel of the big city with the 5+ malls that are within a ten minute drive from me and the easy access to restaurants, entertainment, and grocery stores, but there's also the small town feel within my little Reem Island community. We have a grocery store and several restaurants and banks literally right below us but the community itself is very family oriented and has a nice relaxed vibe to it. I still get some traffic but most days it doesn't take me more than 25 minutes to get to work.

So this small town girl may just have been converted to a big city girl :)