Small, Medium or Large?

Columbus is a medium sized city. This is something I have to keep in mind while dealing with other people and with situations. Twice this week I've talked to someone, in both cases fellow transplants to the area, who referred to this place as "the Big City" with such reverence that I thought we had landed in Oz.

"Folks, I came here from Philly... yes, the place with the steaks. Yes, I do know how to order correctly from Pat's, but my point is that this really isn't THAT big of a metropolis. If I was able to find a parking spot within two blocks of where I had to go, this isn't a big city."

On the other hand, I did just move here from a very small town outside of Philadelphia. Jenkintown has a gazebo in Town Square where they have ice cream socials and free concerts. There were a few arrests in the area, but most of them were for drunken driving or unruly behavior. Yes, the Big City entered on occasion, like the time an escaped prisoner was pinned down at gunpoint under my window, but for the main part the only noise was the Irish folk dancing classes across the street. MAN, those people can stomp!

That was the town I missed this weekend when I found out my left rear tire had been punctured with either an ice pick or a screwdriver. Jenkintown doesn't have good and bad neighborhoods because it's too small. Columbus has bad neighborhoods, and I laughed at the idea that they could be worse than North Philly. They aren't, but the kids here are just as bored as they are there.

Welcome to life in the City, I suppose!