Stress-free urban living?
Many who live or work in the city or downtown may think of stress-free urban living as an oxymoron. However, according to Dr. Allen Elkin, author of Urban Ease: Stress-Free Living in the Big City, it depends on whether you’re an:
– urbanite that truly enjoys being immersed in urban life;
– urban mismatch of the ‘nice place to visit, but not to live in’ viewpoints
– unhappy camper who wouldn’t be happy anywhere.
Urbanites not only are able to manage the stress of urban living, but stress as a whole. With that much greater exposure to people, change, noise and drama, they learn to better separate what is important and what is not, not to worry or wonder ‘what if?’, be aware of and let go of things they can’t control, not over-generalize, and actually learn to be at ease, relax overall. Evidence? If they didn’t, they’d be urban mismatches by default.
So if anything, urban living itself isn’t stress-free, but there’s ironically really no better way to learn how to manage stress and become a stress-free person.
About The Author
As a stressed out person, I don’t think one needs to be a stress-free person to be a happy urbanite. I find that living in a city actually is helpful to stressed people — it gives so much variety, so many various cultures, myriad forms of entertainment, and places to explore, that it takes your mind off of your own worries. That’s a big plus. Living in a “cool town” can be a huge advantage to any creative, intelligent, curious person — stressed or not! Thanks.