I've lived in a big city for years now. Never seen anybody get mugged, or shot, or carjacked, despite doing activist work that often has me visiting poor minority neighborhoods.
The only time I ever really felt uneasy was when I had to walk alone at night through a neighborhood where all the businesses had bars on the windows. Worst thing that happened was a couple of people asking me for money, and they didn't give me any shit when I said I didn't carry cash.
But any time I visit the small town where I grew up there's always someone or another acting like I came back from a fucking warzone lmao
Yeah, I get that.
There are a lot of things I do like about living in cities. I like being around cultural zones, having things to do, having access to all kinds of goods, and having lots of places to eat.
I've never stayed in a small town for a prolonged period of time, so maybe it would wear on me too. But man... Cities can just leave me drained so much of the time. Luckily my current apartment isn't noisy.