I grew up in Chicago....huge with lots to do. I love it.
I now am in Columbus, Ohio. Mid-size. I love it.
We live on the edge of the city---country line. Literally. 1/4 mile away the population drops and farm land starts. One of our neighbors, who did not sell out to the developer, has a rooster and horses. Every morning that friggin rooster crows at dawn.
The traffic here, even during rush hour, moves. In Chicago, you sit. And inch forward. Rush hour here is 1.5 hours, morning and evening. In Chicago it is now all day. What used to take 35 minutes to drive in Chicago, now takes 1.5 hours or more. I can get anywhere in the Columbus area in 45 minutes.
I am not into the country. Too many bugs. And grass to cut. I am watching my neighbor on his riding mower right now. It will take him 3.5 hours to mow, trim and clean up his .33 acre lot. We hire someone and it takes him 45 minutes to mow, trim and clean up our 1/2 acre lot. We are on a hilly lot and I ruptured a disc in my lower back the first time I mowed, 2 years ago. Now I pay someone.
I like the suburbs....yet I have a 20 minute drive downtown, which is 15 miles. Columbus is really well laid out, as cities go. There are 1.5 million here and you would not know it. Compared to Chicago, getting around Columbus is a cake-walk.
I lived in Wichita Kansas for 3 years. Small town. 350,000 in the metro area which was 6 counties. That place sucked. Dry, brown, hot, flat, dull....the list goes on and on.