History Main / TheCityVsTheCountry

* The ''ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Town and Out": the Utonium family moves to the metropolis of Cytysville, only to realize that it can't compare to Townsville, their original home.

The DoubleStandard decrees that a country person who doesn't like life in the city is free to move back home while a city person will just have to put up with life in the country. Some works will portray [[ViceCity the city as being full of criminals and shady people, often with a lot of drugs thrown in]] while the country people will be [[{{Arcadia}} more innocent]]. Compare WelcomeToTheBigCity, CountryMouse and CityMouse. It's worth noting that the characters who move do not necessarily have to fit the Country Mouse/City Mouse character types.

* The implication that [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-20-2008/pfriend-or-pfoe- urban Americans]] are not as [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-20-2008/quiz--are-you-a-real-american- "American"]] or [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-20-2008/governor-palin-clarification "patriotic"]] as their small-town relations is a well-known BerserkButton of ''TheDailyShow''[='=]s JonStewart (as well as many urban Americans). The attitude itself can be found as far back as ThomasJefferson, who maintained that America ought to be a primarily agrarian nation for democracy to survive (he lived before urbanization became a widespread phenomenon, so it's a bit more excusable).

* This is the premise of ''BlackBeauty'' when the titular character ends up in London driving cabs. Of course it's completely justified since he's a horse and would be better suited living in the country.

* In the PonyPOVSeries, the AwfulTruth that Applejack faces when she looks into Truth is that, despite not fitting in at first, she could still have been as happy in Manehattan as she is in Ponyville. Worse, she arguably could have been ''happier''.

Plot A:

Plot B:
Bob is a CityMouse who lives in a big city with lots of friends and loves to go everywhere. He's likely very independent and materialistic as well. Almost always against his will, he is moved to a much smaller area be it the suburbs or a small town. He will hate it because it's boring, there's nothing to do, and country people are completely different from city people. If it's a farm he'll resent having to help out on the farm. In the process he may learn [[TheSimpleLifeIsSimple how hard farming really is, or he may not.]] But by the end of the story he'll have learned AnAesop and come to like his new home, realising it is much better than his old life.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* In ''AesopsFables'' the Country Mouse visits her friend the City Mouse and is terrified by the city, swearing never to go back again because the country is simpler and safer.
* ''TheBellJar'' has Esther Greenwood struggling to survive in New York City.

* BeatrixPotter's ''The Tale of Johnny Town-mouse'' inverts the fable from Aesop twice: Timmy Willie is brought to the city first, and then Johnny Town-mouse visits him; and, while Timmy Willie is convinced it plays out as in the fable, the narrator makes it clear that in fact both of them don't notice the problems with the place they know already, and are frightened by the strange ones. The story does try to give credence to both country and city, though it is significant that the "city" is a thriving English village.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

[[AC: {{Music}}]]
* The video for The Script's "For The First Time" has a young Irish couple living in New York for work and missing Ireland. At the end of the video they buy tickets to move back home.

* ''Bernice Bobs Her Mullet'', a [[AllMusicalsAreAdaptations musical adaptation]] of ''BerniceBobsHerHair'', has Bernice from a hick town visiting her cousin in the City (pretty much the opposite of the original story, though the rest of the plot is exactly the same).

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* In ''HeyArnold'' Lila moves from a farm to the big city and is immediately resented and made fun of by the other kids. Subverted when she stays in the city and the other kids warm to her.

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* ''{{Arachnophobia}}'' has a young doctor and his family move into a small town. The townspeople immediately resent him for being from the city.
* ''The Nephew'' has an American teenager moving from New York to a remote and conservative Irish island. After clashing with his uncle he decides to go back to America but eventually is convinced to stay.
* ''JerseyGirl'' has Ben Affleck's character forced to give up his publicist job and move from New York to New Jersey in order to raise his daughter. He tries to get his publicist job back and suggests moving back to the city but of course he learns his Aesop.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
* In ''HowIMetYourMother'' Ted and Stella debate over whether Stella and her daughter will move to New York or Ted will move to New Jersey to live with them. Stella wins. [[spoiler: Subverted when Stella and her daughter move in with Tony in the city]].

* Played with in ''GreenAcres''. Oliver is tired of city life and moves to Hooterville to live the idyllic (he thinks) life of a farmer. He finds, however, that Hooterville [[CloudCuckooland operates by its own peculiar set of rules]], and is often frustrated by its colorful denizens. His socialite wife Lisa is always begging him to return to the city, but, ironically, she is the one who fits in, as she is [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike as loopy as the Hootervillians]].
* The premise of ''NorthernExposure''. FishOutOfWater Joel is a NewYorkCity boy fresh out of medical school; the state of Alaska paid for his education in return for him practicing in Alaska for 4 years. He's supposed to be posted in Anchorage but they overbudgeted their doctor-payments. He thinks that means he doesn't have to work in Alaska at all, but instead they send him to the tiny town of Cicely, where he spends a couple of years resenting being there before finally blending in, and eventually GoingNative - when the government of Alaska is forced to let him out of his contract early, he leaves Cicely but stays in unincorporated Alaska.
* The reality series ''Escape To The Country'' which is pretty much ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

[[AC: RealLife]]

* [[OlderThanSteam In 18th century England]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Party_(Britain) one of the two main political factions]] referred to itself as the "Country Party" and accused its opponents of being a "Court Party" (as in the Court of the King, not the justice system) that cared only for the interests of powerful and well-connected people in the capital.

The DoubleStandard decrees that a country person who doesn't like life in the city is free to move back home while a city person will just have to put up with life in the country. Some works will portray [[ViceCity the city as being full of criminals and shady people, often with a lot of drugs thrown in]] while the country people will be[[{{Arcadia}} more innocent]]. Compare WelcomeToTheBigCity, CountryMouse and CityMouse. It's worth noting that the characters who move do not necessarily have to fit the Country Mouse/City Mouse character types.

[[AC: Film]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live Action TV]]

[[AC: Music]]

[[AC: Theater]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]

[[AC: Film]]

* "HotFuzz" features a London supercop who is forced to move to a little rural village. Subverted because the village harbours deadly plots and crimes as well.

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live Action TV]]

* An episode of SexAndTheCity featured Carrie spending a week out in the middle of no where with her boyfriend and his cabin. She had a mental breakdown by the time a squirrel tried to approach her.

[[AC: Newspaper Comics]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]
* Twilight Sparkle in WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic is a LighterAndSofter version of this. She's sent from Canterlot to Ponyville in part to prepare for a celebration held there, but is also told to make friends while there. She resents having to do this, and focuses on work instead, but by the end of the 2-part pilot, she's warmed up to her newfound friends and wishes to stay with them.

[[AC: Real Life]]

** Beatrix Potter's ''TheTaleOfJohnnyTownMouse'' does try to give credence to both country and city, though it is significant that the "city" is an English village.

* BeatrixPotter's ''The Tale of Johnny Town-mouse'' inverts the fable from Aesop twice: Timmy Willie is brought to the city first, and then Johnny Town-mouse visits him; and, while Timmy Willie is convinced it plays out as in the fable, the narrator makes it clear that in fact both of them don't notice the problems with the place they know already, and are frightened by the strange ones.

Bob is a CityMouse who lives in a big city with lots of friends and loves to go everywhere. He's likely very independent and materialistic as well. Almost always against his will, he is moved to a much smaller area be it the suburbs or a small town. He will hate it because it's boring, there's nothing to do, and country people are completely different from city people. If it's a farm he'll resent having to help out on the farm. In the process he may learn [[TheSimpleLifeIsSimple how hard farming really is, or he may not.]] By the end of the story he'll have learned AnAesop and come to like his new home, realising it is much better than his old life.

Bob is a CityMouse who lives in a big city with lots of friends and loves to go everywhere. He's likely very independent and materialistic as well. Almost always against his will, he is moved to a much smaller area be it the suburbs or a small town. He will hate it because it's boring, there's nothing to do, and country people are completely different from city people. If it's a farm he'll resent having to help out on the farm. Possibly in the process he may learn [[TheSimpleLifeIsSimple how hard farming really is.]] By the end of the story he'll have learned AnAesop and come to like his new home, realising it is much better than his old life.

Bob is a CityMouse who lives in a big city with lots of friends and loves to go everywhere. He's likely very independent and materialistic as well. Almost always against his will, he is moved to a much smaller area be it the suburbs or a small town. He will hate it because it's boring, there's nothing to do, and country people are completely different from city people. If it's a farm he'll resent having to help out on the farm. By the end of the story he'll have learned AnAesop and come to like his new home, realising it is much better than his old life.

* In AesopsFables, the {{City Mouse}} lures the {{Country Mouse}} to the city with accounts of its luxuries, but the Country Mouse learns of the cat and goes home to safety.
* BeatrixPotter's ''The Tale of Johnny Town-mouse'' inverts the fable twice: Timmy Willie is brought to the city first, and then Johnny Town-mouse visits him; and, while Timmy Willie is convinced it plays out as in the fable, the narrator makes it clear that in fact both of them don't notice the problems with the place they know already, and are frightened by the strange ones.

As you can see there is a very obvious DoubleStandard in that a country person who doesn't like life in the city is free to move back home while a city person will just have to put up with life in the country. Some works will portray the city as being full of criminals and shady people, often with a lot of drugs thrown in while the country people will be more innocent, ignoring the obvious fact that small towns have drugs and criminals as well. Compare WelcomeToTheBigCity, CountryMouse and CityMouse. It's worth noting that the characters who move do not necessarily have to fit the Country Mouse/City Mouse character types.

* In ''Sweet Home Alabama'', a woman from SweetHomeAlabama who has become a fashion designer in BigApplesauce has to go home to sever ties with her ChildhoodMarriagePromise [[spoiler: who she actually married and he never signed the divorce papers]] before she can marry her New York fiance.

Alice is a sweet CountryMouse who grew up in a sparsely-populated rural area, either on a farm or simply a small town in the middle of nowhere. Either of her own desire or against her will she moves to the big city. She doesn't like it because it's so much bigger, city people [[ApatheticCitizens aren't]] as [[CloseKnitCommunity friendly]] and they look down on her because they consider her a backwoods hick. This kind of plot is usually resolved by Alice getting to move back to the country and appreciating it more if she originally hated it.

BlitzEvacuees is often a very specific form of plot B (and one of the few kinds where the city-loving characters in the country might end up going back -- after the war is over, of course).

Alice is a sweet CountryMouse who grew up in a sparsely-populated rural area, either on a farm or simply a small town in the middle of nowhere. Either of her own desire or against her will she moves to the big city. She doesn't like it because it's so much bigger, city people aren't as friendly and they look down on her because they consider her a backwoods hick. This kind of plot is usually resolved by Alice getting to move back to the country and appreciating it more if she originally hated it.