Small Town to Big City (Blog #7)

Budapest, Hungary, is the hidden gem of Europe. The country itself has had a lot of historical distress. However, my time in Budapest has been nothing short of incredible. This beautiful city is not a vacation but one that I will be calling home for the next four months. The city is rich in history and built on generations of varying power. Fair Haven, a small town in New Jersey is the polar opposite of Budapest. A mile-wide town with the majority of its residents being families with small children. 

If you drive down the 25 mph street in Fair Haven, New Jersey, you will see the white picket fences and the historic farmhouses. Where I grew up, the town is one mile by a mile. The homes have character and charm that many families appreciate when raising kids in this town. The suburban town has only homes, there are no apartments, condos, or any kind of complexes where I am from. In contrast, Budapest is a large city with about 1.7 million people. The city is built on a lot of history and large grand buildings. 

The city itself has much more history than my town. The city has castles and a variety of historical architecture that makes the city so incredible. Fair Haven is known as a historic town but in Europe in general, the history goes much further back than the United States. In the neighboring towns, there are landmarks such as lighthouses and military bases. But as for Fair Haven, the town is not as historic as those around mine.

The town of Fair Haven is so small and that is why so many people move to this town because it is a great place to raise kids. For instance, there is no type of public transportation such as a bus that will take you to school because of how small the town is. Instead, the town closed Main Street in town, and all the kids bike and walk with their families. When it is summer time you will catch everyone bike riding to the beach or even out to lunch. The town is predominantly a walking and biking town because of the proximity of everything. Furthermore, if I needed to go somewhere further I would drive my car.

The city of Budapest is a very large walking city but public transportation is by far the most favored way to get around the city. Understandable being that in a city, maybe people do not drive cars because it is not practical. This is a huge difference from where I live because there isn't even a public bus that passes through the town. You must walk, bike, or drive anywhere. Since being in Budapest, I have learned public transportation very well and have become confident taking it. 

The town of Fair Haven is located on a peninsula between two rivers and an ocean. To zoom out to the state of New Jersey, I live right along the coast. The country of Hungary is entirely landlocked and even though the Danube River is running through the country there is no ocean. The Jersey Shore is by far one of the most well-known aspects of New Jersey and that is where I grew up. I was born in New York City so I have also been within a 30-minute radius of the ocean. 

In Fair Haven, the environment is the same all over the town. The majority of the town dresses similarly and participates in many of the same activities. There is one elementary school and one middle school. This means that the community is very tight-knit. The town is built on generations of families and even when new families have moved in the community stays very close. 

Since Budapest is a city, you can go every day never seeing the same person. At home, I cannot leave my house without seeing somebody that I know. It has been a learning experience going about my days not seeing anybody I know. Since Budapest is split into the Buda and Pest side there are even cultural differences between the two sides. The river that splits up the towns near me does not separate any cultures. All the surrounding towns are similar and different in their own ways but the culture stays relatively the same. 

Budapest and Fair Haven are very completely placed. The differences outweigh the similarities. The small town where I grew up to a large European city. Regardless of all the differences, both of these locations have become a place where I can call home. I will always have Fair Haven to go home to but now that I have the next four months here I will be able to call this city my home as well.