why don't you live in Seoul?

I get asked occasionally by friends why I live in Daegu instead of moving to Seoul. I mean, it's Seoul. The truth is that I like Daegu, I'm mostly happy here. I like Daegu's moderate size relative to Seoul. I know there would be real advantages to moving to Seoul, but I also think you lose something living up there. I can't speak much to living in Seoul, as I've only even been there as a tourist, but I know many people who love it. It seems to me that Seoul just has, well everything. Entertainment, food and drink and major transportation. Seoul is a very impressive city in many respects. The variety there is also unmatched in Korea. You can have Korean BBQ one night, Mexican food the next, Indian the next etc. You also have access to one of the largest airports in Asia and on a four day weekend you really can head off to China, Japan or Taiwan relatively easily. You could easily spend a year or two just exploring the neighbourhoods and surrounding cities (Ilsan, Suwon etc.) and I get why so many people rarely leave (in fact I have met both Koreans and expats who have lived there for years who have never left it). There's also a certain vibrancy about it. Many big cities have this. It's just the vibe of so many people in one place but it's very intoxicating. Certainly if I were going to raise a family in Korea I would want to do it in Seoul. The job and education opportunities are second to none anywhere in Asia. Overall, I do think Seoul is a very cool city.

That being said, as a major metropolis I've found it a bit of a let down compared to Hong Kong, Taipei or Singapore. It's a real business city. It's Korea Inc. The headquarters of LG, Samsung, Lotte and Hyundai are all there and its vast subway network moves 10 million people to where they need to go to every day to keep this massive export driven economy going. I mean, it's a very impressive city and I get why it is such a focal point of Korean life but it feels like a city that is designed to generate revenue. Hong Kong and Singapore are both major financial centres as well, but they have more..... well character. Certainly Insadong has a lot of touristy things but I find most suburbs just not that much different from suburbs in Daegu, Busan or Ulsan. Also, Seoul is such a modern city that I think you lose out on certain aspects of Korean life that you would get somewhere like Daegu (and even moreso somewhere like Gyeongju, Andong or Jinju). Finally, I would worry that Seoul would eat my savings much faster than Daegu or Ulsan do.

Because of that, I find Seoul an awesome place to visit. It's a real treat to see and hang out in. However, I find Daegu has *most* of what I'd want in Seoul but it costs less. Maybe if I was still young enough for clubbing and those sort of bars I'd want Seoul, but for week in and week out Daegu is a great place to live. It maintains that traditional Korea well, but I can still grab a steak or a tandoori chicken if I really need it. Plus given its location I can easily hop a bus or train to just about anywhere for very little.

But what do you think? I know a few people who live or have lived in Seoul. Am I being fair or would I feel differently if I lived there?