Depth Perception

As a friend of mine remarked the other day, 

'Dating anyone with any level of depth in [blank city] is like drowning in 3 feet of water!' 

Amen to that! Have you noticed how a lot of people who move to the 'big city' seem to become paralyzed and mired in their day-to-day life, which they consider to be the epitome of success and high living? More and more, I meet men who go on and on about the small town that they have 'escaped' and how happy they are to have moved but when I ask them about their further goals and ambitions, all they do is stare blankly. I understand that you've made it - you have your own studio/1 BR that's within walking distance of the hottest gay bars in town and you now look down on others who own a car as you believe that to be the antithesis of a hip, urban lifestyle that clashes with your new-found green fad sensibility. You also find it incredibly exciting to try 'world-class' restaurants such as Chipotle, the asian fusion place down the block (so called as they take the same basic noodles and vegetables and change the prepackaged sauces to suit Vietnamese, Chinese, or  Thai at your whim), the Olive Garden or, for those special occasions, Maggiano's. These, in turn, also become their new-found criteria to evaluate others on. Besides the ever-present markers of income, clothes, level of fitness or 'staying healthy.' 
However,  I regret to inform you that there are - gasp - other things to consider. For starters, there are cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo, Paris and others where life does not end with the splendor described above. Not to mention, cultural capitals such as Bilbao, Milan, St. Petersburg, Hong Kong can actually offer one a little bit more food for the soul that your local gay men's chorus group. You can discover world-class film (albeit with subtitles - this one is a common deal-breaker), the opera, theater (and not just Broadway!), revisit museums to partake in a classical art expo or go to a new gallery to see up and coming talent, do a picnic in a park and listen to the symphony or opera, visit a university campus to listen to a foreign leader or expert talk about their field - the list goes on and on! 
But, alas, mediocrity is a moving target. It reminds me of those college courses where you were graded on overall improvement from your baseline as opposed to on an absolute scale. Suddenly, it's okay to not dream big but just to dream... anything. And that is precisely the reason I am not a fan of the beach and much prefer swimming in the pool, under controlled circumstances.