| Description |
The paper presents an analysis of the rural-urban divide in terms of the quality of life of older people in the Czech Republic. The results aim to contribute to the debate about whether the countryside or the city is the better place to grow old. In public discourse, the term "rural" is often equated with conservativism, boredom, uniformity, deprivation, ageing, social exclusion, and underdeveloped services. In contrast, cities are stereotypically conceived as progressive, growing, rich, fast-paced, but also anonymous and dangerous. These aspects can influence the perceived quality of life of older respondents to varying degrees. The study uses two data sets representative of the senior urban (n = 1921) and rural (n = 1235) populations over 60 years of age. Forty-six indicators are divided into eight dimensions of quality of life: family and friend relationships, emotional well-being, material well-being, health, economic and public activities, place attachment, personal safety, and mobility. In more than one third of the indicators monitored, cities and villages show approximately the same values, while in 20 % of the indicators cities appear to provide more favorable conditions with respect to quality of life at higher age; however, in 43 % of indicators, rural areas appear to provide more favorable conditions than cities. Rural seniors in the Czech Republic are subjectively healthier, have higher incomes and lower housing costs, have better relationships in their neighborhoods, and feel safer and slightly more included. Urban seniors benefit from better transport infrastructure and opportunities for culturally productive activities, which can be a function of their generally higher education. In the discussion, we draw attention to the „deficient“ approach of selected policies to living conditions in villages, these treating villages more as „cities in the making“ and putting greater moral value on the urban features of life. By doing so, they disregard „person-environment fit“ principles which reflect the congruence between the individual and his or her living space.
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