Most people I know who live in the suburbs or outside of the city despise coming downtown.

Ultimately, people find downtown to be too busy. There are simply too many people. And with more people comes more traffic, noise, unknowns and safety issues.

I get it. And I’ve touched on the subject of living downtown several times. However, I would argue that despite all of those concerns, the benefit on a connection level far outweighs the other option.

We are a tribal species. We’re meant to have regular human connection.

I remember my years spent living in the suburbs. Outside of my job, there was very little human interaction. Part of that was on me. As an introvert, I don’t often seek out interaction. I wait for it to happen — this doesn’t work in the suburbs.

In suburbia, you live in your house, get into your car — which is usually in the garage, attached to your house — and drive to whatever errands you need to run. Maybe you’ll bump into someone you know at the grocery store, or you’ll have an off chance of bumping into your neighbour while walking from your driveway with the groceries.

Downtown, people walk everywhere. Many people don’t own cars. And when you do drive, you’ll likely bump into several familiar faces in the elevator or parkade. The rest of the time, you encounter regulars on the street almost daily.

Unless you’re the type of person who actively seeks out regular connection, this is the ideal environment. Simply put: the density of downtown forces human interaction.

And it’s true that this forced interaction also comes with more annoyance and frustration at times. Sometimes, though highly unlikely, it might even put you at risk of physical harm.

But regular human connection in any form is far better for the mind than little or none at all.