What Does ‘Pace of Life’ Even Mean?
The quest for sun and the fetishization of a slower pace of life
I recently moved from London to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I can’t actually say I came here seeking any one thing in particular. However, I am very well aware that the Middle East is certainly a hot spot for young professionals, especially those in consulting, real estate, and project management. These industries tend to have relatively high demand at the moment, even though it is predicted that the management consulting market is shrinking at the moment — largely affected by significant hiring in previous years — these indications are backed by McKinsey’s plan to slash 2,000 roles, and KPMG’s plan to cut 900… personally, I don’t have the energy, nor the will to find a new job, so if I may respectfully ask the industry to relax, that’ll be much appreciated. Coupled with the increasing job demand, Middle Eastern countries (I generally mean UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain when I say this) tend to offer great perks for expatriates coming to work in the region: higher salaries, a low-tax or tax-free income, several forms of allowances, great weather (well, 60% of the year until it’s so hot you can fry an egg on your forehead), and a ‘better pace of life’. But what the h*ll does that even mean?
A paper by Robert Levine of California State University, Fresno defines the pace of life as:
the rate; speed; and relative rapidity or density of experiences, meanings, perceptions, and activities.
I am sure there are several schools of thought that take a slightly different cut at this definition, but ultimately, it asks: how quickly are we carrying out those activities that make up our lives — these can be important ones, like building relationships, making new friends, going to work and building a career; or it can be the more mundane, like walking to the store, the urgency to get on to a form of public transport, the desire to acquire something material as soon it comes out, etc.
Even with there being a definition provided for the pace of life, is a slower pace of life good, or shall I say, better than a faster pace of life? What does the pace of life in a certain area indicate about the economy, the people who live there, their quality of life, and their outcomes?
As one who has lived and worked/studied in a number of cities across the world (London, Loughborough, Durham (UK), Boston (USA), Onitsha, Lagos (Nigeria) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)), I can certainly feel the difference when being in a new country — it is, however, incredibly difficult to thoroughly and demonstrably substantiate the differences in the pace of life across these. What I can say is that cities like Lagos and London (2 extremely populous cities, numbers 14 and 36 most populous cities in the world respectively) certainly do make you feel ‘faster’, to the point where I can feel rushed off my feet. I may come home from work much more exhausted than I’d generally desire to, or run for a train when I am fully conscious that another one is coming in 2 minutes.
The same study by Robert Levine cited above (great name btw, mate) compared three indicators of the pace of life in a sample of large cities in 31 countries. The three indicators were i) average walking speed in downtown locations, ii) the speed with which postal clerks completed a simple request (work speed), and iii) the accuracy of public clocks. My off-the-cuff guess is that for the indicator “i)”, the cities with the highest female population also score the highest… cos y’all walk so darn fast — why are you runniiiinnnnggg?!
The study had three main goals, with the third one below being of greatest interest to me:
- To investigate differences in the pace of life across large cities in a wide range of countries;
- To examine which community characteristics best predict these differences;
- To explore the consequences of the pace of life for the well-being of individuals and their communities
The study indicates that the non-ex-Societ Western European countries (plus Japan) had the fastest overall pace of life scores i.e. the 9 Western European countries all scored among the fastest 11 countries. The slowest countries on the list were all nonindustrialized countries from the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. This is in alignment with most people’s view of the slower pace of life existing in these warmer climates (not that temperature is the only factor). Considering the general quest for a slower pace of life, one can assume that people generally believe that a slower pace of life will have a measurably positive effect on their well-being, be it mental, physical, or social. But is there any validity to this? The study offered evidence that the pace of life is related to the physical and psychological well-being of communities: Faster places tended to have higher rates of death from chronic heart disease, and smoking rates were higher in faster places, they have higher levels of suicide, and interestingly, they also have higher levels of subjective well-being (is a self-reported measure of well-being, according to our friends at Wikipedia).
The interesting piece is that there are clear links showing that some of the same variables that successfully predict the pace of life are themselves the product of the pace of life that they create. For example, Western European countries have higher levels of economic vitality and also have higher measures of individualism. So the question begs — in the pursuit of a slower pace of life, what exactly is it that we are looking for? I think for most people, this is a low-stress environment, where most human needs are met (or can be easily met) and a better standard of living (as measured by how far you can go with £1).
Considering the myriad of variables that affect the pace of life, and then the several consequential outcomes, it may be prudent for those looking to relocate to really hone in on exactly what they want to change from their current location, and maybe even rank the characteristic attributes of a city that they desire and use that to make an informed decision. The pursuit of a slower pace of life can absolutely bring improvements to your day-to-day life, but may also come coupled with stricter traditional and cultural beliefs, lower purchasing power, and a reduced ability to increase your income.
Do I think a slower pace of life is indeed fetishized? Sure, but generally for good reason. It’s been 2 months since I have been in Saudi Arabia, and I certainly believe the transition has come with a reduction in my stress levels and an increase in comfort and openness to new quests and relationships. Now whether this is all because of a decreased pace of life, better weather than in London, an increase in my financial position, or all three, I couldn’t categorically tell you. Possibly, you can tell me about your experiences living outside of the country where you spent most of your early life.
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Peace and love x
