I've done both a few times, flip flop, right now pretty rural.  Upsides and downsides to both.  City upsides for me were the public transit or biking/walking almost everywhere (except to leave the city).  I could go to a bar and cut loose and not worry about how I'm getting home.  Interesting people, tons of meetups for my field(s) of interest and more social stuff.  Downsides were it was not sustainable, it felt very much like I had to plan for an escape or end up burnt out and homeless.  Gold rush town mentality was readily apparent, always on the watch for getting taken advantage of.  Almost like an extended 10 year visit to somewhere that could never feel quite like a permanent home.

If cities were a little cheaper, it'd make more sense.. I feel like maybe they used to be.  Need to create new cities.