i believed that until i moved here. i live in one of the largest cities in a highly populated area, right in the downtown core, and in the low-rent areas, they're all infested. cockroaches are a problem, but so are bedbugs. and with public transportation, the transfer of bedbugs is stealthy and unobvious. and as far as mice? they are everywhere. i can't leave anything in bags, like bread, chips, crackers, because there will be mice chewing into them. i have to store things in the fridge or microwave.

this also goes to grocery stores/restaurants. i always double check when i pick up food from the grocery store, because i've numerous times found mouseholes chewed in them. if you go to the bread aisle, you pull out the loaves and you can see the little piles in the back of nibbled bread. even chocolate bars. mice are a huge thing in this city. i've seen them in windows of restaurants as i walk by on the street. i'm in a first world major city in a first world country.

pests are becoming huge issues in a lot of places. i just count my lucky stars it's not as bad as australia. cities are different creatures than suburbs and urban areas. i mean, right now, we can't even take care of the pests of humans shitting in the sidewalk and smoking crack at bus stops. and when you live in something like that for more than a few years, you start to normalize it, because otherwise you go mental.