--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He didn't like it all that much when he…" description: "\"He didn't like it all that much when he first came - all the rubbish and the rush - but it was growing on him, it wasn't half bad. Coming to the city w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/colum-mccann-902_cities_he-didn-t-like-it-all-that-much-when-he_1049452.png" --- # He didn't like it all that much when he first came - all… ![“He didn't like it all that much when he first came - all the rubbish and the rush - but it was growing on him, it wasn't half bad. Coming to the city was like entering a tunnel, he said, and finding to your surprise that the light at the end didn't matter; sometimes in fact the tunnel made the…” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/colum-mccann-902_cities_he-didn-t-like-it-all-that-much-when-he_1049452.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/colum-mccann-902_cities_he-didn-t-like-it-all-that-much-when-he_1049452.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/colum-mccann-902_cities_he-didn-t-like-it-all-that-much-when-he_1049452.png) > “He didn't like it all that much when he first came - all the rubbish and the rush - but it was growing on him, it wasn't half bad. Coming to the city was like entering a tunnel, he said, and finding to your surprise that the light at the end didn't matter; sometimes in fact the tunnel made the light tolerable.” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. City life feels overwhelming at first, but over time its chaos becomes tolerable and even comforting. **In simple terms:** City chaos becomes tolerable. Key Takeaway Adapt and find comfort. Themes urban life adaptation growth perception Mood contemplative hopeful Type narrative inspirational When to use this quote - relocation - career change - travel adjustment - mental health Key Concepts urban studies psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with new environments? - What makes chaos feel safe? A Different Perspective Initial overwhelm may mask deeper challenges of city living. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Coming City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-city-2500637/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Entering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entering/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-wasn-395420/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Rubbish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubbish/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Tunnel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunnel/) [Tunnel Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunnel-light-1221992/) [Tunnel Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunnel-said-2500636/) [Tunnels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunnels/) ## Related quotes > [No need to fear death. There will be a tunnel and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/no-need-to-fear-death-there-will-be-a-tunnel-and-light/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [No matter how long a tunnel is, there's always a light at the end, your present status doesn't define your future virtue, just don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-olamiday/no-matter-how-long-a-tunnel-is-there-s-always-a-light-at-the-end-your/) [Blaze Olamiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaze-olamiday/) > [“No matter how far you are in a tunnel there will always be light at the end”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda/no-matter-how-far-you-are-in-a-tunnel-there-will-always-be-light-at/) [Brenda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda/) > [For me and Washington, it was like I was in a dark tunnel, and the light was really far away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-arenas/for-me-and-washington-it-was-like-i-was-in-a-dark-tunnel-and-the/) [Gilbert Arenas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-arenas/) > [Sometimes life seems a dark tunnel with no light at the end, but if you just keep moving forward, you will end up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-life-seems-a-dark-tunnel-with-no-light-at-the-end-but-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [THEY SAYTHEIR IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL,BUT YOU ARE THE ONLY LIGHT THAT CAN OUTSMART THE OTHER LIGHT AT THE END.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrthrill/they-saytheir-is-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-but-you-are-the-only/) [Mrthrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mrthrill/) > [“By focusing on possibilities, you can see more than a potential light at the end of the tunnel. The light doesn't have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-arden/by-focusing-on-possibilities-you-can-see-more-than-a-potential-light/) [John B. Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-arden/) > [Sometimes life is like a dark tunnel. Though you can not always see the light at the end, if you keep going you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uncle-iroh/sometimes-life-is-like-a-dark-tunnel-though-you-can-not-always-see/) [Uncle Iroh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uncle-iroh/) > [I think there is something about coming to a city to work that puts you in touch with it in a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-think-there-is-something-about-coming-to-a-city-to-work-that-puts/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [I have no regrets whatsoever about coming back to City.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-wright-phillips/i-have-no-regrets-whatsoever-about-coming-back-to-city/) [Shaun Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-wright-phillips/) > [There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but the way out is through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/there-is-a-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-but-the-way-out-is-through/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [He'd been wrong, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was a flamethrower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/he-d-been-wrong-there-was-a-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-and-it-was/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Every Journey has it's own set of dark tunnels,diversions , exits and sources of lights. If we are not focussed enough, we will keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sail/every-journey-has-it-s-own-set-of-dark-tunnels-diversions-exits-and/) [Sail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sail/) > [THE TRAIN came out of the long tunnel into the snow country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/the-train-came-out-of-the-long-tunnel-into-the-snow-country/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [I see the light at the end of the tunnel, so I'm going hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cam-newton/i-see-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-so-i-m-going-hard/) [Cam Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cam-newton/) ## More by Colum McCann > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-so-sure-that-i-can-teach-people-how-to-you-know-write/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Once we had filled each other with desire, not remembrance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/once-we-had-filled-each-other-with-desire-not-remembrance/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“How long ago it was and how strange, but all dead friends come to life again sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/how-long-ago-it-was-and-how-strange-but-all-dead-friends-come-to-life/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She would want, instead, to recall him in the air, between layers of cloud. To give him back that ancient dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-would-want-instead-to-recall-him-in-the-air-between-layers-of/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-a-silence-that-heard-itself-awful-and-beautiful/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think one of the biggest political failures, and the biggest social failures, over the past few years has been the failure of empathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-think-one-of-the-biggest-political-failures-and-the-biggest-social/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. "It's like dust. You walk about and don't see it, don't notice it, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/bits-of-it-floating-in-the-air-he-said-it-s-like-dust-you-walk-about/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“He has read whole volumes on the philosophy of nonviolence. How peace had to be understood in all its moral dimensions. The proper coexistence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-has-read-whole-volumes-on-the-philosophy-of-nonviolence-how-peace/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She’s always thought that one of the beauties of New York is that you can be from anywhere and within moments of landing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-s-always-thought-that-one-of-the-beauties-of-new-york-is-that-you/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm of the opinion that the real is imagined and the imagined is quite real. The real is imagined, in the sense that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-the-real-is-imagined-and-the-imagined-is/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She had that emigrant’s sadness—she would never go back to her old country—it was gone in more senses than one—but she was forever gazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-had-that-emigrant-s-sadness-she-would-never-go-back-to-her-old/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) [Explore all 333 Colum McCann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He didn't like it all that much when he first came - all the rubbish and the rush - but it was growing on him, it wasn't half bad. 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