--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's like we've been living in two…" description: "\"“It's like we've been living in two different cities. You up here in all this marbled comfort, and me down there, killing myself in slow motion.”\" — Ga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city_it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-diffe_2548122.jpg" --- # It's like we've been living in two different cities. You… ![“It's like we've been living in two different cities. You up here in all this marbled comfort, and me down there, killing myself in slow motion.” quote by Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city_it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-diffe_2548122.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city_it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-diffe_2548122.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city_it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-diffe_2548122.jpg) > ““It's like we've been living in two different cities. You up here in all this marbled comfort, and me down there, killing myself in slow motion.”” [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contrasting experiences of wealth and struggle highlight social division and personal isolation. **In simple terms:** Rich comfort vs. painful struggle. Key Takeaway Recognize and bridge gaps between different worlds. Themes social inequality empathy class divide Mood reflective somber Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - charity work - community building - policy advocacy - personal relationships - mental health support Key Concepts sociology psychology urban life Questions to Reflect On - How can we better understand those living in hardship? - What actions can reduce social disparity? A Different Perspective Wealth does not automatically solve deep personal suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [City-on-fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-on-fire/) [Garth-risk-hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garth-risk-hallberg/) [Killing myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-myself/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) ## Related quotes > [ “I am killed them quick, but they are killing me slow. \[Jim Browner in 'The Adventure of the Cardboard Box'\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-arthur-conan-doyle/i-am-killed-them-quick-but-they-are-killing-me-slow-jim-browner-in/) [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“I hate my country. There are so many rich people who don't share their shit. They're like spoiled little ten-year-old bullies on the playground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-hate-my-country-there-are-so-many-rich-people-who-don-t-share-their/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [There is some comfort in killing that which has hurt you, but it is cold comfort. It'll destroy things inside of you that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/there-is-some-comfort-in-killing-that-which-has-hurt-you-but-it-is/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [O comfort-killing night, image of hell, Dim register and notary of shame, Black stage for tragedies and murders fell, Vast sin-concealing chaos, nurse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-comfort-killing-night-image-of-hell-dim-register-and-notary-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Up until today she'd felt as if she was surviving. Now she felt as though she was living. Everything was different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-morgan/up-until-today-she-d-felt-as-if-she-was-surviving-now-she-felt-as/) [Sarah Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-morgan/) > [One of the things that is devastating is I realise I haven't been living a different life than when I was, like, 12. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/one-of-the-things-that-is-devastating-is-i-realise-i-haven-t-been/) [Gus Van Sant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-van-sant/) > [I'm glad folks think I look different, I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-zellweger/i-m-glad-folks-think-i-look-different-i-m-living-a-different-happy/) [Renee Zellweger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-zellweger/) > [We're all living in different states and we all have different systems within those states. Even on the most basic personal level, it affects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avey-tare/we-re-all-living-in-different-states-and-we-all-have-different/) [Avey Tare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avey-tare/) > [Elephants are not human, of course. They are something much more ancient and primordial, living on a different plane of existence. Long before we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/elephants-are-not-human-of-course-they-are-something-much-more/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [I'm living a very different life than the one I thought I'd be living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jisoo/i-m-living-a-very-different-life-than-the-one-i-thought-i-d-be-living/) [Jisoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jisoo/) > [They give us access to another world, they give us access to dreams. It's our way of living in a different realm for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/they-give-us-access-to-another-world-they-give-us-access-to-dreams-it/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [I don't think anyone aims to be typical, really. Most people even vow to themselves some time in high school or college not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-don-t-think-anyone-aims-to-be-typical-really-most-people-even-vow/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [When I think of the standing, the importance and the erudition of all these people who see nothing about racism in Heart of Darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-i-think-of-the-standing-the-importance-and-the-erudition-of-all/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Probably no one alive hasn't at one time or another brooded over the possibility of going back to an earlier, ideal age in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-boyle/probably-no-one-alive-hasn-t-at-one-time-or-another-brooded-over-the/) [Hal Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-boyle/) > [Every single character and every single person in real life can all be 16 or 17 years old and maybe live in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-sweeney/every-single-character-and-every-single-person-in-real-life-can-all/) [Sydney Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-sweeney/) ## More by Garth Risk Hallberg > [“Despite which, Charlie seems doomed to stumble around in the dark, clutching pieces of a puzzle he still can't see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/despite-which-charlie-seems-doomed-to-stumble-around-in-the-dark/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“He’d wanted it to be about losing, about the things we’re born into loving and then lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/he-d-wanted-it-to-be-about-losing-about-the-things-we-re-born-into/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Though what could anyone really say these days with one hundred percent certainty?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/though-what-could-anyone-really-say-these-days-with-one-hundred/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Detonations crash in from nearby like walls she's a void at the center of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/detonations-crash-in-from-nearby-like-walls-she-s-a-void-at-the/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Because if every moment of a life is present in every other, so is every old self you've ever tried to outrun. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-present-in-every-other-so-is/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Between the whiskers scraggling down his neck and the now-crooked glasses, he could have been the Black Allen Ginsberg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/between-the-whiskers-scraggling-down-his-neck-and-the-now-crooked/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“But no, what interested him, psychologically speaking, was the sense of continuity itself, the mind's insistence that this was the same Regan he'd known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/but-no-what-interested-him-psychologically-speaking-was-the-sense-of/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“He lights a cigarette off a candle. These death-tubes, these little crutches or fuses: useful for getting through all sorts of things you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/he-lights-a-cigarette-off-a-candle-these-death-tubes-these-little/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Truly unconditional love was suffocating, in that it took so little notice of who you actually were.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/truly-unconditional-love-was-suffocating-in-that-it-took-so-little/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“And so she remained, like everything that mattered to me then, secret—to be pursued in the woods by moonlight, when I was supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/and-so-she-remained-like-everything-that-mattered-to-me-then-secret/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Now, though, there was a second part, an artifact of his recent illness, as if his melancholy had, in a universe adjacent to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/now-though-there-was-a-second-part-an-artifact-of-his-recent-illness/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Darkness just loosens the mask. Sharpens the mind's eye. Makes the color of a remembered pencil, or a tick of waxy red on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/darkness-just-loosens-the-mask-sharpens-the-mind-s-eye-makes-the/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Daddy just repeated the word, internship . As an alibi, it was a thing of beauty: its overtones of responsibility, of upward aspiration, were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/daddy-just-repeated-the-word-internship-as-an-alibi-it-was-a-thing-of/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“For a moment, he thought he sensed, beneath the visible world, some blind infrastructure connecting the two of them, or the three of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/for-a-moment-he-thought-he-sensed-beneath-the-visible-world-some/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“No one, in the end, made it out of this life alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/no-one-in-the-end-made-it-out-of-this-life-alive/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) [Explore all 90 Garth Risk Hallberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) ## More City quotes > [I've seen a lot of people come out of Carol City, but I had this distinct vision for Carol City, just me coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-people-come-out-of-carol-city-but-i-had-this/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murphy/i-ve-been-to-manchester-enough-to-know-it-s-a-real-place-it-s-not/) [James Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murphy/) > [Though 'Fat City' was written long before cellphones or the Internet, its human apparatus is state of the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/though-fat-city-was-written-long-before-cellphones-or-the-internet/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I get paid to play, to win, to give the city pride, so maybe everybody can forget for a little while how hard life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-cunningham/i-get-paid-to-play-to-win-to-give-the-city-pride-so-maybe-everybody/) [Randall Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-cunningham/) > [In my first 100 days as Ontario's Minister of Transportation, I found a willing municipal partner in the City of Toronto that shares our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-mulroney/in-my-first-100-days-as-ontario-s-minister-of-transportation-i-found/) [Caroline Mulroney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-mulroney/) > [Even after my family moved West, I would come back to Long Island as a teenager, stay with aunts and go to the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/even-after-my-family-moved-west-i-would-come-back-to-long-island-as-a/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [We all got driven out of Manhattan. It was a very conducive place for artists when I was growing up, and now it's definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/we-all-got-driven-out-of-manhattan-it-was-a-very-conducive-place-for/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [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/) > [We have an obligation at the local level to do everything we can with the resources we have. And we do those things. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-wheeler/we-have-an-obligation-at-the-local-level-to-do-everything-we-can-with/) [Ted Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-wheeler/) > [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/) > [I loved 'Chicago Code;' I watched that a lot. It was great because it really captured the city - I'm from Chicago, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessy-schram/i-loved-chicago-code-i-watched-that-a-lot-it-was-great-because-it/) [Jessy Schram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessy-schram/) > [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/) [Browse all 5,394 City quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's like we've been living in two different cities. You up here in all this marbled comfort, and me down there, killing myself in slow motion.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garth Risk Hallberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-different-cities-you-up-here-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "City" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-different-cities-you-up-here-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city_it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-diffe_2548122.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city_it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-diffe_2548122.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city_it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-diffe_2548122.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's like we've been living in two different cities. You up here in all this marbled comfort, and me down…” — Garth Risk Hallberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Garth Risk Hallberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's like we've been living in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-different-cities-you-up-here-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/it-s-like-we-ve-been-living-in-two-different-cities-you-up-here-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```