I am staying in Miraflores, an upscale neighborhood of the massive city of Lima. Miraflores is tourist friendly meaning there is security and lots of easy access to stuff(stores, restaurants, public spaces).
I decided that I would try to take this city one neighborhood at a time because otherwise it would be too overwhelming. I was sort of concerned that I would hate Lima (as many backpackers do), but I found instead that I felt too much affection for the ease that Miraflores provides.
Let me describe it and see if you get the same picture.
There is a large orderly intersection outside my hostel (5 streets intersect). 
On one block is a park. Another a mcdonalds and a movie theater. Another a department store, the other two -stores and hotels. The park leads to another park with artists and crafts people selling their stuff. Both parks are full of families out for a Sunday stroll. The streets that lead away have stores, hotels and restaurants with big glass windows, good lighting and familiar names (chilis, Starbucks, KFC) beyond the main streets are high rise business offices and apartment buildings, or in some cases 3 story high houses with gates. The streets radiate away with bike paths, little grass and pedestrian promenades, small parks at intersections. 
If you walk far enough you run into the ocean, or rather more parks, cafés, restaurants, overlooks and beaches -then the ocean. 
Tons of statues everywhere. Families playing in all the parks, couples of all ages making out in parks. 
Everyone looks happy, everyone looks fashionable. Everyone looks like a model. There are tennis courts and skaters. 
There are flower gardens and neatly trimmed grass. There is a cool breeze and a gray sky. Everything is modern, planned, big city but scrubbed as close to clean as it can get. The traffic doesn't need to honk because everything is well regulated.
In South America I have seen a lot of colonial Europe, old and not necessarily built to last... These remnants of plazas and churches from the past don't exist in Europe anymore because modern Europe lost it all in the wars and when they rebuilt they expanded roads and added parks and made the new beautiful buildings out of materials that would last.
Miraflores reminds me of moden Europe. Middle class- upper middle class but classy enough that it feels rich, like mucho "que rica." Feels like anything and everything is yours... Like life is muy bueno, comfortable, exciting and like there is always enough to keep you busy, but you can relax and enjoy it.
I found myself so caught up in the ease and comfort that I was wondering if I should consider teaching here. There are jobs posted for Lima regularly. I could easily get swept up in the hustle and the shopping. I could eat KFC and drink starbucks and see movies and life would be comfortable.
I know myself well enough to know that I want some of that... I want ease and comfort food to fall back on, but living in Lima would be like living in NYC, i would constantly feel like I should be doing something, should be competing to get ahead, should be moving to see more of the city, should be spending money because there is something to spend money on. And what would happen to my goals then? Would I learn Spanish in this city that caters to thousands of tourists from around the world? Would I make time to learn new skills? Make time to write and read? Would I be able to build a community here in the city? Would I ever eat home cooked food?
And when everything is available, abundant, it's less special. There is so much to see here that I stopped taking pictures... This statue is no better than that one or the next. It's not a treat if they are everywhere. And me too, in a city of 9 million people how is my contribution important? Would I feel like I was getting anywhere? Would I be recognized as helping?
There is something attractive about the comforts of home, but I also know that I was content but not necessarily happy at home, and I find myself needing to remind myself of that. That being caught up in the hustle of a modern consumer society, pretty, safe, comfortable doesn't mean I would be happy- just swept up in it all.
I am not saying I will not consider staying here... But I hope that if I do I can find some pattern that doesn't include all the pitfalls of the mall.
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