Pace: a rate of activity, progress, growth, performance, etc.; tempo. Keeping pace is challenging to say the least. From the beginning of the 20th century when cement, electricity, and automobiles, the three main pillars of urbanization appeared, the stride to survive has steadily increased. By the year 2008 over 50% of the global population had moved into cities. The key differences in pace begin with the tempo; urban areas operate on a 2.8 feet per second faster pace than rural areas. Daily routines are often frantic, driven by professional growth and tight schedules, while rural life allows for a more deliberate, unhurried pace. Cities have longer commutes including more stress, pollution and noise. Cities tend to be more anonymous, while rural areas tend to have more intimate community connections. However, although rural life may seem to outweigh urban life in many ways, the convenience of services, particularly health related, can be a game changer. It doesn’t look like the transformation from rural to urban living will slow down. Therefore, our global family will have to accept that ‘picking up the pace’ is inevitable and there really is something to the statement that ‘only the strong survive!’