I also agreed. A city offers more diversity in thought and actions and allows for similar minded folks to each have a place and a support system. While this has its plus - there are also cons in that in the city too often and individual can disappear from family and the cocoon that it often provides even if it is in a negative way.
The father had dreams for each of his children and he wanted to "reinvent" himself - which he was able to do in a small-town environment. I wonder if the father went to a large city would he have progressed or had the "status" that allowed his family to have. I am thinking the perhaps that the father would not have been as successful and thus he would have been a different person and thus perhaps his influence on his children may have been different.