Within the city limits

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

Is it OK to use the expression ''within the city limits'' when you are talking about a small town? and if I change the original sentence into ''I will urgently rent a one room apartment'' would it be correct? Or ''looking for a one room apartment to rent.''
''A one room is urgently needed for rent/rental within the city limits''.

 

[tedmc]

A one-room apartment in the town is urgently wanted for rent.

 

[Rover_KE]

Is it OK to use the expression ''within the city limits'' when you are talking about a small town?

No.

 

[GoesStation]

Is it OK to use the expression ''within the city limits'' when you are talking about a small town?

In my state (Ohio), incorporated municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants are legally "villages". Careful speakers would use "within the village limits" when talking about my home town, a village of fewer than 4,000 people. However, it's not unusual to hear the boundary referred to as the city limits, mostly by people from outside who aren't aware of the distinction.

Other US states have different rules. Many of them make no distinction; once a municipality is incorporated, it's legally a city and its boundaries are city limits. Others have towns and cities, or townships and cities. A township in Ohio is a larger area that can have a municipal government of sorts. My home town is within a township which is within a county; once a village becomes a city, it is no longer part of any township that surrounds it.

For American usage, "city limits" is a generally acceptable term for "municipal boundary".

If I remember right, in England, a city is any municipality that has an Anglican cathedral.

 

[Rover_KE]

If I remember right, in England, a city is any municipality that has an Anglican cathedral.

Sorry – that has never been the case — nor has it in the other countries of the UK.

[link]

 

[Rachel Adams]

I will rewrite my sentence: ''A one-room apartment is urgently needed to rent within the town limits''. Is it OK now?

 

[GoesStation]

If I remember right, in England, a city is any municipality that has an Anglican cathedral.

Sorry – that has never been the case — nor has it in the other countries of the UK.

[link]

The linked article says "In the 16th century, a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits...."

 

[Rachel Adams]

Thank you both for the interesting information. Could you tell me please if it should be ''A one-room apartment is urgently needed to rent within the town limits'' or''A one-room apartment is urgently needed to rent within the limits of the town''?

​

 

[GoesStation]

I'd write Urgently needed: one-room apartment within city limits.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I'd write Urgently needed: one-room apartment within city limits.

I cannot call Batumi a ''city''. What about: ''Urgently needed: one-room apartment within the town limits''?

 

[GoesStation]

I cannot call Batumi a ''city''. What about: ''Urgently needed: one-room apartment within the town limits''?

That's okay. The definite article is optional in the condensed English of an ad.

 

[Tarheel]

It's possible that the potential renter urgently needs an apartment, but the landlord wants a tenant (or tenants).

 

[Yankee]

I cannot call Batumi a ''city''. What about: ''Urgently needed: one-room apartment within the town limits''?

I'm not familiar with Batumi, but it is listed as a "city". Why not "...…..within Batumi city limits"?

 

[Rachel Adams]

OK. Will it work if I remove the city and write: ''Within Batumi limits'' or ''within Paris limits''?

 

[Amigos4]

I cannot call Batumi a ''city''.

Wikipedia: "Batumi is the capital of Autonomous Republic of Adjara and the second-largest city of Georgia, located on the coast of the Black Sea in the country's southwest."

I am curious, Rachel, why can't you call Batumi a "city"? It has a population of approximately 164,000 people.

 

[Rachel Adams]

It is a really small city, however. :-D Compare it to Moscow or London. Those are cities...

 

[Yankee]

OK. Will it work if I remove the city and write: ''Within Batumi limits'' or ''within Paris limits''?

It could work in some contexts, for example "There is a very low crime rate within Batumi limits". This assumes, of course, that the listener/reader understands that Batumi is a city.

 

[GoesStation]

"There is a very low crime rate within Batumi limits".

This doesn't work for me at all. Write "The crime rate in Batumi is very low." If you want to limit the observation to within the town limits (though I'd say city limits), you can say "within the town limits of Batumi."