People lived in cities because they couldn't find a farm. Anyone who had a farm didn't leave because you controlled your survival. 95% of the people (numbers varied but this is good enough) lived on a farm. Cities were full of diseases and they didn't have good jobs.
Of course what you read in history is from the rich point of view. If you had wealth (slaves back on the farm) city life was really good.
Of course what you read in history is from the rich point of view. If you had wealth (slaves back on the farm) city life was really good.