Geographically speaking what part of the country does the story take place--a large city or small town?"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen

I believe the story, "I Stand Here Ironing," takes place
in a large city.  The clues are found in the following
words/phrases:

The narrator (Emily's mother) races home
from the streetcar after work; streetcars are found in big cities, not in small
towns.

The woman who cares for Emily when she is little
lives downstairs.  High rise apartment buildings, especially during the time this was
written, are found in cities, not in small towns, and it was not unusual for neighbors
who lived somewhere in an apartment building to provide daycare for working mothers who
lived in the same building, in the cities.

Nursery schools
in small towns tend to be more intimate and nurturing.  In this story, the nursery
school a "parking place for kids."  The reference to parking places could indicate a
large number of cars (as in a city), but the sense of a daycare being a place for
youngsters to be "stored" during the day indicates large numbers of kids and not enough
people to care for them--they would only have the resources to house them, not to teach
or nurture them.  This speaks of a big city.

The mother
takes her daughter to the clinic when she is sick.  Generally clinics are found in big
cities, especially where people do not have a lot of money for health care, as clinics
provide the basic kind of health care at a lower price than a doctor's office, which
charges more.

Finally, Emily is sent to a convalescent home
to recuperate from her illness.  It looks nice on the outside, but the space inside is
at a premium and Emily cannot even keep letters from home.  The food is unappetizing and
cheap, and money to run the home is raised by rich people running charity events to keep
the home afloat financially.