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I'm 30 but have lived in quite a few different locations - SC as a kid and some in the college years, from TN (and currently living in hometown), southwest VA, Indianapolis (three years), Des Moines (one year), and metro Boston (probably couple months total on work).
I moved back to Tennessee from Indianapolis about two and a half months ago and I'm starting to go a little crazy because there is little to do here outside of outdoors activities! I went from a job I liked there to a job I didn't like there that was in a horrible area for commuting - couldn't really get downtown or where the action was in any sort of reasonable time frame, so I basically went home after work and didn't do much until the weekends.
I was really looking forward to coming back home, and while the lower cost of living puts a little more money in my pocket and the job is a better fit, there is absolutely nothing to do locally outside of outdoors recreation. I'm a big outdoors person, but going into the colder months, that's going to be limited. Even shopping is limited - my parents went 100+ miles away yesterday to buy clothes that are simply unavailable here. Any big time college sports is two hours away. Pro sports or bigger concerts - you're basically going to three hours to Charlotte or four and a half to Nashville.
I was probably going to 20 NBA games per year, a dozen or more AAA baseball games, and a couple of Colts games. Basically all there is within two hours is a FCS football program.
Dating, any sort of event, and everything just seems a lot more limited than I remember.
Anyone lived in a large metro than move to a smaller metro and find things to be quite limited?
I have numerous times but found outdoor hobbies like horseback riding, gardening,having a nice canoe or boat ,taking up stuff like photography and just having the space to walk my dog by some creek and the less stressful life without traffic and rat race much more favorable than living in DC. Take up some new hobbies, I think missing out on colts and pacers games is like me missing out on redskins or ravens games, we are not missing out on much. The colts are awful this year
I get it, too. I'm 60, so my need for excitement is far less than yours. But, what I've learned, after two years of living in a beautiful area with mostly outdoor stuff to do, is to re-define my idea of entertainment. I've tried several volunteer groups that weren't a good fit. What I've found now, is the local art scene, including galleries and the farmer's markets. I'm getting back into art and crafts. I joined the local art association, and it gives me more to do and interesting people to hang out with.
I happen to like a lot of alone time, or time with my dog outdoors. But, I also like a little culture and social time. I think the local arts and crafts scene might be what I've been looking for.
I hope you find your balance. I bet if you found a SO, you'd be happy there. So, maybe you could look into getting involved in as much as you can, to try and not only keep busy, but to maybe find someone you care about. I bet there are at least some type of sports groups, etc., you could get involved with. Or a pool league, or bowling league, or the volunteer fire department or disaster relief group - lots of groups, I'll bet, even in your small town.
Only thing I don't like about the nature of small towns is the gossip.
Agree! The town I'm in now is big enough that everyone doesn't know - or fabricate - my business. I lived in a town of 200 people and that's a nightmare. The town I'm in now is 5,000 people and it's big enough to avoid that. Of course, whenever you get involved with any group, no matter where you live, there will be gossip to deal with within that group. But, at least it's not the entire town.
Not a big city by any means but when I leave Columbus for my Central New Jersey hometown I get bored pretty quickly. There's no uber, few young professionals, no walkable areas and the Princeton bar scene is lacking to say the least.
I moved from NYC to suburban South Jersey and felt the same way. I eventually moved back to NYC and it felt great!
In a way, it was good for me though. Sometimes you have to leave and get away to really appreciate what you have!
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