Who's made the move from big city to small town?

[car54]

I think the between skyhigh unemployment and the methamphetamine epidemic...small town America ain't what it used to be.

I venture out to the boonies to play the banjo occasionally, and hear stories about the desparate and dangerous folks out there. The old "leave your doors unlocked" stuff is no longer wise in a lot of places...

[Angelcake4]

Interesting responses. Yes, the small town and urban experience varies depending on the region and neighboring cities. Towns in Northern California are very different than small towns in Oklahoma.

I spend the first six years of my life in NYC, then moved to a tiny town in Iowa. I absolutely loved this tiny town - I had tons of freedom. We were there for only three years and then we moved to Miami, where things were much more restricted. No more walking to the ice cream store and biking on my own.

Fast forward - since then I've lived in 9 other states, mostly in urban areas. I would love to make my final destination a nice town on the outskirts of a metropolitan area, but in many instances, these aren't towns, they are expansive suburbs, where one 'town' blends right into the next. I'm not complaining, I'll just have to do my research and take a few trips to visit.

I was curious about the emotional adjustment of people that have gone from big city to small town. So far, everything on here rings very true.

[globalburgh]

What helps is to live in the town. My wife and I both telecommute. We live within walking distance of downtown Leesburg. Leesburg is well-planned, a stand alone town on the western edge of undifferentiated suburbia and on the eastern edge of rural Loudoun County. I expect the town feel to get more distinct, not less so. The adjustment from urban Denver has been a welcome one. But I would prefer a mid-sized town over a tiny one. I like having almost everything I need right here in Leesburg.

[smithy77]

Originally Posted by United_Caps_Skins_Fan

I'm not sure what town Smithy77 moved to but my experience has not been anything like that at all.

We moved from Old Town Alexandria, to Purcellville 1 year ago, and have found it to be wonderful. Everything we expected, wanted, and some even very pleasant surprises. The commute is better, the prices are way cheaper, the traffic is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better, its actually dark at night and we can see the stars, we have more privacy because the houses in our neighborhood (its an old historic hood) are much much farther apart. No one really seems to care much about nosiness. THere are a couple of "issues" between a couple of neighbors on the street, but nothing significant. Just typical neighbor stuff like someone wanting to cut a huge tree branch hanging over their house from their neighbors tree that the neighbor will not allow them access to in his yard to cut... things like that. People are very friendly, but at the same till will largely leave you alone and not say too much. Really, I have only had a couple of not good experiences with people out here. Other than that we have managed just great, made tons of great new friends, and have really just found a niche I guess.

Purcellville may not be exactly a tiny town anymore (Its population is around 7,500 or so) but it sure is small town America in many respects, and sure is a "small town" to someone who is from where we are. I grew up in the bright lights of the big city of Washington DC, and am very used to cities. I just got tired of the rat race and was in a position to be able to move to the country so we did. So far, we LOVE IT!

I'm happy for your experience, but I wouldn't consider Purcellville to be a typical small town. It has grown into an "ex-urb" of Washington with thousands of people who weren't born there. I've lived here long enough to remember when it was a small town with about 600 people. It is several times larger than that now.

One thing I forgot to mention was the subtle bigotry I'd experienced. My very first day in town I wandered into the local diner. On a table near the door was a pile of free pamphlets, one of which was full of anti-Catholic propaganda. I was still a practicing Catholic at the time (had to travel about 20 miles to go to church). People eventually got around to asking you about your religion, and I got a few appeals from some of the townfolk about joining their churches instead (or they ended the conversation abruptly).

[reebo]

I have nothing to add on-topic, but I find all your stories very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[claremarie]

Originally Posted by michgc

When people came to visit me in DC, I loved taking them to see the Washington Monument or gaze at the White House or walk along the mall or visit one of dozens of museums. It was exciting to entertain out-of-towners there. Here, I am at a loss over what to show them. I show them small-town things - the UNC campus, the planitarium, the local farm with homemade ice cream, a science museum in Durham, etc. They're "nice" but not world-class exciting monuments.

I can relate to that. We moved from DC to South Bend IN a few years ago. When people come for ND football weekends, it's very easy to entertain them. When they come in the summer and it's not raining, we can lounge around the backyard pool or drive 45 minutes to a lovely uncrowded Lake Michigan beach. There is also a nice botanical garden that would be mobbed were it in northern Virginia but which you can have virtually to yourself here. When there is enough snow on the ground in the winter, there is terrific cross-country skiing 15 minutes away.

But for much of the year, and when the weather is bad, there is really nothing to do and nowhere to take visitors. There are a few small-town museums. A tiny zoo. The ND campus, which is not fun to traipse around in bad weather. And the mall.

It's not a deal-breaker, because for some odd reason we get very few visitors here outside football season, but it is something I really miss about DC.