20 Best Small Towns in the US (city, school, Chicago, Montana)

[Novadhd5150]

That list is too biased for the West . Some of the best small towns are in the south and northeast.

[todd00]

Originally Posted by mlb

But in the west - you have FIRES:

Eagle Mountain fire expands to more than 4,000 acres | ksl.com

Did you happen to read about the fire in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan? 22,000 acres burned in that one.

Raging wildfire in Michigan's Upper Peninsula destroys 95 structures - CNN

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by ognend

Well, Taos is a fake craphole full of fake hippies from California, New York and Chicago who have million dollar ranchettes but walk around smelling like sweat, breaded hair and no bra and ordering $9 organic sandwiches. Santa Fe is similar, "the land of Georgia O'Keefe", puhlease, ever seen what she painted? She did not have to go to Santa Fe for that and ruin it for everyone else. All these lists do is ruin it for normal people.

Most of the the nice homes and ranches in these towns have the same story that goes like this: "My name is Karen, my husband and I were in corporate <insert one of the following: advertising, sales> for 40 years in <insert one of the following; New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago". We vacationed in <insert one of the following: New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana> and simply fell in love with it. Finally the time came for our dream to come true and we purchased the beautiful 40 acres bordering National Forest where we had designer <insert favorite niche home builder name> build us a beautiful 3800 sqft modern Adobe home of our dreams. We love it in <insert one of: Taos, Flagstaff, Jackson Hole...> - people are nice, all our friends are simply amazing, we have star gazing parties together, as well as hikes in our local development organized by the local bird watching society. We recently started a fund raising campaign to build a new animal shelter, given that the nearby small town does not have the resources to properly care for the poor stray dogs and cats in the area. We also assist with abuse cases, which, sadly are common here...."... blah, blah, blah.

OD

Ha, The first paragraph about $9 organic sanwiches and breaded hair, you can't forget the station wagon with yakima rack on top! I see a few folks like that around Madison here. They're interesting to say the least.

The second paragraph makes me sick, sadly it's true though. Dang yuppies!

[LIGuy1202]

Originally Posted by ognend

This is a list geared towards folks who have $700K to spend on an old "historic home" in a "quaint village/town" downtown. Then they will go on and "renovate".

Taos is #2? Crime index 520+, real estate unapproachable for a normal person.... Most of the places on the list can only be afforded by the rich.

Puhleeease....

OD

The list was printed in Smithsonian magazine!

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by AuburnAL

From Smithsonian Magazine. What say you?

Have been to most of those places and for one reason or another already mentioned, none would be my ''cuppa''. Of course all those places were specifically chosen for being small while also including a lot of 'cultural' amenities.... which is great but also usually equates to a higher concentration of education and income, aka, the ''yuppie'' factor.... often epitomizing the very competitive ''urbanity'' and ''pseudo-sophistication'' we're trying to get away from!

In fairness though, nuthin' is ever ''free'', and IMO the ''cost'' of learning to deal with a genuine ''small town'', is adjusting to the ''culture shock'' (at least if it's anything better than just a glorified ''theme park'')!

[kygman]

I have to put a plug in for a small town with a great university and retirement area. I live 20 miles from Murray, Ky., home of Murray State University. Murray Kentucky Convention and Visitor's Bureau is your Calloway County and Kentucky Lake area source for lodging listings, dining listings, event listings, attraction listings and more. Murray Kentucky is home to Freedom Fest, Squealing on the Squar , Murray, Kentucky - MyMurray.com For several years Murray has been on the list of Friendliest Small Town in America by USA Today and Rand McNalley. "Recognized nationally, Murray has won numerous awards including Playful City USA for the last two years and 100 Best Communities for Young People three years running. " (from the web site). Murray has a population around 18,000 and Murray State pitches in another 11,000 students from all over the US and around the world. Murray State University > MSU Quick Facts Scroll down and look at National Rankings. Murray is also a certified retirement area. It's just 18 miles from Kentucky Lake Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, and Land Between The Lakes and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (Land Between The Lakes)
Sorry to carry on so, and others who have read my posts before know how I feel about here in Western Kentucky. Lived here all my life (so far! lol) and don't see any need of moving away.

[DauntlessDan]

Originally Posted by ognend

Well, Taos is a fake craphole full of fake hippies from California, New York and Chicago who have million dollar ranchettes but walk around smelling like sweat, breaded hair and no bra and ordering $9 organic sandwiches. Santa Fe is similar, "the land of Georgia O'Keefe", puhlease, ever seen what she painted? She did not have to go to Santa Fe for that and ruin it for everyone else. All these lists do is ruin it for normal people.

Most of the the nice homes and ranches in these towns have the same story that goes like this: "My name is Karen, my husband and I were in corporate <insert one of the following: advertising, sales> for 40 years in <insert one of the following; New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago". We vacationed in <insert one of the following: New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana> and simply fell in love with it. Finally the time came for our dream to come true and we purchased the beautiful 40 acres bordering National Forest where we had designer <insert favorite niche home builder name> build us a beautiful 3800 sqft modern Adobe home of our dreams. We love it in <insert one of: Taos, Flagstaff, Jackson Hole...> - people are nice, all our friends are simply amazing, we have star gazing parties together, as well as hikes in our local development organized by the local bird watching society. We recently started a fund raising campaign to build a new animal shelter, given that the nearby small town does not have the resources to properly care for the poor stray dogs and cats in the area. We also assist with abuse cases, which, sadly are common here...."... blah, blah, blah.

OD

Been to Brattleboro Vermont and sadly this is the case. Unfortunately the rest of Vermont is starting to lean or has already leaned in that direction.

[C. Maurio]

A small town is a town that is at least 75 miles from a city that have more than 100,000 people and has less than 20,000 people and no more than 4 elementary schools and a single high school. Anything else is either a suburb or a big town in my view. People here in Illinois often call towns in Kane County "small towns". They are not. They are suburban areas of Chicago. If you can out up an antenna and get the TV stations of a large city, you are a suburb. The rock hit "Small Town" was wrote about a town called Seymour, Indiana but since that town is a mere 50 miles from Louisville, KY I would not really say it is a "small town" because it is heavily influenced by Louisville.

[itsMeFred]

So what would you call a town of 1,000 people with a single elementary/high school (one building), no stoplights and about 200 miles from a city of 100,000+?

How about a town of 80, with a two-room elementary school, no gas station and again, 200 miles from a city of 100,000+?

[ognend]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

So what would you call a town of 1,000 people with a single elementary/high school (one building), no stoplights and about 200 miles from a city of 100,000+?

How about a town of 80, with a two-room elementary school, no gas station and again, 200 miles from a city of 100,000+?

I would call that a modern day frontier town.
OD