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I know this is the best decision for our daughter, who's 2. CA is eating itself alive and I've wanted to leave for a long time. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has moved from CA or other big metropolitan area to a small Midwest or Southern town, and how they were able to adapt to the new lifestyle. I do want to embrace everything the Midwest has to offer. Small town community, open space, low cost of living, friendlier people, my in-laws and a huge extended family that I haven't been able to know until now, 4 seasons, etc..!
The move will be a lot easier for you because you will have your inlaws there to support you. Your daughter will benefit from this as well.
I lived in Arlington, TX my whole life. I really loved it there growing up, and my whole family is still there. I got married in 2000 to a gril from Canada. We flew to Great Falls, MT in October that year for a reception on her dad's farm across the border in Canada. It was the first time in my life I had ever been north of TX, and something changed in me. I realized for the first time in my life that the city was not meant for me.
But I was too scared to do anything about it. So we stayed in TX. In 2004 I finally moved out of Arlington. We bought a home in Ft. Worth becuase it was a pretty quiet area, and not very many people in the area. So guess what happened??? It became(one of) the fastest growing area'a in the U.S. Our neighborhood became overrun with people who didn't care about their homes, too manty renters, etc., and our 4 year old neighborhood looked 20 years old suddenly.
We were in a rut, to say the least, and we were miserable. We have two small children(6 and 4), and we realized that if we were going to do something...NOW WAS THE TIME!
So we talked it over for a couple of months, and we finally took the plunge. We decided to move to Shelby, MT. It is 35 miles south of the Canadian border and 85 miles north of Great Falls. It's only a 45 minute drive to her parents home in Canada.
We both gave up pretty good jobs, sold our home, both of our cars. Fortunately we were(are) pretty much debt free, so we didn't have a whole lot to worry about. We were really unsure as to what we were going to do for a living in Shelby, but to me it just didn't matter anymore. I found a job, she found a better one, and we are doing well financially here.
We are making less than half of what we were in Ft. Worth, but we are so much happier, and we actually have more money in our pockets than we did before. We both work a block form where we live. Daycare is really, really cheap compared to what we paid before. We went from a combined daycare/gas bill of over $2000/month to barely $250/month here. We bought two used cars with our savings account money, and they are just fine. It is so weird that we went from struggling while making close to a combined $90K/year to happy and well off making a combined $40K/year. Who woulda thought...Money definitely isn't everything.
We live the EXACT sam lifestyle as before....except without all the people, traffic, smog, you know all that big city stuff! Sure the city has advantages, but it is so refreshing to not have to live in one anymore. I will always love TX, and going home to see my family and old friends, but I will never miss living there.
Living in a small town is not for everyone, and moving to one to "just get away" will probably just make you more miserable. And it helps when you know people there, that's for sure! I do no know if I could have done this without my wifes family being here. But there is no doubt in my mind that we made the right decision to move here.
We have been here for 10 months now, and it feels like we have been here for years! We have met wonderful people, we are involved with things we coud have never been involved in in Ft. Worth, and it SNOWS!!!!!! Well, enough rambling on!
I think it all really depends on what you want out of life. I've lived in large and small cities and while I was young I did enjoy the larger cities (Denver and Portland), now I much prefer a smaller area. I'm the opposite of you. I have been living in small cities, no larger than about 10,000 people (mostly towns of about 3500 people) for over 10 years and will be moving to one with over 70,000 and am quite nervous. I really want the small town rural feel but we have to be closer to work.
It never did bother me to move to a smaller area but I enjoy it much more than the jam packed traffic and crime and ick larger areas can bring.
I moved from a city of 300kplus squished into a bunch of others the same to a town of about 9k. I am only now getting where I don't stare and say wow all the trees.
But I love living in a small town. My neighbors came over to say hello and seeing I didn't have a car offered a ride to the store. One neighbor brought me flowers so the place would look more lived in. Everyone has been amazingly friendly and helpful which is a different experience than I'm used to.
The cost of living is less than half and I still am amazed at how far the food dollar goes here. I do a monthly shopping for what I was paying for less than half the month. I've found that while there is a larger town nearby, its a lot simpler to order it online. The internet is your friend. In town we have Walmart and local stores, and even when I do get a car for myself online seems the way to do it if I can't find it here.
I have discovered that I do need a car. Saving up for one, but want a used pickup. I've also discovered with lumber in the shed and space to make things, I have lots of projects to do. The house came as is and the necessary stuff was done, but a lot of things are waiting for spring and screen doors and ventilation. I've learned pretty quickly that people here do NOT do it yesterday or tomorrow, but when.... And have discovered that not being in a hurry is nice. My friends tell me I have mellowed out so much I"m like a new person.
I guess if you don't care for the lack of excitement or insist on quick service and stare suspeciously at the neighbors you'll not do well. But this is exactly the kind of place I've wanted and I dearly love the atmosphere. I get less money in but for all that end up with more, and don't miss not going to all the places I ended up spending just because I was there.
Its a way different place but its been a wonderful experience.
I moved from a suburb of Los Angeles to a small town in northern Minnesota. It was supposed to be to start a family and all that, enjoy the slower pace of life and get the 4 seasons and all that... it was nice there, no crime, beautiful in the fall and all, but I really felt so much isolation. the fact that in small towns everyone knows everyone... and then you come in from the city and they don't jump at the chance to make friends with you or anything. I felt like I didn't fit in, and everything is so different... the food, the idea of fun, people's sense of humor... it was just not making me happy. I hated it and after a couple years, I just left. I don't miss it, and I don't think they miss me either lol it's just such a culture shock, and there really is very little to do in smaller towns. It was fine for a while, but I couldn't wait to get back to suburbia, where things are normal (to me).
I have moved a few times. Once from an area with 4 million + to an area of 100,000 and again from another city of 4 million to an area of 40,000. Not really small towns but it was a step off the accelerator. I agree that it takes a year at least to get into a comfort zone (anytime you move). It is rough getting used to people (business) not calling you back in a timely manner. Say I call a local roofer or electrician (twice) and maybe they call you back a week to 10 days later, or tell you they forgot on your third call. I guess business was too good. But I thought it wasnt hard to call back a perspective client and say "I cant get with you this week, can we talk xxx".
Strange was that none of my neighbors came by to introduce themselves. I have tried to introduce myself to new neighbors just so I know who is 'supposed' to be around the house at night. I will say when I've had older neighbors they were always very nice once I introduced myself. Maybe its because I'm a big guy who is quiet and keeps his yard in decent shape. (old folks dont seem to like loud kids and motorcyclists).
I moved from Boston, MA to Fairbanks, AK. Fairbanks is okay for a small town (people in Alaska call it a city) because it has a fair number of activities and things to do. However, it is too small for me to want to STAY in (though the main reason I'm moving is the AWFUL weather). I'm a city girl and I wouldn't mind a smaller town (keep in mind 20k-30k people is small to me) as long as you can drive to the city. But I don't like being isolated. Everyone wants to raise their kids in small towns, but I'm the opposite. I want to raise mine in the city. I grew up in Fort Worth, TX and when I have kids, I want them to have the quality of life I did. I think you get more choices and cultural experiences with a city. If you get involved in a church or other organizations, you can develop a close knit group of friends. 6 years of life in Fairbanks has definitely made me realize that I would not want to live anywhere smaller than this. Fairbanks has a population of about 30,000 and the whole borough has about 80,000. And it's so far from anything. So my experience is, if I were picking a place to live based on the place itself, I would go for something at least near a major city.
I lived in Chicago for 5 years, I moved there to be a social worker, residential counselor, after being an art teacher and getting laid off when grant based program ended. I got sick in Chicago, for me the crowds, the noise, was just too much even though there were things I loved there like Middle Eastern restaurants and Quimby's Books. I becamse very poor and was living in Rogers Park becuase it was only rent I could afford, especially as I ended up on SSD and was disabled. Crime was rampant, I almost got robbed and raped and only reason I escaped acouple times was self defense training because I used to work with violent incarcerated youth, as a teacher, and at the residential home. I had no car, no phone, was sick as dog, the healthcare stunk, and everything was JUST TOO COMPLEX and DIFFICULT. Everything seemed to be a hassle, going to welfare office on the bus took 2 hours even though it was only 8 miles away. I came to hate the place, the crime, the stress, and how expensive everything was. I think someone could be happy in Chicago if they made over 150,000 a year, and lived in Lakeview or another nice neighborhood, but for me it was hell on earth.
We escaped to a small town {Hillsdale MI] it was like entering heaven for me, calm,peaceful, quiet, friendly clerks and people. A relative had given me and new husband who worked low level admin assist job in Chicago--that only paid 9 dollars an hour insuring continuance of the ghetto life, a car loan, he got a newspaper job and we escaped. I loved it there, was in good country churches, hanging out with farmers on their farms, exploring antique stores, everything was close by, the DMV even just 5 minutes up the street, the welfare office, very close by--was off welfare only on SSD by then, There was no worries about crime, there was meth and a few wannabes but it was very quiet and laid back. I lived there for 8-9 years, wish I never left, but the town did die economically and has been devestated, a shame since it was such a nice place.
Here St. Joe and surrounding areas are not so bad, it is not like Chicago here, thought Benton Harbor I have to admit, gives me the willies because of what I went through in Chicago and too many bad reminders but even there Benton Harbor has some nice people and well, most of my surroundings here are pleasant. It is a little yuppie and fast here for me but there are some elements of it being like a small town.
I will never live in a town over 40,000 population, Even Kalamazoo and Battle Creek MI are too huge for me now.
I didnt know how to tell brother when I discussed moving near him, COLUMBUS IS TOO BIG, I really do hate big cities.
We moved from the Metro DC area to southcentral PA last year. Our old town, a suburb of DC, had a population of just over 55,000. Our current town has a population of just under 18,000. Huge change and we love it.
Housing prices are much cheaper, there is less congestion, and people are nicer. We have no family here, which makes it harder, but we have made many friends. You just have to put yourself out there and be friendly and interested. The schools are better and less crowded, there are tons of farms and orchards around us, less pollution, you name it.
Of course, there are fewer amenities--smaller restaurant and shopping choices, lots of places are closed on Sunday since this area is more religious, but well worth the change.
i live in a town with a population of approximately 156,000 people..i'm looking for information regarding nixa missouri because someone told me that it's a smaller town that has a real country feel.i've done research on the internet and it seems to be the kind of town that my freinds say it is.the population there is approximately 18000. 18,000 sounds like it's larger than being small..again,it's difficult for me to mentally grasp just how large a town of 18,000 might be.does anyone know much at all about nixa missouri?i plan to head up there to poke around sometime in the late summer but would like to know ahead of time something about the town from someone in the know,if possible.i am currently living in garland,texas.
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