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I'm from the suburbs of DC and really wish I had grown up in a small town. Like I watch CMT and listen to country music all the time and it all seems so perfect with friendly neighbors, beautiful scenery, main streets, front porches, etc.
But my real question, and this is a serious question....is it really possible to tip a cow? Does the cow get up and chase after you? I've never been able to get a real serious answer to this one. Everyone says something different.
I'm from the suburbs of DC and really wish I had grown up in a small town. Like I watch CMT and listen to country music all the time and it all seems so perfect with friendly neighbors, beautiful scenery, main streets, front porches, etc.
But my real question, and this is a serious question....is it really possible to tip a cow? Does the cow get up and chase after you? I've never been able to get a real serious answer to this one. Everyone says something different.
All the cows in my neighborhood are friendly and docile. Give em attention and they'll follow you around. Ya don't want to do that with a bull however
i was fortunate to be reared in chicago, but spend my summers and many holidays on a large working farm with my maternal grandparents. i had the best of both worlds, and i would not change the past. chicago had much to offer---the zoo, the lake, the city, the various museums, holy name cathedral and school, st mary's school, k&n rootbeer, wonderful parties, o'hare, ravenswood, the club, the chicago library, the restaurants, the ethnic neighborhoods and their wonderful festivals, and more. i loved the wide open land, hills, and valleys of the farm. the southern invitation to dinner, the wonderful house parties, their insistence on being polite and mannerly, fa-so-la singing, lake swimming, christmas-tree-getting, boiled custard stirring, my grandparent's singing, calling the cows home, naming my first season's calf, picking butterbeans, trying to be the best at everything on the farm, wanting my grandparents love---and never doubting i had it---feeding the piglets, yelling "hello, girls" as i entered the farrowing house and all the ladies standing, fishing with my family, falling in and laughing, helping grandmother fry the fish, iced tea, watching the fire pit at the day's end...i'm crying, so i'll quit...i wish i could tell them how much they will always mean to me... how very much they taught me about life...happy birthday, grandmother, today, 4-11-09.
I grew up in the middle of a 100 acre farm about 20 miles from the closest town which had about 5,000 people. I cannot think of a better childhood. To each his own.
I love this and I agree! I grew up in San Diego and wanted to raise my kids similar to NCN...We relocated and now live in an OLD farmhouse on some land, in a small town. I love that you see someone you know everywhere you go. My kids are always seeing their friends when we go anywhere. I think it makes you accountable for your actions. You can't go around being a dirtbag because it's going to get around. I think the op mentioned Chicago is a nice place to remain anonymous, and that's a big part of the reason we left ca...I don't want to be anonymous, or my kids. I want to be a big part of a community that cares about each other and helps out. When we left Ca, we ended up in a small town outside of Springfield, Missouri. Shortly after that I found out I was pregnant with my twins. Later in my pregnancy I was put on modified bed rest at home which meant I couldn't do much around the house and our church started bringing our family homecooked meals, everynight...how great is that! That's something that wouldn't have happened where I came from and that part of being in a caring community is what I love about small towns!
Grew up in Detroit, a city of about 900,000 and a mateor of millions. Is it the best out there? No. Would I upgrade? Absolutely. Would I downgrade? There are only a handful of cities smaller than Detroit that I would still consider living in. And they're all Seattle, Portland, Boston, and San Francisco.
As much as I hate it, I think it was fated that I grow up here. Nowhere else would I gain the perspective on things ranging from poverty to racism to internationalism. It really tested my ability to maintain a separate culture from the vast majority of people around me and stay resilient. So all in all, I think I'm better off than I would be if I were some suburban kid looking at "the city" from binoculars. I probably would have plucked my eyes out in boredom.
Contrary to popular belief, I think kids should be exposed to the full range of the human condition.
We are all equal in that our parents chose the location in which we were raised.
Very fortunately, I grew up in Chicago! I can't express enough satisfaction for having matured in that city. By my 15th year I had seen all sorts of things, some of which many people never see in a lifetime. I attended a high school with over 5,000 students. Each graduating class was at least 800. When I developed an interest in art I had access to one of the world's finest art museums. And all the movies one would want to see. I also appreciated the busy, dynamic hum that vibrated on a 24 hour basis. Chicago is a great place to be anonymous. The neighbors don't watch each other. I spent five years driving a cab in Chicago - that was one of the best learning experiences in my life. The pay was terrible, but I could write pages just about the people and situations I encountered.
For three consecutive summers my mother sent me to a friend's farm in central Wisconsin, where I stayed during the entire summer. So I have a good idea of tractors, cows, pigs, chickens, baling hay, etc.
With friends we often joked about smaller towns...What time do they roll up the sidewalks? That is, if they have any. What's the big thrill in town? When the drugstore changes its window display.
But I wonder what it's like to grow up in a town of about 50,000.
I lived in big cities and small towns growing up, and am currently living in a small town. There are definitely trade-offs for each environment. Small town living is most difficult for teens and single twentysomethings, but they aren't bad places to raise a family. The bad thing about small towns is if you don't fit the mold of what the people consider "socially acceptable", you can be ostracized. Thats why the first chance I get to move to a big city, I am going to take it.
One of the best movies I have seen depicting what it is really like growing up in a small town is Dancer, TX pop. 81. I would recommend that for anybody who is interested.
I grew up about 3 miles from a town of 350 on the west side of Michigan.
I absolutely loved it, and wouldn't change it for anything. However, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to live in a town like that if there weren't any larger-sized cities nearby. My hometown was completely rural, yet we could always be in Grand Rapids (metro of 1,000,000) in about 30 minutes, Detroit in 2 hours or Chicago in 3. So I never really felt completely isolated. Could always go to G.R. for just about anything.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to grow up in a town of 350 in the middle of Kansas or something.
I'm from the suburbs of DC and really wish I had grown up in a small town. Like I watch CMT and listen to country music all the time and it all seems so perfect with friendly neighbors, beautiful scenery, main streets, front porches, etc.
But my real question, and this is a serious question....is it really possible to tip a cow? Does the cow get up and chase after you? I've never been able to get a real serious answer to this one. Everyone says something different.
Once you knock'em down, they can't get up (well it's hard for them to get up)!
I grew up in a small-medium size city about 120k people. I feel like small town living is better because you appreciate things more and gain respect for the smallest things. Playing in the woods, riding bikes, going to church on Sundays (and maybe Wednesday), and more. We use to always go out to the country, and pop firecrackers, or fish. A small town person moving to a big city is shocking, but it's not as shocking for a big city person moving to a small town.
Once you knock'em down, they can't get up (well it's hard for them to get up)!
I grew up in a small-medium size city about 120k people. I feel like small town living is better because you appreciate things more and gain respect for the smallest things. Playing in the woods, riding bikes, going to church on Sundays (and maybe Wednesday), and more. We use to always go out to the country, and pop firecrackers, or fish. A small town person moving to a big city is shocking, but it's not as shocking for a big city person moving to a small town.
I think that last part is true...when we left ca, so many people were like "didn't you get culture shock?" I never did, but I can see culture shock for the person going from small town to big city. But then I moved for all that small town stuff, it wasn't forced on me.
I lived in big cities and small towns growing up, and am currently living in a small town. There are definitely trade-offs for each environment. Small town living is most difficult for teens and single twentysomethings, but they aren't bad places to raise a family. The bad thing about small towns is if you don't fit the mold of what the people consider "socially acceptable", you can be ostracized. Thats why the first chance I get to move to a big city, I am going to take it.
One of the best movies I have seen depicting what it is really like growing up in a small town is Dancer, TX pop. 81. I would recommend that for anybody who is interested.
go w/ peace and curiousity to the urban enviornment. you, no doubt, will learn much; however, remember that "social acceptance" is a human expierence placed on us all---in every enviornment. you will find in time that we humans are creatures of habit...whether from country or city, rural or urban...you will, ultimately, have to assimulate, fit the mold, and become part of your community. regardless of the size, you will find that it is human behavior to seek individualism and commonality. anomic situations are never good long-term solutions to identity. best of luck to you.
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city/rural living
