Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Rural and Small Town Living
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-01-2008, 10:36 PM
 
Location: South Park, San Diego
6,109 posts, read 10,804,463 times
Reputation: 12470

Advertisements

I grew up in a small town (the county seat @3000 people) in the foothills of Northern California with one stop light in town (and the county) a "T" intersection that starting blinking yellow after 7:00 PM. All the other towns in the county where much smaller. A great place to grow up because of the town and beautiful surroundings but horribly redneck-I was lucky, my father was the dean at the local college so was surrounded by educated progressive individuals and our family traveled a bit. I've worked on a farm in Brady, Nebraska (now that's small!) for many summers at a Uncle's Ranch/Farm and thoroughly enjoyed the hard work driving tractors, combines, irrigating the corn fields and working the pigs and cattle (branding and castrating included yikes!)
I moved to Hollywood CA at 17 after my dad bought a house to renovate and never looked back. What a freak show (late '70s Hollywood was at its nadir) I have always thought of the city as entertainment for the soul. Where so many folks just freak out at fact that there are some weird and different people than them, and so many, I see the excitement at meeting folks who are unlike me, and if I don't like 'em, so be it-they still might entertain me.
I went to college in another small town and loved it but I love living in the city. I know what it is like living in great small towns but it is nothing like living in a dynamic city. I know all my neighbors and like them-we host parties and dinners constantly-We all look out for each other and even though our leanings may be different it is no reason not to become great friends and neighbors.
Everybody has different needs-I happen to like and desperately need people in my life, even as I love being alone in the woods-and I find too many folks from small towns tend to generalize all city folks and cities themselves to be utterly the bane of civilization when in fact they are the opposite. It is because of cities and their inhabitants that we are where we are as a country. The folks I grew up with in the small town who stayed there, while decent and mostly nice (redneck) folks have utterly stagnated. And there are more than a few country folk who are totally crazy and dangerous just are there are city folk
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-02-2008, 09:25 AM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,004,302 times
Reputation: 22693
Quote:
Originally Posted by T. Damon View Post
The folks I grew up with in the small town who stayed there, while decent and mostly nice (redneck) folks have utterly stagnated. And there are more than a few country folk who are totally crazy and dangerous just are there are city folk
It has been my experience that people tend to stagnate once they begin having children and "settle down" regardless of their location. Being a parent is a full time job and leave little time for personal growth and interests. This is especially true, I think in a rural setting. When I talk with women my own age they rarely discuss anything except their children and grandchildren. In a more cosmopolitan environment there may be more opportunities to experience cultural events but my personal experience is that even so most parents - mothers in particular - usually have very limited topics for conversation.

20yrsinBranson
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-02-2008, 11:11 AM
 
Location: The beautiful Rogue Valley, Oregon
7,785 posts, read 18,734,906 times
Reputation: 10783
Often it's the difference between needing to be entertained/stimulated by something outside yourself and by being more self-contained and finding your own entertainment. For the former, you need to live in a large city, for the latter you can live anywhere. While I enjoy going out to trendy restaurants, museums and theaters when I'm in town, I don't need the option to do that every night to keep myself amused and interested in life. "Getting bored" is not something I have a problem with, I'm rarely bored no matter where I am. On the other hand, I've already been through college and grad schools (twice, lol), had the big career, gotten tired of the big career and moved on.

So I live in a rural area, with my husband and dogs in a small house with a stunning view of the lake and mountains, 30 minutes from a city of 40,000. Hitting the "big cities" of Portland, San Francisco, Seattle or Los Angeles is something I do once or twice a year, and that's enough.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-02-2008, 11:50 AM
 
Location: Orlando, Florida
43,854 posts, read 50,875,005 times
Reputation: 58749
I've lived in both. It really depends on where you work, your age, the age of your children and what type of things you like to do during your free time.

I personally prefer small town living.....but it is a long commute to work for me and the teens can't find jobs.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-03-2008, 01:43 PM
 
1,095 posts, read 3,985,167 times
Reputation: 664
Quote:
Originally Posted by City_boi View Post
You don't find small towns boring? And I definitely wouldn't want to live in a town where everyone knows me.
I'm a city mouse myself and I hear what you're saying. But I have to wonder why you started the thread, if all you're going to do is question the reasons people give for liking small towns.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-03-2008, 08:34 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,004,302 times
Reputation: 22693
Quote:
Originally Posted by City_boi View Post
You don't find small towns boring? And I definitely wouldn't want to live in a town where everyone knows me.
Regardless of where you live, you make the choices about your life. I have lived in a very small town near Branson for about 16 of my 20 years and I didn't know ANYONE - not even my neighbors, other to wave to them and to say hi. Nobody knows me or my business because that is the way that *I* want it.

As for small towns. I don't find them boring because my entertainment and activities mostly center around my home anyway. I have crafts hobbies, I grow a garden in the summer, etc. I live close enough to Springfield (40 miles north) that if I want to have a wild night out, I have the option to do it. If I were into sports (which I'm not), there are the Springfield Cardinals and the college there is big on basketball, football and baseball too.

If I were to want to make friends and "do things", there are tons of people around with similar interests who I'm sure I could find with little effort. Our local technical/community college has adult education classes in the evening and there are other opportunities to volunteer with various clubs, etc. But I choose to have a more solitary existence. But again, it is MY choice.

20yrsinBranson
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2008, 09:18 AM
 
27,234 posts, read 27,297,185 times
Reputation: 45757
Ive done both and have heard people who live in cities say that its not so bad where the live. But try getting from point A to point B without fighting a million cars, at any given time of day or night. Stoplights and a Circle K on every corner. I like being able to sit outside and actually see a real sunset, not someone else's rooftop, or some tall building blocking the view. Not having to worry about locking doors in broad daytime. Nothing beats the the cozy, good ol' boy personality. And who needs written contracts, a person's word and a handshake is good and solid. Dont get much of that anymore!
Again, to each their own, and Id rather live in some simple old house out in the country than the finest cookie-cutter house in a city.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-15-2008, 01:48 AM
 
175 posts, read 438,106 times
Reputation: 65
It just depends what type of culture you are looking for in a small town. Some small towns can be good in general.
It also depends how far the small town is from a big city. Small college towns usually have more young adults. So, if you like small towns and you are young, it is probably better to live in a small town that has a fairly good community college or university.

Me again, lives in a small rural area in northern new mexico that has few young adults. Don't like- moving to Colorado Springs because of this. Mainly because I am from Dallas and like bigger cities.

I think it would be cool to live in a small college town though. I
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-15-2008, 09:53 AM
 
4,407 posts, read 9,089,107 times
Reputation: 4299
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson View Post
It has been my experience that people tend to stagnate once they begin having children and "settle down" regardless of their location. Being a parent is a full time job and leave little time for personal growth and interests. This is especially true, I think in a rural setting. When I talk with women my own age they rarely discuss anything except their children and grandchildren. In a more cosmopolitan environment there may be more opportunities to experience cultural events but my personal experience is that even so most parents - mothers in particular - usually have very limited topics for conversation.

20yrsinBranson


As long as people do not engage me in discussion about reality shows I have no problem with limited topics of conversation.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-18-2008, 12:18 AM
 
Location: South Park, San Diego
6,109 posts, read 10,804,463 times
Reputation: 12470
Quote:
Originally Posted by loose cannon View Post
As long as people do not engage me in discussion about reality shows I have no problem with limited topics of conversation.
Nice!

That just about says it. Though I am certainly horribly mangling the original statement (being that I'm not that smart) I remember once hearing or reading something to the effect of... stupid people talk about the things in their lives, slightly smarter people talk about other people, and the most intelligent talk about ideas.

A generalization to be sure but regardless of the size of the town one lives in it sure is essential to have some intelligent folks around you to make life interesting.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Rural and Small Town Living
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top