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I was born and raised in a small town, have lived in several small towns, and will probably die in a small town. That suits me just fine! I saw a good example of people helping people in small rural communities in the weekly newspaper I get from where I just moved. A few days ago a fire started in a field of dry corn stalks and there was a strong wind. The fire was headed for the barns and equipment of the letter writer, who was at work, an hour away. Before long, approximately 40 firefighters, men and women, from 4 different fire departments were on the scene. One of his friends came and started moving equipment out of the line of fire and closing up the barns to keep sparks from getting in. A couple farmers came with their tractors and discs and started cutting a fire line. Another helpful friend heard about the fire while at work at a well drilling company and took the company's 1800 gallon tank truck filled with water to help out. The fire was extinguished and all buildings and equipment safe by the time this letter writer could get home. That's what small town friends are good for.
"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."
I agree with this, not needing to be entertained. I enjoy the natural beauty of living in the country. I like the quiet... train whistle once in a while. Stars at night, sunshine through the trees in the woods. Not having to see other people unless I choose to. I do love going into the city once in a while to see a show.. people watch. Isn't it good though, for those of us who love our peaceful properties, that so many people prefer the cities!
I hate to just talk about fires but there was a building fire where I used to live yesterday. This time I have the newspaper article telling how everybody pitched in to help. Not just several fire departments from the area but some of the locals helping others move everything out of adjoining buildings.
I've lived in big cities (5+ Mill) for 30yrs and for 2yrs in a small town, I like towns of around 100K people better, but too small and it wouldn't be fun for me. Unluckily small towns don't offer too many job opportunities in my field (if any) but in 10 years or so I expect to be able to move to small town and work from home.
I've lived in big cities (5+ Mill) for 30yrs and for 2yrs in a small town, I like towns of around 100K people better, but too small and it wouldn't be fun for me.
I found the bigger they were the crazier they got! I'll stick to the smaller ones
big towns have more. Small towns have less. What does it matter? WHo're you trying to impress. Whereever you can kick it. It's up to you. Go with your gut and forge through.
"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."
I agree with this, not needing to be entertained. I enjoy the natural beauty of living in the country. I like the quiet... train whistle once in a while. Stars at night, sunshine through the trees in the woods. Not having to see other people unless I choose to. I do love going into the city once in a while to see a show.. people watch. Isn't it good though, for those of us who love our peaceful properties, that so many people prefer the cities!
I think the "not needing to be entertained" business is bunk - it's a way of insinuating that city people have some sort of personality deficiency that doesn't afflict rural people. But we don't really think that's accurate, do we? Do people in small towns really not watch television? Surf the internet? Go to movies or high school football games? Of course they do. Sure, many people in smaller towns love the outdoors and get a lot of entertainment from spending the weekend boating, camping, fishing, etc. People in cities do that stuff too, but not as frequently and in different venues. Instead of walking out my back door, I actually have to get in a car and drive to a park where I can get lost hiking the trails, for example.
"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. ...
An interesting theory.
Have I mentioned that I served 20+ years in the US Navy? Well I did 14 years at sea on subs, I was a submariner [7 months each year living underwater / ice].
It had been one of my observations that city folk [in general] have a much harder time living in isolation. No telephone, no mail, no radio, no contact with the outside, just a teletype machine that clanks out the daily AP news and fleet orders. On subs if you need something to do, to occupy yourself during your free-time, then you need to bring it with you. On every patrol I brought: a Bible, a concordance, a stack of Sci-Fi books, and some college courses,
City folk need a much higher level of stimulation. They tend to lack the ability to amuse themselves.
I recall one gentleman in particular, when I lived in Scotland, who was really going through an especially difficult with-drawl period. His world seemed to be falling apart and he really hated being surrounded by the Scottish heather. It took me a while to understand why he was having such a miserable time. He would tell me about NYC and barber shops that were open at 2am, restaurants and movie theaters that were open 24 hours a day. Grocery stores that were open 24 hours a day, just for folks who worked and lived in shift-work.
Where we were stationed, stores opened at 8am to 11am, then closed for tea, and opened again at 2pm until 4pm. Pubs were open 11am to 2pm and 4 pm until 1am. You could walk through town at noon and not see a soul on the streets, the town seemed deserted, everyone would be at tea.
But really it came down to cable TV. He insisted that if only he could get stateside cable TV he would be fine. He needed to channel surf. Well at the time [1987] I had never lived anywhere that had cable available. So I did not miss it. Only urban population centers had cable at that time, and I had never lived in a city.
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