Small Towns

[Sixacresand]

This an observation I made of small towns and rural communities that used to be towns:  Someone residing there has lived there all of their life and proud of it.  

[doc henderson]

True.  and some of us grew up there, and now contribute our success to having grown up there.  i remember moving to Albany, NY for my residency.  all the attending's were happy to be getting a guy from ks cause i would already know how to do things.

[sawguy21]

After living in cities most of my adult life I was glad to return to the small town I grew up in. It had grown and changed, not necessarily for the better, but I was able to reconnect with people I had known all my life.

[WV Sawmiller]

    I grew up in a small community and live in one now. My daughter lives in Charlotte NC and there are nice features about big cities but I still love the personal aspect of living out in the country. Our county seat and largest town is about 4.5 miles away and has about 3,000 population and some nice folks but we also have the petty politics and people who have an over-inflated opinion of themselves that we have to contend with. Such is life.

    There we have 2 grocery stores, a couple of Dollar stores, 3-4 fast food places, one sit down restaurant, a well equipment and run hardware store, 4-5 gas stations, one Single A high school for the county, etc. We had a real nice department store but it closed a years ago and now we have to drive 25-30 miles to a WalMart or such. We just schedule what we need when we make a trip to the larger town.

   This thread reminds me of one I started a while back on country stores.

http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=88415.0

[Pine Ridge]

I am proud of the small town where i grew up and lived there 47 years, if i live long enough i will move back someday.

[lxskllr]

It was a smallish town here when I was little, but it's really grown up. Really grown. I hate it here. I hate all the people, I hate the ugly stores, I hate the ugly crackerbox houses, and I hate the traffic. I like having better food choices than I had when I was little, so it isn't 100% bad I guess.

Every time I drive into rural PA, I immediately relax. I especially enjoy the mountains. The small towns don't have many "amenities", but they're nice, and I wish I was there. I've been here too long to move now. Should have done it 30 years ago, but I can visit places that suit me. Small towns are great  :^)

[thecfarm]

I am lucky. Grew up in a small town,moved to an even smaller town.

[SawyerTed]

Our county has three smallish towns, two are 3,000 people or less.  One is 10,000 or so.  We don't live in any of them.  Our address is for a community in the southern part of the county but not officially a town - just a zip code/post office.  

It is 8 miles to a grocery store and at least 14 to the nearest "chain" restaurant.  We have a couple of hardware stores , one old time, within 8 miles and a builders supply within 10.   The home improvement box stores and virtually anything else are within 25 miles.  Mayberry and Mt Pilot are within 30 miles (Mt Airy and Pilot Mountain).  Goober says, "Hey!"

My wife wanted to move home to be with her father who had cancer.  So we moved from a "university town" to the farm here 30 years ago.  I was "Emily's husband" for 10 years before people realized I had a name.    Our nearest neighbor is three tenths of a mile away and we can't see any sign of neighbors' houses until the leaves come off the trees.  I don't count family homes as neighbors.  The nearest family member is .2 mile away.  

When it is time to go to town, we go first to Walnut Cove then think about other towns if WC doesn't have what we need.  It is nice to go into the hardware store, builder supply, insurance agent, auto repair shop, resturant or bait and tackle shop and get service from someone who knows you by name.  

The local mom and pop store has bacon, sausage and fatback in the same cooler with the fishing worms.  I have remind my wife that fatback won't hurt the worms! 

[sawguy21]

  That sounds like a small town I was through in northern California. I walked into the only store in town to get a cold drink. The till was to the left with liquor on the shelves behind. Next to it was a case of fishing gear then a case of handguns! Booze and guns in the same store!! I was amazed, ain't gonna happen here.

[rubberfish]

I currently have 2.5 million neighbours.
Thankfully a few years back I bought 10 acres of fir trees
on a small island (1000 residents) to move full time too.
There'll  be no more (EDITED BY ADMIN) neighbours.  

[mrcaptainbob]

Born and raised in Detroit. Always liked country style living. Raised a family in the 'burbs', the last was on 1.2 acres. A great little ecology area. Small pond on it, quiet and peaceful. The four houses on the road were surrounded by a few thousand acres of corn, beans and pumpkins, sand cranes and ring necks. Children grew up and out, time marched on, retirement happened and relocated to 20 acres far away from cities. We have a flashing four way red light, a gas station, hardware, grocery and even a bank!
  The best is that 95% of the neighbors are super. Most are minimum 1/4 mile away. Some are near and dear friends. A situation where you need not ask for help. It just sorta 'arrives'. Sharing and caring. Trading stuff for effort, effort for effort, friendship for friendship. Coyotes, turkey by the multi-dozen, deer and all other critters.
  Paradise comes close as a descriptor....

[Magicman]

I didn't grow up in a "town" and @Sixacresand has been there.  A trip 14 miles North or 15 miles South would get you to the nearest towns.  We went every Friday for groceries, etc.  If Dad's tractor or something broke down during the week, Mom always had a list of stuff for him to get.  

[Nebraska]

I graduated high school with a class of four, yes four all guys, we played six man football. Had to drive to find a prom date. My home town had a bank, a tavern, hardware store, post office, grocery store (till about the time I graduated), two gas stations, a grain elevator, and dad's veterinary clinic. Had a population of about 300. Yes everybody knew your name and you darn well better not get into trouble because it was gonna beat you home. 
My first college chemistry lecture had more students than my home town had people.   
Where i live now the town is three miles away a regular  metropolis of 1200 has all of the above plus some.. It's right at half an hour south  to box stores etc, sometimes that is kind of too close.  
A few years ago wife and I bought a little house with ten acres attached to it as a getaway. It's in Verdel population 29. It's about a two hour and change drive from home,  it's about right I love the quiet, and  the next closest town is Monowi population 1,  but Elsie cooks a good Hamburger and you can get a pop or a beer there. Stop on by if you ever go through Nebraska on highway 12.  JUNE is the best  month I can't describe the green.

[Tom the Sawyer]

I am originally from a small town in southern Missouri, my dad's job brought us to Kansas City in the 50s.  My dad's family had been in this small town (the county seat) since the 1880s and we made frequent trips to visit family.  Riding in the back seat, I was still aware that each time we came in to town, we would cross a creek named after our family and then pass the city limits sign, with the population of 752.  This went on for years, always, "Pop. 752".  

I got older and one weekend I was driving my mom down to visit her parents and, as usual, we passed the same signs.  I commented that, although the signs appeared to have been replaced recently, it still said the population was 752.  Her reply was, "didn't you know? Every time a baby is born, a man leaves town."

[Peter Drouin]

I'm in a small town Born in a small town 10 miles from where I'm setting now.
Everybody Knows me. That can be a good thing or a bad thing at times.
   

[Magicman]

My community:

Population  14
Elevation  296
              ____
Total        310

[Resonator]

I got older and one weekend I was driving my mom down to visit her parents and, as usual, we passed the same signs.  I commented that, although the signs appeared to have been replaced recently, it still said the population was 752.  Her reply was, "didn't you know? Every time a baby is born, a man leaves town."

Reminds me of an old country song:

Bobby told Lucy: "The world ain't round
Drops off sharp at the edge of town
Lucy, you know the world must be flat
'Cause when people leave town, they never come back"
They go ninety miles an hour to the city limits sign
Put the pedal to the metal 'fore they change their mind
They howl at the moon, shoot out the light
It's a small town Saturday night
Yeah, howl at the moon, shoot out the light
Yeah, it's a small town Saturday night
It's a small town Saturday night
It's a small town Saturday night

Small Town Saturday Night - Hal Ketchum 1991

[Ed_K]

 I lived in a town of 15k we were so close to the town i live in now that i spent most of my time at Rita's parents dairy farm (since i was 7). 772 pop.two gas stations one country store four dairy farms. Now 650ish no post office no gas stations no stores there is one dairy farm left a few hobby farms mine is a maple / sawmill farm. A few plp have home business's the rest of the working plp go 10m or more for work, Rita go 19m. I've been forced to stay home an i like it that way.

[Cedarman]

8 mom and pop restaurants within 7 miles.  Nearest fast food is 17 miles.  Life if good.

[Sixacresand]

These posts make me feel like a city slicker.  We still have some stores, but the place is only a shell of what it used to be.  In the last few years, they built a four lane freeway nearby, but as one resident said, it's just a quicker way to get out of town.