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JacobFloofWoof
Guest
Older post, but like OP's avatar.
Considering Moving to a Small Town
- Thread starter MagnusLucra
- Start date
Kellan Meig'h
Kilted Luthier
Our little slice of life has about 55,000 population. Just recently, we had a house about a block away from us catch on fire. The lady living there was on the front porch, screaming incoherently. The cops show up first after I called it in, she runs back into the burning house! Her and the cop both get first and second degree burns. The house burns really hot and spreads too fast through the structure so the local fire department literally had to go to a fallback position and protect the surrounding buildings. It burns to the ground, literally.
Reason for fire? Meth lab. We had been smelling it for weeks before the fire.
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O.D.D.
Guest
I remember back in... 2000something I was living in the sticks and one of the rundown houses down the road exploded, nearly started a brushfire.
Filter
ɹǝʇlᴉℲ
If you're single, and would like to change that in the near future, then small town life probably isn't for you. Never say never, but I've lived places where nearly everyone was married by their early 20s. And those towns weren't particularly small, as far as small towns go. Never say never, but the odds won't be in your favor. I might endorse settling down in a small town if you already have a spouse, but not before.
Kellan Meig'h
Kilted Luthier
Our little city has almost no night life for singles at all. The major places are a nice bowling alley and a roller rink. There's a skate park that's okay and some new pickleball courts being put in. Either one of those mentioned or you mingle at church or you go to the bars as adults. I don't really consider our firing ranges as a place to mingle, though but you might. We don't even have a movie theatre.
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O.D.D.
Guest
COVID killed the nightlife in a lot of places anyway. My city doesn't really have much despite being likely somewhere between 150k-200k.
Yakamaru
Woof? Woof
I live in a small rural town and have done so since 2015. It's quiet and very comfortable living here for sure, and the people I talk to on occasion are friendly and easy to talk to.
I like living here due to it being quiet if anything. Come in a couple of years I am going to get my own house though not sure if I am going to get one in the same town. Will probably have to move elsewhere, but who knows.
I like living here due to it being quiet if anything. Come in a couple of years I am going to get my own house though not sure if I am going to get one in the same town. Will probably have to move elsewhere, but who knows.
SerlisTialo
sea cucumber
i like small towns.
they move a lot slower than big places.
i don't like rushing around.
they move a lot slower than big places.
i don't like rushing around.
KimberVaile
Well-Known Member
I lived in what used to be a small town, but it is slowly becoming like a big city. Tragic really, because I can't stand big cities. No greenery, just a concrete jungle packed full of usually rude people, the small town charm of everybody knowing each other gets peeled away for the amazing 'perk' of home owner associations, careless drivers and general indifference. I think the only perks of a more devleoped city are that some businesses have become slightly less shite. I suppose it is nice to be left alone too, especially since I'm a bit introverted.
Shyy
slightly confused, mostly fun loving Protogen
Try living in a COUNTY that has under 6000 people in it. Less than 1.500 in town, proper... Nearest place to do anything that most of us here would consider fun is almost an hour away... GREAT for doing your own thing, if you don't mind having seriously reduced access to things.
TyraWadman
The Brutally Honest Man-Child
Going the extra mile there with that Avatar avatar!
Firuthi Dragovic
World Serpent, overly defensive
Been living in a small town since I was five, and I swear it's shrinking. (Population currently less than a thousand. County has 120k but most of them are clear on the opposite side of the county from what I can tell.)
We have like.... I have always been able to count the number of stores within 5 miles of us on one hand, but we don't even have a mini-mart anymore. Those owners retired and the new people trying to bring it back have been dragging their feet. The one restaurant changed owners and their food has worsened.
Movie theater? Ha! I think I have to drive 20 miles to find one of THOSE.
One serious grocery store within 10 miles.
So little nightlife that there is almost zero chance of finding good relationships that way for straight people, let alone LGBT.
And a lot of elderly around here.
We also happen to live on a major state road, which is NOT a blessing when people go through here at twice the speed limit.
I plan to move out of here in a year or two. Not necessarily to the big city, but to someplace where I'm closer to things AT ALL.
This type of secluded life might suit the rest of my family, but I'm pretty sure it's stunted my development.
We have like.... I have always been able to count the number of stores within 5 miles of us on one hand, but we don't even have a mini-mart anymore. Those owners retired and the new people trying to bring it back have been dragging their feet. The one restaurant changed owners and their food has worsened.
Movie theater? Ha! I think I have to drive 20 miles to find one of THOSE.
One serious grocery store within 10 miles.
So little nightlife that there is almost zero chance of finding good relationships that way for straight people, let alone LGBT.
And a lot of elderly around here.
We also happen to live on a major state road, which is NOT a blessing when people go through here at twice the speed limit.
I plan to move out of here in a year or two. Not necessarily to the big city, but to someplace where I'm closer to things AT ALL.
This type of secluded life might suit the rest of my family, but I'm pretty sure it's stunted my development.
BluefoxLongtail
Active Member
Where I used to live, it could be called a small town. We were a little community stuck 30 minutes away from the nearest larger settlement on either side. Unincorporated, but the population was about 3000. We had two Dollar Generals and a gas station. Most people in the area just drove to a larger civilization to get anything done. It was a fairly sad and boring life, especially since it was a few subdivisions and a couple large landowners for the most part. I know that sounds rural, but we were generally considered suburban. The good parts of living somewhere like that are cheap land and housing, privacy, and if you have neighbours, you'll likely have them for the rest of the time you live there. Things don't change. (At least until the cities in the region start growing. For that reason, the place I grew up is becoming less and less of a small town every day.)
Now I live in a place that's locally called a "small town" because it is dwarfed by a city that's about an hour away, but in reality it's more of a small-sized city (~26000). It's a great middle ground. Yes, it's still an hour away from a lot of places, but there are grocery stores, a couple bars (although no strong nightlife), a movie theatre, most banks you could want, some local restaurants, and parks. It is also significantly more liberal than the surrounding conservative areas. It is still conservative compared to the nearest large city, but it is different from out in the country. I drive an hour to uni and an hour to work so I'm getting tired of the commute, but otherwise, it works. Traffic isn't as bad as it could be and as long as you don't mind driving, it's a city-commodity lifestyle without many city problems.
Now I live in a place that's locally called a "small town" because it is dwarfed by a city that's about an hour away, but in reality it's more of a small-sized city (~26000). It's a great middle ground. Yes, it's still an hour away from a lot of places, but there are grocery stores, a couple bars (although no strong nightlife), a movie theatre, most banks you could want, some local restaurants, and parks. It is also significantly more liberal than the surrounding conservative areas. It is still conservative compared to the nearest large city, but it is different from out in the country. I drive an hour to uni and an hour to work so I'm getting tired of the commute, but otherwise, it works. Traffic isn't as bad as it could be and as long as you don't mind driving, it's a city-commodity lifestyle without many city problems.
Chibi-Choko
Member
This thread reminded me of this song:
As for moving, small/medium towns are usually cheaper, however, it's b o r i n g. If you are interested in charity work though it is great, it's a lot easier to convince locals/businesses to donate since there is a lot more pride in small towns.
As for moving, small/medium towns are usually cheaper, however, it's b o r i n g. If you are interested in charity work though it is great, it's a lot easier to convince locals/businesses to donate since there is a lot more pride in small towns.
Kellan Meig'h
Kilted Luthier
A few years back, some lady was walking our neighborhood, looking for a house to buy. She talked with my older daughter and offered up that she liked the area. She wanted to buy a home and start up a "Neighborhood Association" in the historic district to protect the views. My daughter told her that I lived just up the street, if she wanted to talk with me. She also mentioned I was from California and I knew all about those types of associations. Well, the lady didin't buy a home near me, she bought out in an area that had twenty year old homes and tried to start her "Neighborhood Association." It was comical, she went to the city, trying to get them to make it a law and she took out a full page ad in the paper, calling her neighbors stupid for not wanting the benefits of an association. As you may guess, her association never came to fruition.
Firuthi Dragovic
World Serpent, overly defensive
.....someone get me up to speed, what is the point of a Homeowners' Association exactly?
Every description I've heard of them from people who've been in them makes them look more like xenophobic fiefdoms than small towns could ever hope to be.
Mambi
Fun loving kitty cat
Yeah that's pretty much it. They maintain the "standards" of an area, arbitrary and at their whims, often exclusionary. No deviation from their imaginations allowed, even to lawns or colours or decorating your own home or...etc...etc.... Screw them all, never worth the headache of dealing with those twits.
Shyy
slightly confused, mostly fun loving Protogen
I'm <NOT> paying some bunch of assholes "dues" each month to tell me that I cannot leave my trashcan curbside during the day until I get home, that I cannot have my dog because he doesn't like them, park in MY driveway, let alone tell me what fucking color my house has to be. HOAs are a blight upon the rest of us, problem neighbors can be dealt with in other ways than some busy body assed loser writing letters and hiding under "Anonymous" as their Signature.
Kellan Meig'h
Kilted Luthier
A Home Owners Association was originally conceived to keep a large housing development looking good to prospective home buyers as the various phases of that development were rolled out. The idea was, everyone had to maintain their homes to a standard, not allowing it to get run down. The key to this was the association was to be disbanded when the development was completed. Well, just like anything else, they gained a life of their own. The homeowners on the board enjoyed the power trip so they continued when they should not have.
They would put forth things like you must have a certain grass in your front yard and you must hire a lawn service to keep it pretty. Garbage cans in no later than a certain hour of the day, long before the homeowner was home. No parking in the streets. No parking in your own driveway. No working on your car in your garage, not even checking the oil! A limited palate of house colors, all bland, a very limited selection of roofing materials, your window shades have to be open during the day, closed at night. You have to maintain the tree in your front yard, can't cut it down, replace it or prune it. Only an Association certified arborist can do this. No bicycle riding, roller skating or skateboarding after a certain hour. All decorative plantings must be a certain color palate and no tearing up your lawn to create plantings. Heaven forbid you paint your front door and trim any other shade than white.
That only touches on what an HOA is. The wife and I rented across the street from an HOA-controlled neighborhood. Our side of the street was in a different subdivision but every time they voted in new board members, they would try to include us in their HOA scam. The even went so far as to put a "Mechanic's Lien" against our house because we refused to accept their rules. I finally had to band together my neighbors and take them to court over that, the judge disbanded the HOA after hearing days of testimony from our side of the street.
KimberVaile
Well-Known Member
Yup. Put it much better than I could.
Kellan Meig'h
Kilted Luthier
The letters from the new HOA board members always started with "Your house is not a board approved color, your lawn is all dichondra and you have to keep your garbage cans behind a fence or in an enclosure. Our house was "Lavender Cloud" (very pale lavender) with Navajo White trim. That lawn only needed mowing once a month and it wasn't too water thirsty. We kept the garbage cans beside the garage but in front of the side gate for a reason; the walkway between the house and fence was too narrow for garbage cans. The lawn adn the paint choices were the landlord's choices, not mine. We were on a rent to own contract so I couldn't make changes anyway. A house down the street a few doors was black(!) with bone white trim and deep gray toned shingles. Yeah.