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Small town living... like it/hate it?

#41
I live a very quiet, modest lifestyle. So "big city" living and I would not hit it off one bit. Fact is, I live about an hour outside of Detroit and the last time I was there was in '96! I just have no desire to go there because it's simply not my thing. Even if Detroit was the safest city on the planet I still wouldn't go.

I live in an area where there's a lot of lakes, the houses are on the smaller side and there's lots of trees. It's subdivided but there's a good amount of "open-ness" in between the subdivided area's....but it's not what I would call out in the sticks. It's clean, neat and yet there's a "come as you are" vibe in this area. But yet I'm only a few minutes away from civilization.

I wouldn't trade where I am for anything.
 
#43
SteveC said:
Is 50,000 a small town. There's nothing happening music wise or other. My wife and I went to a good restaurant (sushi believe intro not) and a movie. A movie was our best option.

As far as playing music...I quit almost 2 years ago. No money in it. No one cared - jazz gigs anyway. About ready to sell ally stuff and just stop all together.
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I used to gig there regularly, before the big flood. Moved after that.

Not enough money to get me living in a city. They have nothing I need in my life that I can't get in a small town.
 
#44
RockNRollAl said:
I live in a small town and love it. Housing average is $500K here, but that helps keep the rednecks out. The same houses went for about $150K in St. Louis County a few years ago when I lived there (4 br. 3+ba., etc.).

The climate is sure better out here. No sweating, no bugs...
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And I live on the other side of the river from Al, with the rednecks. Beer is a lot cheaper here...;)
 
#47
I don't live in a small town, but I live in the country on 40 acres. I grew up in the metropolis of Kansas City, Mo. Our nearest neighbor now is one mile away; the nearest small town is 3 miles; the nearest stores are 18 miles; and the nearest large cities are 60 miles away. My family and I have been living here since 1974. We built our house out of native lumber (cut down the trees myself). We live in relative harmony with the natural and "civilized" world, but are not bothered much by the things you city people contend with. We don't know how you stand it -- one day driving around in the big city reminds us of the sorrowful things we're missing in urban life. Though country music is preferred by the locals, I've been playing blues in a regional band since the mid-80's. Long distance driving is the price that must be paid to be a working musician in this locale. But I willingly give it, knowing what I return to when the gig is over. If you need people, stay in the city. If you need peace, well, find it where you can . . .
 
#52
We're 20 miles or so outside of Rochester, NY. It's not exactly a small town but not the suburbs either, thank God. We have an 1800 sq ft ranch on an acre that backs up to woods that are forever wild. Someday I'd like more land and a big barn in the middle of nowhere.

Big city living has never interested me in the slightest.
 
#54
There are downsides to small-town living.

Everyone seems to want to be in your business. Unless you're out in the sticks where no one can see you, that might be a problem. Or it might not.

Or it might've been the area I grew up in.

I've lived in San Francisco, Phoenix, New Orleans, Dallas/Arlington and now the Detroit Metro area.

I like the city. But, I live enough out in the Metro area here to be about a mile from dirt roads so I'd say I live in the best of both worlds at the moment. Unfortunately, it's also a mile from $1M homes too and there are even bigger and more expensive ones in the immediate area which only drives home prices up.
 
#55
As a hard-partying youngster, I always liked being in the city where all the action was. I'd spend a week or so in the country each summer with my cousins. Couldn't understand how they could live out there all the time and not be bored out of their minds.

The older I got, the more I appreciated getting AWAY from the cities. There is a lot to be said about peace and solitude...
 
#57
Relic said:
Any of you guys living the "small town life" and loving it? (hating it for that matter?)
Weird question, I know. I'm just not sure how else to ask it..
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I did city living for many years. Where I am now is the same drive time to Portland as it took me to get across Seattle from living in the middle of town, but when I want peace and quiet I don't need a car to get it. For me personally, the music scene is much better here than Boston in the 70s or Seattle in the mid-80s. There's no comparison on outdoor recreation, the Gorge is absolutely world class. Climate's really nice too. So yeah, jobs...;)
 
#58
DaveDeVille said:
born and raised in san antonio texas ,
but recently moved out to pipe creek ,
and i absolutely love it .

don't know how i was able to cope with the traffic and noise of the big city all those years ...
:D
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I grew up in SATX, and spent half my childhood in and around Pipe Creek. I learned to drive a car out there. (A truck, actually.)

Now I live in a town in Florida of about 10,000. It's less than an hour from a big mall, and 2 hours away from 2 major US cities. So we have the small town life, but access to airports and upscale urban restaurants, museums and such for special occasions.

The Internet changed our way of life, and made small town life a lot less problematic. You can order anything that's not available in our small town stores. I can do about 90% of my work online, and am trying to make it 100%.

The design of most US cities is awful. They're built around cars and freeways. I like cars themselves, but the way most suburban areas are laid out, with artery roads and strip malls and cookie-cutter neighborhoods, makes them totally uninteresting and basically unlivable. They're virtually indistinguishable from each other.

I'd rather live in either a dense urban place with some character and history, or a small town, before I'd move to a place that's one stretch of faceless sprawl after another.
 
#59
Tarrbot said:
There are downsides to small-town living.

Everyone seems to want to be in your business.
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It isn't even people wanting to know your business (though that is part of it, rumour mill in full swing too).

I like being able to go and do my shopping and just do my shopping without bumping into a dozen people you know.

I like being able to go on a night out without bumping into the dregs from high school.

I like being able to go for a meal with the missus without bumping into ex-girl friends.

etc etc etc.


In many respects, I find small town living akin to staying in high school. The town dynamics tend to be a scaled up version and just as pathetic.

Hence, I enjoy the relative anonymity of being in a larger city. On saying that, Edinburgh isn't the largest of cities (just shy of 500k population) and there's plenty of green and variety throughout the city.

I think I'd also enjoy living remotely. Small towns just seem to be the worst of all bases.
 
#60
i_got_a_mohawk said:
It isn't even people wanting to know your business (though that is part of it, rumour mill in full swing too).

I like being able to go and do my shopping and just do my shopping without bumping into a dozen people you know.

I like being able to go on a night out without bumping into the dregs from high school.

I like being able to go for a meal with the missus without bumping into ex-girl friends.

etc etc etc.


In many respects, I find small town living akin to staying in high school. The town dynamics tend to be a scaled up version and just as pathetic.

Hence, I enjoy the relative anonymity of being in a larger city. On saying that, Edinburgh isn't the largest of cities (just shy of 500k population) and there's plenty of green and variety throughout the city.

I think I'd also enjoy living remotely. Small towns just seem to be the worst of all bases.
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I can relate to your statements in many ways. It's even worse if your extended family lives there.

With that said, I find city living better for one reason alone. There's a parable that says, "a prophet can not be respected in his home land". Essentially meaning that those around you growing up put you into a box that you cannot escape, until you leave that "home land" and break out of that box.

With the anonymity of city living, you aren't boxed in by your home land as much.
 

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