I grew up in two places, both of which you've probably never heard of. If you know about Ball Ground and Clermont, Georgia, I am thoroughly impressed. You generally only hear about them if you're watching the news and they're doing a storm tracker.
It takes a certain kind of lifestyle to make it in the sticks, and some of that might seem very strange to someone who has lived their entire life within walking distance of at least a Walmart. We say things or do things that people who live under city lights have a hard time wrapping their brains around. Obviously, if you don't get this, you're not from around here.
1. You need a truck.
You may not think you need a truck at first, but chances are the trash company doesn't do pick up at your house. Reason number one for a truck -- if you don't take out your trash in time, you get maggots. And there is nothing,more disgusting than maggots. Also, they're convenient and fun.
2. You're related to more people than you're not.
Have a crush on someone? Better check family reunion pictures.
3. Dollar General Saves Lives
Gotta give it to the good ol' DG. Run out of food? DG. Run out of toilet paper? DG. Dollar General has everything.
4. Fresh fruits and veggies don't cost an arm and a leg.
'Cause more than likely your neighbor has a sick garden they tend. Or your grandma, or aunt or cousin.
5. Going muddin.'
Truck, Jeep, four wheeler plus mud equals great.
6. You're used to long commutes.
It takes you 20 to 30 minutes to get to the nearest Walmart much less work.
7. No one would ever come to give you a ride in high school unless you gave gas money.
Any money you ever made just generally went to gas.
8. It's a big deal when a chain restaurant moves in.
It's always packed and slow because it's the only chain restaurant for miles.
9. People the next town over have no idea when you say the name of your town.
It's Clermont, that town just north of here? No? Okay.
10. We have a lot of churches.
Just about as many churches as we do people. The break down goes a lot like this: two Methodist, 14 Baptist, one Presbyterian, one Pentacostal, one strange church that only meets once a month and one Jehovah's Witness.
11. There's a weird festival in the fall.
We don't know why it started and we don't really know what it's about, but people flock to it, and it's the only time of year there's traffic.
12. You probably still have a landline, because you get really terrible reception at your house.
Bonus points if you get LTE or 4G.
13. There's only one internet provider for your area, and they probably suck.
No competition so they charge ridiculous prices and cut your service off in the middle of the day for no reason! Shoutout to anyone who has ever had to deal with Windstream.
14. You've had to call someone to tell them their cows are out.
This means that you got stuck behind a cow, or nearly hit it as it wandered across the road. You have their number, because this is a small town and whose number don't you have?
15. Funeral pies.
A pie you specifically freeze to give to someone's family when there is a death.
16. Though everyone's in each other's business, generally people will give you the shirt off their back.
A small community means that though we don't have much, we give most of what we've got.
man running in forestPhoto by 
