If you grew up in a small town like I did, there's a pretty good chance you hated it at times. People were constantly in each others' business and spreading crazy rumors (which was incredibly annoying, even if some of those rumors turned out to be true); there was never much to do with your friends after 10 p.m. except hang out in a parking lot or a cornfield; and everybody complained about how much they hated the place, yet they never left. Maybe that's because people know that at the end of the day, small towns are some of the best places to live. Here are five reasons why:

1. The people

The elderly couple down the street who always gave out king size candy bars for Halloween, the grocery store cashier who knows you by name, the church family who has known you since you were knee high: the people who make up small towns are often the very best people you'll ever know. You might get tired of not meeting anyone new, but there is beauty and comfort in that tight-knit community that little towns offer.

2. The places

The bridge that stretches across the best fishing spot in the creek, the hilltop that overlooks the entire county and part of the next, the old elevated dock that your friends dared you to jump off of every summer: you know your little town in and out, with all its hidden treasures and little-known hangouts. You know every shortcut and back road and are all too familiar with the long way home.

3. The sports

The football field where everyone invariably gathers on Friday nights, the local college gymnasium that fills up each winter Saturday to watch the basketball team, the golf course your family friends own where you've never paid for a round of putt-putt or a bucket of balls in your life: sports are the lifeblood of little towns, and everybody knows the roster, record and history of each team that plays there.

4. The food

The diner downtown where they serve the best brunch you've ever tasted, the Mexican restaurant where the waiters know your usual, the cutest little custard place that no outsider would know used to be a gas station: small towns have some of the most delectable eats, and you probably know the best places, their menus and their hours by heart. Good thing you also know where the gym's located.

5. The feel

Walking into any given location and knowing half a dozen people there, always being sure that somebody has your back, always being sure that anything you do wrong will most definitely get back to your parents: these are just some of the perks (and the downfalls) of living in a town where everybody knows everybody and everything. But deep down, you know you wouldn't trade any of that for the world.