I have lived in a small town all of my life and have grown accustomed to some of the weird quirks that people in cities never experience. Here are some of the things that you can expect when living in a small town.
People that you've never met before know who you are.
This one can get pretty awkward. Some people that start talking to you might know somebody in your family or one of your friends but you have no idea who you are. This leads to an in depth conversation about your life and your family with a complete stranger.
Everybody knows your business.
Nothing stays secret in a small town. Information in a small town spreads like wildfire and people that don't know you personally can easily find out about your life.
Gossip abounds.
Like I said, information spreads like wildfire, but half of the time this information isn't even true. Everybody has a rumor spread about them at least once or twice, nobody is off limits.
People wave at everybody.
People wave at friends and strangers alike. You could say we're super friendly.
When a new person moves to town it's a big deal.
There's a new person in town? What's their name? What do they look like? Where did they come from? What's their life story? (We're also super nosy).
You know all of your neighbors.
You could pretty much say we know where everybody lives. Kinda creepy huh? (Again, nosy).
Wildlife is everywhere.
Oh a deer, raccoon, and rabbit just ran through town? It's casual.
There's nothing to do and nowhere to eat.
We might have like five places to eat in town, a bowling alley, a park, and a swimming pool. That's it. This is why people resort to cruising around town for something to do. It's kind of sad if you think about it.
You have a tiny class size.
When I told people that my class size was about 35 people they stared at me like I was insane. You know what's insane? A class size of over 300.
Half of your class doesn't even live in town.
A lot of people live at least 15 miles outside of town. Get ready to wake up early.
The atmosphere is very laid-back.
When you live in a small town, you don't really have to worry about your safety. Walking around at night by yourself? You'll be fine. Leave your car unlocked? No biggie.
You pretty much run into somebody you know everywhere you go.
Like it or not, it happens.
All in all, I have to say that I enjoy living in a small town more than I like living in a city, even with all of its quirks. I wouldn't have it any other way.
