I go to college in a very small town. Portales, New Mexico’s welcome sign boasts “home of 17,000 friendly people (and three or four old grouches.)” It’s the community that I grew up in and it will always be a part of me, but when it comes to finding things to do, it can often be really boring. Walmart is the only big store we have in town, so anytime you go, you will run into familiar faces, which also means you probably shouldn’t just wear pajamas out grocery shopping. This is written for everyone moving to smaller college towns from big cities this semester.

Now I will be writing from the perspective of our little corner of Eastern New Mexico, but a lot of the experience is universal. Here at Eastern New Mexico University we have numerous bigger cities, with bigger colleges surrounding us. We have Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, two hours away, and we have the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, four hours away, so ENMU usually is proposed as the desirable alternative for those wanting a cheaper, smaller option. There are numerous things that make ENMU different and there're many different reasons why people from those bigger cities come down to Portales. However, once they get down here, there is very often a kind of culture shock, so in the name of preserving your sanity here are some of the ways to grow to love, or at least tolerate, small town living.

One of the major differences around here is that there just isn’t much to do. You go from these cities where you could practically stumble into interesting experiences, to these small towns where you have to chart out your night to make sure you get to everything before they close at six, and after closing time the town pretty much shuts down. Even on weekends, if you want to have something to do, you often need to take trips to the before mentioned bigger cities. However, this does give you more time away from busy streets and the stress of getting around and allows you the time to get school work done and hang out with friends, which is going to be a recurring theme throughout this article.

Another difference in small town living is that everyone knows everyone, meaning, it can be difficult to find your place in the community. Now this will be slightly different on campus, but locals, though they are often really nice and, for the most part, love talking to college students, will often stick to those they know, this includes the students at the college who grew up in the community. They see college students come and go, so there can be a sort of division between the college and the town. Eastern, specifically, has taken preventative steps to avoid this, with inviting the community to all of their events, but it is often healthy to try to close this gap on a personal level. These people know and love this town, so being friends with them and seeing it through their eyes can help you to come to love it as well. So make sure that you’re not just another college student, invest in their lives and invest yourself in the community. Volunteer in local charities and clean up the town. Show love for the community, in the little time, you have with it.

In small towns, specifically in the bible belt, religion is a really big thing. Now if you come to town looking for church homes, this often makes things a lot easier, but if you’re non-religious this means that the town is even more shut down on Sunday’s. This can often be annoying, but it is also one of the things that make these smaller towns great. It brings everyone together. So even if you don’t want to go to church on Sundays, get together a group of friends and use that day as a time to get to know each other better, or use it as a chance to get that last minute project finished, which is most often the case.

I know moving into a small town can be boring. I know there isn’t much to do, and things seem to move very slow, but there is a lot to be said for small town living. Even if it may not be how you want to spend the rest of your life, it is just four years, and it can teach you a lot about community and friendship. In a time where authentic human interaction is often lacking, it can be refreshing to go to college in a small town.