So this summer, I wanted to stay within the United Sates for my traveling experiences, focusing on small towns in particular, and I have to say, I was super surprised. Based on popular books and movies, as well as prior experience, I was expecting small towns to be tight-knit, like a family, if not a little rude to outsiders. I was wrong.
OGUNQUIT, MAINE
My first stay was in Ogunquit, Maine. My first thought was that, as someone who doesn't enjoy lobster, I was definitely in the wrong town. But being someone who loves beaches of all kinds and the salt air, I was home. My love for Ogunquit grew each days as some locals, namely a few relatives and some shop owners, taught me the ropes. It was the closeness I had expected, but the open friendliness that was the pleasant surprise. One thing that was unique was that the small beach town has a no-chain policy. This means that each business is unique and owned, staffed, and run by locals. It also means you have to drive out of town to pick up your groceries. It was a very good experience, and because it's a summer town, lots of people came in from all over. Boston and Canada were the largest groups, at least, from what I was told and could tell via accent. The helpfulness of the year-rounders was surprising, but not as surprising as the numbers. Apparently, Ogunquit only a few hundred residents and roughly sixty kids that go to the year-round K-12 school. No wonder their all so close!
PIPESTEM, SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
As Pipestem is a state park, as well as camping area. I assumed the park itself and the towns closest would have the same family vibe that the small towns in Maine did. In fact, it was the opposite. The area might be made up of small towns, but everyone has a few acres of their own and aren't as close with their neighbors as one would suspect. It seemed that most West Virginians liked their privacy. I guess that's to be expected for people that live in a spaced-out mountain town. Everyone was polite, but it was not the come-on-in welcome I had linked to small towns. Warm fuzzy welcome or not, the mountains were beautiful.
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
With its population around fifty thousand, one wouldn't typically consider this town 'small'. The only reason I'm including it myself is because the hospitality was so genuine, I felt as if I were in one. In a generation where manners are becoming a thing of the past, it was a refreshing and most definitely appreciated break. Doors were held open, the phrase "pardon me" common when rushing through a shopping mall. None of the pushing and shoving I have come to know and expect in regards to public places with high populations. Everyone was helpful and sincere in every possible way. Clerks and cashiers inquired politely about your day and your health, all whilst maintaining a smile as they attended to what seemed like hundreds of customers. Waitresses and waiters were polite and dedicated to their job, and made the whole experience pleasant. Even getting a car serviced was done kindly and efficiently. So while not a small town in a population sense, it was the town I expected a small town to be.
MT. HOLLY, VERMONT & LUDLOW, VERMONT
First, can you say isolated? Wow. Mt. Holly is the kind of place where you could spend all day wandering the mountains or forest paths and never get bored, only stopping to stare at the stars in the middle of the night. Everything is so clear and clean there that the stars are the brightest I've ever seen. I can't safely make a judgement on Mt. Holly's residents because outside the family I was travelling with, we never saw anyone. Other than family, there was no people interaction in Mt. Holly. Ludlow, the town closest that we drove to for groceries, was nice. The outer stores, such as Singleton's, were polite, but the further into tiny Ludlow, the more open and friendly people got. I specifically remember one waitress laughing with us and sharing stories of her three-year-old son. It reminded me of the shopkeepers in Maine and the people of Chapel Hill.
While my experiences observing people were relatively short, there did seem to be a direct correlation between people-proximity and that small-town-from-the-movies vibe. Seems like the closer you are land-wise, the closer you are, people-wise. All I know is that I'm up for a trip to a "small town" and its kind people anytime.
