Living In A Small Town?

ClassicRockr

ClassicRockr

Well-known Member
If you don't already, could you? There are those that wouldn't, saying "I don't want everyone to know my business." They can be/are very private people, something that small town people generally aren't.

In my teen years, on a farm, a lot of folks in 'Busco (Indiana) knew my parents/guardians. Banker, grocery store clerks/manager, barber shop and other folks. Yes, 'Busco was a small town, just like Huntertown, where I went to high school.

As for me, I could easily live in a small town, as long as that small town was in the north west. A place where I could talk rodeo, horses and other livestock, crop production, wildlife and wear western clothes (when we wanted to). My wife would feel the same way about things we like. Of course, this is, in part, the reason we are moving back to Colorado. It wouldn't bother us to drive to a city for different things, including medical.

When I lived in So California, I spent many weekends in Norco, California. A noted "horse town" that had a story about in the magazine Western Horseman. They also had a very nice, and nice paying as well, pro-rodeo each year. Norco was small, and instead of sidewalks, had dirt paths going by houses there for horseback riders. A nice small restaurant called The Cowgirl Café that all locals went to and I knew many of them. After I met my wife, took her out there to a horse auction, roping arena and eat breakfast at The Cowgirl. She wore her western clothes and cowboy hat...…..fit right in!

So, what do you think...…...could you live in a small town?​
 

I would be bored. What do people in small towns, far from a good city,
do for entertainment or for relaxation? For stimulation?
Far from even an airport.
 
I could. It would also depend how far from the next larger town it was. With internet available, I'd still be able to get what I wanted such as books etc. I also order a lot of my crafting items online and have fabric and yarn to last a lifetime.
 

Kitties said:
I could. It would also depend how far from the next larger town it was. With internet available, I'd still be able to get what I wanted such as books etc. I also order a lot of my crafting items online and have fabric and yarn to last a lifetime.
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I live rural 10 miles to the small town and 20 miles to the gig town.. Internet is no problem as we have a Broadband Antenna..( Dish)
 
Victor said:
I would be bored. What do people in small towns, far from a good city,
do for entertainment or for relaxation? For stimulation?
Far from even an airport.
Click to expand...

Bored? Could be, depending on what your interests are compared to the other people in the town. A lot of times, for entertainment, people in small towns have get-togethers...…..a picnic on someone's farm. If there is a lake, that allows power boating, they fish and may enjoy skiing and/or tubing. Small towns may even have an old theater where they can still show movies. Square dancing could definitely be a possibility. Remember, small town areas are generally for full-time farmers/ranchers and/or even retirees.

If they want bigger entertainment, they will have to drive to nearest city, whether that's 10 miles away or 30. When we lived in Parker, CO, we had to drive to Denver for major entertainment and that was a 30 mile drive. When we lived in Parker, I would consider it a small city, because of all the stores, but not a small town.

Being close to an airport, for some, isn't a necessity at all. Depends on how much traveling/flying a person does.
 
When we move, which I would consider a both a town and city has a population of 78,000 people, whereas where we live now, the local population is around 931,000 and entire area is around 1.5 million. Not too much to do, but there are lakes for power boating/fishing. Anyway, right up the road some 10 miles is Fort Collins for entertainment or Denver, an hour south for major entertainment.
 
Oh, good. I was wondering when the next "when we move to Colorado" thread would appear. When is the big move planned? I will be glad when you finally get where you are going and can wear your cowboy clothes whenever you please. (And why you can't wear them now remains forever a mystery to me.)

As for living in a small town, I'd have no problem with it. "Bloom where you are planted." I like to stay home and live a quiet life which I can do just about anywhere.
 
Austin was a small town of around 300,000 when I moved here, forty years ago. It was great. Now, since we are the #1 place to live on all major surveys, the town is over 1M, for the area, and has the worst traffic, terrible air and knock your socks off taxes! We need to hang out a "No Vacancy" sign. Won't happen. (2018: #1 Money, #1 best town for students, in a college survey, #1 for business US News &)
 
C'est Moi said:
Oh, good. I was wondering when the next "when we move to Colorado" thread would appear. When is the big move planned? I will be glad when you finally get where you are going and can wear your cowboy clothes whenever you please. (And why you can't wear them now remains forever a mystery to me.)

As for living in a small town, I'd have no problem with it. "Bloom where you are planted." I like to stay home and live a quiet life which I can do just about anywhere.
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We are getting our boat ready to be transported there in May.
We simply aren't the "stay at home or quiet type of couple", especially on the weekends. ​

Ok, now for your answer to "why you can't wear them now...…." is...…….visit Jacksonville, FL and you'll find out why. Jacksonville sure isn't any part of Colorado or surrounding states. IOW, Jacksonville has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of cowboy/western stuff, except a dumb concert once in a while.
 
The village where I live is so small that the lights dim when someone plugs in a razor ;);). It has a population of around 200 and has no amenities. However.. The air is clear, people are helpful and although there is gossip, people don't intrude on your privacy. The nearest biggish town with good shops is 14 miles away. It's GREAT! All those years when the view from the window was our neighbour's house - now it's fields and farms and who cares if you find a sheep or a wild deer wandering up your drive.

OK, I understand that if I was in poor health, it would be good to live nearer a health centre, but on the other hand, the village's oldest resident only left the cottage where he had lived for 91 years, earlier this year. His siblings ( almost 90) still live in the village and still drive.

Looking down Main St. from outside my house.

village2.jpg
 
From talking to some people here in Jacksonville, most would never, ever move to a small town...……..as long as they are employed here, that is. With the right experience and/or college degree here, the salaries are very, very good here, and it shows it. Most of the vehicles here are much, much newer than our 2005 Dodge Durango. Many have brand new vehicles. By looking at the major restaurants here, anyone would think "nobody ever eats at home here?", because they are jammed packed from Thursday thru Saturday.
 
Capt Lightning said:
The village where I live is so small that the lights dim when someone plugs in a razor ;);). It has a population of around 200 and has no amenities. However.. The air is clear, people are helpful and although there is gossip, people don't intrude on your privacy. The nearest biggish town with good shops is 14 miles away. It's GREAT! All those years when the view from the window was our neighbour's house - now it's fields and farms and who cares if you find a sheep or a wild deer wandering up your drive.
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That sounds ideal to me. I've lived most of my life in the rapidly growing suburban sprawl of Central Florida.

I could do with some peace and quiet.

But I wouldn't want to get too far out off the grid if you know what I mean.

 
Capt Lightning said:
The village where I live is so small that the lights dim when someone plugs in a razor ;);). It has a population of around 200 and has no amenities. However.. The air is clear, people are helpful and although there is gossip, people don't intrude on your privacy. The nearest biggish town with good shops is 14 miles away. It's GREAT! All those years when the view from the window was our neighbour's house - now it's fields and farms and who cares if you find a sheep or a wild deer wandering up your drive.

OK, I understand that if I was in poor health, it would be good to live nearer a health centre, but on the other hand, the village's oldest resident only left the cottage where he had lived for 91 years, earlier this year. His siblings ( almost 90) still live in the village and still drive.

Looking down Main St. from outside my house.

View attachment 60563
Click to expand...

In red above...…...that's what we are looking forward to. Along I-25, either going north or south out of either Loveland or Ft. Collins, that's what you'd see. Field after field of corn, John Deere, Farmall, IH or some other brand of tractor sitting around, round bales of hay and cattle grazing. My kind of freeway driving!

Caution Elk Crossing signs and the high possibility of seeing either White Tail or Mule deer.​
 
treeguy64 said:
Austin was a small town of around 300,000 when I moved here, forty years ago. It was great
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Ha!!! We have cities here with a fraction of that population !! One city I know has 45,000, another 145,000 , . The beauty of living in a small town or village in the uk is that you're never far from a large city..I'm just 20 miles from London...on the edge of a small town pop 24,000, so we have all the facilities we need, and just 1/2 an hour on the train into central London if necessary ( believe me not many want to drive into London if they can help it, public transport here in towns and cities is incredibly good)...although out here in the villages we need cars...
 
ClassicRockr said:
[FONT=&quot]So, what do you think...…...could you live in a small town?[/FONT]
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Yup...and we have taken it even further. We moved to 40 acres of heavy forestland, about 3 miles from a town of about 1,000 people, 15+years ago...and it is Great. We have the essentials just minutes away...gas, groceries, etc., and its about 20 minutes to the next larger town of about 5,000....doctor, dentist, eye clinic, Walmart, etc. Our nearest neighbors are about 1/8th mile away...perhaps 25 families on about 800 acres. It is quiet, and peaceful, with virtually no worries about crime, etc. We go to the city about once a month to visit the casinos, and the one Daughter/Son-in-law who are still stuck there....but they, along with the rest of the relatives, have places within a short drive from here, so in another 3 or 4 years, they will all be within an hours drive. If/when health, etc., dictates that we can no longer stay this far out, there is a great medium sized town of about 75,000, about 25 miles from here, with all the stores and health facilities we should need...good hospital, etc., that will probably be our first choice, if we need to move.
Every time we go to the city, I almost feel sorry for those who are trapped there....overcrowding, crime, pollution, traffic, etc...and after a couple of days in that rat race, it's a pleasure to get back to this serenity.
 
Victor said:
I would be bored. What do people in small towns, far from a good city,
do for entertainment or for relaxation? For stimulation?
Far from even an airport.
Click to expand...
Good man, Victor. I wish more urban dwellers thought like you and were content to stay in their cities.

Our previous home in Maine was in a town of about 11,000 souls, up from 8000 when we moved there 25 years earlier. The nearest "city" (population 72,000) was about half an hour away. Greater Boston (population around 5 million) was two hours away and you couldn't get me go there if you paid me.

There seems to be an unending stream of people from the large northeastern centers coming to northern New England - first for "summer homes", then to retire - and bringing their urban ethos with them. It has a definite negative impact on the quality of life here. The same thing seems to have happened on the west coast. Coastal Oregon and Washington today bear little resemblance to the lovely areas I remember from the 1960s.

. . . maybe I'm just getting old. :(
 
ClassicRockr said:
So, what do you think...…...could you live in a small town?
Click to expand...

Yup...and we have taken it even further. We moved to 40 acres of heavy forestland, about 3 miles from a town of about 1,000 people, 15+years ago...and it is Great. We have the essentials just minutes away...gas, groceries, etc., and its about 20 minutes to the next larger town of about 5,000....doctor, dentist, eye clinic, Walmart, etc. Our nearest neighbors are about 1/8th mile away...perhaps 25 families on about 800 acres. It is quiet, and peaceful, with virtually no worries about crime, etc. We go to the city about once a month to visit the casinos, and the one Daughter/Son-in-law who are still stuck there....but they, along with the rest of the relatives, have places within a short drive from here, so in another 3 or 4 years, they will all be within an hours drive. If/when health, etc., dictates that we can no longer stay this far out, there is a great medium sized town of about 75,000, about 25 miles from here, with all the stores and health facilities we should need...good hospital, etc., that will probably be our first choice, if we need to move.
Every time we go to the city, I almost feel sorry for those who are trapped there....overcrowding, crime, pollution, traffic, etc...and after a couple of days in that rat race, it's a pleasure to get back to this serenity.
 
We live in a town of about 5000. Pretty spread out . One thing about living in New Jersey is that in about 3 hours I can be to the ocean, New York City or high up into the mountains. We rarely go to New York City, just to many people pushing and shoving. If we venture out of our area it would be to go to the lakes nearby or to Atlantic City to the casinos once in awhile. If we want to go to the shore to swim we need to travel a bit further south. The southern beaches of New Jersey are much nicer. I could never be happy in a big city.
 
treeguy64 said:
When you're born and raised in Chicago, a town of over 4M, yeah, 300K is a small town.
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Our nearest Cathedral city St Albans POP 57,000 is just 20 minutes by road from here and 25 miles north west of London population 8 million... Londoners who've moved there don't feel like it's a small town.. but I suppose that comes with the territory that all large towns and cities are fairly cramped regardless of the population numbers, due to this being a small overcrowded Island!! I'm very glad that I live in the rural shires.. but even here we've just been informed that 1000 new homes will be built on our greenbelt land in the next few years.. and also as Tommy said, we also have quite a few City dwellers buying up second homes in the country, which has increased the median price by a huge margin, and pricing out the local kids who can't afford properties here in the small market towns and villages where they grew up, and never will...
 
Nope. We love the big cities and have no problem with them. Great neighbors, amazing variety of restaurants within easy reach, every service imaginable. Just got back from our usual swing through Monterey/Carmel, CA with a side trip to Paso Robles.

In 2019 we'll be looking into nearby senior facilities to decide if we want to leave our SFH and move by year end. I'm totally ready (emotionally, not logistically!); spouse is having more difficulty "facing facts" but I knew if I didn't set a deadline (altho I fully expect we will slide past that date into 2020), he'd never get off his duff and seriously think about downsizing his stuff, LOL.

Just finished a call with our financial adviser to let him know what we're planning on doing, so we can work with him going forward once Spouse and I narrow down to the final two or three places. He ran preliminary numbers for us so we all stay on the same page with the issue of affordability. We'll have him review all the contracts of our finalists to ensure there's no surprises lurking in the fine print.
 
I have lived in small towns for most of my life. Where I live now is a conglomeration of small towns called 'The West Island' and
is about 20 miles outside of a big city. We has hospitals, schools, a university,shopping mall, theatres, senior residences(I live in one)
very little traffic, fewer traffic lights, larger homes and properties, an international airport, you name it, we have it. Would never drean
of living in a big city.
 

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