It’s easy for me to find the benefits of small town (or even small city) living, as I’ve never lived anywhere else. Growing up in the Bay Area (California) we even lived in the small town of Alameda—or at least considered small town to its residents who number around 79,000 today. Compare that to Oakland (over 400,000 residents), just across the bridge. Of course, when I graduated high school (Alameda High—Go Hornets!) the population was only 63,000.
You may be thinking, so what? Well, small-town living is attractive to most Americans. Statistics show that 80% of people living in big cities would prefer to live in a rural location or a small city. People love to read books set in small towns, because they either live in one themselves or would prefer it over living in the city.
My first novel, Surrendered, takes place in the small city of Placerville, California. in fact, all three of my novels (the other two to be published in the next two years) take place in this location. My grandparents retired to Placerville (from the Naval Air Station in Alameda) when I was only ten, so it became my town by default.
What’s so great about living in a small town/city? I have a list of fun facts from The Odyssey Online. Some of this is a little tongue-in-cheek, but I can tell you, now that my husband and I live in a small Southern city (see photo above), it’s more real than not.
1. Traffic jams consist of three cars piled up behind a tractor.
2. Girls complain about how there are “just not any cute boys around here” to date.
3. Some guys quit playing one of their three sports because it takes up too much hunting time.
4. The longest wait of your lifetime occurs when going to Sonic after the high school basketball game.
5. The local hero is the farmer.
6. Teachers are more than educators. They are friends, mentors, and fill-in mothers.
7. No one ever lives more than a couple of miles from a church, even the people who live “out in the country”.
8. Everyone knows your business, and some people even know your business before you do.
9. Homecoming is easily the biggest event of the year.
10. There is a central location in town where all the old men sip coffee and talk smack.
11. A common phrase heard from all the old women in town is, “Now who do you belong to?”
12. Real talent doesn’t hold a candle to a powerful last name.
13. There’s that one family in town everyone loves to gossip about.
14. Major world issues are solved at the beauty salon.
15. “Rolling” houses is a Halloween tradition.
16. Fireworks purchased on the Fourth of July will be shot off randomly through October
17. That one traffic light in the middle of town takes forever to change, especially during your Sunday morning rush to church.
18. Walmart is at least 15 minutes away, and getting to a shopping mall takes even longer.
19. You know exactly where “over yonder” is.
20. Describing where your hometown is located to “out-of-towners” requires at least a 30-second description, and that’s on a good day.
21. Your hometown doesn’t have a trendy Snapchat filter.
22. Where the cops always sit and what times they will be there are known by all.
23. Pedestrian crossings are unnecessary. Possum crossings are desperately needed.
24. You pause to observe which way the ambulance is traveling to see if you know anyone who lives in that direction. In the case you do know someone in that direction, a call making sure everyone is alright follows.
25. You know that, despite the things that annoy you, your little community always has your back.
Comments 1
“Go Hornets” – class of 65. Yes, Alameda was my home growing up. The streets were narrow with lots of trees. It seemed small to me at the time as I rode my bike everywhere and it carried me daily to my early morning paper route. Popular hang-outs were Tucker’s Ice Cream, Dairy Queen, Park Street, and South Shore. Those were the good times.