We recently moved to a small town (less than 900 people). We bought a foreclosure that needed a ton of work and we've been working on it for the last two months.
Since we bought it, it seems everyone in town knew us before we had a chance to introduce ourselves. I forgot how in small towns everyone knows everything about everyone. It's kind of funny.
For example, I ran into a store soon after we moved and the cashier was like, "How's the house coming? I'm so glad someone is fixing that place up."
I also had to go to the lumber yard to buy some sheetrock and asked if they could deliver it for us. I also asked if they needed our address and he said, "Nope, we know where you live."
Then, just the other day I was at the gas station filling up when a guy pulls up and asks what part of (county on my license plate) we're from. I told him the town we used to live and told him we live here now. He said, "Oh I know you do. You bought the house on the corner you've been working on. That's a big project. It's so nice someone who cares bought it. It looks so much better already."
This has happened so many other times. I will say everyone in this town has been extremely nice and so far they all seem to love that we're fixing the house, haha. It was definitely an eye sore.
Anyway, not much point to this post, I just forgot what small town life was like.
I grew up on a farm that was outside of a very small town and I now live outside of the same small town but on the other side. Often I will go to the hardware store (on main street, across from the pharmacy) and I have to remind them not to deliver to my parents farm. As far as everyone is concerned I will always live at the family farm.
I have family in a very small town in the Midwest and I would love to live there except you have to drive 90 minutes to get to the "big city" and that is really not even a big city.
That seems somewhat comforting and terrifying at the same time
Right?! I mean, I'm glad everyone has been super nice, but dang, we better watch ourselves so we don't ever become the talk of the town in a negative way.
I have family in a very small town in the Midwest and I would love to live there except you have to drive 90 minutes to get to the "big city" and that is really not even a big city.
We are in the midwest too. We're actually only 15-20 minutes from the biggest "city" in our area (population around 170,000). I do love that we are so close. It only took me 15 minutes to get to Target the other day.
Post by amberlyrose on Oct 21, 2014 14:56:30 GMT -5
Sometimes I miss it and then I remember getting in trouble before I even got home from school. "Teacher so and so told me you were holding hands with a new boy. Who is he? Are you together? what happened with that nice kid?" WTF ma!
I have family in a very small town in the Midwest and I would love to live there except you have to drive 90 minutes to get to the "big city" and that is really not even a big city.
We are in the midwest too. We're actually only 15-20 minutes from the biggest "city" in our area (population around 170,000). I do love that we are so close. It only took me 15 minutes to get to Target the other day.
See now that I could do in a heart beat. It is those 90 minute drives just to get to a target/walmart big box store that would get real old, real fast
We're in this same situation -- live in a small town, around 800-900 (all fucking related to each other) but 30 miles from civilization. When we moved into our house 14 years ago and called to set up heating oil delivery, they didn't ask us what our address is -- they asked us whose house we bought!
We don't have kids and we're not related to anybody here, so we're the freaky outlanders who happily keep to themselves.
Sometimes I miss it and then I remember getting in trouble before I even got home from school. "Teacher so and so told me you were holding hands with a new boy. Who is he? Are you together? what happened with that nice kid?" WTF ma!
I'm pretty sure that's how a few Stephen King novels start. lol.
Lol, now my mind is making up creepy plotlines involving my neighbors and the townspeople.
Random neighbor story: Our next door neighbors are an elderly couple and every single time I see them outside the husband tells me, "I've been in good health my whole life until I broke my hip when I was 91. I just haven't been the same since." I have no idea how old he is, but I never would have guessed older than 91! I feel like once our kitchen is done I should bake them some cookies or something, haha. They are cute.
Bonus: I can bring my dog into almost every establishment in town, save for restaurants and grocery stores. Once he ran away and I went downtown to look and he was tied up outside a cafe. The owner said someone brought him there and said a blonde chick from down the creek would be looking for him and could he just wait there. They said yes, lol.
I was shocked to find that everyone in our big- town neighborhood knew all about our screened- in porch extension this summer. Not a very grand project, but it was common knowledge (shocker) at all of the neighborhood parties - graduations, BBQs, etc.
This sounds so different to me. I've lived in the suburbs, the city, and the close outskirts. It sounds comforting, even though I've always disliked my neighbors, lol.
I'm glad that you have made a positive impact on the community! That must feel great!
My family had a cabin at a lake in a small town. One day we went all the way across town to the store to order a delivery of propane for our cabin. They asked us our address and we had no clue what it was (we had our own water well, the electric bill doesn't have a legitimate address, no house numbers, most streets have no signs) so we were trying to give the cashier directions. A man behind us piped up and started telling the cashier our address. As the cashier finished filling out the paperwork, the man made some comment about how he just knew it had to be us because he knew rich city folk lived there and we most definitely looked like rich city folk. He insisted that was a compliment...lol