Does Anyone Live In A Small Town?, small town life

First of all, thank you to those of you that have replied to my posting. I do appreciate your feedback.
oldraven-I'd say 80% of the time, the favoritism and privilege is not an issue. And don't get me wrong, I would not return to the city for any amount of money. Like I said, most of the time the people here would be the ones opening their doors to strangers. Again I say that there are some individuals and families here that are absolute jewels I'd do anything for them.
But I had a thought today after placing this post. I had never heard the term move-in until a friend called me that. I thought, " you actually have a name for those of us that have recently moved here?" It never occured to me that it mattered whether I was born here or have am a newcomer to the area.

That my friends is the crux of the matter for me. I thought I was just a new face in the neighborhood, not someone with a label.

Anyhow, keep talking...

I was born in Galveston Tx and moved here to Haywood Co. North Carolina when I was 16, I moved in with my Grandparents, they had moved back after they retired. I was actually lucky because my family had been here for about 200 years so I was local by proxy and accepted. The ones folks have trouble with here are from New York that moved to Florida then came here. The locals call them Half-backs because they are half back to NY. Some of the locals also tend to dislike people from Michigan they say that they are rude, but I really don't notice it. I think the problem most people have is that people come in with larger ammounts of wealth and buy up property, that really gets some folks but I say blame the fools that sell the property. The thing that really gets locals here is "that isn't the way we did it in (fill in another state here). I know several families that go up north in the winter to work rebuilding factories and other manual labor jobs the thing they say they don't like is the pace at which people move, talk and act, and the cursing (I got a blue streak in me so I really don't mind I just try and watch who I cuss around).

I am so glad that you did not post this Leo, but it does bring to mind a question?

Do the locals consider you a Move In?

I live in a small town of Perry, Ga. We have a town sherrif, town bubba, circle road around the old court house, ice cream parlor and the movie theather is nailed shut due to no one using anymore. Perry is the home of the State National Fair and we hate it when outsiderrs come in and make lines at the car wash, Wendy's or The banks around town. Lots of peach growers around here. Agriculture is very big here and new construction of houses.I like a small town. This one is big compared to the town I'll be moving to up in North Carolina.

And are you usually the topic of conversation every morning at the local coffee shop???????

No they have to order the full course breakfast to have time to talk about me and you know it. And I don't even drink coffee!

I live in a small town in Arizona. An hour between Phoenix and Tucson and could not be happier! I grew up in the rat race of Los Angeles but people are very accepting there and anything goes! I lived in Atlanta and in the suburbs there for 14 years and they do not like outsiders at all! It took us years to be accepted with the exception of a handful of people. We finally decided to move to a much smaller town of Asheville, NC, where it is beautiful but the people disliked outsiders even more so! We finally moved back to Arizona (my husband is from Tucson and where we met). We bought a small business in a small, but booming Arizona town. It is boring here as far as having guests from out of town, but we love it here. The people are very friendly and accepting of outsiders. I live amongst anglo, Mexican, and Native American people and there is no racism here that I know of. I love the combination of cultures. The only thing about living in a small town is that everybody knows everybody and knows everybody's business. And you have to be careful what you say about a person because mostly like it will get back to them -------- especially when you own a business!

I find people to be the same world over. There are good and there are the not so good. Small town's just have less to talk about and less places to go but I have always found people are more accepting once you make a few friends and get out in the area. The one thing I enjoy is that when you go into a store of any kind people say hello and know you by name, which I find comforting.
A Walton kind of moment ya know?

That is what I like around here. If I have vehicle trouble, they stop and ask if I need their help and it goes the other way too.

How many other places can you trust people well enough that you would feel safe doing that?

That's what I like about living in a small town.

jpmoore,

I know what you mean about living in a small town. I have lived in my small town for most of my life. (2 years in a big city only to move back to the small town)

If you don't have a certain last name or more than 6 figures in the bank you are a nobody.

But I have a theory for this. I've decided that I don't care who you are if you're nice to me I'll be nice to you. If you're not look out, I've been know to pull some nasty pranks.

We moved to a rural area in Kentucky from Michigan 12 years ago and have never regretted it. We are 7 miles to the closest town and it consists of a bank, a post office and a combination convenience store/gas station/family restaurant It was quite a culteral shock to begin with, tho. For example, we had just pulled into our driveway when a couple of neighbors came by offering to help us unload our moving truck. That kind of openess made my husband real nervous at first. But we got used to it pretty quickly. And when I was out driving, I had to learn to wave, nod my head and change gears in our vehicle all at the same time. But if you actually know the person you blow your car horn too! Hey, these are coordinated types around here. If you have car trouble, within a few minutes someone will stop and help you out. You may or may not know them.

We love it!!!

Hey Blugrass Lady

Be careful of the nod vacume....that can be very awkward if you find yourself caught up in it

You are right there, Raven. It takes a lot of practice to get it right!

Raven posted this a long time ago

Well, for the most part I have been fairly well accepted. Of course, for some I will always be "The Gringo", but for most I think I am part of the community.

On the other hand, quite a few folks still remember the first time I arrived in town, and for them I may just be an inigma. Think I will have to write a book about it. Probably be sorta like "The Deerslayer", only without the russian roulette thingy.

Leo