Life in a Small Town

Living in a small town

Born and raised in the Lodi (CA) area, I have always heard Lodi described as a “small town” or having a “small town atmosphere”. The past two months I have been living in a town with less than 25,000 inhabitants...truly a small town. In two months I have discovered that living in a small town has many advantages. Along with the advantages also come disadvantages.

The neighbors are friendly; even going so far as to put out the garbage cans for their neighbors. For all the friendliness, there was an extremely small down side. The newspaper disappeared for several days. After I realized it was walking away, I started going out to pick it up earlier in the day. The second day of retrieving it earlier, one of the previous days papers, that had gone missing, was returned, rubber banded together, ads and all.

The cashiers at the mom & pop grocery store know their customers by name, greeting them when they walk in. They are welcoming to an unknown customer with warmth and delight, as if they have known you for years. The politicians are also personable. During the election time, while I was there, I spoke to a mayoral candidate on the phone, when she phoned the house to stress her platform for running. During “trick or treating” on Halloween, a flyer from her campaign was left on the doorstep and on Election Day, a reminder call to vote, from one of her volunteers. Not a recorded voice, but an actual pleasant person. She won the election. I don’t know if it was because of her personal approach or not, but I would think it was in her favor.

Another thing, livestock is not banned from “city limits”, a goat or lamb bleated in the house behind where I was staying. I also hear a rooster several mornings. Delightful sounds to this city turned country girl.

The air in a small town is fresher not bogged down by smog and other big city stenches; you can step outside at night and see the stars. Not just the few with the strongest light, but many, many more.

Businesses close up in the early evening as the owners and employees go home to their families. I had become used to having 24 hour stores and it was a change for me to be in a place where there were none. Such was a great learning experience on waiting, no “instant gratification” for the things I desired or needed.

Having had this experience and already having the desire to eventually move to a small town, I learned first hand experience that moving to a small town will be a delight, one I greatly look forward to.