Life in a Small Town - Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in a Small Town!

Living in a small town can have its advantages and disadvantages, and I know this for a fact because I grew up in a small village in Michigan. My hometown had no more than 350 residents, if it even had that many, and it always brought to mind the TV show cheers "where everybody knows your name".

As an adult that is one of the things I loved about the town and miss. I did not have to worry about locking my doors at night, or letting my son walk down to his grandparents house. I did not have these worries because we did not have crimes like you would see in a big city. Rapes, murders, and abductions were alien to us. That is one of the reasons that makes living in a small town so wonderful, because you are free of all that evil.

Being free of crime is not the only benefit of a small town. A small town is a community, or rather a family. When someone is ill, or needs help, the town bands together with auctions and dances to help raise the money they need for their survival.

There is no better feeling than knowing you are not alone. You can walk down the street and immediately get pulled into a conversation no matter how long you been gone, whether or a local or a vacationer. Small towns make you feel like you are meant to be there.

However, there are disadvantages to a small town and education is one of the biggest issues. Unlike cities, smaller towns do not have the opportunities to offer your children a lot of options. My own school did not even have a soccer team until long after I graduated, and to this day still do not have a swimming or hockey team.

Classes are also limited. It was not until recently that you got to take French class or Spanish. However, you may not have a lot of choice in what classes you can take, but the class rooms are smaller allowing the staff to give more one on one attention.

Away from school, children are limited in what they can and can't do. Unlike the larger cities, you will not find a theater, a swimming pool, arcades, bowling alley, or anything else that is fun to do in a small town. My own town for example has a basketball and tennis court, but we did other things like canoeing and fishing.

I can recall as teenager hanging out at the bar because it was the only place where you could do anything. I learned how to play darts and pools but as a parent, it is not something I want for my own children.

Finally, gossip is horrible in a small town. Where everyone knows who you are, it is safe to assume they know your business and in my own town they really do. Gossip is like a wild fire in a small town, once one person finds out the rest of the town knows within minutes.

Sadly, they are a dying breed. We moved away last year to a city, and I hated it so we ended up moving a small village outside of the city we were living in. My new home feels more like home to me because it is small but I can see it happening here as well.

People are moving out of villages for city life and it has nothing to do with preferences but rather financial. City life is cheaper, especially when you drive hours to get to your own job. As more and more people move out for the convenience, the less the towns have to survive.

Every time I go home, I go to the store to visit and I am always surprised and sadden by how empty it looks, but many people can not afford to pay double the price they would if they bought at Wal-Mart. In my heart I know that someday, my hometown, will be a ghost town, especially if we stop enjoying the little towns in our state, and many people have because they can not afford to travel.

I can remember as a little girl our Fourth of July celebrations. For three days, it was a non stop party with so much to do for both adults and kids, and it was a business boomer. The store and bars would do around $30,000 per day. Now they are lucky if they break $5,000 and when you're a little town counting on a big weekend it really hurts. Eventually, if it continues, smalls towns will not even have the luxury of a grocery store, but that is life in a small town.

So, if you are looking for a new home consider a small town, or if you are looking for a fun weekend away check into one of your smaller towns in your state. You just might be surprised by what you find - a home away from home.