For those thinking about moving from the big city to a small town, I have some information for you. I come from a small town of about 500 people, yes that is considered a village by standards, but it’s a farming community. First off, it is more laid back and the people can be more friendly but you have to realize that they are nice to people they don’t know. The people already there have known each other for years and you are new, therefore on probation on whether or not they really like you.

They want to see how respectful you are, if you are a gossip, do drugs, drink, and the liar factor are all being considered. If you haven’t already noticed there is a matter of a ranking system as well; in the more disciplined families the elder people, grandparents if you will, are in charge.

This is mostly true in the farm families because the grandfathers are used to being the boss and the kids may complain but they follow in line. At the time of death of the elder man is when the war between the younger generations start and the family is torn apart. That is the worst. I knew the nicest family, which was kept together by the grandfather and as soon as he died the family was split down the middle and was never the same again.

I’m not even apart of that family but I was always welcome when they celebrated holidays or when anyone needed help with anything, everyone pitched in. Now, the eldest son may be in charge of things but you still run everything by the old man as a part of respect.

A good tip when moving is these people have a whole lot less distraction, than the city. They have less ways to blow off stress and to keep themselves occupied. That is the reason the local bars are so popular, people go there to socialize, drink and have a good time. They gossip a lot because that is pretty much an occupation because it’s a small town with little or nothing that happens and that is their way of dealing with it.

In small towns, you learn at a young age not to believe everything you hear and know how to have a circle of friends who know you well enough to have your back and correct people when necessary. You have to learn how to give it and take it at the same time, sarcasm may be a second language in some towns as well. People are not mean to each other, they just didn’t have the touchy-feely upbringing that others have and that is how they express love, like, or whatever feelings they have. The more friendly grief you are given and how you handle is means they like you.

How you stand up for yourself and others is taken into consideration as well. You can’t take things personally or you won’t survive. Express yourself objectively, but have an opinion or you will be considered an airhead. Above all, you have to get it out of your head that small town are small utopias, they are not, and people have problems, opinions, and things that make them human, the same as city people.

There are cliques and generation gaps, white color and blue collar, same as everywhere else. I find that it is best to have little groups of friends everywhere. Explore the area, towns near by and down the road, that way you’ll have a large variety and everywhere you go you’ll have a couple people you can visit. Also, if the people near you are getting on your nerves you have others that you can vent to and keep you sane.

I hope this helps a little bit for those who want to get out of the city. A little side note is that more and more people are leaving the cities because there is too much violence and drug-related problems. I’m sorry to say that more and more small towns that have more city dwellers moving are having a rise in violent crimes and drug-related incidents because they are forgetting to leave their city mentalities that made them move in the first place behind.

Parents who are moving to get their kids away from that should do more research because some kids who have grown accustomed to that lifestyle that their parents made them leave will find ways to resurrect it behind their parents backs in the small town that they currently reside in. They often succeed because the small town kids will try anything that is new and different and to feel more like city kids because they think city kids are cooler because the T.V. and Internet tell them that they are.

Please if you are thinking about moving, do your homework, talk to people from the neighborhood and try to get as much information as possible to make sure it is the town you can live in.