I went from a tiny, tiny town to a mid-sized town to the sprawl that is Los Angeles. I cannot wait to get back to small town America. Not to negate Mary et al’s experience, but I tend to think that we create our own realities and you can carve happiness out just about anywhere you go.

When I go a-hunting for small town living again, I’m going to focus on finding a blend of charm and an openness to liberal views. I’m excited about the search! Good luck with yours. :)

Don’t worry about what Mary and Leslie have to say about being an outsider. Like any place, it’ll take a little while for the neighbors to warm to you, but as long as you’re not big fat jerks or anything, you’ll fit in.

As for being from the evil city, us small town folk don’t hate that per se, we hate when former big city folk complain about how much more boring a small town is. Yes, it’s slower and yes, there isn’t as much to do. We understand that, and choose to live with it. If you move to a small town, be prepared for that.

The difference in wages for a small town generally isn’t much. Teachers, nurses, social workers, etc. make pretty much the same wage in a small town as a big city, plus living expenses are always much less. If your job is pretty specialized, then you’d be better off living in a city. If it’s more common, you’ll have no problem finding work in a decent sized town.

I lived in a big city for a little while, and never again! What a bunch of headaches. Give me my small town living any time.

Leslie, ideally we would be working for ourselves from home, so that part shouldn’t matter.