The shitty parts of small town life are well documented, but there are good parts:
It's one of the easiest places to have a real sense of community.
Because there just aren't that many people, you get opportunities to dabble in stuff you'd probably be shut out of somewhere larger. This is especially good for kids -- you can try a bunch of activities and sports well into high school because you don't have to be super talented at 15 to avoid getting crowded out.
There are fewer police, which means less police harassment. This is also especially good for kids -- kids do reckless stuff, and this can be the difference between getting chewed out by your parents over it or getting arrested.
The low cost of living makes a middle class lifestyle more attainable than maybe anywhere else.
If you're paid well, that low cost of living can be the difference between being middle class (some financial security, but you still have to worry about bills or large purchases) and being rich (your financial security is near-guaranteed, you don't have to worry about bills, and large purchases are a lot easier, too).
There's less pretention.
Plenty of parts of small town life are awful, but it's silly to pretend that there's no reason anyone would want to live there.
i grew up in a small town but with cops everywhere because the town has a strong Klan presence
All 59 students of my high school graduating class either moved away, died, or are currently in horrifying poverty. About 30 of them moved away, the rest all died except a few (before the age of 40) due to health problems, death by cop, suicide, car crashes, or meth overdoses. I don't know how standard this experience is, but I felt like sharing it.
I can't disagree with the cost of living. My parents had jobs that would be solidly lower-middle class anywhere else, but we never particularly struggled financially. We owned an acre of land and were left alone. Were able to go on vacations and stuff.
The shitty parts of small town life are well documented, but there are good parts:
Plenty of parts of small town life are awful, but it's silly to pretend that there's no reason anyone would want to live there.
i grew up in a small town but with cops everywhere because the town has a strong Klan presence
All 59 students of my high school graduating class either moved away, died, or are currently in horrifying poverty. About 30 of them moved away, the rest all died except a few (before the age of 40) due to health problems, death by cop, suicide, car crashes, or meth overdoses. I don't know how standard this experience is, but I felt like sharing it.
I can't disagree with the cost of living. My parents had jobs that would be solidly lower-middle class anywhere else, but we never particularly struggled financially. We owned an acre of land and were left alone. Were able to go on vacations and stuff.