Could You Move to a Small Town

[Yarbr 123]

3 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Watchu want to know fam?

What can you tell us about Coeur d'Alene?

[Pato del Muerto 52507]

Haven’t been yet. Everyone says it’s gorgeous. Want to take the camper there this summer. 

[Jkwellborn 6704]

I grew up in a town of less than 1800. Enjoyed it. Like others have said, there are pros and cons. I hate being around people so that helps.

[Mr.Hovis 70]

Moved to the Driftwood area 15 years ago with the idea that our youngest could finish school(Dripping Springs ISD) then we could sell the place for a reasonable profit and move after retiring. Austin has been coming to us at a pretty rapid rate and my daughter is 3 years from graduating. It was a great place to live and raise kids, glad we moved here but gotta get out.  FM1826 traffic gets worse by the day and new subdivisions being built all around us. We'll stick it out until she is off to college then looking at maybe Kerrville, Llano or Marble Falls for a primary residence, and a small place to escape the hot months.  As has been mentioned by others in this thread  medical facilities, a decent grocery store and some good restaurants are a must. Considering smaller towns in other states as well.

[Landomatic 3813]

Any of these charming small towns on the gulf?  I could do small if I had an ocean view and some version of a tropical paradise.  Cabana bars, toes in the water, ass in the sand, fishing, etc.  As long as I was within 1-2 hours of a major city.  Does such a place exist?

[Johnny Sack 8397]

27 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

Any of these charming small towns on the gulf?  I could do small if I had an ocean view and some version of a tropical paradise.  Cabana bars, toes in the water, ass in the sand, fishing, etc.  As long as I was within 1-2 hours of a major city.  Does such a place exist?

Cinnamon Shores maybe.  Port O’Connor has a nice development called the Sanctuary.  Nice club and facilities. But I couldn’t ever convince my wife to move there. She’d die or boredom. Great fishing. I also love Port Mansfield for fishing and waterfowl. But it’s a dump and would get old. And I doubt you’d consider Corpus or Harlingen major cities. 

So one day we will do Hill country in winter and Colorado in summer  

There are plenty of great small Texas towns that aren’t just an interstate exit and McDonalds.  

[Jkwellborn 6704]

Any of these charming small towns on the gulf?  I could do small if I had an ocean view and some version of a tropical paradise.  Cabana bars, toes in the water, ass in the sand, fishing, etc.  As long as I was within 1-2 hours of a major city.  Does such a place exist?

Zihuatanejo

[CooterBrown 18014]

Having grown up in a small town I have zero desire to even visit a small town. Fuck all those places. I love having everything within 15 minutes of my house.

[tx 3 putt 76980]

On 4/9/2018 at 2:24 PM, Mez2 said:

Right now, no. But eventually, we'll probably move to Palacios or somewhere near the bay

 

do it man, ill come by and go fishing with you 

[tx 3 putt 76980]

 

On 4/9/2018 at 3:09 PM, Nolacycling said:

Since my divorce and children growing up, I've used my teaching degree to move around a lot, almost yearly for the last decade +. I've lived in towns as small as 5k, 25k, 75k and for me it comes down to whether you can entertain yourself or not. I absolutely cannot; no small towns for me. 

 

I'd have to marry a local (a hot female local) to make it work for me + there has to be a golf course close by 

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

On 4/22/2018 at 2:05 PM, Landomatic said:

Any of these charming small towns on the gulf?  I could do small if I had an ocean view and some version of a tropical paradise.  Cabana bars, toes in the water, ass in the sand, fishing, etc.  As long as I was within 1-2 hours of a major city.  Does such a place exist?

The problem with living on the Gulf is that every single summer brings an existential threat to all that you hold dear. I remember talking to an old redneck who'd lost absolutely everything when a 20 foot wall of water came roaring up Trinity Bay and absolutely demolished the little town of Oak Island. I asked him if he would be moving back. "Probably so, but I ain't livin' here again 'less I got some wheels under my ass." Meaning an RV. Pretty good advice IMO. 

[Stunns38 3493]

I could only live in a New England type small town or something In the northeast like Montauk on LI(I know, NY douchebags overun it in the summer) ; it’ll have to be within 2 hrs of a larger city too with some exceptions. Can’t do a small town in the south unless it is close to a coast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sbbruin 21858]

On 4/22/2018 at 1:22 PM, Jkwellborn said:

 

Zihuatanejo

 

[Pancho 44833]

Grew up in Gainesville, and my parents still live there.  

I'll never ever live in a small town like that again.  There were 150 people in my graduating class, and yes I knew every single person.  Still hated it.  I hated having to drive to Denton or Lewisville just for entertainment.  Years later, I can still walk into certain places and people know me.  Sure, it's nice to hear them say how proud they are of me, but that still doesn't make me want to live in a town like that again.  Even when I want to go visit my parents it makes me want to leave a few days early because it's just absolutely ass boring. 

I almost feel like going to a small high school was limiting.  Because I did public speaking/debate (UT Speech Team, holla!) and was very involved in Student Council, I was able to meet people from large high schools (had friends at Plano Senior, FM Marcus, and Denton Ryan) and I was always envious because they had specialty clubs, classes, and organizations that we just didn't have at my small high school.  

Currently, I'm in Houston and at times I feel it's not large enough.  I have noticed, though, that people tend to stick to their communities.  While I teach at a 2-year in north Houston, I've found most of my students rarely if ever travel to anywhere in the loop. Some of them have never even been to the museums here, and it's just odd. 

[bolverk 29683]

I think one of the biggest drawbacks to living in a small town is the loss of anonymity we can enjoy in big cities. That threat of being "known" can be aggravating as hell with people all up in your bidness or worse yet getting caught up in someone's gossip. It's a whole lot like the paranoia you see in the Next Door thread. The flipside though is it gives you a better chance to "get involved" if you're really civic-minded, and you can really start making an impact - much like what was said up-thread or in another about kids getting involved in a bunch of organizations at smaller high schools.

Ultimately, I think what it boils down to for me would be employment and dating opportunities and if I felt like I could contribute to the community.

[skipperj 377]

Wonder how MFC Danger Girl would go over in a small town.

[F250 28777]

3 hours ago, Stunns38 said:

I could only live in a New England type small town or something In the northeast like Montauk on LI(I know, NY douchebags overun it in the summer) ; it’ll have to be within 2 hrs of a larger city too with some exceptions. Can’t do a small town in the south unless it is close to a coast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So the kind of place where you can find some Johnny Cakes.

 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

On 4/9/2018 at 2:24 PM, Mez2 said:

Right now, no. But eventually, we'll probably move to Palacios or somewhere near the bay

Good lord man. I've spent years in Palacios and have no idea why anyone would choose to live there if you aren't in the shrimping business. It's a good fishing base, but it ain't pretty and Bay City/Port Lavaca aren't that close. Palacios Mexican Restaurant is pretty good eating though.

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

31 minutes ago, F250 said:

So the kind of place where you can find some Johnny Cakes.

 

This is what makes the Shag / Surly / HF great. You start off a thread about small towns and the next thing you know there's a top-shelf Sopranos reference along with some homoerotic teasing.

[tx 3 putt 76980]

On 5/22/2018 at 4:20 PM, SimonBolivar said:

Good lord man. I've spent years in Palacios and have no idea why anyone would choose to live there if you aren't in the shrimping business. It's a good fishing base, but it ain't pretty and Bay City/Port Lavaca aren't that close. Palacios Mexican Restaurant is pretty good eating though.

 PMR, holla !

[YoungCounty 165]

I moved back to my small hometown 1.5 years ago.  After living in Austin the past 20 years, it was time to go.  Other than missing out on good places to eat, I find myself wondering why I didn't leave Austin much sooner.  I love the small town life.  I am more involved in the community than I ever was in Austin.  As is my wife.  At church, at schools, civic club, etc.  We also got to coach our daughters in soccer and basketball.  I spent too much damn time on Mopac, especially the last five years or so, to even think about be able to be involved in so much stuff.

It doesn't hurt that literally 2.5 months after moving here, we got to vote on whether or not to allow alcohol sales in town.  And it passed!  I never would have thought that was a possibility when I was in High School.  You had to drive 12 miles, in pretty much any direction to get booze back then.

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

On 5/22/2018 at 2:40 PM, bolverk said:

I think one of the biggest drawbacks to living in a small town is the loss of anonymity we can enjoy in big cities. That threat of being "known" can be aggravating as hell with people all up in your bidness or worse yet getting caught up in someone's gossip. It's a whole lot like the paranoia you see in the Next Door thread. The flipside though is it gives you a better chance to "get involved" if you're really civic-minded, and you can really start making an impact - much like what was said up-thread or in another about kids getting involved in a bunch of organizations at smaller high schools.

Ultimately, I think what it boils down to for me would be employment and dating opportunities and if I felt like I could contribute to the community.

I live in a small rural town, after living in Austin for 30 years. Its true everybody knows everybody, but I just keep my head down, mind my own business, stay the fuck off facebook. Avoiding the gossip is easy.

You are also correct, if you are relatively young and single (I'm neither), the options are pretty limited.

edit: If I grew up here, I would have gtfo soon as I graduated HS. But moving here after marriage, and raising a family here is awesome.

Edited May 25, 2018 by High Plains Drifter

[pearlandhorn 3270]

Absolutely - I hate people except for my wife and kid (and the people I work with).  Fuck everyone else, especially neighbors.

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

I also want to add regarding the restaurant issue:

I have never had to wait to be seated in the 15 or so years I have lived here. I go back to Austin to visit my family, and you have to wait an hour to get a seat. So, fewer choices, but no waits. I'll take the no wait/less crowds any day.

Edit: But I would kill all you assholes for a HEB.

Edited May 25, 2018 by High Plains Drifter

[YoungCounty 165]

Yes, I forgot about HEB.  Our United is clean, friendly, and has some good specials at times.  But I would love nothing more than an HEB to come to town,  Well that, and the fucking Wal Mart to leave town.

[Dolemite 143]

By all means, so long as I can get fast internet that is.

 

 

[Sundodger 66]

On 4/9/2018 at 10:29 AM, DanRydell said:

Not in Texas but I would move to smaller college town elsewhere (Boulder, Madison, Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, Bloomington, Columbia, Lawrence, Eugene, etc.). 

Eugene sucks ass when compared to other similar sized or smaller PNW cities.   Bellingham or Bend for example.

[Chewbacca 7780]

Eugene sucks ass when compared to other similar sized or smaller PNW cities.   Bellingham or Bend for example.

And the average home price in Boulder is north of 1 million the days, so bring your big wallet.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

On 4/22/2018 at 3:05 PM, Landomatic said:

Any of these charming small towns on the gulf?  I could do small if I had an ocean view and some version of a tropical paradise.  Cabana bars, toes in the water, ass in the sand, fishing, etc.  As long as I was within 1-2 hours of a major city.  Does such a place exist?

Rockport ain’t too far off. 35 minutes into Corpus. 2.5 hours to Houston. 

[Sundodger 66]

On 4/10/2018 at 8:18 AM, Firemans4Horn said:

Lot’s of places in New York that I could see myself retiring to. Cooperstown is an awesome small town, Ithaca is the ideal college town on a beautiful lake, Saratoga Springs is gorgeous. I’d have to live somewhere else during the winter and taxes are a bitch but those towns would be a great place to spend retirement. 

Upstate NY has lots of gems.   It's a shame they are in the same state and have the same mega-city taxes and regulations as NYC.   

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Rockport ain’t too far off. 35 minutes into Corpus. 2.5 hours to Houston. 

And there is an HEB and Whataburger.

[SDG 3319]

14 hours ago, Sundodger said:

Eugene sucks ass when compared to other similar sized or smaller PNW cities.   Bellingham or Bend for example.

csb; I grew up in Bellingham WA.  Its a beautiful city, but too cold in the winter.  

[Guest Lobo]

As stated by many above, could easily do it if it were on the water (and I don't mean 45 minute drive to the water, I mean the furthest house in town from the coastline is 10 minutes) or up in the mountains (and I mean mountains, not the Van Horn kinda shit).  I don't know how people in just regular landlocked, flat small towns do it. 

[Rustic Horn 929]

I'm in a small town of about 4000 in southern Brazoria County. Less than an hours drive to Houston and 30 minutes to the beach. Love it here....well except for hurricane season.

[JukeJointJunkie 43]

My sister and her family live in Lexington (brother-in-law grew up there), and I'd move there in a heartbeat. Small town out in the sticks, but only an hour to Austin and hour and a half to Houston.

[tx 3 putt 76980]

On 5/25/2018 at 7:30 PM, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Rockport ain’t too far off. 35 minutes into Corpus. 2.5 hours to Houston. 

 

Rockport CC is a great course 

[tx 3 putt 76980]

On 5/25/2018 at 7:33 PM, Sundodger said:

Upstate NY has lots of gems.   It's a shame they are in the same state and have the same mega-city taxes and regulations as NYC.   

 

upstate NY is depressing as hell. poverty and more poverty 

[NameAlreadyInUse 5112]

I grew up in a town of -6000. It was an hour from Lubbock and forever to anywhere else. I’ll never live in a town that small again if I can help it. And if for some reason I had to, I wouldn’t live in one on the panhandle. It’s need to be some place prettier, and closer to an actual city. 

If I had kids, no fucking way I’d move to a small town. First, there is no room for a kid to be a little different in a small town, and second the schools aren’t very good. 

[Pato del Muerto 52507]

Welp, looks like my 3 year adventure in Wyoming is coming to an end sooner or later. Company is downsizing, so either I get a package to leave or I don’t and I leave on my own before they decide to shut all the way down. New ceo has a different vision for the company. 

Got my eye on a company in Washington state just north of Portland. That would solve the biggest issues we had for not having much choice in schools for the kids,  and lack of restaurants close by, and a lack of trees and green plants in the high desert.  Ft Collins is also on the list. 

[skipperj 377]

There’s not a robust job market in Cody?

[Pato del Muerto 52507]

1 minute ago, skipperj said:

There’s not a robust job market in Cody?

Only one pharma company in the entire state...for now. 

[dcbc 14487]

Spent the first 27 years of my life in Houston and Austin.  For work, I moved to a town of 85,000.  Since then, it has grown to over 100,000, at which point, the restaurant and bar population have drastically improved.  The real estate is much cheaper and my commute is fifteen minutes.  It's large enough now that I no longer think about moving.  My original plan was to move to Austin within five years.  I've been here over seventeen years at this point.

[SDG 3319]

Looking for a small/medium city (around 50k), that is low cost, and has a moderate temp and is fairly safe.  Probably not possible right? 

[GotThatFire 166]

Small town?  Maybe, I don’t know, I could try. But what I really want is an awesome piece of land at least 20 acres within 20 minutes of a big city 

[clapclapclap 9000]

On 5/27/2018 at 10:08 AM, NameAlreadyInUse said:

I grew up in a town of -6000.

6000 zombies?

[Pato del Muerto 52507]

45 minutes ago, GotThatFire said:

Small town?  Maybe, I don’t know, I could try. But what I really want is an awesome piece of land at least 20 acres within 20 minutes of a big city 

You need to buy southfork ranch

[deadshank 24653]

47 minutes ago, GotThatFire said:

Small town?  Maybe, I don’t know, I could try. But what I really want is an awesome piece of land at least 20 acres within 20 minutes of a big city 

20 minutes to downtown or 20 minutes to the city limits?  It matters when you're talking about 20 acres.

[GotThatFire 166]

City limits would likely suffice.

[Biff Tannen 45691]

23 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Welp, looks like my 3 year adventure in Wyoming is coming to an end sooner or later. Company is downsizing, so either I get a package to leave or I don’t and I leave on my own before they decide to shut all the way down. New ceo has a different vision for the company. 

Got my eye on a company in Washington state just north of Portland. That would solve the biggest issues we had for not having much choice in schools for the kids,  and lack of restaurants close by, and a lack of trees and green plants in the high desert.  Ft Collins is also on the list. 

Looks like you might be moving on to greener pastures, literally.  I just had a fight with my wife about trying to move to that area, so I envy that you have that option.

[Schulz2.0 28957]

23 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Welp, looks like my 3 year adventure in Wyoming is coming to an end sooner or later. Company is downsizing, so either I get a package to leave or I don’t and I leave on my own before they decide to shut all the way down. New ceo has a different vision for the company. 

Got my eye on a company in Washington state just north of Portland. That would solve the biggest issues we had for not having much choice in schools for the kids,  and lack of restaurants close by, and a lack of trees and green plants in the high desert.  Ft Collins is also on the list. 

Good luck Duck. The wife and I have talked about moving to Wyoming or Montana in a few years.