Could You Move to a Small Town

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Grande Mart said:

"Radio said there's a Johnny Law in Estelline

You know 287 ain't never been a free ride"

Cooder Graw

Estelline don't even have a cop any more.  For reals.

[ClubWhatever 12149]

Still hayseed enough to say look who’s in the big town. 

[South Austin 52520]

2 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

Still hayseed enough to say look who’s in the big town. 

While sucking on a chili dog. nttawwt

[Al_4_ISU 12469]

8 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

And…on the other points…both things can be true: small towns regularly have a “help your neighbor” attitude…and also a hostility underneath that to anyone or anything foreign/outside.

I regularly hunt on a friend’s place outside of Brady. Last year, on my way out, I stopped at the Tractor Supply in Brady to pick up some additional supplies for the crew. Come back out, old shitty truck won’t start (turned out to be the fuel pump). As I popped the hood, multiple people came up to help me - offered a jump (no help), and one old gal who might have been something 30 years and 10,000 packs of cigs ago actually had a diagnostic tool in the debris in her beat up SUV, and helped me hook it up (confirming it wasn’t a quick fix problem). Even as I sat there waiting for my friend to get me, multiple people stopped to offer help.
Most of them had Trump stickers (McCulloch county went solidly that way). Hell, one guy was strapped. Another was attending the table for the giveaway of an AR. And I’ve overheard some pretty racist shit out that way.
They are helpful and kind people who follow a code that is born of where they are from. They work hard…but they are also caught in a cycle of working hard for not much money.
And they are often very narrow minded and racist. All those things can be true. Life, and people, are complicated.

Also, one of the best scenes I ever saw was in Brownwood. Driving through at dinner time, just wanted to grab a sandwich to eat on the road. I see a Long John Silvers, say what the hell. As I’m waiting for my sandwich, a beat up farm truck pulls up. Three dudes get out, all there are bow-legged, and wearing real deal worn spurs. And they go in to order some LJS. Kinda cracked me up to see. Just a juxtaposition of rural small town life and modern America shitty dining.

I've found to some extent that the hostility you speak of is almost kind of a weird front, and when these folks are actually exposed to folks from different cultures/races/ethnicities they can let go of that and judge the individual on their own (in spite of the backwards and racist things that still compose their cultural DNA).

I mentioned how on my FD we have mostly Trump voters, but have also had a Mexican guy and a black guy (and not like bi-racial, straight up black dude from Miami who married a local gal).  Trump voting, Busch Light swilling, Grizzly chewing rednecks who's daily vernacular can be described as "racially insensitive" at best have welcomed these guys not just onto the department, but into the community with open arms.  It makes my head hurt some days how they can seemingly hold backwards views about a group, but then be completely open to individuals who come from said group because they share some of the same (mutually important) values.

Like you said, people are complicated, and I've learned to quit placing them in neat boxes due to one character flaw or another.

[NoName 16354]

15 hours ago, HiggyBaby said:

 

Pretty much describes my 2 1/2 years in San Angelo. Spent most of my adult life in the metroplex minus is that stint in San Angelo. Was definitely a lot easier on the nerves but man there was nothing to do.

San Angelo has a current population of just under 100k (99,667), 10 years ago they were at 93,200. they haven't been under 50,000 since the 40s

[NoName 16354]

12 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

I have an aversion to MAGA idiots.   The best way to avoid them is to stay out of small town America.  If you would like me to post election maps from 2020 I will be happy to do so, but I suspect you know what they look like.

almost 6x as many people voted for the GOP nominee in the 2020 election in Travis County than even live in my entire county.

again, small tows aren't for you. we get it. you hate them, you think everyone there is a MAGA person, you think they are all bad human beings. we get it. move on to literally any other thread please - you are shitting this one up with your shitty takes.

Edited March 8, 2023 by NoName

[atomheartbevo 89732]

6 hours ago, GringoSalado said:

No I was jealous of that one too. I lived in a town that was an hour from being an hour closer to something much, much, much shittier than a Walmart. If it was open.

[Al_4_ISU 12469]

The town I live in had an Alco when we moved there.  Thankfully, it got replaced by a small town version of Hy-Vee (the HEB of the plains Midwest).  Alco fucking blows.

[atomheartbevo 89732]

22 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I've found to some extent that the hostility you speak of is almost kind of a weird front, and when these folks are actually exposed to folks from different cultures/races/ethnicities they can let go of that and judge the individual on their own (in spite of the backwards and racist things that still compose their cultural DNA).

I've seen it happen with a few small towns, where they'll let go of some of the hostility if/when they realize that they need these folks to keep the town going.  I saw it as a kid in the 80s, when my dad's company would send a group into some area, complete with their families, there was hostility, but some realized the money and jobs the company would bring in.  

More recently, I've got a cousin who teaches at a small town in Oklahoma, and I don't remember what it was, some operation moved into the area, might have been something like Tyson or another ag operation, and they brought in a bunch of people from outside of the area (including a bunch of Hispanics), and initially it was a lukewarm reception. The school "district" (K-12 were on the same campus, and some of the grades had less than 20 students) was thrilled, because they were very close to having to shut down, and people came around to the fact that this group was the only thing keeping their school open.  In those smaller towns, if the school shuts down, it can be game over - they won't be attracting young families.

I've wondered if some of it has improved in recent years with the rise of the internet everywhere - people in small towns are exposed to a whole lot more than they used to be.  Or maybe it reinforces some beliefs for some.

[JesusSweatDuck 17784]

8 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

The town I live in had an Alco when we moved there.  Thankfully, it got replaced by a small town version of Hy-Vee (the HEB of the plains Midwest).  Alco fucking blows.

This is what you'll find in small town Texas. Full of rotting produce

 

[Al_4_ISU 12469]

8 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

I've seen it happen with a few small towns, where they'll let go of some of the hostility if/when they realize that they need these folks to keep the town going.  I saw it as a kid in the 80s, when my dad's company would send a group into some area, complete with their families, there was hostility, but some realized the money and jobs the company would bring in.  

More recently, I've got a cousin who teaches at a small town in Oklahoma, and I don't remember what it was, some operation moved into the area, might have been something like Tyson or another ag operation, and they brought in a bunch of people from outside of the area (including a bunch of Hispanics), and initially it was a lukewarm reception. The school "district" (K-12 were on the same campus, and some of the grades had less than 20 students) was thrilled, because they were very close to having to shut down, and people came around to the fact that this group was the only thing keeping their school open.  In those smaller towns, if the school shuts down, it can be game over - they won't be attracting young families.

I've wondered if some of it has improved in recent years with the rise of the internet everywhere - people in small towns are exposed to a whole lot more than they used to be.  Or maybe it reinforces some beliefs for some.

The school district I grew up in is essentially being saved by an influx of Hispanics who work with livestock (hog farming is huge in northern Iowa/southern Minnesota).  I'd say about 75% of the population is pretty open to them, 25% of the population grumbles.  And often times the grumblers cease over time as they realize that yeah, these folks might some weird and foreign, but they work hard, put their money back into the local economy, and aren't causing crime.

You see a little less of it in the town where I live (which is the neighboring school district to the east) because there are employment opportunities beyond agriculture, but you've definitely seen an increase in minorities, and my town actually grew in the last census (most rural county seats towns aren't growing).

If you just look at the politics, you'd think that this is reinforcing beliefs (my county had the biggest flip from Obama to Trump in the country between '12 and '16 and stayed with Trump in '20), but the kids are generally accepted at school (there's the occasional racial incident, but it's rare) and the adults accepted in the community, and the majority of local crimes (what little we have) is still committed by white trash that have lived here for decades. 

That being said, we just had our first minority related high profile criminal case in the county.  A black guy living in an outlying small town is charged with murdering a hispanic guy from another nearby small town over a drug deal.  The trial's this month and I'm actually on jury duty, so we'll see what happens and if that changes how people treat the minority population going forward.  http://www.crescotimes.com/news/man-charged-murder-elma

4 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

This is what you'll find in small town Texas. Full of rotting produce

 

Iowa's pretty lucky with grocery stores.  Fareway is our main small town grocer, and they do a bang up job.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Al_4_ISU

[Hate 20115]

Couple of years ago I get a flat on a trailer outside of Justiceberg—between Post and Snyder—on the way to Lubbock. I hit the ditch to change it and have easy access to all my tools. No big deal. 
No less than 5 ranchers pull over asking if I need help. I didn’t want to mess with their treks home to get a beer so I told them all that I was fine, I appreciated the offer, and that they should get home after what I assumed was a long day working in the sun. Some of these guys took a lot of convincing, but they all eventually headed off down the road. 
 
I got the tire changed and was putting up the tools when one of the guys from earlier pulled back up. He says: “I got home and my wife poured me a glass of tea and I sat down to watch TV. But I kept thinking about you out here on the side of the road. Finally just figured it was better to come back than to worry about you.”
Friends ask me how I can live out here. Sometimes I ask myself. But the story above is one of the reasons. No place like it for neighbors watching out for neighbors. Small town West Texas folk are generally good folk. I don’t agree with many on everything—but most of them will leave a glass of ice tea and some A/C to help a stranger. I’ll take it—and return the favor when I can. 

Surely they are asked if you had a minute to talk about their lord and savior, Donald Trump….right? Right??? It was a small town after all.

[Frank Drebin 5645]

11 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

You are aware that plenty of conservatives don’t talk about their politics or religion with everyone they meet, right?

I seriously doubt he is aware of that because he cannot refrain from doing so.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

More towns for y’all’s R&D efforts haha:

Fowlerton
Gillett
Shiro
Pyote
Lipscomb
Silver
Benjamin
Dougherty

Most towns that boomed because of a railroad or highway (like 90) that has since been dismantled or bypassed are always good for finding dying towns.

Just my Texas map location of places I have been or would like to go for photography. This is why I have 40,000 miles on a 1.5 year old 4runner.

Also, if you have a Brookshire Brothers grocery store, you are likely a medium size town. If you have a Lowe’s grocery story, you are likely a small town.

[Hpara759 1780]

8 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

More towns for y’all’s R&D efforts haha:




Benjamin--- made it to state basketball tourney, playing Graford at 08:30 tomorrow 
Dougherty...I go through this gem on a regular basis



 

 

[GringoSalado 1651]

2 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

More towns for y’all’s R&D efforts haha:

Fowlerton
Gillett
Shiro
Pyote
Lipscomb
Silver
Benjamin
Dougherty

Most towns that boomed because of a railroad or highway (like 90) that has since been dismantled or bypassed are always good for finding dying towns.

Just my Texas map location of places I have been or would like to go for photography. This is why I have 40,000 miles on a 1.5 year old 4runner.

Also, if you have a Brookshire Brothers grocery store, you are likely a medium size town. If you have a Lowe’s grocery story, you are likely a small town.

 

The Casa de Groover's from the movie Fandango (in my avatar) was/is in Pyote. I had a pic of what I thought was the house but I can't find it  /csb

 

edit: Fuck me there are now open, operating businesses in Pyote, incl a restaurant, C-Store, and RV Park.

Edited March 8, 2023 by GringoSalado

[bolverk 29689]

For the past couple of months, I've been staying in my hometown (Big Spring) in the house I grew up in, taking care of my recently deceased mom's affairs/house (fuck cancer) and getting it ready to sell. While I've come out here from Austin quite a bit over the last 25 years for holidays, it's certainly been an eye-opener, both good and bad, to be here on a daily basis. Before, I would've considered it a small town, but maybe it's really a small city. The official population is roughly 25,000, but traffic here is much heavier than I recall. It's an oil town in the Permian Basin, so a lot of "man camps" have popped up and I don't think those workers likely filled out their forms showing that they actually technically live here. I've seen quite a few trucks with Pennsylvania plates.

Overall, I'd say the town's economy feels like it's doing pretty well. The few decent sit-down restaurants usually have full parking lots in the evening, and the lines can get pretty long at the drive-thrus. Hell, a couple of weeks ago it was announced that Chik-Fil-A is coming to town on the heels of Mr. Gatti's saying they were doing the same, and local social media went ape shit over excitement (kind of proving it's a small town). But it's still facing an uphill battle on the aesthetics front/quality of life scale, being in the oil patch of West Texas. Litter, especially around Walmart, is gawd awful what with plastic bags stuck in every mesquite bush within a quarter-mile radius. There's a baffling number of stray dogs that you see walking the streets. A bunch of the city streets are crumbling and filled with potholes. Downtown still has some eyesore storefronts that haven't yet been rehabbed since revitalization efforts have been hit or miss. That said, the topography is varied, which allows for a state park on top of a hill overlooking the town.

With all that said, I think I could actually live here if there were opportunities within my given profession, but white-collar work is really limited. Moreover, I don't think I could hang up a shingle and make a decent living here -- although I have given it some light consideration with minimal research. I mean, cash out on my Austin house for a handsome profit and live basically for free in a perfectly nice ranch-style home with solar panels (the electric company owes us money) and good well water, unlike the unpotable city water. Whatabargain! But, man, I think I'd get pretty bored here. Cultural amenities are pretty limited, and nearby Midland's aren't a great selling point either. I think Lubbock (because of Tech), an hour-and-a-half away, would be my best option, which is saying something.

Then, there are the people. Sure, they're nice enough, at least to me as a local boy whose parents taught half the town in the local district and were active in one of its biggest churches. But a couple of weeks ago, I hung out with a couple of high school friends who both left but have come back, and the conversation was dominated by them wanting to talk about culture war shit like gays and trans folk even though both of them had lived a few years in Austin and would be considered "enlightened" by local standards. They weren't all "fuck them gays!" but, to be honest, I'm still unsure what point they were trying to make. It was pretty fucking annoying, and I kept trying to steer the conversation off that topic but they kept coming back to it. So, yeah, if I consider them as the best buds I'd have here, I wouldn't be doing much socializing.

tl;dr: Yeah, probably, I could live in a small town, but my social life and professional career would both take quite a hit.

 

Edit: At least the town has a decent, albeit small, HEB, when it's open.

Edited March 8, 2023 by bolverk

[GringoSalado 1651]

Can confirm pretty decent HEB there in Big Spring.

[bolverk 29689]

Just now, GringoSalado said:

Can confirm pretty decent HEB there in Big Spring.

Haha, I was just editing to add that when you commented.

[fattyflattie 4639]

25000 is a decent sized small town. It sounds to me like all you might be missing is solid healthcare?  

[bolverk 29689]

11 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

25000 is a decent sized small town. It sounds to me like all you might be missing is solid healthcare?  

There's a local hospital and some clinics, which are fine for the day-to-day type of appointments. Midland's only about 45 minutes away, which I think would be okay for some more serious shit (but I really don't know about quality). Lubbock would be the place for more top-notch care since Texas Tech's Health Science Center is there. That's where most people are flown to if they have a major accident or healthcare crisis. But, yes, the lack of great local healthcare would be a concern as I got older.

Edited March 8, 2023 by bolverk

[UnivTex34 1763]

16 minutes ago, bolverk said:

(snip)

I've seen quite a few trucks with Pennsylvania plates.

(snip)

These are leased trucks from leasing companies. They are registered by the leasing company in Pennsylvania. They are provided to O/G employees as company vehicles.

 

Source: Family member is President of a very small O/G services company based in Midland, and manages a fleet of 20 or so company trucks, all with Penn plates. It is apparently extremely common, and he had major issues being a smaller company getting vehicles post covid from these leasing companies.

[bolverk 29689]

1 minute ago, UnivTex34 said:

These are leased trucks from leasing companies. They are registered by the leasing company in Pennsylvania. They are provided to O/G employees as company vehicles.

 

Source: Family member is President of a very small O/G services company based in Midland, and manages a fleet of 20 or so company trucks, all with Penn plates. It is apparently extremely common, and he had major issues being a smaller company getting vehicles post covid from these leasing companies.

Ah, that would explain it. I just figured it was Pennsylvanian workers living out in the man camps.

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

I grew up in a town of less than 1000 in Cooke County on purpose.  My dad has a PhD and drove seventy miles into Lewisville for work every day.  There was nothing in the small town for us.  My parents just said that is what we were going to do.

It had a lot going for it as a kid.  Whatever sports I wanted to play, I did, and I started.  Whatever academic competitions I wanted to do, I could. The schooling in general was both top notch and friendly. My friends I made there are still my friends even though we have zero point zero overlap in politics. Now that I'm trying to navigate the shit school options that I have in a big city, I'm tempted to go back for my kids' sake and just be bored for the next 8 years until my kids graduate.

[SimonBolivar 10958]

What do people that live in places like Des Moines NM do to survive? 

[South Austin 52520]

3 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

What do people that live in places like Des Moines NM do to survive? 

They eat sand.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

The Casa de Groover's from the movie Fandango (in my avatar) was/is in Pyote. I had a pic of what I thought was the house but I can't find it  /csb
 
edit: Fuck me there are now open, operating businesses in Pyote, incl a restaurant, C-Store, and RV Park.

It’s one of my favorite movies. I posted Toyah up thread. There is an abandoned school there that they used the interior for a few shots. Also chata Ortega’s is out there and was still standing a few years ago. I took this back in 2016.

[YGIFS 19452]

nmnm

6 minutes ago, South Austin said:

They eat sand.

they eat what?

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by YGIFS

[bolverk 29689]

9 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

What do people that live in places like Des Moines NM do to survive? 

Driven through there quite a bit on the way to Colorado where my sister lives. I imagine a few work at the local restaurant or gas station. Maybe a few up on Capuline - there's a little museum and gift shop on top of the extinct volcano. Very cool view from up there. I'm guessing the rest are on social security or something.

[YGIFS 19452]

Holy shit, just drove by that volcano and didn't notice it was called Des Moines (the town, I mean).  Daughter that it was so cool then we explained to her what a dormant volcano is and she freaked out.  Shit.  Thanks for reminding me, pos rep.  Gonna bring up some photos now that she has her first "volcano project" next month for STEM.  

[Herbie Hancock 7368]

There's a local hospital and some clinics, which are fine for the day-to-day type of appointments. Midland's only about 45 minutes away, which I think would be okay for some more serious shit (but I really don't know about quality). Lubbock would be the place for more top-notch care since Texas Tech's Health Science Center is there. That's where most people are flown to if they have a major accident or healthcare crisis. But, yes, the lack of great local healthcare would be a concern as I got older.

There's also a state mental hospital. Not that you're into crazy chicks or anything, but if you were I'd check there or the Rip Griffin

[South Austin 52520]

9 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

they eat what?

Sometimes they get the menstrual cramps real hard.

[YGIFS 19452]

Like so bad, your seed could find no purchase?  

[Brothahorn 10087]

46 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

25000 is a decent sized small town. It sounds to me like all you might be missing is solid healthcare?  

Shit, that's a city. 

 

The town I grew up in and plan on retiring to currently has about 550 people. And then I'm about 10 miles from there. The county seat is only about a 30-minute drive and the population is over 6k. So it has the required HEB, Walmart, Brookshire Bros, and the rest.

[Al_4_ISU 12469]

15 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

Shit, that's a city. 

 

The town I grew up in and plan on retiring to currently has about 550 people. And then I'm about 10 miles from there. The county seat is only about a 30-minute drive and the population is over 6k. So it has the required HEB, Walmart, Brookshire Bros, and the rest.

Yeah, 25K is a definitely a small city.  You're going to find some version of about any kind of regular service you need there.  It might be a shitty chain version, but it's a version.  You're guaranteed to have a hospital too, as well as a high school that's probably in one of the two largest classes of sports in that state (or a class away from it).

I was 30 minutes from a town that size (Austin, Minnesota - birthplace of John Madden and SPAM) and it was our regular place to get groceries, clothes, etc.

[texasdago 7575]

30 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Driven through there quite a bit on the way to Colorado where my sister lives. I imagine a few work at the local restaurant or gas station. Maybe a few up on Capuline - there's a little museum and gift shop on top of the extinct volcano. Very cool view from up there. I'm guessing the rest are on social security or something.

That is one of the most godawful stretches of road I've ever seen... made me realize to NEVER take the Amarillo way to CB.  Always go through Lubbock.  Yeah... that right there is saying something.  I'll take that stretch north of Fort Sumner any day over the Des Moines, NM stretch of road... although admittedly would be curious to see the extinct volcano.  Or not.  

[bolverk 29689]

19 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:

There's also a state mental hospital. Not that you're into crazy chicks or anything, but if you were I'd check there or the Rip Griffin

Quality dating prospects are rather limited around here, so it's possible early opportunities can set a later precedent. But, no, I'm getting too old for that kind of drama nowadays. Rip Griffin, however, is now a TA Travel Center, and, funny enough, my ex-wife from Lubbock grew up in Rip Griffin's old house. So there's that.

[bolverk 29689]

1 minute ago, texasdago said:

That is one of the most godawful stretches of road I've ever seen... made me realize to NEVER take the Amarillo way to CB.  Always go through Lubbock.  Yeah... that right there is saying something.  I'll take that stretch north of Fort Sumner any day over the Des Moines, NM stretch of road... although admittedly would be curious to see the extinct volcano.  Or not.  

I dunno, man. I like to daydream I'm a rider of Rohan on that stretch. It kinda looks like it.

[bolverk 29689]

3 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Yeah, 25K is a definitely a small city.  You're going to find some version of about any kind of regular service you need there.  It might be a shitty chain version, but it's a version.  You're guaranteed to have a hospital too, as well as a high school that's probably in one of the two largest classes of sports in that state (or a class away from it).

I was 30 minutes from a town that size (Austin, Minnesota - birthplace of John Madden and SPAM) and it was our regular place to get groceries, clothes, etc.

The high school is actually kind of middling for Texas with about 1,100 students. It's 4A; 6A is the largest classification. Once Texas adopted open enrollment at the publics, a shit ton have transferred out (white flight) to a couple of small towns on the outskirts. I think I've heard about 400-500, all told from K-12, go to either Coahoma or Forsan nowadays.

[SydneyCarton 48110]

16 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Some of y’all need to travel more. There are A LOT of shitty near dead towns and ghost towns in Texas. A big number of them are just south of the red river from Ft Worth to Amarillo.

I have spent many years scouting maps and looking for these towns as I like to photograph them and the abandoned buildings. Some of y’all are naming metropolises when compared to:

Estelline
Toyah
Barstow
Mentone
Megargel
Goree
Mcadoo
Premont
Sarita

Etc etc.

[tx 3 putt 77076]

If you’re town has a Walmart or H‑E‑B, it’s not a small town 

[GringoSalado 1651]

53 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

It’s one of my favorite movies. I posted Toyah up thread. There is an abandoned school there that they used the interior for a few shots. Also chata Ortega’s is out there and was still standing a few years ago. I took this back in 2016.

I have taken a few pics of that myself.

Some years ago I did some work very near the Rattlesnake Air Base (?) and immediately when I saw that building I was like "holy shit is that the Pecos Parachute School from Fandango?" I googled around and went looking around for other locations.

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by GringoSalado
derp

[po elvis 2075]

2 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

If you’re town has a Walmart or H‑E‑B, it’s not a small town 

disagree. places like Hondo and Uvalde are small towns.

[bolverk 29689]

2 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

If you’re town has a Walmart or H‑E‑B, it’s not a small town 

Yeah, like I said in my original post. When I was coming out here from Austin to see my parents a couple of times a year, I mostly viewed it as such. But now that I've spent more time here taking care of shit, I'd adjust that to opinion small city. Still, could I live here? Likely so, but I'm not enamored by the notion due to the lack of social, cultural, professional, and healthcare amenities.

[GringoSalado 1651]

56 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Driven through there quite a bit on the way to Colorado where my sister lives. I imagine a few work at the local restaurant or gas station. Maybe a few up on Capuline - there's a little museum and gift shop on top of the extinct volcano. Very cool view from up there. I'm guessing the rest are on social security or something.

I've been on a few ranches up around Springer, Clayton etc. If there is good ranching anywhere in NM Des Moines haz it.* I doubt the Route 66 gift shop does that much business.

 

* Nearest tourist attraction - Goodnight Loving Trail rest area

Edited March 8, 2023 by GringoSalado
jfc

[YGIFS 19452]

15,000 people is a "small town"???  What the fuck?  It's a town or a small city at that point.  

Ever notice when you're filling out a shipping deal online, they never ask "Town & State, please"  It's "City & State"  Nobody gives a fuck except the people rotting in it.  I've lived in places with 3,000 and 3mm .  They;re all cities.  Just of varying sizes.  

[Al_4_ISU 12469]

I think some states make designations between towns and cities.  In Iowa, it's all cities.  Be it Des Moines, or my hometown.  If it has a mayor, a council, and a former boundary, it's a city.

But we're talking semantics here.  "City" is both a very specific term to define a governmental unit in some contexts, and a much more vague term to describe a community of a certain size or status.

[Brisketexan 105158]

The distinction is clearly important.

"New Jack" is a city.

"Boys" is a town.

[Captain Ron 12883]

Totally missed this thread when it popped up. It's an interesting read, though I was disappointed when it had the 3 year gap that missed the pandemic. Talk about a chance to maybe live the dream.

So I live in the Greater Boston area. Winchester to be precise. I didn't mean to really like/love the Boston area, but it's really fucking great. 10 years going, I don't have many regrets on moving here.

Now to the small town part: one thing about living here is that people get away for the weekend. Sometimes the Cape, winter sees a lot of ski weekends, summer there is hiking. You have Martha's Vineyard, the Berkshires, New York and the Hamptons aren't far off. Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, you name it. There is a lot to do here. Having a second place isn't an oddity here.

But as someone coming from Texas it made no sense to me. I mean we have everything we need at home, why get away? What can somewhere else provide that home doesn't have?

The answer is that everyone here basically lives in the cities and you just want to get away from that.

About a year and a half ago the wife and I found and bought a place up in BFE Vermont. The town is called Waterford, Vermont - population 1,441. Town? Well that link is the google map to "downtown." That building is "city hall" and the post office. We have a fire department, transfer station for trash And that's about it. The place is tiny. Two closest towns: St Johnsbury, VT - population 7,403 and Littleton, NH - population 6,015.

Dairy Queen? The closest is 60 miles away, the easiest to get to is 78 miles away (drive time to each is about the same).

But I will say this, given that I turn 50 in a year (literally my 49th bday today), the wife and I totally see this place as the future place to chill out at. It's the weekend place now, will be the full time home when the nest is empty. I love living in Boston, but this place 2 1/2 hours away is great. The small town vibe up here is really cool. We have a few good restaurants, some great breweries. I'm about to get fiber Internet (finally, no more Starlink!). The house is a bit of a project (inside if not out), so there is something to do up there. Littleton has good enough shopping, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's. There are good enough groceries close by. Come winter I have about a few ski resorts within an hour or so.

And the weather isn't too bad. Summers are mild, winters are fun. The spring is great and fall ...

And our view isn't too bad either 

 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

31 minutes ago, texasdago said:

That is one of the most godawful stretches of road I've ever seen... made me realize to NEVER take the Amarillo way to CB.  Always go through Lubbock.  Yeah... that right there is saying something.  I'll take that stretch north of Fort Sumner any day over the Des Moines, NM stretch of road... although admittedly would be curious to see the extinct volcano.  Or not.  

It's a nice little park that gets busy in the summer. Almost everyone is in a hurry to get to the top though so there's some good empty trails at the bottom of the volcano to stretch your legs for a mile or two before racing on to CO.