In just a couple weeks we will be small town people. I’m a little nervous. I assume we’ll be looked at as the “new people” for the next 5 years at least. And I’ve heard many people tell me I’m in for a culture shock. For a long time now though I’ve pictured myself living in a small town someday and although I’m sure there will be a little culture shock for this “city girl” I’m ready for the challenge. Here are the things I’m really looking forward to about life in our new town:
- Relationships. I know relationships go both ways they can be great or be a headache but I’m looking forward to having relationships with the people I live near and this is a place where everybody knows everyone. That is especially appealing to me when I think about raising my children.
- No McDonald’s. Actually I like McDonald’s and most other fast food places. But I wish we ate less of it and when you only have 2 fast food choices in town it makes it a little less tempting and for that I am happy!
- No traffic. There isn’t even a stop light in town. I take that back I think there is one of those 4 way stops that has a blinking red light instead of stop signs. That’s it though.
- Slower pace. I noticed when we moved from St. Louis to Louisville that the pace of life seemed a little slower in Louisville. I’m thinking that small town life may be a little slower still.
- Chickens and gardens. I’m not good at gardening and have never owned chickens either but both sound so nice to me. I may never own chickens and may never have a garden that produces much but I will have friends that will and I can admire their chickens and gardens. And if I’m nice enough they might even give me a few eggs or zucchini every once in a while!
- Quiet. We live on a very busy 4 lane street. They don’t even have streets this busy where we are moving. I am so looking forward to sleeping without the sound of cars zooming by and the occasional siren.
- Stars. When I look up I see street lights right now at night time.
- Walking. We are within a mile of 2 parks (very NICE parks too I might add), a library, Dairy Queen, and Church. With quiet streets and lots of sidewalks I hope that in the spring and fall we do lots of walking around town.
- Cost of living. With housing much more reasonably priced than the city and not as many stores and restaurants just down the street to call out for impulse shopping the cost of living is really nice in a small town.
So off we go to become small town folks. I hope that we adjust well because I love the idea of retirement in a small town someday too! I will say there are some things I will miss about Louisville and I’ll save that for another post. But most the stuff I miss about city life I think I can get my fix by visiting St. Louis (2 hours away) every couple months or so when we visit family.