Small Town vs. Big City Life

It's a small world. I've been traveling for a couplelive fabulous lives and are always in the middle of
of weeks and everywhere I go I meet peoplean adventure. The daily grind is never depicted in
from Texas. Earth, Shamrock, Farwell, Littlefield.an honest way. We see huge apartments,
You are everywhere. When people ask meglamorous work, and beautiful people. In reality,
where I am from there are two responses. Thethere is more happening in the city, good and bad.
first response is curiosity. That response is fromThere are more people, good and bad. The
people who have never been to West Texas.frequency of good and bad days is about the
They wonder about my transition from big citysame. Is it exciting? Yes, there is constant
life to small town life.activity. The rest is Hollywood fantasy. The police
One woman described her daily 55 mile commutedon't look like Will Smith and the waitresses don't
from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. For two yearslook like Jennifer Aniston. It would be nice though!
she drove an additional 20 miles to completeOne of the benefits of being a student at
graduate school. On top of that she has aWayland is the option to take classes at the
husband and two small children who require herexternal campuses. There are campuses in large
attention. I remember those days. I commuted tocities like Phoenix, San Antonio, and Albuquerque
work, class, and an internship while I was inwhere students can experience a change of
graduate school in Philadelphia. Thousands of otheratmosphere and see different lifestyles. The
people in the area drove from place to place. Thebiggest difference is that those campuses cater
travel seemed endless and the traffic was awful.to adult students. People with jobs, families, and
When I moved to upstate New York to work onother obligations take classes at night and on
my doctorate, I was conscious of how muchweekends. What we call "non-traditional" students
stress I would leave behind. The simple life wasare actually people who have interesting lives,
very appealing. After I finished my studies Imaybe a few of them are even glamorous, but
stayed for a while and enjoyed the peace andthe priorities are the same. Getting an education
quiet. Going back to visit the city meant traffic,and having a better life.
crowds, and unpredictable daily interactions. WhenNow that I think of it there are fellow small town
I lived there I didn't notice any of those things.people who do not understand the appeal to
The second reaction I get when people ask mepeople like me. They think it is too predictable and
where I live is complete understanding. Theseboring. They are realistic about the lack of
people usually tell me that they are fromopportunities in a closed community, but their
somewhere close by. Often, they have movedideas about bustling city life are usually based on
elsewhere and returned to their West Texastelevision or movies. Their eyes glaze over and
towns. A judge from one small town described histhey ask why anyone would ever choose this
commute. Ten minutes after he finishes tying hisover that. I would choose a TV life too, if I had a
tie, he is on the bench hearing his first case. Hechoice. Giant apartments, evening gowns, and
and his wife raised three children in his town andexotic vacations are very attractive, that's why
are happy to stay there.we see them all the time! But people are people
I believe that the flashiness and excitement ofand I would choose small town people any time.
city life is fiction. In movies and television, peopleIn fact, I already have.