10 Great Things About Life in a Small Town

I still haven't gotten my first Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte fix yet this season.  But I will.  Eventually.  It's just that when you live in a small town like I do, it's not as simple as just stopping by on the way back from taking the kids to school in the mornings or even making a special trip when the urge hits.  Because I'd have to make a special trip that would end up taking forty minutes, round trip. 

And the few times I've been near the Starbucks since they've been out this year, it was the middle of the afternoon and well over 80 degrees.  Now I love my pumpkin-laced caffeine high as much as the next person but I cannot get my piping hot latte on in those conditions.     

Living in a small town/rural area does have its disadvantages but it is all I have ever known.  I start feeling claustrophobic if I spend too much time in a metropolitan area.  Small town/country life is the only choice for me.  

And here are 10 reasons why...

1. Traffic jams are pretty much non-existent.  Our idea of rush hour traffic is that it may possibly take seven minutes to get across town due to school traffic, as opposed to the four or five minutes it would take normally, at other times of the day. 

2. No noise pollution. Unless you count that which my boys produce. But they do have to go to school five days a week. So there's that.   

3. Short wait at the DMV.  I've heard horror stories about people waiting for hours to get their driver's licenses renewed in the city.  That has never happened to me here.  There are usually no more than five cars in the parking lot.  But the personalities of the staff are, unfortunately, just as lacking.  Siri has more warmth. 

4. The DNC nor the RNC will ever be held here. Amen. 

5. No need to worry about forgetting your business. Just ask anybody.  They all know it...some probably even better than you do.  Okay, so maybe this one isn't always a good thing. But it does help keep you honest.  

6. If you only caught the tail end of the latest scoop in town, you have the person on speed dial who will not only know all the details but will gladly spill them all to you.  I am almost always the last one to know (due to the whole introverted thing). A gossiper I am typically not but I still like to know even if I keep it to myself because I am human, after all.    

7. Everybody waves when passing each other on the back roads,whether we know each other or not. Seriously, if you aren't a waver then small town/country living is not for you.  Kidding.  But only a little.

8. Air pollution is minimal.  Unless somebody is burning leaves which I really hate.  The smell of burning leaves, I mean. But mostly the air is clean.  Or as clean as it gets these days.   

9. Well water. I lived within the town limits for thirteen years before moving just outside them.  Within the town limits, most are on city water (that comes from the nearest city) just as I did, and I could not stand the taste of it without a filter. Here we have a well and I could (and often do) drink that water all day long. No filter needed. 

The septic tank business on the other hand is another story entirely. You can read about that fiasco in a post I wrote last year, if you feel so led.  But since this post is about the positive, I won't go there again today.  

10. Everybody dies famous.  For real.