I was born in raised in a city of 150,000 but for the last 30 years have only lived in several small towns. The one I live in now and have for over 20 years has a population of just over 475 people and not all of that population is year round because some have their summer homes here. Never locked my doors for most of the 30 years in various towns, this being the smallest one it's ironic that I began locking them about 2 or 3 years ago. Why? I am nearing 60 and I think you get a little more cautious as you age.
We have always had large dogs which are an amazing deterrent to people both known and unknown to us, to enter our property. Currently we have a 125 lb German Shepherd that every delivery driver from mail to USPS is petrified of. He is a big bear and more chicken of them then they are of him BUT, I never tell people that. He is extremely vocal and stronger then heck so between the low, ferocious sounding barks and the obvious struggle I have attempting to restrain him enough to answer the door, always results in whoever is on the other side getting their business here over VERY quickly and scooting away. Yes, even townspeople.
I also wanted to add my two cents about small towns. I think people have a misconception of small town life. You hear over and over again people state yeah small towns are great because everyone knows everyone else. That is soooooooooooooo not true that it is actually funny to me.
My experience is definitely the opposite. I've lived her for 20 years and I can count on less then two hands the names of people I know and what they do for a living and where they live. Like all small towns there are "original" families that still live here. Those are the people I could tell you their names because one is the chief of police and the other is a paramedic and his wife who is a nurse. The other 2 are people that came in recent years I had actually purchased a former home from in yet another small town I lived in prior to here. (pop 5,500)
If I am outside people all beep and wave as they drive by. I have never met them, do not know their names. The people I have met in town I know by first name, know nothing other then they live "down that road" and certainly have no idea how they live their lives, if they have children or anything else for that matter. The lady that works at town hall is a gossipy thing about 10 years younger then I so anything I learned about people it was through her. She said you and your family fit right in because we don't "mix" and keep to ourselves, which is true. With our small population I did meet some kids my youngest went to school with (regional schools) and I met their mom's too. Having talked to the mom's I felt my kid was safe to visit and so they had play dates. After school there was none of that because our houses are miles away from each other. Even though we have a small population we are VERY spread out. We have one of the smaller properties of only 18 acres. Some people have over 800. Lots of old farmhouses with lots of land. I have what you would call 5 "neighbors". Out of that five 3 live 2 miles away and the other two live over a half mile away across from each other. I am surrounded by woods.
There was ONE business in town when we moved here, a general store. That is where I saw the most of my fellow townspeople. No one knew my name nor I their's. That closed about 7 years ago so we do not have that nor even our own post office or church. We have a tiny library that is barely open but 5 hours a week and has mostly childrens books. There used to be two celebrations a year one celebrating the end of black fly season (parade and party on the lawn of the closed down meeting house) and now since they built a new firestation/police dept/community hall across the street from me, they have a yearly fire dept steak dinner. We get free tickets because of the guilt they all feel about the vote that they held whether to build that building across the street from us. Considering there were MANY places in town where it could have been built where not a person would have been within a mile, I was NOT happy the town voted to build it here.
At that firemen's dinner we are approached by neighbors and 20 years later we STILL hear, you moved into the old Griffin house right. They do not know our names or what we do nor do I know them or what they do. We are still referred to as the "young couple" who bought the Griffin's house. Well I am almost 60 so not really young anymore LOL and Griffin died 25 years ago.
So to sum it up, no, small town life is not everyone knowing everyone's name and all their business. In fact it is the opposite. The ones that lived here before mind their own business and we mind ours. Yes, they wave and smile and are friendly and we are as well, but that is the extent of it. Brooklyn appears to be this way too and was underscored when someone on this forum said they recently took a drive into Brooklyn and people were waving at him. They did because that is what we do LOL... Most are loners that have their time filled up with their own families and outside interests and enjoy living out in the country where bear, moose, deer, mountain lion tend to wander through our yards, eat our blueberries and hosta and meander away. It is a life we CHOSE to get away from the over congested cities and suburbia. We could have a break in and NO ONE would have seen a damn thing because we do not live close by anyone really and unless someone is driving by (I live on a main route) and happen to be looking over, they would miss it. They certainly have no idea what anyone living in this house "routine" is. This was verified by some of the locals that were interviewed one woman who was volunteering was asked by the reporter, so you knew Molly and the Tibbets family. She said no, not really. I know who they are....and there you have it. Just what I was saying. Yes, we may know a name but NOT the person or how they live.
