There was a high speed motorcycle chase near my house once. The guy sped away on a crotch rocket and the cops lost him. But they knew exactly who it was so they just waited outside of his house. They arrested him 5 minutes later when he came home
A nerdy kid in my tiny High School (class of 200 students) went on to become a local cop. He pulled me over for speeding and we just caught up on old times and talked for a while and he let me go.
I got rear ended by a guy I went to high school with. (He was in my older brother's class). He was driving a school bus, and took off after the accident. I called the cops and told them his name. Cops met him at the bus barn after his route. He denied the accident, but my license plate numbers were embedded in the dust on his bumper.
Do not rob a gas station with a butter knife while wearing a leather NASCAR jacket that you continue wearing after that. Youāll spend five years in jail.
On the flip, I've seen time and time again of people in power getting away with shit that should of ruined them. My brother use to repair computers and would occasionally have cops bring in theirs. He found CP on a couple and reported it. Everytime the sheriff himself showed up and got them and nothing ever happened.
OMG that reminds meā¦ in my town, I once accidently took someoneās bag (they went to the bathroom and left it with my groceries and the teller didnāt move it and I wasnāt paying attention) I get a text from an old class mate that I stole groceries! I was like what are you talking about? I did run into him at the store and I cashed out before him. I just parked my car and then took a look and I found the bag and I was like yup not mine.
Apparently he goes home and ran through the door to tell his wife that I stole groceries. It apparently was the highlight of his night. His wife was laughing cause he was ready to roast me next time he saw me and was joking that the cops were going to come after me.
I lived two miles from him and he saw me drive by back to town to drop off the groceries.
The tellers were laughing and were happy I brought the bag back but knew I didnāt even know I took them. They said usually people just keep it, they gave the guy what he bought anyways. And the told me my friend knew who it was and he was too excited that I stole the bag and literally ran out the door after his purchase.
So then my ex husband and I were driving to the city and I get a snap chat that the guy and his wife were behind us on the highway. He was asking where we were going and if I would come āget groceries with them.ā Then when I said we were going to pick up a truck he said that sounded better and was looking forwards to the car chase from the cops.
He didnāt let me live it down for years lmao
My neighbor had a super friendly lab, who loved everyone. They left her outside when they were at work and she was desperate for attention. So every day the mailman came with a leash and took her on his route with him, for 10 years.
One of our neighbors had an old, female dachshund. She would visit everyone in the neighborhood, but never barked or did anything annoying. I would always give her treats. One day, she didnāt visit - and I learned she had died in her sleep. It was really sad. I can picture her waddling up and down the street on her stubby little legs.
We had an old mutt (supposedly Springer Spaniel mix), in the days of rural outside dogs, who could hear any party within a 2 mile radius. He would wander near and far, participate in the festivities, and come home. We lived in rural neighborhoods (most people had at least 5-10 acres and on gravel roads), and everyone knew who he was.
He died at about 14 or 15 and my mom was fielding calls from neighbors that summer asking where Sam was.
My father told me a story of how his family had a bulldog named Click.
One day, Grandmother gets a call from a neighbor.
Click had waddled over to the butcher shop and the butcher gave him a cow head. Which Click carried down the street and he got stuck at a crossing and some of the neighbors saw.
When I was a kid in a very rural area, I had a mutt (Collie/German Shepherd mix) named Boomerang. He was my best friend and accompanied me fishing and walking in the woods. He was always waiting for me when I got off the school bus.
At one large farm pond where I fished, there were aggressive geese, but Boomerang had my back. I still regret how I started neglecting him when I became a teenager. Wish I could make it up to him.
We had a golden retriever, Bear - he had a whole route he followed in our village. A bunch of neighbours kept treats for him.
When he was younger, it was common for baseball players, coaches, whatever, to knock and ask if hey could have the balls back. He literally h by stealing halted a few games by stealing the balls from the outfield.
I went on a hike once and shortly after the trailhead a dog started following me. It had a collar with tags but I didnāt have service so I was trying to get it in my car to drive back to where I had service and call the owner. A couple stopped me and asked what I was doing and after I told them they explained the dog lived at one of the nearby houses and liked going on hikes with people. Itād hang out at the trailhead and wait for people to show up and then just go with them.
I was hiking deep in the redwoods and came across a dog sitting in middle of the trail. Seemed nice enough so I continued on and he started following me. Go about 100 feet and the dog barks once.
Then his owner came scrambling out of the brush hurriedly pulling up her pants.
I don't think the dog understood the assignment.
I'm a mailman. I had a pit that would walk with me every day up and down the 4 blocks I would walk for that street. He was so happy someone wasn't afraid of him. I told the owners they needed to watch out about leaving him outside, with no fence or at least a chain to keep him in his yard because he will be stolen real quick. He would probably jump into someone's car without being asked twice. They ignored me and sure enough not 2 months later the dog was stolen.
My uncle was a postman with a walking route. It was a loop where he ended up where he started. A dog would escort him from start to finish but wouldnāt let him into the last yard (his).
A friends of ours had a golden retriever that just wandered through the main street and the port, people that knew her often carried dog treats for her. She would always be home before 20:00, she was the best dog. She passed away a few years ago.
I used to live in a small subdivision that was basically a loop. My dog is so damn smart, when we put him out in the backyard and he decided he wanted back in he would jump the fence, walk to the front door and open it because he could push the handle down. The back door was a knob. Even when the front door was locked he would hop the fence, try the front door, and if it was locked he would just sleep on the front porch funiture until we got home. When the fedex guy would come into the neighborhood he would swing by our house, bingo would leave the porch and hop in his truck, go about the deliveries and then he would drop him off on the way out of the neighborhood and bingo would go back to the porch furniture.
We have a village Facebook page. Every time the ice cream man drives into the village, the entire page goes ballistic. People send live updates of where the van is and which direction he's heading. The ice cream man has started accepting DMs so he knows which streets to go down.
The previous town had something against the ice cream man. Facebook would light up, but only with requests to not buy anything so he wouldn't come back.
The kids apparently didn't have Facebook accounts...
My first month in Sweden I asked about the smaller triangular flag they fly at their northern cabin home. Itās just a smaller humble Swedish flag. They said they take it down when theyāre not in town. I asked if they were ever concerned that this simply telegraphs to burglars when youāre in town or not? They all looked confused.
Up north you can still encounter houses and cabins with other signals which tell you that nobody's at home. The key hanging on a nail beside the door is one of them.
Live in a tiny town and you definitely note the ones who don't wave back. I run on the back roads and wave at cars, especially when they noticeably swing out (I run against traffic) or slow down (reduces the amount of dust they kick up). Just anectdotal, but I've noticed that men wave back more often then women and the nicer the car, the less likely. 15 year old subaru, will definitely wave back. The 2 year old Acura, probably not.
Reminds me of that scene in Crocodile Dundee where he pulls up to a curb in NYC in a cab and just starts talking to some random dude. So incredibly funny. By the end of the movie everyone in the city knows who he is lol mostly due to his antics getting media coverage but I like to think he eventually introduced himself to everyone in the city.
It's crazy how "small" a place like NYC can be sometimes. Millions of people yet shit like this happens:
We went for Christmas 2019. Same year LSU won the CFB championship. The night of the LSU v OU game my wife and I found some random hole in the wall pub on the same block as our hotel to watch the game. Sitting next to us were a group of Clemson fans also watching the games playing that night. I believe the Clemson game ended just before our started, doesn't matter. We made small talk with them throughout the game and bantered back and forth.
2 days later, in the middle of Central Park, guess who we walked right by? Yep, that group of people. Talked for a few minutes and went on our way.Ā
Last day we were in NYC we went to the 911 memorial. Guess who was also there in line by us to get in? Yup... The Clemson fan group...
In my brother's town, you have to stop and talk to them if you're driving. We passed by a guy who would talk your ear off, so my brother started to drive a bit faster. That guy was chasing down his truck for over a block.
My grandparents lived in a tiny town whose population was almost all related. No inbreeding that I know of but I learned my lesson the first time I got a crush on a girl at the creek and was trying to flirt with her and my uncle walks up and says āoh, looks like you met your cousin Nicoleā.
My dad came from a small town but took me there to visit it once. Years later talking with my parents about the town I said I would never date anyone from there as too high a chance I was somehow related to them. My mom immediately said she didnāt think that would happen, but my dad just sat there nodding in agreement with what I said.
Moved to the town I live in now about 30 years ago myself, when I was a two-year-old. Which apparently puts me in a small talk black hole because I have nothing to contribute to a conversation about where I'm "from" but also can't pull out the family tree and figure out how our families knew each other
Moved to a small town and people ask where I live. The response is usually "oh yeah, I went to a party there in high school" or "I used to live in that house."
Good times.
LOL - that is STILL the case where I live. Whenever anyone new comes to town, it's always like "Oh, it's the family that bought the Jensen's house..."
I've been in my house 30 years now and some of the "old-timers" still refer to it as the "Johnson" house because I guess the kids that lived here prior to us were *constantly* in trouble with the law and known around town (not in a good way).
It's really died off in the past 10 years or so as many of the elderly old timers moved in with family members out of town or, sadly, passed away, but MAN they must have been some pretty crazy kids to be so memorable. My neighbor said one of the happiest days of her life was the day the Johnsons moved out and we moved in (and she's lived in her house since 1981)... :-)
We'd get drunk and offer to race the cops (on foot)
One lady called me tf out, she was like "If I win you're going to jail." Was pretty sure I'd win but she was a bit of a hard ass so I wasn't sure if she was gonna wreck me and actually do it.
There's a little family farm along the roadway to my parents' place that's otherwise in the middle of nowhere. Yet, they have a little stand that sells jellies, jams, honey and gallons of sweet tea. It's never manned, and just runs on the honor system.
My brother and his wife have a farm in a small town, and they have an egg stand at the end of the driveway. Itās pretty rare for someone to take eggs without leaving at least some money. They donāt do it for the money, they just have more eggs than they need, but people in their town are honest
One of my college roommates was from a town of 2,700.
The most charming thing was overhearing her call her bank to check her balance. No account number or anything, just āoh, hi Beth, this is Laura. Can you see if this check cleared?ā (Before the days of online banking)
My mom's bank is still like that. Town of 100, no ATM or online access. Just 9-4 Mon-Fri.
On the plus side I don't have to worry about identity theft or scams. They'll call me up if anything looks suspicious. Like someone they don't know is in the bank.
I used to work as a temp teller in a branch like that. It had big glass windows you could use to see customers walking up. Whenever a stranger came up, the tellers would all mutter "stranger danger!" to each other.
We have online banking where I go, but it's still so casual. The other day I called and had the following conversation:
"Hi, this is X, can you reset my dad's online banking security questions?"
"Sure!"
Yep, that's my bank. I'll say, "I want to put $xx in my sister's account!" And they do it! It's definitely not something that would happen in the city.
My ex grew up in a town of 600 people. We went there to visit his parents. I went with his mom to the library, and when she checked out her books, the library employee knew her 2-digit library card number off the top of her head. I think it was 26.
Yes! We were living temporarily with my grandmother while we renovated a house also in that small town. My boyfriend and I decided to hang out at the house being renovated since it was empty and no parents. The police immediately told my mom there was a strange car at the house.
When I was about 18, my town opened a strip club. My friends and I were excited to check that out, thinking we'd see strangers stripping. Instead, it was Judie from math class and blonde jessie who used to work nights at Wendy's.
Many years ago my buddy and I went to a stripclub out of sheer boredom. We walked in and immediately saw his sister on stage.
We grandpa Simpson'd outta there so fast...
No. It was just me and him. Plus we've known each other since we were like, 4. So I have known his sister that long too and it was just weird.
A few months after that I stopped by his parent's house to say hello at Thanksgiving and we all just pretended it never happened and got on with things like normal.
I have a couple of funny stories regarding similar situations, one told to me by a stripper at a club I used to frequent, the second I witness firsthand.Ā
The first one, she was working one day when a former supervisor and co-worker from her previous retail job both walked in. They had no idea she was even working there. After an awkward greeting, they shot the shit for a while. Her ex-supervisor then asked, only half-jokingly, if he could buy a few lap dances. She said sure, no problem. She then hid in the locker room until they left.
The second one, which I saw, the girl was doing the nude part of her show when her ex-BF's best buddy walks in. The girl immediately freaks and leaves the stage. She later comes out wearing a robe, talks to the guy a bit, and then asks him to leave. She told me later that he was a good dude and that she had nothing against him- she just didn't want him seeing her "like that".
All that said, I *do* often wonder what exactly the rules are regarding purchasing a VIP dance or escort session from a former classmate.
Jessicaās mom was a small town lady who was stuck, got fired from her job at āsmokerās choiceā and resorted to stripping as a last means of income, and did not in fact have it going on.
was at one with a buddy and the one stripper looked so much like our others friends mom we had to leave. it wasn't our other friends mom but it looked so much like her.
There was a Conoco gas station in Nebraska that had the *greatest* "broasted" chicken I've ever had. It had a little cafeteria and there was a line out the door every day at lunch.
I think the most typical small-town thing is how everyone waves at each other when driving by, even if you don't know them personally. It creates a sense of familiarity and friendliness that you don't always find in bigger cities.
I moved from a city to a small town, and noticed people doing this. At first it was strange waving at people I didnāt know, but when in rome. I now get suspicious of people that donāt wave back.
Driving through a small town and stopped at a gas station and there was a horse in a handicap spot hitched to the sign. I made a comment to the worker that you donāt see that everyday and their response was just āJim knows he shouldnāt be taking up the handicap space but he just keeps doing it.ā
I moved from one of the bigger cities in Germany to a small town. The biggest difference are the local news on the radio.
Newsworthy highlights of small town living from the local radio include:
- someone may have spotted a snapping turtle at the lake. People walking their dogs should be on alert. Authorities still undecided whether or not to drain the lake temporarily.
- the suspicious object spotted by inhabitants in the south of town turned out to be a plastic bag thatās been blown around by the wind.
- a fox got caught in a football net. Kids alerted the police who rescued the animal. The fox is okay and recuperating in a wildlife center.
- a cashier caught a young man trying to steal something from the supermarket
In fairness, there have been more dramatic local news over the six years Iāve been living here. But this is really the ordinary day to day news.
In the town I grew up in, there was a woman who ran over a cat with her car, so she put the cat in her car and drove it to the vet. Thatās when she found out that it was actually a bobcat
You just reminded of when I got my first iPhone, I think it was a 3GS?
Anyhow, I got that scanner app as it was one of the only ones and listened to Chicago police. It was wild and serious of course.
Then I listened to my Australia local cops, which isn't too rural as it's like the 6th biggest city in Australia but still spread out and small feeling, and they were discussing how to get these ducklings out of a storm water drain.
When all the kids with cars park right next to each other on an open lot. Lined up, open window to open window and they are all tuned to the same radio station.
"and now by request from Bobby in Grasonville, Judas Priest!"
**Breaking the law, breaking the law!**
That the closest thing to a concert they are gonna see for a while.
Oh man, I have a vivid memory of walking home past my small town high school's parking lot in the seventies when I was a child.
...it was just after school, and all the kids were hanging out in their cars with the windows and doors open...every car was tuned to the local rock station, which was playing FLY LIKE AN EAGLE by Steve Miller. It was so...trippy.
A few years ago my wife and I visited her friend in a small town in Montana. They were at an appointment or something when we got there, so they just left the door unlocked for us to get in.
I visited a small town once where it was the custom to leave the keys in parked cars "in case somebody needs to move it". That wouldn't fly around here.
My family from North Dakota always talks about how in the winter people who lived along the highway would always keep their doors unlocked at night in case someone had a breakdown by their house. It would get so cold there that if they couldnāt go indoors they would die. I guess it wasnāt uncommon to wake up to someone sleeping on the couch.Ā
We were sitting in the limo at my grandma's funeral in Booneville, MO. Right when we started to drive away, the mailman, who was out walking his route, stopped walking and took off his hat until we passed.
People do that when they see a funeral.
I saw complete strangers pull over and get out of their cars to stand while a procession went by. In Los Angeles.
In New Jersey, cars will run a red light to cut off a funeral procession and probably give you the finger. A friend of ours got T-boned at my sister in law's funeral and the procession only had to drive 2 miles. Every car in the procession had a "FUNERAL" flag and 4 ways flashing.
Pretty standard in the U.K., for strangers too. I was raised to stop and put my head slightly down when a funeral procession passed, hat off too if wearing one.
On the way to my grandads funeral last year, a bus stopped and let the whole procession out of a junction, buses have full right of way in the U.K. making the gesture kinder.
I thought it was standard to either stop walking or if you're driving, pull over if a funeral passes by? To show respect.
Maybe just here, I'm a small town Canadian
In 2020 I drove from Illinois to Boonville to pick up fireworks and about an hour into the drive I realized I didn't bring a mask. I wasn't about to drive back home to get one and banked on no one requiring one, and I was right
I remember being stuck without a mask before in a town where masks were definitely not optional. The easiest solution was always to walk into literally any store with a dollar bill in hand and say "Can I buy a mask?" Either they sell you one or they give you one.
In 2022 my father, who at the time was on a daily chemo drug that suppressed his immune system and had actually been wearing a mask in public long before masks and social distancing were in anyoneās vocabulary, was walking into Safeway and some boomer walking out goes āYou know you donāt have to wear a FUCKING mask anymoreā and he said something along the lines of Iām undergoing cancer treatment, do you want to trade?
oh ya it is. It just HAS to suck in small towns. Source: I live in a small town with a shit sonic and the 4 in the small towns around me are all terrible.
We would kill to have a Sonic. We have a nasty McDonalds and a somehow even worse Hardeeās. The McDonaldās undercooks everything and Hardeeās always looks like theyāve been fighting a war behind the counter.
Our town has one gas station and that's it. We don't have any other amenities. It's a 15 minute drive before you hit the next town, which has a shop in it
When I was a tween we got a pizza place in addition to our gas station.
We used to ride the mile on our bikes up the road to get to the gas station. Buy gum and the like. There was a wide shoulder on the road, it was ok. But I remember matching trafficās speed on the way back sometimes (it was all downhill home). The speed limit by me was 45 mph. Thatās the only way you knew you were somewhere. The speed limit went from 55 to 45. No traffic lights. No blocks. No DQ, Sonic, Whataburger, or anything at all with a drive thru. You want a traffic light? There was one about ten miles away in one direction, and one about five miles in the other.
Out āpoliceā was a guy who worked part time. He knew all the adults by name, I think. I was speeding once down the road and he just pointed at me as I went by. I lived in fear that heād call my dad. To this day I have never sped down that road again (when I was driving around home. I donāt live there anymore).
From the first world war - "Towards the end of the war, a great many guns were captured by our forces, mainly in France. These guns and many other smaller field weapons like mortars and heavy machine guns were shipped back to places like Britain, Canada and Australia to be installed as ātrophiesā in municipal parks and memorial gardens."
https://www.travel-news-photos-stories.com/2021/07/the-story-behind-cannons-in-your-local.html
Aussie starter pack : https://imgur.com/a/7hETwEy
This is common in America, as well. Every small town VFW post is gonna have either a pack howitzer or a plane or tank as a gate guard. Heck, a National Guard facility in Lansing, MI has a captured German 88 in the significantly rarer anti-tank configuration with the shield. Really cool old military hardware is everywhere in public spaces.
I grew up in a small town and then spent about 8 years in another much later on in life. The things which both had in common (despite being across the country from one another was):
* A belief that "city life" was inferior in multiple ways - poorer service, more crime, dirtier.
* Thinking the town or city water was "bad" and undrinkable.
* Gadsden flags/POW/MIA flags.
* Still receiving a paper yellow pages book (tossed on the lawn once a year).
* Lots of (often dive-like) bars relative to population size and a strong culture of alcohol consumption.
* Socialization around a fraternal club (Elk, Moose, etc.)
We have a Vietnam veteran on our street, who is also the former fire department chief. The man takes his neighborhood seriously. Lovely guy. I adore talking with him.
One of the neighborhood teens drives way too fast on our street, blasting music the whole time at all hours of the day and night.
About a month ago, our veteran stepped out in front of the car with little warning, then lectured the kid in true "Get off my lawn!" style. He then marched up to the kid's house, rang the bell and lectured the hell out of the kid's family member citing her own misbheavior as a teen.
It's a LOT quieter on our street now. Clint Eastwood would be proud.
Also, the local teens now live in fear of him. Just like they should.
Don't mess with the disgruntled veterans, kids.
Crazy old coot by me threw a Quadrajet carburetor through someones windshield for going too fast on his road. Then he got charged with a felony. Then they found old out of state warrants and gave him no bond. Then he almost died because he couldn't drink in jail.
I like to think your story and the one you responded to were the same person, them telling it with rose-tinted glasses, you telling what actually happened.
I live in a town of about 200.
No stoplights.
I have one neighbor down the road who recognizes my car and we always wave to each other.
You could never get into mischief as a kid because everyone knew you, and your parents.
Drive your tractor to school day
Road signs warning you to watch for deer and Amish buggies
Recreational gunfire. All the time.
I could go on, but it's fun reading this thread and feeling a sense of solidarity with my small town folks across the world!
I'm a Japanese-American woman who's engaged to a white guy from a southern town.
We went to visit once early in our dating life. There are two things I can call out about Southern small-town culture: the weather, and the racism.
For the weather: it's not the heat, it's the humidity.
For the racism: it's not the hate, but the stupidity.
We walked into a bar once and ran into one of my guy's high school classmates. First thing out of his mouth, looking at him but in front of me: "Hey dude, how come you're dating a chink?"
Guy can't even get his racial slurs right. We left.
Thereās a āguyā for everything.
Need your knives sharpened or new tires? Need a plumber that can come same day or a hair dresser who does that one color type?
There are people you have to know for each of these things.
I was visiting England, and was walking from my host home down to the local village pub. I got stopped several times, talked to, waved at, because everyone in the village knew that an American was visiting and I was the only stranger around. They were all quite nice, lovely people.
The town "restaurant" (The place that sells coffee and breakfast and dose a catfish buffet every Fri) opened up for after my aunts funeral to feed everyone out of town. The town didn't have a square - it as a 3 way stop in the road with a community hall, a gas station/store, the post office, and the restaurant. The funeral was a couple of towns over, but everyone stopped in at the center or restaurant to give condolences.
Edit: Town Population, 345.
I used to work at a production facility that was 75 miles from the nearest big city. Everyone who worked there lived in the small town right next to the facility. If someone called in sick, we would drive by their house during lunch and check up on them. Most of the time they would be outside cutting the yard in flip flops. They would see the truck and instantly know who it was and try to act sick. LOL!!!
I live in a small town and on more than one occasion someone has posted to the town Facebook page "I saw some cows over on Atwoodville Rd, they must have gotten out of someones yard" and within minutes someone else would say "oh, those are John's cows, I'll give him a call and let him know". Then a half hour later someone will say "the cows have been rounded up and they're off the road, good work everyone!"
My family was on vacation during the 1993 flood so we had to cut the trip short because my parents were worried about our house being in the flood zone. When we got home we found that town had come out to our house and sandbagged the whole area and worked with our family to take all the stuff out of our basement so it did get damaged, they even put out basement freezer up on stilts so none of the food was in danger.
People moving there thinking they'll be living in Mayberry or a Hallmark channel movie, but instead they're in the most backstabbing, petty, toxic town they could've dreamed where everyone is so nice and kind and the minute you're out of sight they're back to making up all sorts of horrible shit about you. And the "low to no crime" statistic is wildly off because nobody ever testifies against creepy cousin Roy or the local opiate ring because they all know the Judge and Sheriff are their poker night buddies and they've got a good thing goin, wouldn't want to mess that up over a "misunderstanding."
The neighbors kid who's friends with the kid here "hey I got home from school no ones here can I stay here"
"... yeah sure. Fridge. Tv. you know the rest. "
My parents live in rural area dotted with small towns (most under 1,000, some well under that) spaced 10-20 miles apart. The biggest town in the area has a pharmacy, and people who stop at that pharmacy regularly pick up prescriptions for other people from their town so they don't have to make a special trip.
We recently moved my MIL to a senior facility in a small town. It's convenient for me to do my grocery shopping there when I'm visiting her.
Two weeks ago, I bought, among other things, corn on the cob.
It was pretty good, so last week I bought it again.
The cashier said, "Hey, you bought this last week. Was it any good? I feel like it's too early for good corn."
I told her that it had been pretty good, but not great, and went about my day.
An hour later, I thought, "Holy shit! That lady remembered me and my groceries for a whole week!"
My home town in the 90s got electric doors to the townās only supermarket (which was a Gateway, for those in the UK who can remember that gem of a shop).
The front page of the local paper The Gazette was emblazoned with the legend āelectric doors come to Ilfracombeā.
I have no idea why that still is in my memory over 30 years later, but I do remember thinking I want to get away from this shite and move to London.
I live in a small rural community. My neighbor fell and broke her leg walking her dog. I came across her and dialed 911. The dispatcher asked me what the address was, so I turned to my neighbor and asked her what the address was and she said, "Here, let me talk to them. Hey Janice, it's me, I broke my leg."
People knowing everything about other people. There's more individual privacy in cities than in small towns. And the fewer the people in the town, the more rampant the gossip is.
When I first moved to a small town in West Tennessee if you made a friend and got their phone number, they would give you four digits because there was only one prefix in the city.
I had the most story book shortcut walk home from my middle school / high school. Hop the fence, cut through a corn field, hop another fence, pray those pit bulls arenāt out in their yard, hop another fence, follow the food path through the woods that goes under the power lines, cross buckwheat bride, walk across the parking lot for the town park and cut through another backyard and I was home. It was like a 20 minute walk.
Not locking doors. It is or at least was super common when Iād visit the little village near my grandparents farm. Even my other grandparents who lived in a small town but just outside of a bigger city wouldnāt regularly lock their doors.
30+ yrs ago I took my wife to meet my grandparents who had a small farm in a very small town in Texas. We drive in a stopped at Dairy Queen in town to talk them to meet and follow them to the farm. We walked in and someone said. You must be (grandparents) grandson and new wife. There was even a little story about us in the local paper. It blew both of us away with how pleasant and welcoming everyone was
Giving directions with landmarks that don't exist anymore.
Ex : Turn where the old bank was, I can't remember the name of that street, then go down to old cemetery road, I think they finally paved it, turn left there.
Ostracizing the new wife of a local, who moved to town after they got married.
And where is she from? What exotic international location that makes her so so different from all the other women?
The town next to it. The women ostracized her because she was is brought up in a town maybe 20 mi away.
(Both small Texas towns)
Got a "You ain't from around here, are ya?" when ordering some coffee to go from a diner in a podunk town. At least it from a rando at the counter and not the waitress. She was super nice. It was also so much cheaper than big city pricing that I tipped nearly 100% and it was still cheaper than I was expecting to pay.
Ordering four black coffees to go caused them to have to brew a fresh pot to accommodate such a large order and they had to dig around in the basement to find the carryout cups and lids. They didn't have a cup carrier, so I had to get creative on the way back.
Mother in law would just walk over to a neighbors and knock on their door, for the only reason that her dog, which is known to run away(off leash - small town) know that that neighbor always has dog treats and would come over to get them.
Would be a awkward conversation any where but a small town. "Hello" "yeah, I just knocked on your door so that my dog would come back to me"
Love the small town mascot diy type of statue. A giant tortoise riding a snowmobile? A giant rocking chair by the side of the road for no reason? Blessings on blessings.
When I was younger growing up in Arkansas, we were driving ādowntownā about 7:00 pm. Just before we got to the one and only stop light, the one and only policeman turned it off for the night!
We moved to a tiny town in the mountains back in 80 or 82. I went to the grocery store the day after the moving truck left to fill the refrigerator and needed to write a check to pay for it. Of course I have an out-of-state check on an out-of-state bank, so I asked the cashier who I would need to see to approve it. She said oh honey, everybody here knows everything about you and your new address and that you're just settling in now. You could even run a credit account if you'd like since you rented from the sheriff and I'm sure he'll know where to find you anywhere in the world you'd try to hide if you wrote a bad check, and then she laughed and laughed snd said welcome to small town living and called me by my full name!
Another fact, a small town living is that you can hold your own parade if you've got something important enough to announce. In our third week in the house I heard someone honking the horn coming down the main street, so of course I went out to the front porch to see what it was about. The fella was zigzagging across all lanes honking his horn in a pickup truck going about 15 mph hollering and hooting! In the back of the pickup truck was a great big bear that he just shot at the edge of town and they wanted everybody to know that their garbage cans and canning sheds were now safe. Up and down the main Street everyone had come outside their shops, businesses, and homes and hooted and hollered back at him clapping and whistling. The football team at the high school ran up to the fence along with the coach and cheered him on. It was a real sight to see for somebody who'd just come from a town of 500,000 where nobody cared what anybody else was doing, LOL. I was kind of profoundly shocked that everything was so community spirited and friendly. I had never been exposed to this type of society before.
A guy robbed a bank, and everyone instantly knew who he was, including the teller, who got mad at him
Take that darn mask off, Stuart! I'm calling your mama!
STRT!
Look what I can do! š
^(I donāt wanna say)
NOOOoooo!
**LET ME DO IT**
Allegedly
What does Mama say about robbing banks?
RUUUWLD
ROALDDDD
Goddamn Skids
There was a high speed motorcycle chase near my house once. The guy sped away on a crotch rocket and the cops lost him. But they knew exactly who it was so they just waited outside of his house. They arrested him 5 minutes later when he came home
Grandpa was older and driving around the town at 2-3am with his lights off. Cop knew who he was and talked to my uncle and they took away his car
A nerdy kid in my tiny High School (class of 200 students) went on to become a local cop. He pulled me over for speeding and we just caught up on old times and talked for a while and he let me go.
I got rear ended by a guy I went to high school with. (He was in my older brother's class). He was driving a school bus, and took off after the accident. I called the cops and told them his name. Cops met him at the bus barn after his route. He denied the accident, but my license plate numbers were embedded in the dust on his bumper.
Your Memaw's gonna tan your hide!
Raymond, is that you? Take off that goddamn mask and put down that gun.
Do not rob a gas station with a butter knife while wearing a leather NASCAR jacket that you continue wearing after that. Youāll spend five years in jail.
On the flip, I've seen time and time again of people in power getting away with shit that should of ruined them. My brother use to repair computers and would occasionally have cops bring in theirs. He found CP on a couple and reported it. Everytime the sheriff himself showed up and got them and nothing ever happened.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
OMG that reminds meā¦ in my town, I once accidently took someoneās bag (they went to the bathroom and left it with my groceries and the teller didnāt move it and I wasnāt paying attention) I get a text from an old class mate that I stole groceries! I was like what are you talking about? I did run into him at the store and I cashed out before him. I just parked my car and then took a look and I found the bag and I was like yup not mine. Apparently he goes home and ran through the door to tell his wife that I stole groceries. It apparently was the highlight of his night. His wife was laughing cause he was ready to roast me next time he saw me and was joking that the cops were going to come after me. I lived two miles from him and he saw me drive by back to town to drop off the groceries. The tellers were laughing and were happy I brought the bag back but knew I didnāt even know I took them. They said usually people just keep it, they gave the guy what he bought anyways. And the told me my friend knew who it was and he was too excited that I stole the bag and literally ran out the door after his purchase. So then my ex husband and I were driving to the city and I get a snap chat that the guy and his wife were behind us on the highway. He was asking where we were going and if I would come āget groceries with them.ā Then when I said we were going to pick up a truck he said that sounded better and was looking forwards to the car chase from the cops. He didnāt let me live it down for years lmao
What the fuck did I just read?
The most typical small-town thing
My neighbor had a super friendly lab, who loved everyone. They left her outside when they were at work and she was desperate for attention. So every day the mailman came with a leash and took her on his route with him, for 10 years.
One of our neighbors had an old, female dachshund. She would visit everyone in the neighborhood, but never barked or did anything annoying. I would always give her treats. One day, she didnāt visit - and I learned she had died in her sleep. It was really sad. I can picture her waddling up and down the street on her stubby little legs.
She had a good life and was loved by all.
She did. Dixie was her name. So sweet. She would see me park my car and come to me and hold her paw out to shake hands.
We had an old mutt (supposedly Springer Spaniel mix), in the days of rural outside dogs, who could hear any party within a 2 mile radius. He would wander near and far, participate in the festivities, and come home. We lived in rural neighborhoods (most people had at least 5-10 acres and on gravel roads), and everyone knew who he was. He died at about 14 or 15 and my mom was fielding calls from neighbors that summer asking where Sam was.
My father told me a story of how his family had a bulldog named Click. One day, Grandmother gets a call from a neighbor. Click had waddled over to the butcher shop and the butcher gave him a cow head. Which Click carried down the street and he got stuck at a crossing and some of the neighbors saw.
When I was a kid in a very rural area, I had a mutt (Collie/German Shepherd mix) named Boomerang. He was my best friend and accompanied me fishing and walking in the woods. He was always waiting for me when I got off the school bus. At one large farm pond where I fished, there were aggressive geese, but Boomerang had my back. I still regret how I started neglecting him when I became a teenager. Wish I could make it up to him.
We had a golden retriever, Bear - he had a whole route he followed in our village. A bunch of neighbours kept treats for him. When he was younger, it was common for baseball players, coaches, whatever, to knock and ask if hey could have the balls back. He literally h by stealing halted a few games by stealing the balls from the outfield.
I went on a hike once and shortly after the trailhead a dog started following me. It had a collar with tags but I didnāt have service so I was trying to get it in my car to drive back to where I had service and call the owner. A couple stopped me and asked what I was doing and after I told them they explained the dog lived at one of the nearby houses and liked going on hikes with people. Itād hang out at the trailhead and wait for people to show up and then just go with them.
I was hiking deep in the redwoods and came across a dog sitting in middle of the trail. Seemed nice enough so I continued on and he started following me. Go about 100 feet and the dog barks once. Then his owner came scrambling out of the brush hurriedly pulling up her pants. I don't think the dog understood the assignment.
Translation: "Wanna free show?! Head down there!"
That is wholesome and precious
I'm a mailman. I had a pit that would walk with me every day up and down the 4 blocks I would walk for that street. He was so happy someone wasn't afraid of him. I told the owners they needed to watch out about leaving him outside, with no fence or at least a chain to keep him in his yard because he will be stolen real quick. He would probably jump into someone's car without being asked twice. They ignored me and sure enough not 2 months later the dog was stolen.
my grandmaās old mailman would eat lunch at her house and take a nap there lol
So... Your grandfather.
That's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. Awww!
My uncle was a postman with a walking route. It was a loop where he ended up where he started. A dog would escort him from start to finish but wouldnāt let him into the last yard (his).
Our country trash collectors brought tennis balls with them and would play fetch with our lab before moving on to the next house
A friends of ours had a golden retriever that just wandered through the main street and the port, people that knew her often carried dog treats for her. She would always be home before 20:00, she was the best dog. She passed away a few years ago.
I used to live in a small subdivision that was basically a loop. My dog is so damn smart, when we put him out in the backyard and he decided he wanted back in he would jump the fence, walk to the front door and open it because he could push the handle down. The back door was a knob. Even when the front door was locked he would hop the fence, try the front door, and if it was locked he would just sleep on the front porch funiture until we got home. When the fedex guy would come into the neighborhood he would swing by our house, bingo would leave the porch and hop in his truck, go about the deliveries and then he would drop him off on the way out of the neighborhood and bingo would go back to the porch furniture.
We have a village Facebook page. Every time the ice cream man drives into the village, the entire page goes ballistic. People send live updates of where the van is and which direction he's heading. The ice cream man has started accepting DMs so he knows which streets to go down.
I love this energy
The previous town had something against the ice cream man. Facebook would light up, but only with requests to not buy anything so he wouldn't come back. The kids apparently didn't have Facebook accounts...
Hell yea!
Waving at cars that pass by when you take a walk.
Yep, it's standard procedure in countryside Scandinavia. You wave, say hello when applicable, or you are a burglar.
My first month in Sweden I asked about the smaller triangular flag they fly at their northern cabin home. Itās just a smaller humble Swedish flag. They said they take it down when theyāre not in town. I asked if they were ever concerned that this simply telegraphs to burglars when youāre in town or not? They all looked confused.
Up north you can still encounter houses and cabins with other signals which tell you that nobody's at home. The key hanging on a nail beside the door is one of them.
A vimple!
I was visiting finland and went for a small hike with some locals and I greeted passerbys out of reflex, they told me they don't do that so I stopped
Eh, depends where in Finland. In a city or close by? No. Countryside? You're the weirdo if you don't.
I live in a small US town now, where it's possible for the person who waves and says hello to *be* the burglar.
Live in a tiny town and you definitely note the ones who don't wave back. I run on the back roads and wave at cars, especially when they noticeably swing out (I run against traffic) or slow down (reduces the amount of dust they kick up). Just anectdotal, but I've noticed that men wave back more often then women and the nicer the car, the less likely. 15 year old subaru, will definitely wave back. The 2 year old Acura, probably not.
When I visit NYC I do shit like this to fuck with people.
Reminds me of that scene in Crocodile Dundee where he pulls up to a curb in NYC in a cab and just starts talking to some random dude. So incredibly funny. By the end of the movie everyone in the city knows who he is lol mostly due to his antics getting media coverage but I like to think he eventually introduced himself to everyone in the city.
It's crazy how "small" a place like NYC can be sometimes. Millions of people yet shit like this happens: We went for Christmas 2019. Same year LSU won the CFB championship. The night of the LSU v OU game my wife and I found some random hole in the wall pub on the same block as our hotel to watch the game. Sitting next to us were a group of Clemson fans also watching the games playing that night. I believe the Clemson game ended just before our started, doesn't matter. We made small talk with them throughout the game and bantered back and forth. 2 days later, in the middle of Central Park, guess who we walked right by? Yep, that group of people. Talked for a few minutes and went on our way.Ā Last day we were in NYC we went to the 911 memorial. Guess who was also there in line by us to get in? Yup... The Clemson fan group...
In my brother's town, you have to stop and talk to them if you're driving. We passed by a guy who would talk your ear off, so my brother started to drive a bit faster. That guy was chasing down his truck for over a block.
In the small town where I lived, people would always ask, "Whose house did you buy?" When i first moved in.
Move to a small town, and 30 years later, you're still considered the new guy.
I met a 60 year old man from Cork who moved to my town 40 years ago, and he's still called a blow-in.
My grandmotherās friend moved to a small town when she was 2 and never left. In her 90s she was still considered an out-of-towner.
I was about to comment the same thing. They usually warm up to your family after a generation or two.
And youāre the outsider if your entire extended family does not also live in the town
My grandparents lived in a tiny town whose population was almost all related. No inbreeding that I know of but I learned my lesson the first time I got a crush on a girl at the creek and was trying to flirt with her and my uncle walks up and says āoh, looks like you met your cousin Nicoleā.
My dad came from a small town but took me there to visit it once. Years later talking with my parents about the town I said I would never date anyone from there as too high a chance I was somehow related to them. My mom immediately said she didnāt think that would happen, but my dad just sat there nodding in agreement with what I said.
Moved to the town I live in now about 30 years ago myself, when I was a two-year-old. Which apparently puts me in a small talk black hole because I have nothing to contribute to a conversation about where I'm "from" but also can't pull out the family tree and figure out how our families knew each other
Moved to a small town and people ask where I live. The response is usually "oh yeah, I went to a party there in high school" or "I used to live in that house." Good times.
LOL - that is STILL the case where I live. Whenever anyone new comes to town, it's always like "Oh, it's the family that bought the Jensen's house..." I've been in my house 30 years now and some of the "old-timers" still refer to it as the "Johnson" house because I guess the kids that lived here prior to us were *constantly* in trouble with the law and known around town (not in a good way). It's really died off in the past 10 years or so as many of the elderly old timers moved in with family members out of town or, sadly, passed away, but MAN they must have been some pretty crazy kids to be so memorable. My neighbor said one of the happiest days of her life was the day the Johnsons moved out and we moved in (and she's lived in her house since 1981)... :-)
People getting "dressed up" to go hang out at the gas station all night.
Casey's pizza
We'd get drunk and offer to race the cops (on foot) One lady called me tf out, she was like "If I win you're going to jail." Was pretty sure I'd win but she was a bit of a hard ass so I wasn't sure if she was gonna wreck me and actually do it.
"Who wants to cruise the plaza?"
Fresh eggs for sale at edge of driveway; honor system.
There's a little family farm along the roadway to my parents' place that's otherwise in the middle of nowhere. Yet, they have a little stand that sells jellies, jams, honey and gallons of sweet tea. It's never manned, and just runs on the honor system.
I've never even realized this. I have a 8 mile drive home from work and I pass 4 of them.
My brother and his wife have a farm in a small town, and they have an egg stand at the end of the driveway. Itās pretty rare for someone to take eggs without leaving at least some money. They donāt do it for the money, they just have more eggs than they need, but people in their town are honest
One of my college roommates was from a town of 2,700. The most charming thing was overhearing her call her bank to check her balance. No account number or anything, just āoh, hi Beth, this is Laura. Can you see if this check cleared?ā (Before the days of online banking)
My mom's bank is still like that. Town of 100, no ATM or online access. Just 9-4 Mon-Fri. On the plus side I don't have to worry about identity theft or scams. They'll call me up if anything looks suspicious. Like someone they don't know is in the bank.
I used to work as a temp teller in a branch like that. It had big glass windows you could use to see customers walking up. Whenever a stranger came up, the tellers would all mutter "stranger danger!" to each other.
We have online banking where I go, but it's still so casual. The other day I called and had the following conversation: "Hi, this is X, can you reset my dad's online banking security questions?" "Sure!"
Yep, that's my bank. I'll say, "I want to put $xx in my sister's account!" And they do it! It's definitely not something that would happen in the city.
My ex grew up in a town of 600 people. We went there to visit his parents. I went with his mom to the library, and when she checked out her books, the library employee knew her 2-digit library card number off the top of her head. I think it was 26.
My friend and I got into mischief when we were teens, and the police just nicely gave our parents a heads up...
Yes! We were living temporarily with my grandmother while we renovated a house also in that small town. My boyfriend and I decided to hang out at the house being renovated since it was empty and no parents. The police immediately told my mom there was a strange car at the house.
When I was about 18, my town opened a strip club. My friends and I were excited to check that out, thinking we'd see strangers stripping. Instead, it was Judie from math class and blonde jessie who used to work nights at Wendy's.
Many years ago my buddy and I went to a stripclub out of sheer boredom. We walked in and immediately saw his sister on stage. We grandpa Simpson'd outta there so fast...
Did anyone from your group go back when your buddy wasn't around?Ā
No. It was just me and him. Plus we've known each other since we were like, 4. So I have known his sister that long too and it was just weird. A few months after that I stopped by his parent's house to say hello at Thanksgiving and we all just pretended it never happened and got on with things like normal.
I have a couple of funny stories regarding similar situations, one told to me by a stripper at a club I used to frequent, the second I witness firsthand.Ā The first one, she was working one day when a former supervisor and co-worker from her previous retail job both walked in. They had no idea she was even working there. After an awkward greeting, they shot the shit for a while. Her ex-supervisor then asked, only half-jokingly, if he could buy a few lap dances. She said sure, no problem. She then hid in the locker room until they left. The second one, which I saw, the girl was doing the nude part of her show when her ex-BF's best buddy walks in. The girl immediately freaks and leaves the stage. She later comes out wearing a robe, talks to the guy a bit, and then asks him to leave. She told me later that he was a good dude and that she had nothing against him- she just didn't want him seeing her "like that". All that said, I *do* often wonder what exactly the rules are regarding purchasing a VIP dance or escort session from a former classmate.
*Jessica's Mom starts playing.* *Jessica's mom walks out on stage.*
Jessicaās mom was a small town lady who was stuck, got fired from her job at āsmokerās choiceā and resorted to stripping as a last means of income, and did not in fact have it going on.
Did you guys stay and watch? Sounds awkward
One time I was at a college party where the stripper happened to be a girl I knew since age five. I was like ānopeā and left.
was at one with a buddy and the one stripper looked so much like our others friends mom we had to leave. it wasn't our other friends mom but it looked so much like her.
A gas station that also sells groceries, fish bait, hunting licenses, knives, ammo, and rifles
Maybe also a small kitchen. The tiny gas station in the next village (population: 220) from me has the BEST cheeseburgers!
There was a Conoco gas station in Nebraska that had the *greatest* "broasted" chicken I've ever had. It had a little cafeteria and there was a line out the door every day at lunch.
Loved Broasted Chicken
I'm in a small town, we have a place like this but they also have a barber and you can get new tires for your truck
And either has a microwave that you can use for frozen food they sell or a tiny restaurant attached.
Donāt forget the DVD and book rentals.
I think the most typical small-town thing is how everyone waves at each other when driving by, even if you don't know them personally. It creates a sense of familiarity and friendliness that you don't always find in bigger cities.
I moved from a city to a small town, and noticed people doing this. At first it was strange waving at people I didnāt know, but when in rome. I now get suspicious of people that donāt wave back.
Yep, if they don't wave, they're a burglar
My dad would do this in other small towns nearby. I had to stop asking if he knew that person.
Seeing a horse drawn wagon in the grocery store parking lot. Hitched to a light pole.
Driving through a small town and stopped at a gas station and there was a horse in a handicap spot hitched to the sign. I made a comment to the worker that you donāt see that everyday and their response was just āJim knows he shouldnāt be taking up the handicap space but he just keeps doing it.ā
Jim is the horse.
I moved from one of the bigger cities in Germany to a small town. The biggest difference are the local news on the radio. Newsworthy highlights of small town living from the local radio include: - someone may have spotted a snapping turtle at the lake. People walking their dogs should be on alert. Authorities still undecided whether or not to drain the lake temporarily. - the suspicious object spotted by inhabitants in the south of town turned out to be a plastic bag thatās been blown around by the wind. - a fox got caught in a football net. Kids alerted the police who rescued the animal. The fox is okay and recuperating in a wildlife center. - a cashier caught a young man trying to steal something from the supermarket In fairness, there have been more dramatic local news over the six years Iāve been living here. But this is really the ordinary day to day news.
In the town I grew up in, there was a woman who ran over a cat with her car, so she put the cat in her car and drove it to the vet. Thatās when she found out that it was actually a bobcat
You just reminded of when I got my first iPhone, I think it was a 3GS? Anyhow, I got that scanner app as it was one of the only ones and listened to Chicago police. It was wild and serious of course. Then I listened to my Australia local cops, which isn't too rural as it's like the 6th biggest city in Australia but still spread out and small feeling, and they were discussing how to get these ducklings out of a storm water drain.
On weekends, kids driving up the one road through town, turning around and driving to the other end again. Over and over.
I believe that's called "cruising".
Yep. It's what kids do when there's one road in town and nothing else to do! It's pretty universal from what I've seen.
When all the kids with cars park right next to each other on an open lot. Lined up, open window to open window and they are all tuned to the same radio station. "and now by request from Bobby in Grasonville, Judas Priest!" **Breaking the law, breaking the law!** That the closest thing to a concert they are gonna see for a while.
Oh man, I have a vivid memory of walking home past my small town high school's parking lot in the seventies when I was a child. ...it was just after school, and all the kids were hanging out in their cars with the windows and doors open...every car was tuned to the local rock station, which was playing FLY LIKE AN EAGLE by Steve Miller. It was so...trippy.
A few years ago my wife and I visited her friend in a small town in Montana. They were at an appointment or something when we got there, so they just left the door unlocked for us to get in.
I visited a small town once where it was the custom to leave the keys in parked cars "in case somebody needs to move it". That wouldn't fly around here.
My family from North Dakota always talks about how in the winter people who lived along the highway would always keep their doors unlocked at night in case someone had a breakdown by their house. It would get so cold there that if they couldnāt go indoors they would die. I guess it wasnāt uncommon to wake up to someone sleeping on the couch.Ā
We were sitting in the limo at my grandma's funeral in Booneville, MO. Right when we started to drive away, the mailman, who was out walking his route, stopped walking and took off his hat until we passed.
People do that when they see a funeral. I saw complete strangers pull over and get out of their cars to stand while a procession went by. In Los Angeles.
In New Jersey, cars will run a red light to cut off a funeral procession and probably give you the finger. A friend of ours got T-boned at my sister in law's funeral and the procession only had to drive 2 miles. Every car in the procession had a "FUNERAL" flag and 4 ways flashing.
My condolences for being in New Jersey
Pretty standard in the U.K., for strangers too. I was raised to stop and put my head slightly down when a funeral procession passed, hat off too if wearing one. On the way to my grandads funeral last year, a bus stopped and let the whole procession out of a junction, buses have full right of way in the U.K. making the gesture kinder.
I thought it was standard to either stop walking or if you're driving, pull over if a funeral passes by? To show respect. Maybe just here, I'm a small town Canadian
In 2020 I drove from Illinois to Boonville to pick up fireworks and about an hour into the drive I realized I didn't bring a mask. I wasn't about to drive back home to get one and banked on no one requiring one, and I was right
I remember being stuck without a mask before in a town where masks were definitely not optional. The easiest solution was always to walk into literally any store with a dollar bill in hand and say "Can I buy a mask?" Either they sell you one or they give you one.
In 2022 my father, who at the time was on a daily chemo drug that suppressed his immune system and had actually been wearing a mask in public long before masks and social distancing were in anyoneās vocabulary, was walking into Safeway and some boomer walking out goes āYou know you donāt have to wear a FUCKING mask anymoreā and he said something along the lines of Iām undergoing cancer treatment, do you want to trade?
A thriving DQ
and a sonic that is awful.
That's also true in big towns
oh ya it is. It just HAS to suck in small towns. Source: I live in a small town with a shit sonic and the 4 in the small towns around me are all terrible.
We would kill to have a Sonic. We have a nasty McDonalds and a somehow even worse Hardeeās. The McDonaldās undercooks everything and Hardeeās always looks like theyāve been fighting a war behind the counter.
You know it's really small when you have your assigned table and they know your order when you walk in. I used to work at a place like that.
Worked at my small town's thriving DQ š
Dollar General. If there is a cluster of 4 or more homes, congrats on your new Dollar General.
So, so true. In many small towns it's the only building built in the last 30 years.
If you see a mound of fresh dirt, wait there until the Dollar General hatches
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Our town has one gas station and that's it. We don't have any other amenities. It's a 15 minute drive before you hit the next town, which has a shop in it
When I was a tween we got a pizza place in addition to our gas station. We used to ride the mile on our bikes up the road to get to the gas station. Buy gum and the like. There was a wide shoulder on the road, it was ok. But I remember matching trafficās speed on the way back sometimes (it was all downhill home). The speed limit by me was 45 mph. Thatās the only way you knew you were somewhere. The speed limit went from 55 to 45. No traffic lights. No blocks. No DQ, Sonic, Whataburger, or anything at all with a drive thru. You want a traffic light? There was one about ten miles away in one direction, and one about five miles in the other. Out āpoliceā was a guy who worked part time. He knew all the adults by name, I think. I was speeding once down the road and he just pointed at me as I went by. I lived in fear that heād call my dad. To this day I have never sped down that road again (when I was driving around home. I donāt live there anymore).
In Australia, at least, every small town has a fucking cannon on the side walk No, I don't know why
From the first world war - "Towards the end of the war, a great many guns were captured by our forces, mainly in France. These guns and many other smaller field weapons like mortars and heavy machine guns were shipped back to places like Britain, Canada and Australia to be installed as ātrophiesā in municipal parks and memorial gardens." https://www.travel-news-photos-stories.com/2021/07/the-story-behind-cannons-in-your-local.html Aussie starter pack : https://imgur.com/a/7hETwEy
This is common in America, as well. Every small town VFW post is gonna have either a pack howitzer or a plane or tank as a gate guard. Heck, a National Guard facility in Lansing, MI has a captured German 88 in the significantly rarer anti-tank configuration with the shield. Really cool old military hardware is everywhere in public spaces.
I grew up in a small town and then spent about 8 years in another much later on in life. The things which both had in common (despite being across the country from one another was): * A belief that "city life" was inferior in multiple ways - poorer service, more crime, dirtier. * Thinking the town or city water was "bad" and undrinkable. * Gadsden flags/POW/MIA flags. * Still receiving a paper yellow pages book (tossed on the lawn once a year). * Lots of (often dive-like) bars relative to population size and a strong culture of alcohol consumption. * Socialization around a fraternal club (Elk, Moose, etc.)
Drinking down at the Legion. š That's different than the Moose club though...
My bil and I delivered the yellow pages one year when we were both unemployed - it was the most surreal 3 day experience of my life.
We have a Vietnam veteran on our street, who is also the former fire department chief. The man takes his neighborhood seriously. Lovely guy. I adore talking with him. One of the neighborhood teens drives way too fast on our street, blasting music the whole time at all hours of the day and night. About a month ago, our veteran stepped out in front of the car with little warning, then lectured the kid in true "Get off my lawn!" style. He then marched up to the kid's house, rang the bell and lectured the hell out of the kid's family member citing her own misbheavior as a teen. It's a LOT quieter on our street now. Clint Eastwood would be proud. Also, the local teens now live in fear of him. Just like they should. Don't mess with the disgruntled veterans, kids.
Crazy old coot by me threw a Quadrajet carburetor through someones windshield for going too fast on his road. Then he got charged with a felony. Then they found old out of state warrants and gave him no bond. Then he almost died because he couldn't drink in jail.
I like to think your story and the one you responded to were the same person, them telling it with rose-tinted glasses, you telling what actually happened.
I live in a town of about 200. No stoplights. I have one neighbor down the road who recognizes my car and we always wave to each other. You could never get into mischief as a kid because everyone knew you, and your parents. Drive your tractor to school day Road signs warning you to watch for deer and Amish buggies Recreational gunfire. All the time. I could go on, but it's fun reading this thread and feeling a sense of solidarity with my small town folks across the world!
I'm a Japanese-American woman who's engaged to a white guy from a southern town. We went to visit once early in our dating life. There are two things I can call out about Southern small-town culture: the weather, and the racism. For the weather: it's not the heat, it's the humidity. For the racism: it's not the hate, but the stupidity. We walked into a bar once and ran into one of my guy's high school classmates. First thing out of his mouth, looking at him but in front of me: "Hey dude, how come you're dating a chink?" Guy can't even get his racial slurs right. We left.
In my small Minnesota town they called me every ethnic slur except the correct one too.
A 30-year-old cheating on his 19-year-old wife with her 15-year-old cousin and the two women fighting in the street for this piece of shit.
r/oddlyspecific
This should be a movie
Who needs a movie? If you want to see a vulgar display like this, just pull up a lawn chair.
Jury duty was some of the best entertainment Iāve had in the last ten years. I want it all the time.
Thereās a āguyā for everything. Need your knives sharpened or new tires? Need a plumber that can come same day or a hair dresser who does that one color type? There are people you have to know for each of these things.
I was visiting England, and was walking from my host home down to the local village pub. I got stopped several times, talked to, waved at, because everyone in the village knew that an American was visiting and I was the only stranger around. They were all quite nice, lovely people.
When your grandma was a school bus driver in the 1970s, and people STILL approach you in 2024 to tell you they rode on Marian's bus back then.
There's a "town" in alabama that has one gas station, electric car chargers, post office, and pizza. Except it's all-in-one gas station.
The town "restaurant" (The place that sells coffee and breakfast and dose a catfish buffet every Fri) opened up for after my aunts funeral to feed everyone out of town. The town didn't have a square - it as a 3 way stop in the road with a community hall, a gas station/store, the post office, and the restaurant. The funeral was a couple of towns over, but everyone stopped in at the center or restaurant to give condolences. Edit: Town Population, 345.
I used to work at a production facility that was 75 miles from the nearest big city. Everyone who worked there lived in the small town right next to the facility. If someone called in sick, we would drive by their house during lunch and check up on them. Most of the time they would be outside cutting the yard in flip flops. They would see the truck and instantly know who it was and try to act sick. LOL!!!
I live in a small town and on more than one occasion someone has posted to the town Facebook page "I saw some cows over on Atwoodville Rd, they must have gotten out of someones yard" and within minutes someone else would say "oh, those are John's cows, I'll give him a call and let him know". Then a half hour later someone will say "the cows have been rounded up and they're off the road, good work everyone!"
My family was on vacation during the 1993 flood so we had to cut the trip short because my parents were worried about our house being in the flood zone. When we got home we found that town had come out to our house and sandbagged the whole area and worked with our family to take all the stuff out of our basement so it did get damaged, they even put out basement freezer up on stilts so none of the food was in danger.
People moving there thinking they'll be living in Mayberry or a Hallmark channel movie, but instead they're in the most backstabbing, petty, toxic town they could've dreamed where everyone is so nice and kind and the minute you're out of sight they're back to making up all sorts of horrible shit about you. And the "low to no crime" statistic is wildly off because nobody ever testifies against creepy cousin Roy or the local opiate ring because they all know the Judge and Sheriff are their poker night buddies and they've got a good thing goin, wouldn't want to mess that up over a "misunderstanding."
āIāll put that on your tab.āĀ
teens going through the Whataburger drive through on horseback.
Donkey basketball at the local highschool or lawn mower racing leagues
The neighbors kid who's friends with the kid here "hey I got home from school no ones here can I stay here" "... yeah sure. Fridge. Tv. you know the rest. "
When I was a boy our mayor was also the dog catcher.
My parents live in rural area dotted with small towns (most under 1,000, some well under that) spaced 10-20 miles apart. The biggest town in the area has a pharmacy, and people who stop at that pharmacy regularly pick up prescriptions for other people from their town so they don't have to make a special trip.
We recently moved my MIL to a senior facility in a small town. It's convenient for me to do my grocery shopping there when I'm visiting her. Two weeks ago, I bought, among other things, corn on the cob. It was pretty good, so last week I bought it again. The cashier said, "Hey, you bought this last week. Was it any good? I feel like it's too early for good corn." I told her that it had been pretty good, but not great, and went about my day. An hour later, I thought, "Holy shit! That lady remembered me and my groceries for a whole week!"
My home town in the 90s got electric doors to the townās only supermarket (which was a Gateway, for those in the UK who can remember that gem of a shop). The front page of the local paper The Gazette was emblazoned with the legend āelectric doors come to Ilfracombeā. I have no idea why that still is in my memory over 30 years later, but I do remember thinking I want to get away from this shite and move to London.
I live in a small rural community. My neighbor fell and broke her leg walking her dog. I came across her and dialed 911. The dispatcher asked me what the address was, so I turned to my neighbor and asked her what the address was and she said, "Here, let me talk to them. Hey Janice, it's me, I broke my leg."
People knowing everything about other people. There's more individual privacy in cities than in small towns. And the fewer the people in the town, the more rampant the gossip is.
The lady who runs the bank is the same one who babysat everyone in town
People using lawn mowers with no blade deck as a vehicle to get around town.
When people hang out at the gas station because their friend is working that day and there's nothing better to do.
At my parents house the lock on the door is broken and I don't think they even have a key.
When I first moved to a small town in West Tennessee if you made a friend and got their phone number, they would give you four digits because there was only one prefix in the city.
I had the most story book shortcut walk home from my middle school / high school. Hop the fence, cut through a corn field, hop another fence, pray those pit bulls arenāt out in their yard, hop another fence, follow the food path through the woods that goes under the power lines, cross buckwheat bride, walk across the parking lot for the town park and cut through another backyard and I was home. It was like a 20 minute walk.
Not locking doors. It is or at least was super common when Iād visit the little village near my grandparents farm. Even my other grandparents who lived in a small town but just outside of a bigger city wouldnāt regularly lock their doors.
30+ yrs ago I took my wife to meet my grandparents who had a small farm in a very small town in Texas. We drive in a stopped at Dairy Queen in town to talk them to meet and follow them to the farm. We walked in and someone said. You must be (grandparents) grandson and new wife. There was even a little story about us in the local paper. It blew both of us away with how pleasant and welcoming everyone was
Giving directions with landmarks that don't exist anymore. Ex : Turn where the old bank was, I can't remember the name of that street, then go down to old cemetery road, I think they finally paved it, turn left there.
Ostracizing the new wife of a local, who moved to town after they got married. And where is she from? What exotic international location that makes her so so different from all the other women? The town next to it. The women ostracized her because she was is brought up in a town maybe 20 mi away. (Both small Texas towns)
I worked in very small rural school. The administration and half the student and staff would take opening day of hunting season off.
Got a "You ain't from around here, are ya?" when ordering some coffee to go from a diner in a podunk town. At least it from a rando at the counter and not the waitress. She was super nice. It was also so much cheaper than big city pricing that I tipped nearly 100% and it was still cheaper than I was expecting to pay. Ordering four black coffees to go caused them to have to brew a fresh pot to accommodate such a large order and they had to dig around in the basement to find the carryout cups and lids. They didn't have a cup carrier, so I had to get creative on the way back.
"That feller got four coffees! I ain't seen anyone buy four coffees since Cornbread Jim married that yankee woman and moved away."
Mother in law would just walk over to a neighbors and knock on their door, for the only reason that her dog, which is known to run away(off leash - small town) know that that neighbor always has dog treats and would come over to get them. Would be a awkward conversation any where but a small town. "Hello" "yeah, I just knocked on your door so that my dog would come back to me"
Love the small town mascot diy type of statue. A giant tortoise riding a snowmobile? A giant rocking chair by the side of the road for no reason? Blessings on blessings.
When I was younger growing up in Arkansas, we were driving ādowntownā about 7:00 pm. Just before we got to the one and only stop light, the one and only policeman turned it off for the night!
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We moved to a tiny town in the mountains back in 80 or 82. I went to the grocery store the day after the moving truck left to fill the refrigerator and needed to write a check to pay for it. Of course I have an out-of-state check on an out-of-state bank, so I asked the cashier who I would need to see to approve it. She said oh honey, everybody here knows everything about you and your new address and that you're just settling in now. You could even run a credit account if you'd like since you rented from the sheriff and I'm sure he'll know where to find you anywhere in the world you'd try to hide if you wrote a bad check, and then she laughed and laughed snd said welcome to small town living and called me by my full name! Another fact, a small town living is that you can hold your own parade if you've got something important enough to announce. In our third week in the house I heard someone honking the horn coming down the main street, so of course I went out to the front porch to see what it was about. The fella was zigzagging across all lanes honking his horn in a pickup truck going about 15 mph hollering and hooting! In the back of the pickup truck was a great big bear that he just shot at the edge of town and they wanted everybody to know that their garbage cans and canning sheds were now safe. Up and down the main Street everyone had come outside their shops, businesses, and homes and hooted and hollered back at him clapping and whistling. The football team at the high school ran up to the fence along with the coach and cheered him on. It was a real sight to see for somebody who'd just come from a town of 500,000 where nobody cared what anybody else was doing, LOL. I was kind of profoundly shocked that everything was so community spirited and friendly. I had never been exposed to this type of society before.