Imagine beautiful old houses, well kept sidewalks, a church on almost every corner and farmland for miles around. It sounds ideal. This could be the perfect place to raise a family. It's the perfect small town.
This is the place that people move to because it's quiet and friendly and it has small town homeyness to it that most people desire.
Now think about it again and imagine living in that perfect little town and not being able to make one friend; not being able to keep a job.
You're from a big city, moving to this little town. You are supposed to be the one snubbing people right? Not this time. There are less of you then there are of the locals and they know it. They feel intimidated by you and your “big city lifestyle.” You're not one of them. You're the outsider. You are the one to get snubbed.
Maybe you're not on their intelligence level. You're either too smart or not smart enough. Maybe you dress differently, or do your hair different. You even speak differently. It's going to be something or everything. It doesn't matter what, something is going to be wrong.
This is something that I've had experience with. I've lived in a “perfect small town” for about three years now and I've yet to get into that warm friendly inner circle that the people of this town have. Don't get me wrong. People here are friendly on the outside. They say hello when you are in the store and going through the line or pass them in an isle, but that is all. They never invite you to do more than that. It's ok though; the reason for this is because you didn't grow up here. That is what I've heard from time to time.
It's not that I'm trying to turn people from moving to small towns from the bigger cities. Quite the contrary, I think that moving to small towns to raise children is a great idea. I moved with my husband to a small town to do just that.
What I would like to do is create awareness that not every small town is that perfect small town where everyone waves and is your friend. You will have to work at getting people to become friendly towards you, as I have been trying to do for these past several years.
Becoming part of the community takes work. Become active in the community. Always have a smile or a wave for people. Join one of the many churches. These are a few things that can help.
There are people that will snub you for a long time but eventually people will come around. You just have to try to remember it will take time and perseverance, and maybe just a little work before you become part of the inner circle.
