People talk about 10 things that they have experienced while living in a small town

The charm of a small town

Living in a small town can be a distinctive and charming experience. Such places are characterized by a close-knit community and a relaxed pace of life. This is in contrast to bigger cities, where people are constantly in a rush to get somewhere. Residing in a small town can prove to be an enriching experience as individuals can take a step back and avoid the hustle and bustle of modern life. Reddit user u/official_biz asked the community, "What's the most 'small town' thing you've witnessed?" Here are 10 of the most wholesome and insightful answers that people had to share.

1. Facebook updates for the ice cream man 

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. u/PyrrhuraMolinae. That happened in our places too in southern Illinois, and these people would get pissed if they are missed by the ice cream man. u/PunkWithADashofEmo

2. Surprising lack of traffic 

The traffic on the "main street" of my town is so sparse, that two drivers going opposite directions can stop and talk to each other for a few minutes without causing any problems. u/Goodbyechump. I live in a small town and people will do that even if there is traffic. u/zerbey. Happened on the road to my place recently. Fellas just stopped and chatting. Pulled up behind them and just played on my phone for a couple of minutes. Tractors are common on the road too. And it's hilly with blind hills. So you just sit behind them for a bit until you can see far enough to pass. u/the_goodnamesaregone

3. Speeding ticket warning

I’m from a town of less than 2,000 people. When I worked at the grocery store people would often drop off stuff for my family members because they didn’t want to drive all the way down to our house. I no longer live there but recently got a call from my daughter. She had been stopped for speeding and handed over her license and insurance which happens to be in my mother’s name. The officer goes “Hey, you’re Donnie’s granddaughter! I ain’t gonna write you a ticket but I’m telling Donnie when I see him tomorrow 'cause we’re going fishing.” She replied “I think I’d rather have the ticket.” u/BronxBelle

4. Knowing everybody too well 

A guy robbed a bank and everyone knew immediately who he was and the teller got mad at him. u/AlexRyang. A local bank was robbed and one of the tellers told the police to bring her a yearbook from about ten years earlier and she would be able to point the robber out. He had been in the grade before hers in school. u/Strict_Condition_632. When I worked at the bank in town there was an older lady that had worked there through 5 mergers. She knew everyone, a young guy was yelling at me one day. She walked out of the back and he immediately quieted. She went off about telling his grandmother that he was treating young women like s***. She also said that if he didn’t straighten up not one girl in town would ever marry him and she would make sure of it. u/ilurvekittens

5. Aversion to crowds

Lived in a town of about 5,000: A woman walked into the DMV on a Friday, saw that there were 3 people ahead of her and left to come back another time when they weren't so busy. u/KenmoreToast. Oh damn, I'm so guilty of this! My county is about 15k people total and has an enormous total of one stoplight in the whole county. If there are more than 2-3 cars at the light it is officially a traffic jam! If there's more than two people in line, it's too damn busy to be there. u/4LightsThereAre

6. Calling dog owners to get their pets 

My dogs got out while I was working. the police called my niece's elementary school (she was a 5th grader) to get her to round them up and take them back home. u/mediocrelpn. We lived in a small town and often kids or teenagers got taken home in a police car because of some minor infraction, littering, graffiti, or riding a bike without a helmet. My husband and I were congratulating ourselves when our youngest kid moved to the city and we were empty nesters because none of our kids had ever been in the police car. About a week later, the local cop pulled up, knocked on our door and delivered our dog home! He had escaped unnoticed and gone for a wander around town. So after that, we were the people whose dog got taken home in the police car. u/KismetMeetsKarma

7. Conducting a parade for a McDonald's 

My hometown got a McDonald’s in 1976. The town had a parade for it. u/Anonymoosehead123. That’s hilarious. Ronald McDonald once visited my elementary school when I was in pre-K in the early 90’s and it was a huge assembly. My mother brought me back to school to see it since I was in the morning class and he came in the afternoon. u/alienhandy. I mean yes but I also I used to live in Tel Aviv and they had a huge opening with lines outside when they opened a Burger King a few years ago. They have McDonalds, they have most of the fast food chains. And they have really good local burger joints. They even used to have Burger King before it went bust! It made no sense. u/lez566

8. Too much time spent catching up with people

When we were kids my family hated doing any type of shopping with my father. Everyone pretty much knew everyone else but he used to be a teacher so he had some sort of relationship with everyone. We'd end up being in a single store for three hours because he'd end up catching up with pretty much everyone we encountered. u/Ok-Platypus8666. My wife's hometown is where we live. She was a teacher then counselor and now principal of elementary school. She talks to everyone. I still keep meeting people who say "You do exist." I'm antisocial and travel or work at home for my job. I am still ok with this lol. u/psyk0sis

9. Bicycle safety talk 

I taught English in a small town in Japan for a couple of years. One day the principal said they were cancelling classes for the afternoon so the police could come give a safety talk. As the product of the American school system, I was thinking of drugs. gangs? STDs? Bicycle safety. Some of the students had been seen riding two to a bicycle through town. We were reminded that bicycles were for one person only, also wear your helmet and always signal your moves to drivers. u/hananobira. Every year the suburban elementary school my kids went to has a one-day "bike rodeo" where the police come and teach bike safety. All the kids bring their bikes and it is a fun event they look forward to every year. u/DonkeyHodie

10. Being confused about other states 

I am from a town of roughly 500 people. The primary industry was leather tanning and the town peaked in the 1950s. Our school was K-12 and my graduation class was 7. I was one of 2 that went to college. I ended up doing grad school across the country at the University of Arizona and it was an amazing experience and I’m still out here. When I was home for the 4th of July and wearing my University t-shirt more people than I can count on my hand asked me what Arizona was and where it was. u/CherryManhattan