Geek Mom
By Jennifer Williams, Prescott, AZ
Never stop learning: Musings, advice, links, and information from an intellectually enthusiastic mom.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Small Town Life
 Jennifer Williams
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| Photo: Jenny Williams |
I love living in a small town. It's big enough to have a hospital, a Costco, a Target, far too many Wal-Marts, and a mall. But it's small enough that we're constantly running into people we know, the library is often actually quiet, and we really feel at home. We don't have things in common with everyone in the town, but we've found a few niches where we fit in really well. The air is clean, the traffic is (usually) light, and popular places aren't mobbed.
Another advantage of living in my town is that when someone like Alan Dean Foster shows up at the library to do a talk for the local professional writer's group, there are only about 50 people there. It makes for a much more intimate talk, and you feel as if you're in the room with him, rather than just watching him from the audience. I won't quote him, as I don't have his permission. But needless to say, it was a great talk, and he covered many things that are different from what I learned when I interviewed him for GeekDad last spring.
So thank you, ADF. Learning from your experiences in writing, Hollywood, traveling, and local small town living is invaluable and very special. Thank you for sharing with us all.
(For those of you who don't know, Alan Dean Foster is a very notable science fiction and fantasy author, and a voracious traveler. And, he lives in our town!)
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Posted: Friday, March 26, 2010
Article comment by:
russell Sprouse
i am very glad for you that you got a chance to go and hear your favorite author in such an intimate setting. and by the way thank you for an opportunity to comment on small town life i for one am mostly for it. as i see it there are two drawbacks to small town live te first being a smaller employer base to choose from, the second being that a few ammenities of the big city have to be given up.
Some would say these small sacrifices would be well worth the trade off for the better quality of life we enjoy. i.e. less crime, pollution, and traffic. I would try to argue these facts but my children can and do walk to school,play outside for hours on end, have a church within a mile and i know most of my neighbors by name and there kids.
In closing with this little rant none of those things were possible at all in our last city of residences so if i have to go without a few of my favorite stores and take a less than fulfilling job then i believe the sacrifices to be worth it.
Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010
Article comment by:
Richard WH
Thank you Geek Mom. My wife and I lived in big towns for many years before moving to a smaller Arizona community 15 years ago. After experiencing what it is like to live in a small town I never want to go back. I am not someone who moved here because I wanted to retire. We came here to take a job offer. My wife and I have children and we were worried at first that the smaller town scene would rob them of cultural experiences. What I have learned is that they gain so much more -- including learning experiences on a much more intimate level as you have written about here. When we hear people complain about problems in small communities, I always find myself thinking, "they are not finding the good stuff because they're not looking for it." I love small towns.
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