The Good Life in a Small Town

I come from a small town called Beaver Dam.  I don’t feel it is that small, but to those who like big city life, it is tiny.  It is a town that boasts 15000+ Busy Beavers.  Don’t think the media didn’t have fun with that phrase a while back.  We have lots of parks, a lake, and shopping, and we are near several big cities, and let’s not forget the lack of pollution.

The advantage of living in a smaller town, such as Beaver Dam, is first of all the traffic.  Driving from A – Z  takes an unbelievable amount of time to complete just a few stops in a big city.  I had to pick up three items in Madison for our furniture store and it took me hours to do this whereas in my hometown of Beaver Dam  it would have taken 30 minutes. It never took me more than ten minutes to get to and from work.  

Then there is the issue of supply and demand.  You have many more choices in a big city than in a small town.  Sometimes this can be a disadvantage to me as I can get overwhelmed with too many choices.  But to many this is beneficial.   

As a young person, I always felt funny telling out-of-towners where I lived.  They looked at me like I had three heads when I told them I lived in a small town.  Now, people appear to be flocking to the quiet life offered in small towns USA.  Prices are usually very high and service poor in the cities.  There are more choices in restaurants which I would enjoy in a City. I have found that when in a small environment people tend to be more friendly and personal.  So, sometimes knowing your neighbors, business owners,  or whoever on a first-name basis helps.  It is not how many you know, but who you know!!  Beaver Dam is just the right size so you can know a lot of people, but not everyone.

Having had a poor attitude toward my hometown, Beaver Dam, because it was small and unexciting, it took me to give a tour to a relative to change that.  I did a tour of Beaver Dam.  On our tour, we saw that it was the high school graduation night.  This alone was emotional as this person was raised in Beaver Dam and it brought back many memories.  Then I showed off our beautiful parks, the lake, our many churches, the Beaver Dam Community Theatre, and the downtown that is now thriving and looking great, and realized that I love it here.  I, of course, have all my family living here which makes it especially nice.

My town is also like a hub in the middle of several larger cities such as Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Fond du Lac, Appleton, and Green Bay.  If I want to experience big city life I can drive thirty minutes and I am in a different world.

I love frequent trips to the bigger cities, but it sure feels good to come home to my “small town”, which is Beaver Dam.

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