What To Expect Being A City Person In A Small Town (Thanks To TV Shows And Movies)

Writers who were born or raised in a city or urbanised areas tend to have a general view on what towns and villages are like, the type that fall under the umbrella concept of "small-town America." Regardless of country, they all seem to have certain characteristics and features, or so we are told. In stories about small, close towns, one thing they like to have is a out-of-fish character, centeral or protagonist. These characters are always people from the big city, places like New York and San Francisco, who move for some reason or another and have to adjust to the shocking difference in surroundings. Thnks to TV shows and films we have a somewhat jaded idea of what small communities are like. Now some of these preconceptions are true in somecases, being an urban person (not like how some racists describe black people) and having spent time in a small rural town many times

And so, after going through different fish out-of-water stories of city to town moves, here is a list of things you can expect about rural life as a City-dweller, thanks to movies and TV.

...In no particular order

• Everything is a culture shock, it will all seem strangely backwards compared your old life.
• The Mayor is the person who is the richest/owns the most land/whose family has been part of the community for hundreds of years
• There is one main street in the town, three at the very most, where all shops are on
• There will be a butcher, a baker, a doctor's surgery, a general store, a green grocers, a bar, a diner or milkshake bar, a restaurant, a take-out establishment (e.g. pizza, chinese, indian) an arcade or something for the kids, hair dresser/salon, a Post Office
• Either all or most stores will start with the owner's names and then the store's purpose (e.g. Joe's Diner, McDonald Butchers, Jefferson Bakery)
• Also in the town, but not on the main street, there is car salesman, 
• If you have a degree in something, people will ridicule and judge you because they presume that you think you are better than them.
• Unless you are a doctor, in which case everyone thinks highly of you. And if you are single you are instantly the most eligible bachelor
• Because you have a degree, regardless of what it is in, people will say 'you're a smart guy' who doesn't need any help and who can 'figure it out' whenever you have a problem (e.g. Car trouble, plumbing)
• You will very quickly make an enemy after arrival. For males it is commonly the scariest person in town or one of the most influential members of the community. For females it is usually the wife of the mayor/most influential member of the community. applies for teenagers also, however it is usually the captain of the football team or school tough guy/bully. In all cases, it is unintentional and due to a misunderstanding or bad first impression
• Despite friendly atmosphere there is tension between pillars of the community. Chances of you getting roped into picking a side may vary.
• When you arrive you won't really know anyone but you will get to meet the whole community at a town festival or pie contest. Particularly if have come to the small town to be a new pillar of the community, i.e. new sheriff or town doctor.
• There's lots of town celebrations
• Depending on your reputation back in the city or what your job is, you will the talking point of the town.
• There is one elementary school and one middle/high school in the town
• There will be someone, younger than you to some degree, who is obsessed with the big city life and thinks you are the coolest person they know.
• When you first arrive into town, with a suitcase that's as big as you or with 5-6 bags, and wonder into the bar to ask for direction, everyone will turn to stare at you and the man playing the piano will stop. It will be mandatory for you to order a drink for everything to go back to normal.
• The town highschool will have an American football team with one player who could get a college scholarship and could go pro. Overbearing father optional.
• Church and town meetings are a big deal
• If you move to the small town with children between 13-19, they will initially hate it and you by proxy.
• You will hate the town at first and urgently want to leave, however you will end up staying for some cliched reason
• In varying cases, the mayor is evil
  
• There is no mobile phone reception
• The police are very relaxed and don't do their jobs properly.
• There will be a stereotypical Native-American resident who will give you advice and guidance when you need it, applies only to certain regions in America
• There will be someone who firmly believes that the country is better than the city, with lines about how folks in the town will always help each other out.
• Electricity is seemingly somewhat of a luxury and any time you wish you use it you have to crank up the generator. Note, this only applies when you move to the town by yourself.
• Everyone chops firewood themselves
• Rodents are twice a big than the ones in the city
• The bus that takes you to the town drops you off miles from the actual town so you have to walk the rest of the way, during your walk you will hitch a ride into town. whoever it is that gives you a lift will likely be you bestfriend for the duration of your time in the town
• The bus times are also spaced out and you would have to wait a week for the next bus out.
• Soon into your arrival you will fall in love with someone, unfortunately this person will be in a relationship and the odds their partner already hates you, even before they know you have feelings for their partner, are very high.
• Once you finally create a good enough reputation in the town you will eventually do something to make people hate you. You will then do something spectacular and above the call of duty that will redeem yourself
• You will learn who you really during your time there and it always turns out you are a fundamentally good person

So there you go, just a few things that we are led to believe life is like in the country when you're a city guy or gal. There are dozens of other things but these are just some of the basic all-rounders.

Now I'm not saying only doctors get sent to rural towns, however it is a recurring premise

UPDATE:

• When you move in your neighbours will bring over pies and other such food based welcoming gifts (Pot-roast likely)
• It is quiet in the mornings. Too quiet
• The air is also suspiciously clean and fresh
• Being a single dad makes you incredibly rare and you will be set up with almost every woman in town. The idea of you being caring male whose had to endure the hard life of raising a child is the most attractive quality for them 
• You can walk to wherever it is you need to go
• People leave their doors unlocked and don't understand and concern themselves with the same risks that city-dweller would frequently have to contend with
• Woman will always gossip (resulting in everyone knowing who you are 5 minutes into you arriving) and will gossip about who is the biggest gossip
• Are you a teenager who wants to drink, smoke illegally or make out with someone in secret, Under the bleachers at the school's sports field is the go-to spot
• However, if you are just planning on drinking a few beers you stole from your dad, go to you're friend's basement which is for some reason been turned into a recreational room instead a damp storage space.
• If the town is small enough, a bicycle is likely the most common mode of transport, other than walking
• If you're a teenage girl and you don't dress like a stereotypical girl people will assume you're a lesbian
• In the first few days you all eat take-out in the empty living room, using a box as a table
• Every morning, people stand in their front gardens with a hose and water the plants.
• People will invite you over for dinner, you say no but they'll insist....and insist, until you cave and agree to dinner.
• Your neighbours will ask you questions, just to simply to get know you, and suddenly jump into really intrusive and personal questions.
• You have to host a barbecue, otherwise you still get exiled from the community
• The men in the community will take great pride in their barbecue
• That guy you meant early into arriving will be super annoying but will quickly become a love interest
• There are tons of cul-de-sacs
• The PTA is taken very seriously