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I do not believe people are leaving small towns because they can't watch anime or whatever. They're leaving small towns because small towns are not the place t

by clarry 8y ago

I do not believe people are leaving small towns because they can't watch anime or whatever. They're leaving small towns because small towns are not the place to look for education and work. Idk what constitutes small in your book. I grew up in towns of around 10k to 23k people. Had no trouble being a nerd, playing video games, reading, watching anime, coding. Now I'm in a city an order of magnitude larger, and more lonely than I've ever been before.

Ensorceled 8y ago
I grew up near a town of 1200 that was 30km from a city of 20k. I was considered odd for enjoying reading but luckily went to a feeder high school of 1500 kids so met up with fellow geeks. 10k is not a small town.
- clarry 8y ago
  Ok, sure. Did you leave the vicinity of that small town because you were into reading? Or did you leave it to get an education & a job?
  - Ensorceled 8y ago
    Both. People ask if I will return to my home town when I retire and “hell no” is always my response.
- yhoneycomb 8y ago
  The oneupmanship going on here is ridiculous. Both towns are incredibly small to me.
kitten_mittens_ 8y ago
I lived in the Northeast Megalopolis for a bit before moving to Germany. In the eastern US, I didn’t know anyone prior to moving there for work. The city was very anonymous, to put it lightly. The only people talking to you on the street were homeless. I’d go to meetups and flit around, but it was hard to put down roots where everyone was friends with their college buddies from MIT or Harvard. The school I went to in the West isn’t famous for anything other than football. I moved to Germany figuring that I didn’t have much to lose, being deracinated and all. It’s strange how many more people try to talk to you on the street. Mostly drivers and older ladies asking for directions. Since I don’t speak German, I’m very isolated now though. It’s easy to discount interactions with service workers at CVS or Whole Foods when you’re going through them, but I think that it’s the sort of foundational thing even loners like myself need.
- clarry 8y ago
  I was going to make an example out of these interactions.. My experience is that in smaller towns you see the same store clerks, mailmen, and other service people again and again and they will recognize you. Some will have a little chat with you, and you get to talk about your life every once in a while, even if just a little. That kind of daily interaction is a heck of a lot more than one might have living in the isolation of a big city where the same service people are too busy serving too many faces to really recognize or chat with you. For a total loner, it could mean a lot.
- thomasz 8y ago
  Are you taking lessons in German? Besides teaching you important skills, those are great opportunities to meet a huge variety of people in a somewhat similar situation.

by clarry 8y ago

Ensorceled 8y ago

I grew up near a town of 1200 that was 30km from a city of 20k. I was considered odd for enjoying reading but luckily went to a feeder high school of 1500 kids so met up with fellow geeks. 10k is not a small town.

clarry 8y ago
Ok, sure. Did you leave the vicinity of that small town because you were into reading? Or did you leave it to get an education & a job?
- Ensorceled 8y ago
  Both. People ask if I will return to my home town when I retire and “hell no” is always my response.
yhoneycomb 8y ago
The oneupmanship going on here is ridiculous. Both towns are incredibly small to me.

kitten_mittens_ 8y ago

I lived in the Northeast Megalopolis for a bit before moving to Germany. In the eastern US, I didn’t know anyone prior to moving there for work. The city was very anonymous, to put it lightly. The only people talking to you on the street were homeless. I’d go to meetups and flit around, but it was hard to put down roots where everyone was friends with their college buddies from MIT or Harvard. The school I went to in the West isn’t famous for anything other than football. I moved to Germany figuring that I didn’t have much to lose, being deracinated and all. It’s strange how many more people try to talk to you on the street. Mostly drivers and older ladies asking for directions. Since I don’t speak German, I’m very isolated now though. It’s easy to discount interactions with service workers at CVS or Whole Foods when you’re going through them, but I think that it’s the sort of foundational thing even loners like myself need.

clarry 8y ago
I was going to make an example out of these interactions.. My experience is that in smaller towns you see the same store clerks, mailmen, and other service people again and again and they will recognize you. Some will have a little chat with you, and you get to talk about your life every once in a while, even if just a little. That kind of daily interaction is a heck of a lot more than one might have living in the isolation of a big city where the same service people are too busy serving too many faces to really recognize or chat with you. For a total loner, it could mean a lot.
thomasz 8y ago
Are you taking lessons in German? Besides teaching you important skills, those are great opportunities to meet a huge variety of people in a somewhat similar situation.