Now sure what to make of "I live in a ~1000 pop town" yet can be in a bigger town in 10 minutes via car (in the East), and "I live in a ~1000 pop town" and it's

Now sure what to make of "I live in a ~1000 pop town" yet can be in a bigger town in 10 minutes via car (in the East), and "I live in a ~1000 pop town" and it's 45 min to anything (in N. CA and the west). (Have lived in both.)