> you make it sound like these are opposing incompatible choices. why not choose both? i'd love to live in a small tight knit community. going to school and get

> you make it sound like these are opposing incompatible choices. why not choose both? i'd love to live in a small tight knit community. going to school and getting a good education does not prevent that. and with more options to work from home it is now even more possible than it was in the past. Tight-knit by definition means everyone's up in everyone's business. You would know your neighbour's business intimately, as intimately as they'd know yours (think what you pooped last night as a sense of how intimate). If that strikes you as unnecessary and potentially disgusting, then tight-knit isn't for you. I came from one... and I know for a fact it isn't for me.