Wanting more to life than can be found in a small town is a classic element of whimsy. And it still holds true today.
How many small towns die each year because none of the young people stay? The ones that aren’t ghost towns yet at least have aging populations.
Growing up I remember everyone saying things like “There’s nothing to do here, this county is boring, I want to move to a city.” And then they go off to college and get a job and live in a city, and any time you visit your hometown (except for holidays), nobody you know is there because they all left as soon as they could. And anyone who still lives there is viewed as backwards, pathetic, or a failure.
But the people who stayed view the people who left as the crazy ones, because they’re insular and haven’t seen much of the outside would, and they don’t like anything that conflicts with theirs worldview (read: the collective psychosis endemic to these small towns)
Wanting more to life than can be found in a small town is a classic element of whimsy. And it still holds true today.
How many small towns die each year because none of the young people stay? The ones that aren’t ghost towns yet at least have aging populations.
Growing up I remember everyone saying things like “There’s nothing to do here, this county is boring, I want to move to a city.” And then they go off to college and get a job and live in a city, and any time you visit your hometown (except for holidays), nobody you know is there because they all left as soon as they could. And anyone who still lives there is viewed as backwards, pathetic, or a failure.
But the people who stayed view the people who left as the crazy ones, because they’re insular and haven’t seen much of the outside would, and they don’t like anything that conflicts with theirs worldview (read: the collective psychosis endemic to these small towns)