# Small Town Life



## MMiz (Jul 6, 2006)

What's it like living in a small town?  It looks as though my future may be in a small town in North Carolina.  I need your advice for a far too liberal teacher


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## rescuecpt (Jul 6, 2006)

Test out the waters before you make too many waves.  

I lived in a small town in VA for a while.  I loved it, actually, and I come from Long Island so it's a huge contrast...  but word does get around fast, and there is a limited dating pool.  Which town is it?


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## MMiz (Jul 6, 2006)

Being single right now, I think my biggest fear is the lack of people and "stuff" to do.  It's a dry town too.


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## cmitchell93270 (Jul 6, 2006)

Coming from frist hand experiance, small towns are good you get to know alot of people. But like other towns they have their down side, if you do something wrong in about one day the whole town knows and even if you did a good thing too. Just pray that you don't move into a house right next door to a twenty something year old kid that keeps his music going all night long


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## Chimpie (Jul 6, 2006)

MMiz said:
			
		

> What's it like living in a small town? It looks as though my future may be in a small town in North Carolina. I need your advice for a far too liberal teacher


Define small.

For me, anything less than 125,000 is too small, with the exception if the town is a bedroom comunity for a bigger town/city.


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## BrandoEMT (Jul 6, 2006)

I live in Central MN with a population of 8,304.  We are considered a "City" and yes, word travels fast, I like living here but need to get away for awhile since I grew up here.


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## BrandoEMT (Jul 6, 2006)

Ok something got screwed up when i clicked post....sorry about that.


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## emtbuff (Jul 6, 2006)

okay coming from a town of approximately 2500 I'll throw in my comments.  I agree that you have to watch what you say and if you do screw something up it does get around fastly.  You also get to know people a little better and chances are when you go pick someone up with the ambulace you will know them, however there are still some you don't know.  You also do get to know addresses quickly for those regulars that we all have way to many of.  You do also learn the temperments of the hospital staff and others that you work with.  Now I know this is the EMS side.  But the school teaching side isn't all bad either.  Depending on your location the town I live in does have preschool through senior high.  The teachers generally have a class size of 20 students.  Depending on how large of  a school it is you also maybe called on to teach more then one subject.  Its not all bad.  Also the dating scene is scarce.  The town I grew up in has about 3 bars and several places to eat.  but yet we are close enough to other communities to watch movies and do other shopping.  So there are things around to do but not a whole lot.  So this is my 2 cents on small towns.  I like it but for some its not the best.


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## ffemt8978 (Jul 6, 2006)

BrandoEMT said:
			
		

> Ok something got screwed up when i clicked post....sorry about that.


Fixed.

MMiz,

I live in a small town (pop. approx. 2400) and can say this. Don't expect to leave behind all of the city problems (crime, etc...) just because you're moving to a small town. Like cmitchell said, gossip is the area sport. Everyone knows everyones business but for the most part they are friendly enough. Having lived in big cities and small towns my preference is to live in a small town that isn't too far away from a moderate sized city.

The good news is that you will probably be able to join a volunteer ambulance service and run 911 calls instead of transfers.


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## MariaCatEMT (Jul 6, 2006)

*Be yourself, be honest, and be quiet lol. Test the waters, as said earlier, and let people check you out. You may find it to be quite friendly. I'm not sure what you mean by being a liberal teacher.....demonstrating to kids the need to let their minds expand, and allow for differences, and knowing how to allow differences without necessarily agreeing with them......is a good thing. Trust me, small towns have their share of "weirdness", I grew up in a tiny town, and now live in a small city. People are people. You'll do fine. Aside from being fresh male meat in a small community that is.*


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## disassociative (Jul 6, 2006)

Don't do anything you don't want people 3 miles down the road knowing.


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## MMiz (Jul 6, 2006)

I can't stand gossip.  

As far as the liberal teacher comment, I'd say that I ask my students to challenge their ideas and look at events and ideas from multiple perspectives.  I don't push any ideology, and I don't think my students could pin me as a democrat or republican, but I do like to get kids thinking by inserting ideas from multiple perspectives.  I've even defended Bush!

I'll hold off on the anti-war demonstrations until at least the third week of class


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## fm_emt (Jul 6, 2006)

That's probably the worst thing about really small places - the gossip and the busybodies.


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## Anomalous (Jul 7, 2006)

My first comment was going to be "Don't gossip. Don't gossip. Don't gossip," but I think that's been covered.  

1.  When in the car, wave at everyone because they will probably wave at you.
2.  Eat at the local diner. Get the homemade pie. Tell them it is the best you have ever had, even if it isn't.
3. At the coffee shop, when questioned by a member of the Society of Sidewalk Physicians, explain HIPAA to them in depth.
4. Tell the farmer you are treating he has the best looking corn (beans, wheat, whatever) 'cause framers are real competetive with each other.
5. Treat someone kicked by a cow the same as any other trauma.
6. When your pager goes off, take the time to go to the bathroom, it may be a while.
7. Expect the same kinds of calls as elsewhere only less. We have had heroin overdoses with the needle still in the arm, drive-by shootings, child abuse cases, etc.
8. Remember that 50% of your calls will be someone you know, including family members.  Nothing gets your BP up like going on a call with your wife and finding out the patient is your daughter (later LifeFlighted and doing fine now).
9. Tell everyone you hate it here, so they will stay away. 


Just Bob
Mayberry, Anywhere, USA


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## emtff376 (Jul 7, 2006)

I live in a town of 600 and work in a town of 500.  I agree with everything said.  I moved here from DC, so it was quite a switch.  The county I moved from has 1 million+ people and now I'm in a county of 7,000.   The only thing I don't like about it is lack of privacy.  EVERYBODY knows EVERYTHING about you, your family, your job, etc.  I do, however, love the fact that everyone is friendly and polite (at least here they are) and treats you like a long time friend.

I wouldn't move back to the city if my life depended on it.


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## Guardian (Jul 7, 2006)

Small town North Carolina is close to heaven on earth.

I love the people of North Carolina and I wish I could transplant some of them up here where I live.  I love the southern hospitality.  I especially love the Fire/Rescue/EMS people in North Carolina and you will soon understand why.


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## sarahharter (Jul 12, 2006)

*tiny a$$ town*

i live in a tiny a$$ town. It is about a mile wide and thats about it. there are three tiny towns connected. East Greenville, Pennsburg, and red Hill. i run with the red hill fire co. (ems and fire) the funny thing is that each town has it's own fire station. i don't quite understand that yet. if one gets a call generally we all go, or at least two outta three. there are some good things about living in a small town but alot of bad. everyone knows everything about everyone. i have seen the same patients on many occasins so much that we are on a first name and what did you do this time basis, or you get a call and see the house and go ohh :censored::censored::censored::censored: not again. i also am a ff and get the same damn calls all theh time. we get alot of barn fires, well thats the trend know and alot of accidents. it gets kinda routine, and you think that you'll never get anything different, and then you finnally do. but anyway smalls towns are nice because you do get to know all of the people, which i guess is good and bad.


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## Stevo (Jul 13, 2006)

> The only thing I don't like about it is lack of privacy. EVERYBODY knows EVERYTHING about you, your family, your job, etc.



yup

if i had to do it over, i'd have moved here instigating  some rumor ahead of me , just for s**ts and giggles....

~S~


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## MMiz (Jul 17, 2006)

It's sorta-kinda official... I'm going to be a small-town guy :unsure:

Let the gossip start.......wait.....wait..... NOW!h34r:


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## ffemt8978 (Jul 18, 2006)

Anomalous said:
			
		

> 6. When your pager goes off, take the time to go to the bathroom, it may be a while.



Truer words have never been spoken.


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## c-spine (Jul 18, 2006)

Small town = 1,600 people. My graduating class = >30 people.

Sometimes it's hard to make friends (or at least for me it was) since the whole community consisted of like...3 last names, and they were all related anyway. Outsiders ... were not welcome there.

But once I got some roots down (or at least...moved out) they became more accepting. I don't like small towns, personally. I moved out of said small town and moved in with my dad. I'm now in a city of about 18,000 people.


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