20+ People Who Moved From a Major City to a Small Town Are Opening Up About What Gave Them Culture Shock

There are small towns everywhere but they're often passed over for the hustle and bustle of city life. These people all lived in bigger cities before they made a big move to a small town. Once they got there, they shared some of the differences that struck them with some major culture shock.

It's, Well, Small

When you live in a small town, you're bound to run into the same people all over town. So, you get the chance to get to know everyone in town.

Of course, this also means that everyone will come to know you in no time at all. As this person says, how that plays out for you is all about how you treat people and how you present your personality. Both bad and good news will travel fast.

This Might Be Related

Given the limited demographics that the last person mentioned being in a lot of small towns in the United States, that lack of diversity starts to show in some places.

This person noticed that the people they met in the small town had a much harder time understanding accents. They noticed that the difficulty was genuine too, not just an offensive obtuseness. It just happened from not really hearing many accents beyond their own, especially for those who have never lived outside their small town.

Maybe Too Quiet

When you live in a big city, you get used to a lot of noise in the background. For instance, the sounds of traffic, chatter from the apartment hallway, or even sounds from businesses nearby.

The same isn't true once you move to a small, rural town. Here, you won't hear much at night save maybe the distant sound of a neighbor's dog or even just crickets. If you're not used to it, it can even feel a little unnerving!

Building Community

You would think moving to a small town would make it easier to meet people. After all, you run into the same people everywhere you go - how could you not make friends?

That's why this person was a bit surprised at how difficult it was to make friends in their new, small town. After all, you can't hit the town for a night out and see who you might meet. Yet, after this person found the community they were looking for, it was tighter-knit than they were ever used to seeing.