Small City vs. Big Town

I've living here in Big Town now for over a week. I am sure I will have a lot more to say about this place once I get settled into a groove here. This place has changed so much over the last decade while I was off exploring the world - or at least the world within 50 miles of here - that it is almost as if I am living in a place I have never lived before.

Alas, it is time for a game. The idea of the game is a pick a category and decide which place, the previously inhabited Small City or the Big Town, wins that category. You can play along at home by suggesting more categories.

Traffic
Point Goes to: Big Town
The hardest part about moving to Small City was realizing that I had to plan my trips to anywhere around rush hour. The only traffic issue here occurs when school is letting out and you might get stuck behind a school bus for 2 miles.

Groceries
Point Goes to: Small City
This one was quite a surprise to me. I HATE grocery shopping. I went to four different grocery stores in Small City until I found one that I could even tolerate. It wasn't a huge store or very new. The staff (for the most part) was really nice though and I even got to be rather friendly with several of the checkout people. I'm still exploring my grocery shopping options in Big Town but so far I am 0 for 2. We are talking massive amounts of people in every aisle. I don't do massive amounts of people while I am trying to decide what brand of yogurt to get this week for the best deal.

General Shopping
Point Goes to: Small City
A lot of the same reasons as the grocery store section above. I guess it all comes down to the fact that there were a lot more shopping options in Small City. People can kind of spread out. Here in Big Town, there is just one Wal-Mart, one Target, one main grocery store, and one mall. Therefore, everyone is there.

Anti-Pop In Protection
Point Goes to: Small City
I am not totally against the Pop In. I like company. I like surprises. And as long as the Pop In-ees don't expect me to be looking my finest or have done dishes at some point in the past week, it usually isn't an issue. In Small City we had the protection of the rivers (people don't cross rivers in Small City) and distance from basically everyone we knew. So far we have only had one official Pop In (and it was an actual POP in since it my pop who did it, the least likely to ever perform a Pop In) and everyone else has at least called a few minutes before they have arrived.

Coolness of Inlaw Visits
Point Goes to: Big Town
Got a phone call from the inlaws yesterday. They were in Butler. Would we mine if they flew in for a few hours? How cool is that! My inlaws have a plane and unlike Small City, there is an airport just across town that they can fly into. Even though we now live further from them, their ease of visiting us may have slightly increased. Even if it isn't easier, it is way cooler than coming by car!

Friendliness of Citizens
Point Goes to: Big Town
Not to say that people in Small City were rude (okay, some of them really were) but people in Big Town smile a lot, make conversation with strangers, and are just generally polite. I am probably going to bite my tongue here soon when I go out for something and encounter some rude dude, but for now, all people I have come across in public have been quite friendly to me and my kids.

Running into Someone I Know and Never Liked
Point Goes to: Big Town
Might be a Big Town, but I grew up here and know a lot of people here. That of course increases my odds of knowing people that I just don't enjoy. So far so good. Haven't seen anyone out and about that has caused me to quickly duck behind a display of produce to avoid, but that fear is always there.

As of now it is looking like Big Town is winning by a small margin, that is if having a point for running into someone I don't like is a good thing.