big little world

[aroraborealis]

I really like being a country-girl transplant to a city. It's hard to explain how substantially I think it influences my perception of things, but on comparing notes with other people who similarly grew up in small towns and now live in cities, there's a commonality that I think is rooted in that experience.

And there are funny and wonderful pleasures associated from being from the middle of nowhere. For example, today I ordered some electronics online and on receiving the order confirmation, I noticed the vendor is located in Bozeman, MT. My first thought, on seeing that, was to email them and say, "Hi, neighbor! I love Bozeman!"

Comments

[lazyz.livejournal.com]

Then middle of nowhere misses you!

[bluegargantua]

I like that too.

Like when you're at a party and you find out someone is from Wyoming and you both smile and share The Knowing Look.

"These city-slickers are adorable!"
Tom

[ivorjawa.livejournal.com]

Wait ... are you from Montana originally?

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Oh! Yes. I know you and I have talked about this a lot, but I also love this experience.

Love living in the city - wouldn't trade it for anything - but I love having chosen it, and the sense of perspective that comes with that.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

It's hard to explain how substantially I think it influences my perception of things, but on comparing notes with other people who similarly grew up in small towns and now live in cities, there's a commonality that I think is rooted in that experience.

imvfd has pointers to a really cool psychological study showing precisely this. That whether one grew up in a city or small town/country, and how long one spent there, substantially changes how one responds to stress, specifically, in measurable ways. Pretty cool stuff.

[dakotakym.livejournal.com]

On a somewhat related note, good friends of mine recently moved from FL to Wyoming, and can't stop talking about how awesome WY is, in so many ways.

I think that it's wonderful to feel connected both to where one came from and where one is at present.. I'm currently delighting in inhabiting the woodlands of NH, but I also appreciate the experiences of living in various parts of Boston-land, and even the weird upper-crust suburb where I spent my youth. It's really cool and helpful to be able to relate to and have insight about communicating with a variety of people.