I was born and raised in a small to mid-sized city. At the time, it felt normal. Busy streets, traffic, noise, people everywhere, this was just life. Then the city started growing. And growing.
By the time I left, the population had reached around 260,600. To many people, that is still considered a small city. To me, it felt crowded, loud, and increasingly congested. Traffic was worse, crime had risen, and the sense of calm I hadn’t realized I valued was long gone.
So, we moved to what I thought was a quieter alternative. A town of about 7,000 people. I remember thinking, This is it. This is small-town living.
Much to my horror, a year later, it officially became a city.
I won’t lie; I wanted to leave. I wanted something smaller, quieter, slower. But life has a way of keeping us where we are, at least for a while. So, I stayed.
Now, more than fourteen years later, that town-turned-city has grown to around 14,000 people. And for me? That feels way too big. More traffic. More noise. More people. More of the very things I was trying to get away from in the first place.
What surprises me most is this: I was never someone who thought of herself as a small-town person. I was a city kid. Born and raised. But somewhere along the way, something shifted.
As I look to the future, I find myself drawn to smaller places. Really small places. Somewhere in the 2,000 to 3,000 population range. Quiet. Less traffic. Fewer sirens. A place where you can walk to the edge of town and see crops growing in the fields. Where nights are dark, stars are visible, and silence isn’t something you have to escape the city to find.
Who knew there was a small-town girl living inside this born-and-bred city girl?
I didn’t set out to become her, but here I am, craving space, quiet, and simplicity more than convenience or crowds. And maybe that’s just part of growing older. Or maybe it’s finally knowing what feels like home.
Maybe that is why I value calm, clarity, and simplicity so much in my life and in my work.
And as Tigger would say, “TTFN, Ta, ta for now!”