No. I do know a few people who went back later in life, for different reasons, but almost all of my close friends left after high school or soon thereafter.
Small townies are equal parts stupid and crazy. And the shit they do to kids in those towns rivals anything you’ll hear out of Hollywood or high society.
Absolutely not. There was so much waiting for me elsewhere.
This is more my fault than the town’s, but, I was stuck in some bad habits and unhealthy ruts back there. Getting away helped me shake those off and start fresh. Really changed things for the better.
No. I grew up in an all-white, 95% Catholic suburb. Most of the people I grew up with have since joined the Orange Cult, including some family members. I would never move back there.
Gone back a few times and the people there are stupid. It then occurred to me: all the gifted, smart and/or ambitious people I grew up with left and went to the cities to start their life and build their careers. The rest, the ones who enjoyed working at the gas station, just wanted to have babies or gave up on education, stayed behind. It was a brain-drain on the community and I realize it has been happening for a very long time so that the people in my small town are really quite simple for the most part.
Wonder if that is the case through out my country.
No. 11 years in a huge city. It was challenging in so many ways, but that’s the thing, they make you learn so much and grow. I just wish I had childhood friends and family around, I’ve always felt like an outsider, even having geeat friends here. The way people are friends is different.
I didn’t leave right after high school but quite a few years later and honestly I wish i had left sooner when I originally planed to leave, i’ve been in my new city for over 3 years now and don’t miss my home town at all
No. It was a small Missouri river town of about 600 people. There is no industry, no real way to earn a living. People have to commute at least 45 minutes for jobs that pay. The present median annual household income in the town is $25k.
I left and eventually became an IT professional. Wife and I are retired with a 6-figure income and a 7-figure investment portfolio. Had I stayed there I would be broke and barely scraping by.
While I miss some people and the big events of their lives. I’d never chamge my decision.. I do still live in a small town, just on the other side of the world
Not at all, however I wish I had stayed in touch with more people.
When I graduated high school I was positive that no one would leave and that every return visit would be filled with interactions from my past. This is not the case, and whenever I go home I only meet new people.
Glad to be gone. I know why I left. But the people who stayed, achieved the same education as I did, or ones who went back shortly after leaving, can’t figure out why. I suppose wanting to be close to family does that. I didn’t go so far from my folks that I can’t get to them. But, nah, couldn’t be any closer than a half days drive away.
For me, absolutely not.
For those who are 100% happy there, with their high school sweethearts, family, and all their friends in one place — I feel a little sad that I don’t have that. But I wouldn’t trade my life for anything!
No, I am happy I chose to join the Military and let Uncle Sam pay me while I “see the world” and get “$10,000 to go to the college of my choice”. 🥹. I do respect my friends and classmates who chose to stay in my hometown and give back to the community.
I got out when I left for college and basically moved to the same city I’d lived in, but in a different font. Went back home for 2 years almost and now I’m in an actually big city area. There’s things to do. People to see and meet.
i’m now living in a big city. i love it, but it has also made me appreciate my roots. that being said, i will never move back to my hometown. i left for a reason.
No. I had to leave to understand how incredible my hometown was. A friend recently asked if I’d move back, and my answer was- yes, if I was independently wealthy. My home area is economically depressed,
I used to scoff a little at those who stayed. Now, I marvel at their wisdom for having done so. They knew how good life was in a small town with good friends.
Nope to the nope. Small, USA, dusty farming town. Post HS, military Boot Camp. Never looked back. Now, corporate America doing cool cybersecurity stuff all over the world, leveraging the operational experiences of active duty projects while deployed, and confidence of international travel. The only change in my small hometown is that the number of convenience and fast food stores has increased.
People didn’t know me here. It was a chance to start over and not have people base their judgements off me from when I was an elementary schooler and struggled to handle my autism.
Plus, there is so much more to do in a big city. I actually get out now more than the gym. It feels freeing.
Lastly, my ex lives back at home. Took months of therapy to get over what she did to me, so I’m happy to never bump into her again. That’s a closed chapter of my life, and she’ll never write another word into my current one.
Nope. I wouldn’t in a million years regret leaving. I didn’t leave right away, but enlisted when I was 25. Never went back.
It was not only liberating but also eye opening. I had no idea how closed-minded we were until I left. That’s still the norm back home.
As a result, I’m far more empathetic and open-minded and much less quick to complain about or judge things. It’s something I share with others who got out; we’ve talked about it—all of us appreciative for the opportunity to see things through a broader lens.
I miss the geographic area (coastal New England to Chicagoland suburbs) but I don’t miss the town itself nor do I regret leaving for much better opportunities. Might move back someday in retirement but not to the same town.
Fuck no. It’s so so SO slow there. I miss my family often, but if I move back there I’m going to gain weight, become depressed, and just want to move back down here.
Not at all. I’m from a small town that was mostly white people. When I moved to the city and experienced diversity, it became a catalyst to so much more education about the cultures and people of the world, not just my small one in nowhere Ontario.
I was in south central PA: I was trying to change & evolve. I wasn’t able to grow the way I needed or wanted to. It was like the people around me were seeing me as a photograph of someone I was vs who i was trying to be. I wasn’t able to “escape” old labels.
That said, upon moving x-country i was confronted with all the things about myself that also kept me stuck in said “hometown”. Even further had to dig into what & where I was holding myself back. I wouldn’t have been able to do that staying in “hometown”.
10 years later I am the best version of myself, and those who have not moved away or had any growth… those friends have fallen away. Some grief there, but also made room for community who seems more aligned.
If you’re moving away, and it’s running away from yourself – those things will only get louder. If you’re willing to grow, it will be life changing. You also may find what you need in life as well.
Glad I left, saw the world, made my fortune, came back when I retired. Got to spend some time with my folks before they passed. It all worked out. I knew I was never meant to stay here forever, but I’m glad to be back. It’s not a bad place. There’s just so much more out there I wanted to see and experience.
Nope. I only talk to three or four people from high school anyway, my two friends from back home that I spent significant amounts of time with are both dead, and most of my friends live in a different state. If my parents and one of my siblings didn’t live there, I wouldn’t have a reason to go back.
I’m not much of a sucker for nostalgia, and I’m definitely not nostalgic for a small Southern town.
No. I may even consider moving back there later in my 30s (it’s honestly a really nice place and my parents and some good friends are there), but I would not be someone capable of living the life I want to in that town if I hadn’t left first. I needed education, experience, worldview. The only people who are “successful” in the small towns where I’m from either go get education and experience elsewhere or inherit a family business/trade.
New perspectives and ideas can help a community grow, instead of remaining stagnant. Leaving your hometown isn’t about “leaving” as much as it is about “going.”
No. It’s a gorgeous ancient town in New England. I miss the trees and architecture. The people that didn’t leave are full white supremacist. The grandchildren of non English speaking Portuguese and Sicilian immigrants. Full hate MAGA now. They embraced ignorance in the name of Jesus. I can see them crossing themselves as they said the N word. My only regret was not getting my GED at 14.
And go back to Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world? Hell no!
I have since lived and worked in 5 countries across 4 continents, and had tons of truly different experiences and learned so much. Most importantly, that “normal” is often a local construct.
I get to live in a hub of global connection where people travel globally and bring the best of those ideas to their personal lives, communities and jobs.
I have worked for the headquarters of multiple companies and get to work on global-scale things.
I’m not out of place when I mention having lived in other places.
I live in a place with diversity.
Having said that, I miss the friendliness, the slower pace of life, the sustainable work-life balance, the lack of guns, the relatively competent government. I might go back for a period, but I’m glad I left.
Not one single bit, the small town was amazing growing up and the people were fucking horrible. I’ve been gone for forty years and I still don’t miss it
Growing up I wanted to move away once I was able too. Had nothing to do with a bad upbringing, I just realized the small town I was in was going further down the shitter. 20 years later I live 4 hours away and only go back 2-3 times a year to visit family.
No. And every time I get nostalgic I go back and see the people that never left and realize nostalgia is fun but my life is bigger outside of that small Colorado town.
I was fortunate to grow up in a rural town that had access to a vocational school for the last two years of High School that would also let you earn college credit while doing your high school studies. HS diploma in 2007, BA in 2009, out of my hometown and to the west coast in 2013.
Best decisions ever. I don’t hate my home town but I would have rotted and died there. The culture shock of moving to a city broadened my horizons and opened my life up to so many experiences I would have missed otherwise.
Nope. I still see the people I went to school with doing the same stuff, hanging out with the same people, and not really doing that much with their lives. If I hadn’t left I’d be stuck in the loop, and that’s just not for me.
Definitely not, small town in Michigan to Denver, I go back and describe what I do on any given weekend events and activities that they would have to plan months in advance, even a simple concert, they also have no concept of any ethnic food outside of “Mexican”. They own houses though, I’ll give them that…
Smalltown/whitetown, no friend to anyone who’s a little different, which I was/am.
I don’t mind going back to visit family, but usually every other visit something happens that reminds me why leaving was great.
Also while people in big cities aren’t always super friendly, the smalltown mindset where I’m from is lowkey hostile and just John Redneck looking for a fight
I left my home state, and then came back because I couldn’t afford the rent increase in another state. It’s been almost TWO YEARS.
Since being back, I fell into a loop of escapism
(not drugs/“bad” choices, but hanging out with old friends with no more “goals”… like the same two bars, and an annual 7 day trip to a place 5 hours away to come home and complain about tourism..)
Now I’m finally recentered, I’m reminded that what feels natural/familiar… is what lead me wanting to get out in the first place. I feel stagnant.
I am preparing for my move, but silently… every time I bring it up- I get negative feedback from my family and home state friends.
It’s like I brought home a “new me” and I’m being drained of it.
I’m afraid to make my own decisions without judgment, but when I was on my own-away from everyone- I was confident in my choices and decision making. Plus, I was successful in doing it.. with that brought confidence I didn’t ever get before.
With all this in consideration, I’m grateful to have come back.
I noticed the pattern, and it shows my growth. I will always have love for my home town… and I can forgive and love from a place of understanding
But silently cannot wait to be tf out of here for good 💕😂
Nope. I would be trapped in the same hell of working a low level job, seeing people I don’t like everyday, no access to any fun, and getting married and having kids just because it’s the culture. No one supports each other there. Highly judgemental. Being homeless in the city is still a better life than living in the small town.
My small no stoplight town has grown to be 50,000+. I miss coming home to visit my small town, where I would run into old friends. Now I don’t know anyone
Not one bit, that place and the major city it was outside of was a massive shit hole. We still have some family there and I dread going and vising, thankfully I don’t make the trip often.
Had I known leaving would make me miss the things I did, I would have stayed.
There is nothing in the town I was born and raised, unless all you do is go to work and go home, or find your own hobbies. I moved for almost 5 years and came back. It was the best choice I made for myself, but I wish I never left to begin with.
I left and had to come back. I wish I hadn’t, but at the time it was the only option. There are things in my life now that I never would have had if I had stayed away, but I also wouldn’t know the difference.
So, I wish I’d been able to leave and never have to live here again. I wish I could get my husband to move.
I’m seeing a lot of people saying they are glad they moved away. To those who did – what advice would you give someone who’s doing the oppisite?
I grew up in a city suburb, and can’t wait to get away. So I guess the grass is always greener!
Currently in the process of moving to a rural ~30k pop. town.
Hell no. Shitass town, shitass people. Got called slurs a few times a week by people who knew they’d never amount to anything in their lives from birth. Personally, I like to hope that the oil stained mud puddle I grew up in completely burns down in a runaway prairie fire one day, but the townsfolk will probably be killed off first by whatever disease people typically get from fucking pigs. 👍
No, I moved to that area and was welcome in a few places like friend’s houses and stores and school but the general vibe of the community was that I was indeed NOT welcome there lol. The whole county actually has a similar vibe if you go somewhere you’re not usually at.
I lived in a small town until my teens. I absolutely DO NOT miss it. Not even a little bit. I went back there a couple of times to visit family and it feels so alien to me. All the bullshit I thought was normal as a kid is NOT normal, and I recognize it now. (People pushing religion, trying to control women, gossiping, etc.)
No. I’m glad I started my own life away from my family. Self-sustainment is a valuable thing. Visiting them a couple times a year is gratifying enough.
I don’t know. For a long time I’d have said absolutely not, they’re not bright people, don’t care about the world in a way that will actually make it better. I get to do really cool science and I get to teach people and help people get their PhDs. That’s really, really cool.
But they’re happier than I am. Ignorance is bliss I guess.
Not quite a small town (suburb) but no regrets. I still visit bc my family is there but I have no desire to move back. It’s been 19 years. I no longer fit there, if I ever did to begin with.
I got out, and came back. I’m glad I left, and I’m glad I came back. I live about an hour from my hometown. I left for work, and I came back for work. I love my family, I love the people I met along the way, I just wish I had left for basic training at 18 instead of waiting until my mid-20s to leave for something else entirely.
I grew up in a small town. My parents made sure we traveled around the states and exposed us to the arts as well. When I graduated I left. College, travelling around the world, joined the Marine Corps, met my wife and started a life. We lived in large cities until it was time to start a family. We moved back to my small town. It’s a safe place crime wise, we have family near to help out when needed, and the cost of living is cheap. Our oldest graduates next year. We have impressed upon her the need to fly far from the coup when it’s time. When the kids are on their own, we will probably move back to a city. I got out for a while. Some never really left. The ones that stayed seem happy when I see them. Everybody’s happy is different.
Hell no. York Pa is a shitty little town with a ton of white trash and racists. I live in a major west coast city now and hate to even visit that backwards ass town.
Yes and no. I still feel nostalgic when I go home or think about it but there wasn’t much work there and I may or may not have ended up better or worse off in all aspects of my life. It’s a hard call there.
no. my family keeps trying to get me to come back but there is nothing there for me and i like where i live now. i think everyone should at least try to live outside of their hometown for a few years and move back if its not for you. but you experience and learn so much more by branching out and going off on your own
No, fleeing Lebanon, Indiana before I’d even turned 18 is still one of my greatest accomplishments. The only reason I’d go back is to bulldoze it flat and salt the earth.
I don’t regret it one bit. I was suffocating there. Moving out has given me a better world perspective, different experiences and kept me curious. I’d consider myself more well rounded because I moved and never looked back.
Not even a little. Ironically, after about 25 years in a large city, I’ve now moved to a different small town but this one is a college town so it feels significantly different.
Left at 18 traveled the world with Uncle Sam. Ended up in very big city, there 10 years, moved back east to a small town, love it but after 40 years missing home and family.
Hell no. So like many towns, the place has its share of poor and wealthy. The poor area is well, not great. Some of the worst and dumbest people I’ve ever met in my life. And the rich area is beautiful but it’s just so out of touch. I’ve met wealth all over the country that act and dress normal where you’d never know. Then you have the crowd that is desperately trying to look rich. Very corny.
Left for college (did a lot of things I had to business doing), moved back home to help my mom after my dad passed and my brother got disabled, ran into my now husband and we’re currently expecting our first kid together.
Nope. I’m 3 hours away, and I’m okay with that. I can go home and see my parents if I need to but I don’t have any friends there anymore. I miss the beach being 10 minutes from my house but I cope. It’s a very…not me…area. Good memories, but that’s all it’s good for now.
Fuck no. Even if I still live relatively close to it there’s too much emotional baggage there and it’s a dead end town with nothing going for it. Only reason it’s still around is cause its on the south side of Chicago and has a train station
Yes and no. For my career, relationship and mental health it was the best decision I ever made. I am not someone who thrived there and genuinely don’t think I ever will. But as the sole family member to have left, to miss out on the day to day lives of my siblings, parents, nieces, it’s hard. I would have loved to have been someone who could’ve stayed back and been happy but I’m just not.
Lmao nope. It was either the trades or law enforcement if you stayed. Got exposure to both growing up and said not no but hell no. I’m going to follow this girl I met in college and go be a project manager in the big city. 10/10 would do again.
No. Family foster in a farming community … looked around and thought no way I’m marrying a farmer. Joined the AF right out of high school. Best decision ever; basis for the rest of my life.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a simple life, but I just do not understand the absurd lack of curiosity.
All the music they like is still from high school.
One of my former classmates wondered why I would bother being interested exploring the world – why not just the United States…
Ummmm, I also have worked all around the USA, Alaska and Canada, and have driven cross country.
I started working a job in Hawaii, then flew to WaDC, then drove across the US (Southern Route) back to Washington State. Have you ever done that?
all i want is to get out of my small hometown. i am moving to the city in august and can’t wait. the dating pool is just so small, and being queer makes it more difficult. i lived in a city in ohio for three years and loved it, but then had to come back to my hometown for family. it feels like it sucks you in and it’s impossible to get out. can’t wait to be a stranger again.
Sometimes I do. It was nice knowing everyone, having people who cared about you and your family all around. For example, when my dad passed, his barber and pharmacist came to the visitation! You can’t get that kind of community in the city.
Pace of life was slower, but enjoyable and peaceful.
Comments
No. I do know a few people who went back later in life, for different reasons, but almost all of my close friends left after high school or soon thereafter.
Not even a little bit.
Small townies are equal parts stupid and crazy. And the shit they do to kids in those towns rivals anything you’ll hear out of Hollywood or high society.
If you live in a small town, GTFO.
Absolutely not, best decision I’ve ever made
Absolutely not. There was so much waiting for me elsewhere.
This is more my fault than the town’s, but, I was stuck in some bad habits and unhealthy ruts back there. Getting away helped me shake those off and start fresh. Really changed things for the better.
I miss my friends and family but the city just wasn’t worth the cost of living.
No. I grew up in an all-white, 95% Catholic suburb. Most of the people I grew up with have since joined the Orange Cult, including some family members. I would never move back there.
No! Moved to NYC and never looked back.
Absolutely not. So glad I moved on and have lived in other cities!
Nope.
Gone back a few times and the people there are stupid. It then occurred to me: all the gifted, smart and/or ambitious people I grew up with left and went to the cities to start their life and build their careers. The rest, the ones who enjoyed working at the gas station, just wanted to have babies or gave up on education, stayed behind. It was a brain-drain on the community and I realize it has been happening for a very long time so that the people in my small town are really quite simple for the most part.
Wonder if that is the case through out my country.
No. 11 years in a huge city. It was challenging in so many ways, but that’s the thing, they make you learn so much and grow. I just wish I had childhood friends and family around, I’ve always felt like an outsider, even having geeat friends here. The way people are friends is different.
Would never do it differently.
Nope.
I got a fresh start and kept going. I wouldn’t have had the opportunities that got me to where I am if I’d stayed.
I didn’t leave right after high school but quite a few years later and honestly I wish i had left sooner when I originally planed to leave, i’ve been in my new city for over 3 years now and don’t miss my home town at all
Left to Vegas. I regrets !
Yes I did. I missed it everyday for 8 years. We finally moved back last year and have zero plans to move again.
No. It was a small Missouri river town of about 600 people. There is no industry, no real way to earn a living. People have to commute at least 45 minutes for jobs that pay. The present median annual household income in the town is $25k.
I left and eventually became an IT professional. Wife and I are retired with a 6-figure income and a 7-figure investment portfolio. Had I stayed there I would be broke and barely scraping by.
Nope. I have no desire to run into the same people over and over when I’m out in public. Beyond annoying. Haven’t been back there for 10+ years.
No, no, and hell no!
While I miss some people and the big events of their lives. I’d never chamge my decision.. I do still live in a small town, just on the other side of the world
Not a chance. Closed minded uneducated bigots. My life is much better away from that nonsense.
Nope, best decision in the world
Nope, thrilled to be far away.
Not at all, however I wish I had stayed in touch with more people.
When I graduated high school I was positive that no one would leave and that every return visit would be filled with interactions from my past. This is not the case, and whenever I go home I only meet new people.
No not sorry left. I do go back to visit my sister and her family but couldn’t live there again, too humid.
lol nope
Never
No, never.
I left the day I turned 18
Hard no.
Glad to be gone. I know why I left. But the people who stayed, achieved the same education as I did, or ones who went back shortly after leaving, can’t figure out why. I suppose wanting to be close to family does that. I didn’t go so far from my folks that I can’t get to them. But, nah, couldn’t be any closer than a half days drive away.
Nope, but to be fair I traded one small town for another, this one is just considerably nicer and more friendly
Nosey grandmas are better neighbors than crackheads every day of the week
Not really a small town but absolutely not
Absolutely not
Yes, it is a hidden gem.
I left my town and went to another town.
cheers, i am nearly at the 20 yr mark
I miss my family but not the town.
NO WAY
I spent 5 years after highschool doing the dead end townie crap.
Decided my HS teachers were jerks who didn’t know me that well and went against their advice.
Got my BA and never looked back.
Fuck no.
For me, absolutely not.
For those who are 100% happy there, with their high school sweethearts, family, and all their friends in one place — I feel a little sad that I don’t have that. But I wouldn’t trade my life for anything!
I did it the other way. Born and raised in the inner city. Moved to country at 40. I love it and glad i left. People should expand their horizons.
i left for a long time and ultimately came back home. The gap was necessary for my development.
weirdly I ended up going back to a small town after 8 years
Hell no! I go back and visit now and then and it has changed for the better but I’m so glad I escaped when I did.
No, I am happy I chose to join the Military and let Uncle Sam pay me while I “see the world” and get “$10,000 to go to the college of my choice”. 🥹. I do respect my friends and classmates who chose to stay in my hometown and give back to the community.
I got out when I left for college and basically moved to the same city I’d lived in, but in a different font. Went back home for 2 years almost and now I’m in an actually big city area. There’s things to do. People to see and meet.
Hell no.
No. Not even a little bit.
i’m now living in a big city. i love it, but it has also made me appreciate my roots. that being said, i will never move back to my hometown. i left for a reason.
No. HELL NO. You’d get your ass kicked for saying that.
No. I had to leave to understand how incredible my hometown was. A friend recently asked if I’d move back, and my answer was- yes, if I was independently wealthy. My home area is economically depressed,
I used to scoff a little at those who stayed. Now, I marvel at their wisdom for having done so. They knew how good life was in a small town with good friends.
Not even close – best move I ever made. My life has leveled up literally 6X from that town.
Nope to the nope. Small, USA, dusty farming town. Post HS, military Boot Camp. Never looked back. Now, corporate America doing cool cybersecurity stuff all over the world, leveraging the operational experiences of active duty projects while deployed, and confidence of international travel. The only change in my small hometown is that the number of convenience and fast food stores has increased.
No.
People didn’t know me here. It was a chance to start over and not have people base their judgements off me from when I was an elementary schooler and struggled to handle my autism.
Plus, there is so much more to do in a big city. I actually get out now more than the gym. It feels freeing.
Lastly, my ex lives back at home. Took months of therapy to get over what she did to me, so I’m happy to never bump into her again. That’s a closed chapter of my life, and she’ll never write another word into my current one.
Nope. I wouldn’t in a million years regret leaving. I didn’t leave right away, but enlisted when I was 25. Never went back.
It was not only liberating but also eye opening. I had no idea how closed-minded we were until I left. That’s still the norm back home.
As a result, I’m far more empathetic and open-minded and much less quick to complain about or judge things. It’s something I share with others who got out; we’ve talked about it—all of us appreciative for the opportunity to see things through a broader lens.
Hell no
I miss the geographic area (coastal New England to Chicagoland suburbs) but I don’t miss the town itself nor do I regret leaving for much better opportunities. Might move back someday in retirement but not to the same town.
No but I’m glad I came back 25 years later.
Fuck no. It’s so so SO slow there. I miss my family often, but if I move back there I’m going to gain weight, become depressed, and just want to move back down here.
Not at all. I’m from a small town that was mostly white people. When I moved to the city and experienced diversity, it became a catalyst to so much more education about the cultures and people of the world, not just my small one in nowhere Ontario.
It helped me grow in so many ways.
nope, nope & nope. i’ve never gone back even when i was literally homeless lol.
Absolutely wonderful to leave, never would live there again very very rarely visit.
Am gay, hell to the no.
God no. It is almost like incest there, with everyone just marrying one another from the small pond of availability.
I feel like 1 lack of opportunities for what I wanted to do weren’t there.
Also I didn’t realize how special a place it was until I left.
Never. Not even for a second. I went as far as physically possible MA -> CA. Moved in 2017 and only went back once when my grandpa died in 2018.
Nope, but i miss all the days I missed with my family.
Not even a little. People assume it’s because of crime but really it’s just the lack of anything at all to do.
No:
I was in south central PA: I was trying to change & evolve. I wasn’t able to grow the way I needed or wanted to. It was like the people around me were seeing me as a photograph of someone I was vs who i was trying to be. I wasn’t able to “escape” old labels.
That said, upon moving x-country i was confronted with all the things about myself that also kept me stuck in said “hometown”. Even further had to dig into what & where I was holding myself back. I wouldn’t have been able to do that staying in “hometown”.
10 years later I am the best version of myself, and those who have not moved away or had any growth… those friends have fallen away. Some grief there, but also made room for community who seems more aligned.
If you’re moving away, and it’s running away from yourself – those things will only get louder. If you’re willing to grow, it will be life changing. You also may find what you need in life as well.
I eventually moved to another small town 5 miles away and it’s a completely different vibe. Love it here.
On paper, they should be the same.
No, it took me a long time to leave and now I wish I would have left much sooner.
Glad I left, saw the world, made my fortune, came back when I retired. Got to spend some time with my folks before they passed. It all worked out. I knew I was never meant to stay here forever, but I’m glad to be back. It’s not a bad place. There’s just so much more out there I wanted to see and experience.
Nope. I only talk to three or four people from high school anyway, my two friends from back home that I spent significant amounts of time with are both dead, and most of my friends live in a different state. If my parents and one of my siblings didn’t live there, I wouldn’t have a reason to go back.
I’m not much of a sucker for nostalgia, and I’m definitely not nostalgic for a small Southern town.
No. I may even consider moving back there later in my 30s (it’s honestly a really nice place and my parents and some good friends are there), but I would not be someone capable of living the life I want to in that town if I hadn’t left first. I needed education, experience, worldview. The only people who are “successful” in the small towns where I’m from either go get education and experience elsewhere or inherit a family business/trade.
New perspectives and ideas can help a community grow, instead of remaining stagnant. Leaving your hometown isn’t about “leaving” as much as it is about “going.”
Liberal , diverse painting with a broad stroke! Go figure
Sometimes I miss the simplicity, but leaving was the best thing I ever did.
No. It’s a gorgeous ancient town in New England. I miss the trees and architecture. The people that didn’t leave are full white supremacist. The grandchildren of non English speaking Portuguese and Sicilian immigrants. Full hate MAGA now. They embraced ignorance in the name of Jesus. I can see them crossing themselves as they said the N word. My only regret was not getting my GED at 14.
Nope. I’m currently back living with my parents for the time being to build up savings. I fucking hate it here
And go back to Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world? Hell no!
I have since lived and worked in 5 countries across 4 continents, and had tons of truly different experiences and learned so much. Most importantly, that “normal” is often a local construct.
I get to live in a hub of global connection where people travel globally and bring the best of those ideas to their personal lives, communities and jobs.
I have worked for the headquarters of multiple companies and get to work on global-scale things.
I’m not out of place when I mention having lived in other places.
I live in a place with diversity.
Having said that, I miss the friendliness, the slower pace of life, the sustainable work-life balance, the lack of guns, the relatively competent government. I might go back for a period, but I’m glad I left.
Not one single bit, the small town was amazing growing up and the people were fucking horrible. I’ve been gone for forty years and I still don’t miss it
Growing up I wanted to move away once I was able too. Had nothing to do with a bad upbringing, I just realized the small town I was in was going further down the shitter. 20 years later I live 4 hours away and only go back 2-3 times a year to visit family.
No. And every time I get nostalgic I go back and see the people that never left and realize nostalgia is fun but my life is bigger outside of that small Colorado town.
I was fortunate to grow up in a rural town that had access to a vocational school for the last two years of High School that would also let you earn college credit while doing your high school studies. HS diploma in 2007, BA in 2009, out of my hometown and to the west coast in 2013.
Best decisions ever. I don’t hate my home town but I would have rotted and died there. The culture shock of moving to a city broadened my horizons and opened my life up to so many experiences I would have missed otherwise.
No. There was nothing for me there and I never fit in.
HELL no
Nah, fuck that place and fuck them hoes too
Hell no.
There wasn’t anything there for me then, and there isn’t anything there for me now
Nice try, Hallmark channel screenplay writers. Go make your own stories!
Nope. I still see the people I went to school with doing the same stuff, hanging out with the same people, and not really doing that much with their lives. If I hadn’t left I’d be stuck in the loop, and that’s just not for me.
Definitely not, small town in Michigan to Denver, I go back and describe what I do on any given weekend events and activities that they would have to plan months in advance, even a simple concert, they also have no concept of any ethnic food outside of “Mexican”. They own houses though, I’ll give them that…
Hell no.
Smalltown/whitetown, no friend to anyone who’s a little different, which I was/am.
I don’t mind going back to visit family, but usually every other visit something happens that reminds me why leaving was great.
Also while people in big cities aren’t always super friendly, the smalltown mindset where I’m from is lowkey hostile and just John Redneck looking for a fight
Glad I didn’t stay. No chance of growing in career.
Nope.
I left my home state, and then came back because I couldn’t afford the rent increase in another state. It’s been almost TWO YEARS.
Since being back, I fell into a loop of escapism
(not drugs/“bad” choices, but hanging out with old friends with no more “goals”… like the same two bars, and an annual 7 day trip to a place 5 hours away to come home and complain about tourism..)
Now I’m finally recentered, I’m reminded that what feels natural/familiar… is what lead me wanting to get out in the first place. I feel stagnant.
I am preparing for my move, but silently… every time I bring it up- I get negative feedback from my family and home state friends.
It’s like I brought home a “new me” and I’m being drained of it.
I’m afraid to make my own decisions without judgment, but when I was on my own-away from everyone- I was confident in my choices and decision making. Plus, I was successful in doing it.. with that brought confidence I didn’t ever get before.
With all this in consideration, I’m grateful to have come back.
I noticed the pattern, and it shows my growth. I will always have love for my home town… and I can forgive and love from a place of understanding
But silently cannot wait to be tf out of here for good 💕😂
Nope. I would be trapped in the same hell of working a low level job, seeing people I don’t like everyday, no access to any fun, and getting married and having kids just because it’s the culture. No one supports each other there. Highly judgemental. Being homeless in the city is still a better life than living in the small town.
Sometimes yes; most times no.
Gawds no!!
Yes, 100%. I never wanted to move and am considering moving back after 30ish years. I’m done with the city I live in…
My small no stoplight town has grown to be 50,000+. I miss coming home to visit my small town, where I would run into old friends. Now I don’t know anyone
Not one bit, that place and the major city it was outside of was a massive shit hole. We still have some family there and I dread going and vising, thankfully I don’t make the trip often.
Yes.
Had I known leaving would make me miss the things I did, I would have stayed.
There is nothing in the town I was born and raised, unless all you do is go to work and go home, or find your own hobbies. I moved for almost 5 years and came back. It was the best choice I made for myself, but I wish I never left to begin with.
Not even one tiny little bit. The people who never left worry me.
I left and had to come back. I wish I hadn’t, but at the time it was the only option. There are things in my life now that I never would have had if I had stayed away, but I also wouldn’t know the difference.
So, I wish I’d been able to leave and never have to live here again. I wish I could get my husband to move.
Leaving was the best decision of my life.
no
grew up in podunk, indiana
moved to seattle
got a job in tech
retired at 39
I only wish I left sooner
I miss the place but not the people.
I’m seeing a lot of people saying they are glad they moved away. To those who did – what advice would you give someone who’s doing the oppisite?
I grew up in a city suburb, and can’t wait to get away. So I guess the grass is always greener!
Currently in the process of moving to a rural ~30k pop. town.
Hell no. Shitass town, shitass people. Got called slurs a few times a week by people who knew they’d never amount to anything in their lives from birth. Personally, I like to hope that the oil stained mud puddle I grew up in completely burns down in a runaway prairie fire one day, but the townsfolk will probably be killed off first by whatever disease people typically get from fucking pigs. 👍
No, I moved to that area and was welcome in a few places like friend’s houses and stores and school but the general vibe of the community was that I was indeed NOT welcome there lol. The whole county actually has a similar vibe if you go somewhere you’re not usually at.
I lived in a small town until my teens. I absolutely DO NOT miss it. Not even a little bit. I went back there a couple of times to visit family and it feels so alien to me. All the bullshit I thought was normal as a kid is NOT normal, and I recognize it now. (People pushing religion, trying to control women, gossiping, etc.)
Not really. I miss a few things, but leaving opened up a whole new world.
Yes and No. It wasn’t exactly a small town, but a lot of small town mentality; so I left for awhile, but definitely miss SOME of the people.
Nope. Nothing to do there, no jobs and HOT AS BALLS!! North Texas
Absolutely not.
No. I’m glad I started my own life away from my family. Self-sustainment is a valuable thing. Visiting them a couple times a year is gratifying enough.
My dumb ass went back…
Hell no.
Absolutely NOT!
Hell NO! I am so glad that I got out of that shit hole!
Hell no
I don’t know. For a long time I’d have said absolutely not, they’re not bright people, don’t care about the world in a way that will actually make it better. I get to do really cool science and I get to teach people and help people get their PhDs. That’s really, really cool.
But they’re happier than I am. Ignorance is bliss I guess.
Not quite a small town (suburb) but no regrets. I still visit bc my family is there but I have no desire to move back. It’s been 19 years. I no longer fit there, if I ever did to begin with.
Absolutely not!
I have so much to learn and places I enjoy. I’m so much happier in a different environment than the cute small town I grew up in.
I’ve visited upon occasion and ran into same old school friends. Lovely people. Exactly as I left them.
It’s a great place for them. Not for me.
I got out, and came back. I’m glad I left, and I’m glad I came back. I live about an hour from my hometown. I left for work, and I came back for work. I love my family, I love the people I met along the way, I just wish I had left for basic training at 18 instead of waiting until my mid-20s to leave for something else entirely.
I grew up in a small town. My parents made sure we traveled around the states and exposed us to the arts as well. When I graduated I left. College, travelling around the world, joined the Marine Corps, met my wife and started a life. We lived in large cities until it was time to start a family. We moved back to my small town. It’s a safe place crime wise, we have family near to help out when needed, and the cost of living is cheap. Our oldest graduates next year. We have impressed upon her the need to fly far from the coup when it’s time. When the kids are on their own, we will probably move back to a city. I got out for a while. Some never really left. The ones that stayed seem happy when I see them. Everybody’s happy is different.
No. The only halfway decent thing in my hometown is the diner.
No. I actually have a social life, entertainment options, adventure, and the FOOD 🤤
If I had stayed, I’d probably have never gotten out of my depression and wouldn’t have made it to 30.
Absolutely not. None of my peers that stayed behind are doing well. None.
Hell no. York Pa is a shitty little town with a ton of white trash and racists. I live in a major west coast city now and hate to even visit that backwards ass town.
Sometimes, so that my kids could know their extended family. They never got to experience cousins.
sometimes yes, but i grew up in Hawaii where people, places, and way of life is just different overall.
Nope.
Not even for a second.
Yes and no. I still feel nostalgic when I go home or think about it but there wasn’t much work there and I may or may not have ended up better or worse off in all aspects of my life. It’s a hard call there.
no. my family keeps trying to get me to come back but there is nothing there for me and i like where i live now. i think everyone should at least try to live outside of their hometown for a few years and move back if its not for you. but you experience and learn so much more by branching out and going off on your own
Oh hell no. I now have a life-long aversion to small towns. Give me those big city lights!
Nope. That place is cancer in so many ways. Get out never look back.
No, fleeing Lebanon, Indiana before I’d even turned 18 is still one of my greatest accomplishments. The only reason I’d go back is to bulldoze it flat and salt the earth.
No regrets here. My options for work were limited.
I don’t regret it one bit. I was suffocating there. Moving out has given me a better world perspective, different experiences and kept me curious. I’d consider myself more well rounded because I moved and never looked back.
Nope. I went to college, now work in a big city and live with my wife and do a job I love.
The people I know from my home town very much have a small town mindset and will most likely die there
Not at all. I needed to leave to figure out who I really am.
You couldn’t pay me to move back
Not even a little. Ironically, after about 25 years in a large city, I’ve now moved to a different small town but this one is a college town so it feels significantly different.
I had a lot of hometown pride as a kid. It disappeared as soon as I graduated, along with the rivalry of neighboring towns.
Except Elkhorn. Fuck that place.
Not even a little. I enjoy not being tormented for being gay.
Left at 18 traveled the world with Uncle Sam. Ended up in very big city, there 10 years, moved back east to a small town, love it but after 40 years missing home and family.
Oh hell no. Never.
Complete opposite. I never left but in hindsight, I should’ve left the moment I turned 18.
Hell no
Hell no. So like many towns, the place has its share of poor and wealthy. The poor area is well, not great. Some of the worst and dumbest people I’ve ever met in my life. And the rich area is beautiful but it’s just so out of touch. I’ve met wealth all over the country that act and dress normal where you’d never know. Then you have the crowd that is desperately trying to look rich. Very corny.
Hell nah
Occasionally, knowing it was LCOL. But then I remind myself the income would have also been low.
Absolutely not. Best decision ever.
Left for college (did a lot of things I had to business doing), moved back home to help my mom after my dad passed and my brother got disabled, ran into my now husband and we’re currently expecting our first kid together.
I learned that Big City Life™️ ain’t for me lol
Nope. I’m 3 hours away, and I’m okay with that. I can go home and see my parents if I need to but I don’t have any friends there anymore. I miss the beach being 10 minutes from my house but I cope. It’s a very…not me…area. Good memories, but that’s all it’s good for now.
Not really. I think I needed to leave to grow
Fuck no. Even if I still live relatively close to it there’s too much emotional baggage there and it’s a dead end town with nothing going for it. Only reason it’s still around is cause its on the south side of Chicago and has a train station
Nope, fuck that place.
Oh God no.
Yes and no. For my career, relationship and mental health it was the best decision I ever made. I am not someone who thrived there and genuinely don’t think I ever will. But as the sole family member to have left, to miss out on the day to day lives of my siblings, parents, nieces, it’s hard. I would have loved to have been someone who could’ve stayed back and been happy but I’m just not.
Lmao nope. It was either the trades or law enforcement if you stayed. Got exposure to both growing up and said not no but hell no. I’m going to follow this girl I met in college and go be a project manager in the big city. 10/10 would do again.
fuck no
No. Family foster in a farming community … looked around and thought no way I’m marrying a farmer. Joined the AF right out of high school. Best decision ever; basis for the rest of my life.
hell to the absolute fuck no
Absolutely not.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a simple life, but I just do not understand the absurd lack of curiosity.
All the music they like is still from high school.
One of my former classmates wondered why I would bother being interested exploring the world – why not just the United States…
Ummmm, I also have worked all around the USA, Alaska and Canada, and have driven cross country.
I started working a job in Hawaii, then flew to WaDC, then drove across the US (Southern Route) back to Washington State. Have you ever done that?
“Well no.”
There we have it.
Glad I left and glad I never went back to stay.
all i want is to get out of my small hometown. i am moving to the city in august and can’t wait. the dating pool is just so small, and being queer makes it more difficult. i lived in a city in ohio for three years and loved it, but then had to come back to my hometown for family. it feels like it sucks you in and it’s impossible to get out. can’t wait to be a stranger again.
Sometimes I do. It was nice knowing everyone, having people who cared about you and your family all around. For example, when my dad passed, his barber and pharmacist came to the visitation! You can’t get that kind of community in the city.
Pace of life was slower, but enjoyable and peaceful.
Definitely don’t wish I stayed, but wouldn’t mind going back again to luve there with a new perspective.