I never considered myself from a small town until I moved away. Right after my 18th birthday I packed up my bags and all my dorm decor and went from sharing a room with my sister to sharing a dorm with two strangers. Triple rooms should really not be a thing that's allowed.
Halfway through my college experience I could feel myself getting restless. Growing bored with the routine I had fallen into and the city I had chosen to attend school in. My junior year was spent studying in the UK, where I fell in love with traveling and the feeling you get when your flight finally takes off.
After graduation I knew I wasn't meant to be home for long, plus four years away made it feel a lot less home-y by the time I returned. Two months after my college graduation I once again packed my bags and made an even bigger move. Cross country. Moving from a beach town in California to a booming city like Washington DC was a big transition, but I never realized how small town I really can be sometimes.
It's small moments where I catch the girl from a small agricultural town come out of me. Whether I'm fussing over the price of produce or commenting on how there's too many people on the sidewalk, I don't think I'll ever grow used to the fact that parking costs 15 dollars an hour and you cant rent a studio for less than 1500 dollars.
You miss a lot of things when you move away from your small town, with most of them being things you always took for granted.
Knowing where absolutely everything is, from the nearest pharmacy to the organization of the aisles inside the pharmacy.
You'll miss that thing you always took for granted, in my case, how close the beach was.
Uncommon people you never thought you would stay in contact with, ie, my high school English teacher.
The feeling that everything is bigger and better somewhere else. Now you know it's only more cramped and overpriced. I'm looking at your apartments in the city!
The price of living.
That restaurant that already knows your order.
Hanging out with people that knew you before you blossomed, and don't mind reminding you of those awkward years.
Spending time with your mom. Nothing beats going to the grocery store with a mom and still begging her to buy you all the junk your heart desires.
Everything closing at 9pm, leaving no pressure to go out and have the time of your life every night.
How inexpensive seeing a movie is. and how convenient it is that there's a Dollar Tree right next to the movie theater. (What's in my purse? Just a box of tampons that secretly filled with gummy bears.)
Fields. I never knew how much I loved staring out at the strawberry fields till I couldn't anymore.
Have any of you made a move from a small town to a big city? If so, what do you miss the most about your hometown?
Haha paying for parking is no fun.
ReplyDeleteI still sneak candy into movies too. I don't remember what the movie was called but a couple years ago my friend and I bought candy at Target and the cashier asked us if we were going to see such and such movie. We said Yes, and she told us we should buy some drinks too.
Yes! I've made a couple, the first 2 major moves were for college, and the most recent happened when I moved from a small town in Arizona to Atlanta, Georgia. Besides missing my family I missed being able to go places without getting on the freeway or using GPS. I also missed paying a little more than $6 for movie tickets.
I'm actually on my way to see Jurassic World right now, but first stopping by one of the 100 CVS stores in the city. Tickets here in DC are about 16 dollars now! And I totally agree, those first few months when you need to look up directions for EVERYWHERE are the most annoying
Delete$16! That is crazy! How was Jurassic World? I heard its pretty good
DeleteJurassic World was okay, I wanted it to be so much better though! There was no scene where I was like on the edge of my seat. The original had the raptor scene in the kitchen that stressed you out so bad as a kid but the new one felt more like a kids movie. It was okay, but not worth 16 dollars!!
Delete