The Naked Truth » City Girl Embracing Small Town New England

June 20th, 2004

City Girl Embracing Small Town New England

Posted in My Life, Interesting Trivia, Geekery by n. mallory | .

Have I mentioned how much I love living in a small town. I never thought I would. I always thought I was too much of a city girl to like living in the woods on the edge of a small town.

But I do.

I love that I don’t have to set my alarm clock on Sunday to get my newspaper before someone steals it. In fact, if I don’t remember to go out and get it, it’ll still be there Monday morning.

I love that there are walking paths in my quaint little neighborhood. I love that the houses aren’t so close that if one person looks out of their kitchen they can see in the bedroom of their neighbor. I love that there are yards with trees and landscaping. I love that there are butterfly gardens and wooden bridges over streams along the neighborhood walking path. I love that Main St. is a mile away and not only has an evil Dunkin Donuts next to a Chinese place with really good Shrimp Fried Rice but there are 3 old churches with real steeples on the same street.

I love that it’s a safe place to be.

I love that the summer isn’t so humid it’s like walking into a hot steamed towel when you step outside. I love that I can leave my windows open even when I go to work. I love that there are breezes and even when it really is hot in my un-air conditioned apartment, it’s not miserable like it would be in New Orleans.

I love that Old Port in Portland has brick sidewalks. I love that I can walk to the ocean from my apartment and that there is a mystical-type shop not far from those three churches and no one appears to mind. I love that Tony Shaloub went to University of Southern Maine and it was on the local news the week before the new season of “Monk” started. I love that the crime is so much lower and that they make a big deal of the little crime they have. I love that the people here care a great deal about the environment and support local agriculture, local artists, and everything local.

It’s so different. It’s so refreshing.

Don’t get me wrong. There are somethings I miss like good potato salad and bean dip from Carettas, but it’s nice here. I could have moved to worse places…like Alabama.