Until moving away for college, I had lived my entire life in the same house 10 minutes outside a town of approximately 600 people. There wasn't anything nearby or convenient. There is noise (contrary to what city dwellers believe) but it is the sound of barking dogs, crickets, and wind chimes that fill your ears. I longed for something different... something more exciting. I wanted to go to the big city.
After college, I moved to Moscow, Russia and 3 years later, a suburb of Houston, Texas. Having spent the last 6 years near huge metropolis areas, I was very excited about our family's recent out-of-state move to Batesville, Arkansas. A town of 10,000 sounded lovely. Yes, I miss Starbucks and Target, but I'm pretty sure I'll endure this trial. :)
"Small" is a relative term
I was reminded of this when I was speaking to a young lady about Batesville and referred to it as a "small town". She laughed just as I would've 15 years ago.
Mr. or Ms. + first name
I had completely forgotten about this way of showing respect to your elders. When the youth group girls asked if they should call me Ms. Andrea, I assured them I wasn't old enough to be requiring the title. Am I? Eeeek
Family Doctors
Family doctors are a common practice that seem to be rarely used in the big city. There's a specialist for everything and that's who you see.
The Daily Commute
What is that? Traffic is truly a non-issue. On the other hand, you may need to drive 1 1/2 hours to get a service or store that you need.
Everybody Knows Your Name
So that's a bit of an exaggeration but I've yet to meet someone who didn't know someone else that I knew... which is saying something for only having been here 2 weeks. I remember from my childhood that the negative side of this is that a bad reputation can be hard or impossible to live down. But other than that, I love the community/family feel that we've experienced here. Perhaps it's more our church's culture than the Batesville culture, but I don't think I've ever experienced a more organic, friendly, and hospitable community.
After college, I moved to Moscow, Russia and 3 years later, a suburb of Houston, Texas. Having spent the last 6 years near huge metropolis areas, I was very excited about our family's recent out-of-state move to Batesville, Arkansas. A town of 10,000 sounded lovely. Yes, I miss Starbucks and Target, but I'm pretty sure I'll endure this trial. :)
"Small" is a relative term
I was reminded of this when I was speaking to a young lady about Batesville and referred to it as a "small town". She laughed just as I would've 15 years ago.
Mr. or Ms. + first name
I had completely forgotten about this way of showing respect to your elders. When the youth group girls asked if they should call me Ms. Andrea, I assured them I wasn't old enough to be requiring the title. Am I? Eeeek
Family Doctors
Family doctors are a common practice that seem to be rarely used in the big city. There's a specialist for everything and that's who you see.
The Daily Commute
What is that? Traffic is truly a non-issue. On the other hand, you may need to drive 1 1/2 hours to get a service or store that you need.
Everybody Knows Your Name
So that's a bit of an exaggeration but I've yet to meet someone who didn't know someone else that I knew... which is saying something for only having been here 2 weeks. I remember from my childhood that the negative side of this is that a bad reputation can be hard or impossible to live down. But other than that, I love the community/family feel that we've experienced here. Perhaps it's more our church's culture than the Batesville culture, but I don't think I've ever experienced a more organic, friendly, and hospitable community.