But you can't keep her from missing the small town! In the last year, I have been back to my home town very infrequently. There are many reasons for avoiding it-most of which have to do with the length of the trip. However the last two times I've been there, I've realized that another reason I don't go as frequently as I'd like is due to the fact that I miss it too much upon my return. The irony of this is that I find myself quite satisfied with the city for the most part, except for when I get a taste of small town life.
However today I had a small bout of hometown desire. While recycling is harder to do in a small town, I find it much easier to engage in re-use. Part of this is due to the fact that everyone knows everyone and that resources are readily accessible. If I want to sell books, I go straight to the local book store where she knows me by name and where I get 50% of the retail value of the book. Granted I have to use it for store credit, but it sure beats the measly 25% the city's used book stores will give me.
If I want to donate items in the small town, I know of several organizations within easy driving distance that will accept household goods and clothing to give directly to individuals who need them. After researching today, I could only find one place that would accept the items I wanted to donate and it's located far out on the other side of the city. (However this is something I will do, as I've realized that while it's nice to donate to Goodwill to have items reused, at times I'd rather donate goods that will get directly where they are needed.)
When I wanted to donate a piece of glass today from a broken frame, I was able to walk it to a nearby frame shop, but even then the woman wasn't sure she would put it to re-use. In my small town existence, the art supply/frame shop would have been delighted by the free glass.
So while the city is great because it has more resources and is generally of a more liberal slant, I'm finding it's actually harder to get items to places in order to have them be re-used. Too bad the city couldn't be more of a series of sustainable small town pockets.
1 comment:
What a great post! So often people think they'll miss the conviences of a city when they move to a small town and most of the time I don't think that's true. There are differences for sure, and it may take a little more looking in a small town, but its still there.
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