Small town living
Australia — By Kelly on January 26, 2011 2:22 AMI wonder what it would have been like to grow up in a small town like Lancelin. There is not a whole lot to do in Lano, but the local kids always find creative ways to entertain themselves.
While I have always loved living in a big city, I also very much enjoyed living in this small town. While living in Lancelin (population 400) the past two months, I have come to learn that there are pros and cons to small town living. While Lano is a beautiful place to visit, I do not think I would have stayed as long as I did had I not been here to learn to kitesurf.
There are some things about this small town I will miss and others I will not …
Pros to living in a small town …
- Everyone knows your name
- It is never crowded
- No one is in a rush to get anywhere
- Laid back, stress free living
- The bartender knows your drink order before you order it
- It is very safe – parents can send their kids outside to play and leave your doors unlocked without worry
- Everything you need is a short bike ride away
- Everyone wants to be your friend
- People go out of their way to help you
- It is safe to hitch hike
Cons to living in a small town …
- Everyone knows your name
- Gossip – because everyone knows everyone and there there just isn’t much else to do
- Expensive groceries ($6 for a gallon of milk)
- Fruit and vegetables are never fresh. $5 for a rotten capsicum (pepper) – no thanks!
- Shops run out of staples – like milk
- Local drama
- Small minds (racism)
- Bloody gossip (did I say that already? Grrrrr) that usually is quite exaggerated
- Many locals have drinking problems – because there just isn’t much else to do
What I will miss most about Lancelin …
- The wind
- Our sweet beach house
- My cute bedroom and the stars on the ceiling (especially the twinkling one)
- Daily afternoon naps
- Beautiful Lano sunsets
- Kitesurfing at the North Point
- Learning new recipes from around the world
- Chillin in the hammock on the front porch
- Playing in the sprinklers on really hot days
- And most of all … my wonderful new friends
Tomorrow I leave Lancelin, thank you for the memories … until we meet again!
To see more photos of Lancelin CLICK HERE.
Tags: australia, beach, kitesurfing, Lancelin, small towns, Western Australia
3 Comments
Off to yet another adventure!! I love reading your blog. Where are you headed next? Glad you like your hammock!!!
This is such a cute post girl! I love that I grew up in a small town. I will also point out that some of your “cons” are really more specific to living in a small town way out on the edge of civilization. My small town in California had loads of fresh veggies all the time, but everything else is right on! I haven’t lived there in 14 years and I am still included in the gossip!
We leave our door unlocked in Brooklyn…
And all over Southeast Asia kids wisely play near streets and motorbikes, but they seem to have better heads on their shoulders – because they don’t ever cross the road or anything.
Sometimes I think we are overly safety conscious – to a fault.
<3