I haven't had any first-hand experience living in a small town, but Paul Gregory Alms does a terrific job describing what it's like. He pastors a Lutheran Church in Catawba, North Carolina, population about 700. A key word he uses to describe living in a small town is "connection." I think a lot of us would be very different people if we lived in a small town, just as I think we'd be different people if we had grown up in a very large family. I enjoyed reading Alms' essay.