why I love Small town life
Hey friends! This October will mark 6 years since we made the move from El Dorado Hills to Sutter Creek. It was only a 40 minute move but wow, the difference is night and day. We did move during 2020 so Covid was a thing and the world was already weird and a bit slower and quieter. That made the adjustment to a slower paced life feel more gradual.
I remember my first walk the morning after we moved in. I felt this sense of exhaling that I didn’t even realize I needed. I say that it’s the move that I didn’t know I needed. Small town life is definitely the life I love living in. Yes, the amenities aren’t as easy to come by. We do travel back to our old stomping grounds for Target and Costco runs, doctors appointments and more dining options but we lump those things together which makes those trips less frequent. Usually I add a coffee or lunch date with a friend into those days to really maximize my days away.
What does small town life look like? You definitely know a lot of folks in the community. Morning walks involve the same people walking the same paths. Everyone waves and says hi on foot and even from their cars. I remember when people waved from their cars when we first moved here and that felt foreign. Now I love it and I wave at the walkers as I drive down the narrow roads and say hello to all I pass on my walks.
Being social has always benefited me as I tend to make friends pretty easily. I have a social circle here and I also still have friends that I have made over the course of life so my cup runneth over with treasured friendships, old and new. For years the friends I made were centered around my kids and their friends parents but now it’s a whole different thing. We are essentially empty nesters and the ways you spend your time shift once you don’t have to factor in your kids schedules.
When you live in a small town you get to know the local business owners (and in my case, become one). I’ve always been a bit independent and going places alone is not out of the norm for me. In a small town, dropping in to chat with a store owner or have a glass of wine at a local tasting room solo is not weird. It’s a welcome thing. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t see someone that I know.
One of my favorite things is popping into a local business and chatting with the shop owners and whomever else might stop in. There are always opportunities to make new friends and to be inspired by the stories we all have to share.
There is just something so sweet and charming about living in a small town. I’ve always been drawn to old main streets. There are stories in every building, on every street, in every sidewalk crack, in all the blooming flowers. Every little thing tells its own story and I am here to listen.I’m constantly inspired by my surroundings.
The funny thing is that my life actually started in the county almost 52 years ago. My mom was local to this county and my dad lived in the next county over. I was born in a hospital that no longer exists but my birth certificate shows that this is where I was born. So, many years later I came back. It wasn’t planned. We knew we wanted something different from what we had and landed on a house here that just spoke to us (OK mostly me but my husband was on board, thankfully!). We’ve sunk a lot of love and energy into this house to make it our own.
it’s funny because our first two homes were new construction homes but this one was almost 50 years old when we moved in. It has a charm that older homes seem to hold. There have been quirks and things we scratch our heads as we uncover but the depth and character are just the best. We are down to our last room to remodel and then it’s just the basics of homeownership. You know, crossing our fingers that things just hold their own without a lot of drama or added expenses.
While the town we live in is small, the town I have a business in is the smallest incorporated city in California. It’s 2 miles from where we live making it the easiest commute. Owning a small business was a thought in the way back of my mind and then it actually happened. I started making candles and then that transitioned to a brick and mortar filled with joyful things.
Working for myself is beautiful and hard. I am in charge of all the things and I am constantly busy doing things for the business but it is also so rewarding to watch something that I have curated come to life and have a lovely following.
Small town life has certainly been a great fit for me and I am grateful every day for the things that I have experienced with this midlife move. Sometimes the things you didn’t know that you needed end up being the best thing that can happen to you. Cheers to taking chances and jumping in feet first!
