12 Reasons Growing Up In Small Town Nebraska Is The Best

I love Nebraska’s vibrant cities, but small towns will always hold a special place in my heart. There’s where I spent a lot of my childhood, and even after we moved to the city, we spent a lot of time with family in small towns. These are the reasons it’s so much better to grow up in a small Nebraska town than anywhere else.

Everyone in town was your friend, neighbor, or cousin. Most of them were all three.

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You didn’t have to worry about crime, or even about reckless drivers. You learned to trust people.

flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM

Speaking of safety - no one ever had to lock their doors. If you live in a small town now, do you even know where your house key is?

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There was always someone there to help out, teaching you that good neighbors will always be there for you.

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There was no traffic to worry about…no traffic lights, either.

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You were way ahead of the whole “shop local” movement…because there were no other choices in your little community.

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Everyone in the town genuinely cared about one another’s well-being. What a great way to learn compassion from an early age.

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There was always a festival, celebration, or party of some kind happening. These were always great opportunities to volunteer and to mingle with others.

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Classroom sizes were small, so you actually got a pretty great public education.

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…And you probably went to school with the very same kids from kindergarten through high school graduation.

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Everyone in town knew you and your entire family, which kept you honest. If you know for sure that mom and dad will find out about the bad stuff you did, it hardly seems worth doing the bad stuff in the first place.

flickr/Jeffrey Zeidman

Some of that DIY, hard-working pioneer spirit rubs off on you when you live in a little town, and it helps you take care of yourself for the rest of your life.

flickr/Bianca Nogrady

These aren’t the only advantages to growing up in small-town Nebraska. What are your opinions? Let us know in the comments.