Product Description

If you're an urbanite seeking to improve your quality of life, Small Town Bound helps evaluate your motives for moving and helps you understand small town culture. Sprinkled throughout the guide are interviews with people who have successfully made the move out of the city. This book will help you determine what type of community will make you happy, how to find a job, and how to adjust to your new surroundings. Not a directory of places to move, Small Town Bound actually helps you determine the environment best suited to your personal needs. The book also serves as a social guide and focuses on the different relationships small town residents will have with their communities. Topics covered include: - Attributes of small town life
- Cost of living
- The value of a career
- Traffic factors in growing communities
- Percentage of newcomers vs. natives
- Educational level of residents
- The value of relatives and friends
- Relationship to government
- Meeting new people
- Getting involved

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #822442 in Books
• Published on: 1996-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
"A no-nonsense book that could help disgruntled urbanites make an informed decision before hitting the highway." -- Betsy Marston, High Country News

"Explains how to choose a town and, more importantly, how to fit in and support yourself once there." -- USA Today

"Sage advice to help transplanted small-town residents adjust and contribute meaningfully to their new communities." -- Mountain Living Magazine

"The book thoroughly covers important topics such as the attributes of small town life, cost of living, career opportunities, getting involved in a new community and the relationship that small town residents have to local government. The information is spiced by commentaries that relate the experiences of small town residents and people who have moved to new communities." -- Small Town Magazine

"The great value of Small Town Bound, which really has a useful purpose for any family moving anywhere in America, is it encourages readers to ask the right questions." -- Todd Wilkinson, Jackson Hole News

"This deserves ongoing mention as an excellent guide for any who would live in the country or in a small town: it's not a directory of destinations but a self-help title designed to help readers analyze their motives for moving and their abilities to assess environments." -- Reviewer's Choice, Midwest Book Review

"What sets this book apart is this kind of honesty and directness... His candor, based on keen observation, is refreshing and certain to get you really thinking about the things that matter most." -Sticks, the newsletter "for people who are serious about moving to the country."

"This book is full of good advice and insight." -- Borders Books, Chicago

This deserves ongoing mention as an excellent guide for any who would live in the country or in a small town: it's not a directory of destinations but a self-help title designed to help readers analyze their motives for moving and their abilities to assess environments. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author
John Clayton is an essayist, technical writer, teacher, and author. He lived in greater Boston for many years before moving to a small town in 1990. As a self-employed technical writer, John has worked with several of the nation's leading information and technology companies, including IBM, EDS, and A.T. Kearney. He is also an adjunct professor in the English department at Rocky Mountain College, teaching technical writing. John has published articles and essays in such magazines as Montana Magazine, Mountain Living, the Chronicle of Community, and High Country News. His occasional columns on the American West appear in dozens of Western newspapers through Gallatin Writers Inc. and the "Writers on the Range" series. He is also a regular commentator on public radio's High Plains News Service.

Customer Reviews

A Cultural Guide to Small Towns
Small Town Bound holds itself out to be a cultural guide to small towns and succeeds fairly well. Author John Clayton starts out by helping the future emigrant analyze his or her stirrings about leaving a metropolis, and describes life in small towns attribute by attribute. The next two chapters discuss factors to consider in evaluating a locale and how to earn a living in a small-town economy. Clayton then asserts that "the hardest part of moving to a small town comes after you get there." He is referring to the crucial element of social adaptation--meeting new people and gaining acceptance--because without this, a move is likely to fail. Here the author shares his knowledge of small-town culture and mentality, and makes insightful suggestions as to how to fit in and, thus, succeed. John Clayton's background as a technical writer shows through in the organization of his book according to a traditional outline format, although he is repetitious at times. There are sidebars containing illustrative interviews, anecdotes, reports from the media, and groups of "20 Questions" for the reader's self-test. There are also numerous cautionary tales illustrating pitfalls of small-town life, which help convey a sense of reality and balance. Although there is some overlapping, this book and William Seavey's Moving to Small-Town America are complementary. Clayton emphasizes social adaptation in a new community as the most important criterion of prosperity. Seavey, while not neglecting this aspect, focuses more on the practical details of the migration--how to disengage from the old place, the actual moving, and the settling in in the new place. Both books have appendices listing many useful resources.

Somewhat helpful
I suppose this book contains helpful info for anyone thinking about making the move from the city to a small town, but I really felt all it did was confirm everything you already knew (or thought you knew) about small towns -- the community is closer, everyone knows everyone else, the rumor mill glows hot, the pay is smaller, etc. Clayton lists all the things you think you know about small towns and then dissects them one by one; he says that some things are true and some are not -- but it seemed to me that they were ALL true. I also felt a lot of this was obvious. Does a person really need to be told to get out and talk to people if they want to introduce themselves to a new community? Some of the advice here reminded me of what you'd tell a young kid transferring to a new school.

Where I think the book helps, though, is for people who have just gotten the idea to make the move. The one plus of the book is that it really makes you consider your decision. There's a couple of good exercises to elaborate on your choice.

Clayton's writing is clean and easy to read, though I did at times think he trawled in clichés. City life is presented as something it is not (or at least not always). Clayton at times writes about it as though all cities are criminal wastelands.

The information and advice is pretty simple and obvious, but if you're considering a move you might want to take a look.

An easy read that will help you decide on small-town life.
I am acquainted with the author, so I expected a good book. What I found was a superb book. This is a very thoughtful work about the essence of small-town living. It has helped me greatly in thinking about my own proposed move to a small town in the West. Although the book offers a great many practical suggestions, there is much more than "how to make friends" or "how to find a job." This book has helped me think about whether my character, personality, and values are suited for small-town life. With frank comments about all aspects of small-town life, it has helped me understand, for example, that gossip is the other side of neighborliness. It has helped make my expectations more realistic--and that in turn will lead to greater satisfaction with the move. The writing is friendly and conversational, and the organization is very helpful. Without hesitation, I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in small-town life. Susan Bury, Washington, DC