There is something to be said about growing up in a small town.  There's a feeling of pride that comes from those little towns, and we certainly have our fair share here in Montana.

Small towns often have a sense of value that you might not find in places with a larger population.  While they may not seem that great growing up, many of us that grew up in small towns look back with lots of fond memories.

The truth is life is a little slower in small-town Montana, and most everyone knows your business, but that's not always a bad thing.

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We asked the question, how can you tell someone is from a small town in Montana, and the response was overwhelming.  Honestly, it was such a fun little walk down memory lane remembering so many of these from my childhood.

When Giving Directions, You Say "Oh, It's Just Down The Road..."

For those of us who grew up in a small town, this is completely acceptable. What big city folk need to know is that "down the road" doesn't have an actual distance, it can be a few blocks...or a few miles.

You Went To Kindergarten Through 12th Grade All In The Same Building.

While this may seem completely foreign to most of us, there are several small Montana towns that have one school...for all grades.

DAYTON, OH-MAY, 2015: Modern high school in a suburban community.
TennesseePhotographer
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You Stop In The Middle Of The Road To Have A Conversation With Someone In Another Vehicle.

This is something that people from large populations will never understand.  Here's a tip, if you're driving through a small Montana town and see this, don't honk your horn or wait for them to finish the conversation, just simply drive around.

You Tell People You're From The Nearest Big Town Because They've Never Heard Of Where You're From.

This happens a lot, and to be honest, it's often easier to just tell them a town that you know they will know. If not, it could turn into a whole "Do you know where (insert another town name) is?  No? Well, well how about (insert an additional town name)?"  No one wants to deal with that.

You Know All Of The Backroads And Can Get To Any Destination in 5 Different Ways.

One of the best things about growing up in a small town is "Country Cruisin'".  It still remains one of my favorite teenage memories, just me and my buddies driving all the backroads with the radio turned up.

Rural Minnesota dirt road with farms in morning light
Willard
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You Wave At Folks While Driving, Even If You Don't Know Them.

I still do this today, and about half the time someone will wave back. When they do, I just assume they're from a small town and are good people.

A Trip To The Store Takes Twice As Long Because You Run Into Several People You Know.

You know you're from a small town when an errand that should have taken 15 minutes turns into an hour because you end up running into a couple of people you know and you swap stories about how the local High School sports teams are looking this year.

There's Only One Stop Light.

Even though it sounds very cliche, there is a whole lot of truth to this one.

Credit: Photo by Nong V on Unsplash
Credit: Photo by Nong V on Unsplash
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The Local Bar Is The Center Of The Social Scene.

We're all familiar with the whole "sometimes you wanna go where everyone knows your name".  Small-town bars are certainly notorious for that. Heck, when I was a kid, if we wanted to visit Grandpa, my Mom would just take me to the local bar where I would play shuffleboard while the "adults" visited.

When People Describe You As "That's (Insert Parents Name) Kid".

The older I get the more I appreciate this one.  My Father grew up in a really small town, and when he passed away a lot of his High School friends came to the service and I could hear them whispering "That's his Son! He looks just like him!"

What is something that you think is a sign of being from a small town?  We want to hear from you, so be sure to send us a message on our station app.

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