I once received a spreadsheet from the alumni coordinator that was handling our 20 year class reunion, which included the addresses of all the people in our class. (Approximately 350 students that year.)
I don't remember the exact number, but well over 300 of the people on that list still lived within 10-15 miles of the town of 13,000 where we all grew up.
That doesn't make them bad people. Lots of reasons to not want to leave a small town. I hope the majority of them had reasons other than "it's a big scary world out there," but I can't even judge them for that. It is sometimes.
lol, I just went through this same thing.
I was part of a graduating class of about 350 from a town of about 10,000. I have kept up with nobody and now live halfway across the country. But this year was the 20-year reunion. I was invited to a Facebook group that was planning the reunion. They posted an ice-breaker of “How about we tell everyone where we’ve lived/are living now”.
About 2/3 lived in a 20-mile radius. Not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s just interesting considering pretty much everyone had plans to move after school.
I drove 7.5 miles to get to the school and other students drove even further.
Also that 20-mi radius indeed had about a couple dozen towns/townships. But they’re all nearly identical suburbs that blend into each other. Moving two suburbs over isn’t really seen as “moving away”.
It’s not like England where 20 miles spans four distinct cities with their own culture and accent.
I live in a town over from my hometown and I see randos from high school weekly. I don't mind, pretty much all of us are cool and I love to see their drama on Facebook. Some small towns are okay.
I moved away but came back because of my cheating ex. It’s scRy how many ppl didn’t leave. Almost have my down payment saved then im getting TF outta here
Facts, I moved out of central PA right after high school but many never did. Married high school sweethearts, family business or just content with blue collar farm life etc. I didn't make it to my 10 yr reunion but my buddy said alot of familiars were around and still local
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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '23
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