This Isn’t the City

Apparently, it’s attack-the-city-dwellers this week.

My next question, though, is a valid one. Why do you move to the country if you want to live in the city?

In my hometown, we had people moving from Brampton and the first thing they did was try to make the small town more like the city they just left - putting in more stop signs, wanting more services and complaining about the lack of stores.

On my street, some of the neighbours want to ban fires and put up streetlights. Isn’t the great thing about living in the country the fact you can see the stars and roast hot dogs on the fire?

If you like convenient living, my suggestion is to stay in the city.

You Know You Are a Redneck When ...

I grew up in a small town. I currently live on a street that is closely surrounded by two small towns and my nearest grocery store is another small town away.

I have fabulous memories of small-town living - hours spent outside, building forts, hiking through trails, discovering CC Tree, playing in fields.

I went to high school in a larger town and then immediately went to Humber College in Etobicoke for journalism, doing my work placement at The Villager in the Bloor West Village.

I had no trouble going from small-town girl to big-city woman.

But if you listened to city dwellers, particularly those born and raised in the city, you would think that anyone who grew up or chooses to live in a small town must be a redneck.

Why is that?

Why is it OK to make prejudicial remarks about people who live in a small towns?
I expect many “city folk” are racist as noted by the number of hate crimes you read about in the city papers.

It’s been my experience that if you are a good person, a good neighbour, other things simply don’t matter.

“Country folk” like people who are friendly, who don’t mind stopping to chat and lending anything from power tools to a cup of sugar.

So I am sure people will forgive me if I get a little angry if people assume that because you live in a small town, you must be a redneck.