Forums » Hot Mamas

• Brandi

  
   

  June 9, 2009 4:59:04 AM PDT

  My Husband and I have 2 little girls, 2and a half and 15mths. We live in calgary. I have lived here for about 8yrs but grew up in Chilliwack. My husband is from a small town in Colombia and has lived in various places in canada and the states. I hate the city, the crime, the noise, the traffic everything. We lived in Regina for a year and liked it but moved back because a family memeber was sick. We often talk about where we want to move and live permanitly to raise our kids. calgary is definitly a no for me. We have considered going back to Sask. My husband has a very good job waiting there whenever or if ever he decides to go back and the cost of living is much cheaper.Our good friend live in a small town (about 1000ppl) about 20 mins from regina. We were visiting him there this weekend and I loved the little town. It was so quiet and peacefull and everyone was so nice. My husband and I did look at a few houses there, and too me it would be an ideal place to raise kids. My husband and my sister both think it is too small of a town ot raise kids, even thogh it has everything they would need. So what do you think of raising kids in a small town vs a city?
  
  
  TIA
• Annie Temple

  

  • 8 posts
   

  June 9, 2009 5:09:35 AM PDT

  I think if you raise your kids in a small town you need to get them out of there a lot so they can see what possibilities there are for them out there. I grew up in a medium sized town but my world was so small from not going anywhere much else, that when I became an adult, my ideas of what and who I could be were also so small. But I miss so many things about small town living and often want to take my kids somewhere like that and let them run wild like I did.
• Vienna

  
   

  June 9, 2009 5:24:23 AM PDT

  Hi Brandi, I also think of moving to smaller places. I've lived in the Vancouver area my entire life and as much as I love it because it is "home", there are plenty of things I don't like. Like you, I also enjoy the calm and peacefulness of being somewhere smaller, but then there are also much less resources at your fingertips. Annie has made a good suggestion of taking your kids to various areas so that they can see what is there and have a deeper understanding of the world and how they might like to be a part of it. That said, there is a lot you can do to expose them to such ideas and concepts without actually travelling there, I think. Books (even the storybook kind) and the internet would be a first resource in my mind for that.
  
  I've started homelearning one of my kids this year, and I always think that being somewhere less urban would be a huge benefit to them in terms of play and learning about life (REAL life, y'know?). As for where that would be... I have no clue. Maybe I'm so *spoiled* from having grown up where I am, but I am not really interested in moving to any other place in the GVRD, nevermind the prices around here. My parents now live in the Okanagan, and that might be a possibility for us down the road, although I don't think the particular town they're in offers enough appeal for us.
  
  A friend of mine lived in a small town in SK about 10 years ago. I think they had about 6,000 there, and even that seemed extremely small. She liked it there yet at the same time was VERY conscious of the talking behind backs and stuff that took place sometimes which can make a small town very uncomfortable to live in. It doesn't have the same effect in a big city somehow.
  
  Great discussion topic!
• Deleted Member

  
   

  June 9, 2009 6:15:14 AM PDT

  Great subject is right! I grew up in a small town as well. I loved it. As a boy there was always lots of adventurous things to do. When I graduated from high school I experienced my first city living and I really have to tell you it was nice but not that nice. I missed the camaraderie that small towns bring. My wife and I lived most of our married life in the Kootenays. It is lovely there. The people are kind and considerate and there is a sense of concern you share about your neighbors well being similar to what I experienced in the Prairies. My wife and I raised our children in a small town and they are split so far as to where they live. One gravitated to the city and one to the small town. I think each has it's merits but I too long for the small town again. My wife likes to be near the grand-child which is here in Vamncouver.
  I think there is equal opportunities to find bad influences in bith places but I feel there are significantly more opportunities to experience positive elements in the city.
• Tia

  
   

  June 9, 2009 10:51:17 AM PDT

  I vastly prefer being in the city. Simply because there are more moms around. More moms equals more support and more kids to help build strong relationships. I have always been a people person and I would like to pass that on to my son. That being said I grew up in a small town on Texada island and I loved my childhood. As I grew into an adult I realized that there was more to life than chicken farms!
  
  I dont know if this was any help but I hope it was!
• Annie Temple

  

  • 8 posts
   

  June 10, 2009 12:48:26 AM PDT

  I had a really hard time connecting with other moms after both my kids were born, so even though I lived in the city, I didn't get a lot of support from moms. I think I would have had more support in the town where I grew up. I guess it's all relative, isn't it? lol I blame my problem with meeting moms on my fear of saying something inappropriate around straight folks.
• Lola Lala

  
   

  June 10, 2009 2:49:32 AM PDT

  Hi! I grew up in a medium sized town (PG) and while it was hellishly small for me when i was a teenager, it was great when I was a kid. We lived near the river so my friends and I could run free and play in the bushes & fields and go swimming, climb trees, make rope swings, go tubing, 4 x 4ing, snowmobiling in the winter.. all the awesome stuff my kid doesn't get to experience here in the city!
  
  I raised my kid for the first few years in Victoria, and I have to say at the time it was the perfect combination of small city (with all the conveniences) and close, supportive community. Now that we are in the city, people are more spread out. Also, the mall and other 'city' influences win out over stuff like camping, fishing, etc.
  
  For my friends in the city with small children, I can see how they still struggle with being isolated, even though there are so many supports around.
  
  Ultimately, I think being in a small town is ideal for the first 5 - 12 years... closer-knit community, and not the same peer pressure on kids to grow up so fast. Also getting outdoors is much better than growing up in front of a computer or TV. But once kids hit their teens, they will start looking for fun outside of that little bubble. If a small town doesn't offer many options, I think that's where many start getting into 'trouble'.. whatever that may be. Got to keep them stimulated!
  
  Good luck!
• Annie Temple

  

  • 8 posts
   

  June 10, 2009 6:23:51 AM PDT

  I could have been writing your post, lola. ^^^
• Brandi

  
   

  June 10, 2009 8:14:15 AM PDT

  Thank you everyone for your advice and sharing your experiances with me. Many of you said small towns are good for the childhood years, but not the teenage years. That was a big thing my husband and I had thought about and if we were to move to a small town we would strongly consider moving to a bigger town/city when our girls hit there teenage years.
  
  Annie I know what you mean when you said " I had a really hard time connecting with other moms after both my kids were born, so even though I lived in the city," and " I blame my problem with meeting moms on my fear of saying something inappropriate around straight folks"
  
  I have gone to mommy groups and mom and tot events but I find many of the other mothers are very judgemental and our opinions and veiws on things are very different and many conversations I find myself biting my tounge in fear of saying what I think. I guess that is another reason I would like to move as the town we are thinking of some of our very good friends (who have children) live there and I never feel like that around them. But we will see what the future holds! Thanks again to everyone!!