The responses to a recent article about Allen County’s lack of affordable housing have been pretty pointed.
Low wages. High rents. Few dining or entertainment options. High taxes.
“Why would anyone want to live there?” was one comment posted on the Register’s Facebook page. “There’s nothing to do.”
It was a downer.
So I got a haircut — always a pick-me-upper — and asked my stylist, who’s in her thirties, her thoughts.
“What ticks me off are the looks my classmates give me when I tell them I still live in Iola,” she said. “I have a successful business. Children. My husband and I love it here. It’s not that I couldn’t get away.”
She then listed the usual amenities of small town life, including its lack of traffic, the warm fuzzies that come from seeing familiar faces at the grocery store or at her children’s rec games and school activities. Errands that take only minutes to complete. The wide, open spaces at our fingertips.
As for being a dull place to live, she quipped, “As my dad says, ‘only the boring get bored.’”
THIS ISN’T to say we don’t have our challenges.
Yes, property taxes are high compared to metropolitan areas. That’s because proportionately we have fewer people to carry the load of paying for public services such as police and fire departments, schools and hospitals, water and electric departments, street departments, etc.
That’s why it is imperative that a small town work to maintain its population base and, even better, grow it.
To that end, a town’s appearance helps. Tree-lined streets with well-kept homes say we take pride in where we live. The same goes for modern-looking schools, hospitals, cultural centers, libraries and downtowns.
Wherever you live, there are a few basic things that tip the scales in its favor.
A good job tops the list.
If you are able to hang up your hat at day’s end knowing you made a difference, that’s something special, but only if it’s duly rewarded.
