I read this opinion piece a few days ago called “Something Special is Happening in Rural America.” It gave me a little added optimism about my chosen home and reminded me of some of the reasons I live here. I’m part of a trend in America away from living in big cities and toward living in smaller towns.

I grew up in a town of about 20,000 people in south central Pennsylvania. Although the town itself was small, it was about 30 minutes from the state capital and in a metropolitan area with a population of more than 500,000. I lived about two hours from Baltimore and Philadelphia and less than four hours from New York City.

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