Downsizing?

[CanPsychGirl]

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I just received acceptance one of my top 3 schools , which is in a smaller-ish town. I come from a bigger city, and I'm interested in hearing about the experiences of others who made the move from a big to small city.

Obviously, program type and research interests should probably be primary determinants of your final choice of school, but the way I see it, if I'm going to be relocating somewhere for the next 6-7 years of my life, the pros/cons of the location definitely play a (slightly smaller) role in my decision as well.

Since it's a smaller town, the school and program are also a bit smaller, and I'd love to hear experiences of other people who are in smaller programs. Is your cohort very close-knit, do you have closer relationships with more faculty members? On the other hand, do you have any regrets about choosing a smaller location?

Just to be clear, when I say smaller, I don't mean prestige. I'm talking town population, size of the program, number of faculty members, etc.

Any feedback or stories welcomed 🙂

 

[Aura5]

Can only speak to a somewhat similar undergrad situation, take or leave. 🙂 But I grew up in a suburb (not a city, though) and went to undergrad in a very small town, basically the college was the only thing there. Downtown took 5 minutes to walk in, and there were mountains and rolling country roads all around. At first it weirded me out some, not to mention a bit of culture difference, but I got used to it and actually liked it by the end. I'm back in suburb-land now and am annoyed at how the roads all end so quickly, and the number of people bustling around in a hurry.

 

[InUrHead]

I second that, cost of living is definitely better in smaller towns and you will likely be living rather frugally over the next few years. I have lived everywhere from, as my husband would say, po-dunk towns to huge sprawling metropolises and at the end of the day (and I do like living city better) it REALLY is about who you connected with at your interviews and who you feel like is going to get you through the next (as you said) 6 to 7 years of your life. What school felt the best.

 

[Schooled]

It really depends on the kind of person you are. If you are able to entertain yourself easily, then a small town should be fine. Like others have said, enjoy the lower cost of living!

However, if you're the kind of person that loves to always eat at new restaunts, try exotic foods, watch brand new theater, attend concerts, etc, etc... then you might be really bored!

In undergrad, I moved to a much smaller town for college. I'm a big city kind of guy so it was a bit of culture shock. However, two very large cities were an hour and a half away. I really came to enjoy this setup. It allowed me to concentrate on studies and live economically. If I wanted to party it up I could make a weekend out of it and travel to the near by cities. My friends who attended top tier state universities in this cities ended up going out every day, spending hundreds of dollars a month in the process! While they all ended up fine in respective careers and doctoral programs, I'm sure this affected their school work.

For me, small towns are fine, but I often missed the big city life.

 

[whypsy]

I did the shift to a smaller area. People were nicer and the cohort was close. Sometimes though,a close cohort isn't the best thing. It can get very personal very quickly too. However I'm glad I have the relationships I do have from my cohort.

You get used to the smaller scale and you tend to appreciate it in different ways. It can be frustrating sometimes if you're looking for things to do and/or even slightly more obscure products or foods. Finally another thing to consider are privacy issues. If your program has a community clinic, you have to be more aware when going, because you might run into former/current clients.

 

[UnLurked]

I don't have experience being in grad school (yet) but I have transitioned from a big city to a small town. It definitely takes some adjusting to missing out on some of the amenities like the variety of restaurants, fewer shows, little to no theater, etc. But in the end I think if you enter into it with an open mind there are some really great things about it. I think it's possible to develop a greater sense of community since you consistently bump into the same people and that's something I've really enjoyed. Errands take a lot less time now than they did when I lived in a city and there aren't big portions of the day I don't want to go anywhere because of traffic. The other huge bonus for a grad student, I think, is that it's a lot better to be poor in a small town than a big city. Everything is cheaper and a low-rent apartment might just get you a couple of bad neighbors rather than a whole bad neighborhood.