[coldtea]

>I work 90% remote at the moment, and the only thing stopping me from moving to a smaller town is the fear of not having a community or friends nearby.

OTOH, you can have more community and more friends nearby in a smaller town -- and actually get to see them and do things with them.

But you need to take the time to make friends with those people. Still I know several people who moved to a small town, small island even, and made great friends with the local community, even people from an entirely different country. YMMV.

[danenania]

Right, I think you just need to be more willing to make friends with people who don't necessarily share many of your interests.

The great thing about a big city, at least in theory, is that whatever sort of weirdo you are, you can probably find a group of people that sees it as a positive rather than a negative. On the flip side, many people in cities are very busy and don't have much room for new relationships, so it can be hard to establish close friendships, the kind you can hang out with on a daily or weekly basis, without some catalyst like school or (non-remote) work.

In a smaller town, people will have time for you and it's easier to integrate into a community, but you may have to water yourself down a bit to fit in. It's tough to have it all!

[coldtea]

>Right, I think you just need to be more willing to make friends with people who don't necessarily share many of your interests.

A, yes, that part is crucial. E.g. a common interest in just life, nature, and common stuff: small talk, food, drink, some games, etc, sure helps.

[magduf]

In small-town America, you need to be part of their church to fit in. If you're not religious, you won't fit in at all.