---
title: Life in a Small Town
date: 2026-04-22T09:15:00-07:00
author: Matt Bloomfield
canonical_url: "https://www.mlj.one/life/life-in-a-small-town"
section: Blog
---
[ ← Blog ](https://www.mlj.one/life) Post April 22, 2026 

# Life in a Small Town

Living in a small town is a wonderful thing. It also comes with a unique set of challenges.

 

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 There is a lot to love about Snowflake, Arizona. It's quiet and remote, with lots of wide-open spaces. People are friendly, and most people don't even lock their doors. It's the kind of place you read about but don't think actually exists anymore.

It's three hours to the closest Costco and one-and-a-half hours to the closest mall. Most folks drive older cars and spend more money on boots than on a bar tab.

The national forest is just outside town. BLM land is plentiful and makes camping as easy as loading up the truck and going. Shooting, horse rides, four-wheeling, chickens - it's all plentiful and common.

[We didn't think we'd ever live here](https://www.mlj.one/life/choosing-arizona). But we love it.

But it's not all sunshine and roses.

Living in a small town means you see the same people everywhere. You can't help but see at least a handful of familiar faces at the grocery store. You're never anonymous, whether it's a Little League game, the DMV, or attending church. It feels like everyone knows who you are. You'll be approached by people you've never met who know exactly who you are.

Because of this, the same people you go to church with or volunteer with or sit with at sporting events are also the ones you are purchasing from, working for, and being governed by. There is an intrinsic lack of separation between church and state and work and life. It can't be helped. And it gets messy, quick.

Have a bad experience at a restaurant? Better just keep it to yourself or address it directly with the owner. That 1-star review you leave on Google Maps will haunt you the rest of your life as the owner, his cousins, and all of his best friends blame you for the downward slide of the business.

Have a zoning issue? The building and planning commission might just be run by your bishop, your neighbor, or your best friend's wife.

It means you have to see all sides of a person. You might dislike the way someone votes or manages their life, but still have to work with them to get a variance passed through the town council.

I think there's a lesson in there for all of us.

No matter where we live, modern media makes it easier for us to see more sides of those who have influence in our lives. It's difficult for a celebrity or politician to curate their lives the way they once did when everyone has a camera in their pocket and a Twitter account.

Gone are the days when they could elect President Lincoln without anyone seeing his face.

Now, everyone knows everything about you, and great figures have fallen due to rather small missteps in their personal lives. When watching *First Man* about the famed astronaut Neil Armstrong, my wife and I were disappointed to realize he was somewhat of a failed husband and father.

"Never meet your heroes" rang in my head after watching. But perhaps the better advice is, "Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do." We're surrounded by imperfect people, and so are we. So let's lend them a bit of grace and work through this life together.