I Stand Corrected

Been thinking about blogging soon about small town living. Not that living in one for three weeks has made me any kind of expert or anything....

But thankfully I didn't publish that blog while still living in ignorance!! 

As of this moment Google says there are 2,037 souls living in Tatamagouche.

(I wonder if that is an updated figure? since as of Sept 6th the population went up by four!)

When we need to go to the grocery store or laundry-mat etc we drive fifteen minutes and say "We are going to town". At least that's where I thought I was going.

When we need a Wal-Mart or Lumber-Store we go to the city, Truro, which has a population of 12,059 and is about 45 minutes away. 

Then the other day a friend said he was going to the "city for supplies" and the way in which he said it made me think he was going further than Truro.

I asked for clarification. Which city would that be? 

Halifax.

Halifax has a population of 390,095, according to Google, and is currently one hour and forty-two minutes away from our home with a toll along the way. Or we could take the toll-free way and spend five minutes longer driving

I had to ask. Is Truro a city?

Apparently the answer is "No, Truro is a town". 

Saying "I am going to town" infers that you are about to embark on a 45 minute drive and if a neighbour knows they might ask you to pick something up at Wal-Mart for them.

Oh.

So if Truro is a "town" then Tatamagouche is a ......? 

We said it at the same time. Village.

Ok. I will have to re-train the brain. haha

Things I have noticed about living in a village. Or in our case, living near one.

There is no street light. It is truly a "Don't blink or you will miss it" place. If you do blink you won't be in any danger of running a red light at least. 

There is one thing that prevents you from missing out on the lovely down-village section and that is instead of driving ten kilometers over the speed limit like they do in all the rest of Canada, they drive ten under. I kid you not. It's taking some getting used to. 

The laundry-mat owner lives in the same building. I think it's a pretty cute and very practical set-up. Working from home really. When you buzz at the window for loonies and toonies you see the beautiful quilt on her bed. 

The church is still the tallest building in town, And no stores are open on Sunday.

If you happen to mention that you just moved to Tatamagouche the same two questions are asked. Every.Time.

"Oh yeah, where?" And when you say "Tatamagouche Road, we bought John Smith's * place", never fail, they all know John. And they know many things about him too. Usually they will fill you in on one or two of those tid-bits as well.

We have heard enough about John Smith that The Youngest declared the other day "I know why our neighbours are so welcoming and helpful! We AREN'T John!!!. (a neighbour confirmed that by pretty much saying the same thing a day or two later) 

Second question that EVERYBODY asks. Is of course an easy one, and completely expected. "Where did you move from?"

And. Never. Fail. They know someone who lives in Ontario. Or has lived in Ontario. Or is planning on living in Ontario. And sometimes I even hear about friends and family that live in other provinces.

Thankfully I have yet to be asked if I know any of said friends and family members. haha 

And as further proof that I have now joined village life....when a neighbour stopped by while my Nova Scotia-born niece was here, I introduced her and her little daughter to my new neighbour. 

Duh, Silly me. They already knew each other. 

But of course.  

* name changed for privacy purposes :)