By By James Crawford
I once read in a magazine somewhere that if you want to have a fulfilling life with lots to do and see then you have to live in a big city. I don't find that to be the case here in Atmore. Although I've only been here a few days, my family and I have found lots to do and have really enjoyed ourselves. Hailing from the slightly bigger Tuscaloosa, where the choices for entertainment and social fare are all either very expensive, sold out or included long lines to get in, we have enjoyed the hospitality of the locals we've met and the ease involved with traffic and crowds.
It's nice to be able to actually talk to someone for more than a minute without them trying to sell you something or run you out the door for the next guy willing to pay. The attitude here seems to be much more laid back and friendly.
The prices here in Atmore are the biggest shock so far. Everything is so much cheaper here. My wife has fallen in love with a little knickknack shop near our house where they have porcelain statues for an unbelievably low price. The prices at the grocery store are also cheaper to my wonderment. I might actually have a problem exhausting my snack supply when I can buy so much for so little.
My daughter has already made friends with the neighbors next door and their daughters, one of which happens to be her age. She's looking forward to starting at her new school despite having to wear uniforms, which we didn't have back home.
Personally, I like the uniform idea and I'm interested in seeing how well it works. I'm sure small towns aren't immune to violence in schools but it had gotten to a ridiculous level where we came from.
Atmore is so close to other areas where you can find more to do that I'm sure it will be no problem to run up the road if we long for the hustle and bustle of a big city. For right now, my family and I are having fun getting lost while locating all the necessities in life, mainly the video rental places for my daughter and the grocery store for me.