Double your happiness, income and quality of life in one easy move.
- Bigger house
- Safer neighborhood
- Better schools
- Lower cost
From Frank Rolfe and Dave Reynolds, who moved their own families from Dallas and Denver to small towns and never looked back.
What your paycheck is worth in a small town
Prices in the rural part of most states run well below big-city prices, and housing is where the gap is widest. Try your own numbers.
The free book
The Big City Family's Guide to Successful Small Town Living is the book Frank and Dave wish they'd had before they moved: honest about the trade-offs and practical about every step, from choosing the right kind of town to bidding movers and making friends once you arrive.
What's inside
- Why Move to a Small Town?
- Financial Advantages
- Quality of Life Advantages
- Choosing a Small Town
- Making the First Impression on the Family
- Shopping for a Home
- Looking at Schools
- Look at Amenities
- Find a Mover
- Time of the Move
- Building Family Support
- Career Considerations
- The Fine Art of Commuting
- Expanding Out
Ten steps from the big city to a small town
The guide walks through the move in order, from deciding whether a small town is right for you to settling in after you arrive.
- 1Why move to a small town? The benefits and the trade-offs
Why families and retirees trade city life for a small town, from safety and caring neighbors to the trade-offs you should know first.
- 2How much cheaper is a small town than the city?
Government price data shows how much further a paycheck goes in rural areas than in five big cities, and what those numbers leave out.
- 3How to choose the right small town
The six kinds of small towns, their pros and cons, and how far from a big city and a good hospital you may want to be.
- 4How to find a small town with your family's must-haves
Rank what each person needs, measure real drive times, ask the locals what you can't find online, and plan a first visit around it all.
- 5How to get your family on board with a small-town move
How to win over a spouse, the kids or a reluctant teenager, from finding each person's perk to a first visit that feels like a great first date.
- 6How to buy a house in a small town
In town or on acreage, what to inspect in an older home, which spots to avoid, and why you should see a house by day and by night.
- 7How to choose a school when you move to a small town
Public or private, what to ask on a tour, why to go to a game, where to look up test results, and why in-state college costs matter.
- 8How to keep working when you move to a small town
Keep your job from a town near the city, transfer, work remotely or start a new career, plus ways to make a long drive worth it.
- 9How to choose a mover and pick the best time to move
Compare moving options, get bids from every mover, negotiate twice, protect your heirlooms and time the move around school breaks.
- 10How to settle in and make friends in a small town
Explore before you unpack, keep a family activity binder, volunteer, help the kids find friends and jobs, and stay close to old friends.
Six kinds of small towns
Small towns come in different shapes, and matching your family to the right kind matters more than any single statistic.
- The tourist town
More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact. Frank lives in one.
- The college town
Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.
- The gated-community town
A big subdivision in the country with a pool, golf and a guard gate. Quiet and orderly, and it suits empty nesters best.
- The solid but exclusive town
Prosperous and stable, often farm country, but slow to let newcomers in. Good if you prize privacy.
- The boom town
Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.
- The dying town
Houses are cheap because the businesses are gone and little is coming back. The book calls it best avoided, cheap or not.
A good fit for many familiesLots to doGo in with your eyes open
Look up a small town
7,749 small towns across the country, with the numbers the book says to check: home prices, the nearest hospital, schools, crime, weather and the miles to a big city.
- GunnisonPop. 6,836Colorado
- Ste. GenevievePop. 5,065Missouri
- StowePop. 5,325Vermont
- FredericksburgPop. 11,893Texas
- GalenaPop. 3,210Illinois
- SandpointPop. 10,645Idaho
"Nothing that either of us has ever done in our lives has been as good as moving from the big city to a small town."Frank and Dave, from the foreword
Frank Rolfe moved his family from Dallas to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, in 2005. Dave Reynolds left Denver for Gunnison, Colorado, a mountain town on the Western Slope. Both found the same thing: a lower cost of living, a slower pace and neighbors who know your name.
Latest articles
- How to make friends in a small townOctober 5, 2026
Say yes to invitations, volunteer, lean on your kids' activities, join a church or civic group, show up for town events, and avoid one common trap.
- How to research a small town online in one eveningOctober 5, 2026
A step-by-step evening plan using free government tools for people, prices, crime, schools, hospitals, internet, flood risk, taxes and local news.
- How to visit a small town before you move thereOctober 5, 2026
Plan the trip like a first date, ask the right locals, then go back to see the town at night, on a weekday and in the season you'd dread most.
- Is a small town right for you? 12 honest questions to ask firstOctober 5, 2026
Twelve honest questions about work, doctors, driving, shopping, privacy, pace, weather, friends, kids and family to answer before you move.
- Retiring to a small town on a fixed income: a planning checklistOctober 5, 2026
A practical checklist for retirees: hospitals and Medicare, property tax breaks, winter driving, airports, housing options and real price data.
- Small town, suburb or exurb: which do you actually want?October 5, 2026
Plain definitions of urban, rural, metro and micro areas, Frank Rolfe's take on exurbs and super-commuters, and how to pick what fits you.