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Escape to a Small Town!: Create a New Life & Fulfill Your Dreams in a Place Where You Can Breathe

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Many Americans dream of fleeing urban blight to a small town, but what is life in small town really like? Will someone who's used to the city enjoy a small town? And how does one find just the right small town?

Lisa Rogak answers these questions and more in ESCAPE TO A SMALL TOWN! She starts the reader with setting goals, choosing what *kind* of small town is best for you, how to find that town, and how to adjust to living there, including issues of employment, your kids, fitting in, and staying happy. Rogak also includes sections on what it's like to live in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Upstate New York--her end of the country, where many former urbanites head.

Rogak is careful, however, to not see small town life through rose-colored glasses--she points out (and includes examples of) different types of folks who think they might like small town living but turn out not to. After all, there are many advantages to living in a big city that just can't be found in small towns, like a wealth of shopping, plenty of jobs, and gourmet restaurants galore.

It's obvious that Rogak is writing from her head as well as her heart and truly wants to inform her readers and have them be happy with whatever decision they make. The book is written in a witty, folksy style that is easy to read and includes first-person accounts from others who have taken the plunge. Highly recommended for anyone who wonders what it's like to not lock your doors at night, to smile and chat with people in your local market, and to hear birds, crickets, and frogs rather than sirens, horns, and engines.

Kimberly Borrowdale Under the Covers Book Reviews

The pressures of urban living at the turn of the millennium have generated a lot of romantic longing for a return to small-town America. Lisa Rogak's Escape to a Small Town! cuts through the day-dreaming and deals with small-town living in an honest way that creates an invaluable resource for anyone considering such a change of location and life-style. Rojak isn't wearing any rose-colored glasses.

Escaping to a small town in New England worked for Rogak--but she lets readers know why it might not work for them. For example, if you're a mechanical and home fix-up klutz, you better consider how you'll accomplish repairs and maintenance with a foot of snow on your dirt road and without a two-inch-thick urban yellow pages at your elbow.

She also emphasizes that all small towns aren't alike. A small college town three hours out of New York offers a living climate different from a dusty cowtown six hours from a small city. Her checklists of points to investigate and consider dramatically increase the chances that you'll select a small town that suits your needs and personality.

Although the book emphasizes New England in its examples and descriptions, the points it makes are just as useful for someone considering a move to southern Oregon or the lakes region of Minnesota.

Beyond the choice of a town, Rogak suggests how best to introduce yourself to your new neighbors and adapt to the new lifestyle. Things to avoid get attention, too. For example, you may have a masters in public administration and years of local government experience as a citizen activist. But do yourself a favor and don't try to start running your new small town right away unless you want to be branded as some snob from the city who thinks he's smarter than the locals.

All in all, the simple economic return on this book -- money saved and problems avoided in relation to its modest price -- makes it a must-buy if even the slightest notion of a small-town move lurks in your heart or mind.

Now a staple by my bedside, this book offers a no-nonsense overview of moving to a small town. Ms. Rogak outlines the various types of towns, interviews successful transplants, unsuccessful transplants and others. Among the most valuable parts of the book are the checklists for moving. Her advice is practical and obviously well researched by her own experience. The ancedotes, checklists and other snippets of small town life make this book easy to pick up, open to any section and begin planning! Planning a move? Dreaming like me? either way this book is a "must have" guide!

I like the way the author chose to frame the title in a positive Escape "to" instead of "from" (the big bad city). That and the fact that everything in the book forces the reader to understand not only the financial benefits of small town life, but the physical and emotional bonuses that come with slowing down and simplifying.

The list on pages 64-68 titled "Moving to a Small Town 101" is worth the price of the book alone (although I would retitle it "How to be a Human Being rather than a Human Doing")

A must read for anyone considering dropping out of the fast lane to smell the roses instead of the exhaust fumes.

Escape to a Small Town, by Lisa Rogak

This is the ultimate "how to" book to assist you in creating a totally new life out of the congestion of the city or the daily urban/suburban stress grind.

It's been my wish to escape the constant traffic nightmares, the crime, the noise, and air pollution of the large metropolitan area I currently live. While I've toyed with various scenarios in planning my escape, until reading this book I was unable to combine my perceived needs with the realities of moving to a small town.

Of particular help is the classification system whereby small towns are categorized into three groups: a "drop out town," a "suburban small town," and a "small 'city.'" While the New England examples weren't particularly helpful, (since I have no idea what those towns are like) the descriptions helped me to categorize the possibilities on my list and better understand the implications of each choice.

With my better understanding and assessment of my needs, I now have much improved analytical tools to use as I research the various communities in the area that most appeals to me. While some of the methods were obvious (to me), the book suggests additional research techniques that will improve matching a community to my "ideal."

Further "frosting on the cake" are the several stories told of other "escapees" to small towns. A very enlightening description is the "Silicon Valley" couple's list of requirements they had for the "perfect" small town. (Having been employed in Silicon Valley myself, I can relate to their situation.) Unfortunately, the list of requirements are highly unrealistic. Simply seeing this list clarified my own unrealistic aspirations.

This book has given me the information and tools to work on my escape plan and give my plan a realistic chance at achieving the results that I want. It's probably saved me from either making a serious mistake in moving to a location that would prove personally disastrous (forcing yet another move) or continuing my life of 'quiet desperation' endured by living in one of the major metropolitan areas of the U.S.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has had any "daydream" of escaping from the "big city." It just may help you turn your dream into a pleasant reality.

While I've already "escaped" to a small town, I wish I'd had Rogak's info in hand before I moved. It would have made the relocation experience a lot cheaper and easier on me and my family. The issues she raises about what you're trying to escape and what you want to live with/around the rest of your life need to be settled before you pack up and go. If there were only a checklist included, this would make this book a "kit" for person who craves the country.