Family stress and child adjustment problems are reduced when family ties to the community are strong. Children are better adjusted emotionally and socially when their neighborhood experiences are more varied. Living in a safe area and the physical and social support provided by neighbors are factors that influence well-being in adulthood. When I was a small child, my immediate neighborhood was somewhat dangerous, so I made friends with adults. But her kindness and interest made up for the fact that the neighborhood children were too rough to play with.
Small towns have fewer cultural experiences than cities.
However, small towns offer greater community involvement and safer environments for children and adults. I feel that in the area of cultural experiences, I would have been willing to give up that part of my life if I could have given my own child a greater sense of safety while she was growing up. A relative of mine lives in a small college community. Culture shapes family interaction and community settings beyond the home. In large industrialized countries such as the United States, subcultures exist in which groups of people share beliefs and customs different from the larger culture.