I live in a small town in southern Mississippi and have lived here all my life. I've recently got the impression that if you don't live in a big, thriving city you lack culture and opportunity. Am I destined to turn out like everyone I'm surrounded by or can I thrive at home. I just wanted to send this question out to the open world and see what comes my way.

To me, the interesting part of your question is whether you are doomed to turn out like all the other people in your small town (and I assume you think that would be bad), where big city dwellers are free to be whatever they choose. I know lots of big city dwellers who are still very much like the small town families they were born into. And I think that finding an open-minded small-towner is no less likely than finding a closed-minded urbanite. With the help of books, TV, radio and the vast resources of the Internet, I really believe a mind can thrive anywhere.

A thought-provoking question and to me, it is part of what travel is all about for some of us. I agree that with resources from books to the internet, cable TV to periodicals, you can expand your world and take your thinking to just about any level that you choose to. And then there is the experience of travel, which brings it all into focus and makes many different people and places into a part of you.

I live in what people from the large cities of the coast call "flyover country". So what? In the past year, I've traveled to great cities on both coasts and throughout the country several times. I've actually visited the things that so many people correctly consider important assets of their large communities, but somehow rarely find time to visit themselves. Many are too busy commuting and covering huge costs to take in a lot of the things that they can take for granted (and do). I've visited Europe, South America and Asia in the past year. More than three-quarters of U.S. citizens don't even have a passport.

The bottom line? If you have a high priority on it and you can find a way to make it happen, then you can live anywhere you want, be whatever you want be and travel to wherever you care to from right where you are. And the thought that is evident in your question already says that you are probably NOT destined to turn out like everyone you are surrounded by. It's too late. You are already different.

I think it's tough to make it in small town America. I would go to the nearest city get educated and start making contacts.

Maggie-Being from a small town and now living in a large city, I miss the friendliness, everyone knowing each other etc. that you get in a small town. I also miss my commute being about 5 minutes. There are cultural opportunities and things to do, tons of restaurants etc. but the crime rate is higher, traffic worse, commute longer, pollution etc. I think it's a trade off. While I love working in the city and my larger salary I do miss the qualtiy of life and small town friendliness...