Much Ado About Small Towns

Small town prejudices amuse me sometimes. From the irrational fear of the big bad city to the xenophobic generalization of all those others, we could all probably go on and on about the many little prejudices exhibited.

For me working in a small town hospital, the oft-repeated preconception that irks me would be this erroneous yet prevalent idea that only the most awfully shoddy professionals remain - since they would assume the exceptional ones would have brushed off the crummy dirt of the small town for the gleaming burnish of the nearby metropolis.

Many a time I've heard of many who travel far - more often than not a quick hop, skip and jump over the Big Puddle - for a medical procedure they could have done at a fraction of the price and with far less hassle back home. From something as simple as a herniotomy which requires little more than a snip and cut that most general surgeons would find elementary.

Paul : So you travelled miles to do something you could have done here on the cheap? 
Friend : Can they do it here? 
Paul : It's so simple, even I could do it. 
Friend : I don't really trust them though.
Paul : Oh? Why?
Friend : Well they are from < insert small town here >
Paul : Isn't this your hometown?

And when queried on why... they always assume the quality is better elsewhere. Have they ever thought that it's their very own hometown they are talking about? Talking smack about their own? Come on. Does that mean they are of bad quality themselves?

Oh man, are they from a small town? 

Odd.

And something I simply cannot brain.

Yes, I am from the small town of Malacca - but I doubt any of my friends and classmates have ever seen themselves as despicable second-rate hicks. Perhaps it's the long history behind our older city or the more cosmopolitan air here but we've always taken pride in hailing from our lil town!