11 small town red flags that show they're not a good place to live: 'One family owning 99% of the businesses'

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 23, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

There are some places that make you want to leave as soon as you set foot in them.

If it is the kind of life that you want to lead, there is nothing wrong with deciding that a small town is the place for you. The houses are probably cheaper than a lot of other places, and it is a less hectic pace of life than being in the big city. Being somewhere where everybody knows everybody isn't going to appeal to some, but for others, it is exactly what they want.

No doubt about it, when it is done right, the small-town attitude can be charming enough for even the most hardened city slicker to rethink what it is they are doing in the big smoke. That's what every Hallmark movie has always taught us, right? 

Unfortunately, this isn't the reality for every place that just so happens to have a reduced population. In fact, much of the time, the reason that a town doesn't have that many people is that so many felt like the best option was to leave it behind. It takes a real effort to make any town or city a good place to live, no matter what the size, but if that effort isn't there, it tends to be magnified in those places where there aren't as many inhabitants. The things that simply don't work so well are made pretty obvious, and it isn't even like there are enough neighborhoods for there to be a way to ignore the bad parts now and then.

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  • 01
    A street lined with colorful, old, run-down buildings and power lines.
    via Kirill Razumov

    A street lined with colorful, old, run-down buildings and power lines. Stock photography for depiction only.
     

  • 02
    What's an instant red flag in a rural small-town?
    via millennialandlost
  • 03

    The inclusion of all the age groups is important.

    rose-ramos Honestly, the size of the elderly population. I lived in a rural community that was decidedly NOT a retirement community, but many of the homeowners were getting up there in age. You could not so much as pass gas without someone commenting on the time and date of it. Everyone was up in each other's business
    via rose-ramos

  • When somebody questioned the kind of things that sent alarm bells ringing when you arrived in a small, rural town, people had plenty of examples to consider. All in all, it goes to show that you shouldn't arrive in such places and immediately expect people to be friendly or to be able to find all the resources that you need. There are some settlements that look abandoned for a reason.

    Where we live often ends up being a ‘grass is always greener’ type of situation. It is easy to long for urban life when you feel like you've spent too long in the middle of nowhere, and those who are sick of the city often romanticize what it means to be outside of it. Either way, it always pays to do your research, and take note of the red flags.

     

     

  • 04
    because there was nothing else for them to do. I live in a place with people my age now. It's a lot more expensive, but nobody gives a darn if I play with my dogs on my lawn, or replace my windshield wipers. I do not know my neighbors' names, and it's bliss.
    via rose-ramos
  • 05

    Sometimes they want to catch people out.

    Rabid_Stormtroopers When the speed limit signs go from 65 to 45 to 35 to 25 in under 1000ft with the nose of a cop car sticking out from behind a pile of trash. F you.
    via Rabid_Stormtroopers
  • 06

    There need to be the proper facilities for everybody.

    RoutineHighway66 I recently moved out of a small town that had attempted to become a retirement community decades ago. Somehow, they failed to consider what would happen when all those people aged out of life and suddenly there was no reason for any businesses or new people to move in unless they had inherited property.
    via RoutineHighway66
  • 07
    So, the red flag I saw was that they're very pro small business and nothing else ever. Plus the hours for businesses were strange so only people without jobs or work could visit these places. Then wonder why they can't make enough money to stay open. Yikes.
    via RoutineHighway66
  • 08

    You don't want the incarcerated population to be bigger than the town itself.

    boganvegan Huge prison on the edge of town is the biggest employer.
    via boganvegan
  • 09

    These cities usually aren't the walkable kind.

    whorticultured People walking along roads main roads that aren't pedestrian friendly/no sidewalks. Bonus points if they are booking it with their shirt off or talking to themselves. People using lawnmowers as a form of transportation. Dogs chained up outside 24/7
    via whorticultured
  • 10

    It can't be a monopoly.

    CH6V3Z One family owning 99% of the businesses in the town.
    via CH6V3Z
  • 11

    There is being curious and then there's this.

    Zealousideal-Pick799 People slow down, staring at you, and then drive off. Escalante, Utah, we had people in side by sides doing this to us as we walked our dogs outside the hotel. Ignored our "hi" wave.
    via Zealousideal-Pick799
  • 12

    The nepotism can be a real problem.

    _Cloudy_Bunny_ When the town's biggest employer is also the mayor's brother and somehow owns half the rental properties
    via _Cloudy_Bunny_
  • 13

    The shut up shops leave nowhere to go.

    ElMontolero When their high street is exclusively boarded up buildings. The ratio of open to closed on Main Street is a pretty good indicator of the prosperity of a small community. Cute Texas towns like Fredericksburg or Wimberley? Currently in their heyday. Taylor, Cuero? Not so bad. Thorndale and Rockdale? Whoof. Cooked.
    via ElMontolero
  • 14

    Not all towns are friendly to strangers.

    Aspiring Occultist4 When the locals avoid conversation and eye contact at all costs.
    via AspiringOccultist4
  • 15

    There isn't always going to be variety.

    marshalkc Only store is dollar general, family or tree.
    via marshalkc

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town country life red flags small town
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