I have lived out here in a small town for just over a year now, and I am still getting adjusted to it.
After so many years of living in the city, this place was a breath of fresh air. Over time, there got to be too much fresh air! I realized I had to leave behind my old mindset and chill out a little bit. These are farmers and country folks, and there is no hustle and bustle. People don’t power walk, they amble, and every driver is a sunday driver. Although I was never hurting for work in the city, out here my HVAC skills are not as in demand. I spend a lot of my day farming, trying to grow some food, and only spend 15 or 20 hours a week doing HVAC service calls. Out here only some people have a central HVAC system, but those folks are few and far between. Even when they do have one, they may not notice for months if it isn’t working because it rarely gets warm enough to run the AC. The winter should be a busier season for me, because heating systems are important for the long, cold winter. There are all manner of heating systems in use around here, from natural gas and coal to electric, and even a few places with wood burning furnaces and fireplaces. I am hoping to have enough heating work this fall and winter to sustain me through the rest of the long, temperate year. AC season will just be bad for business.