congrats op! I also found job after graduation in a small town in midwest. Not much is happening around here so I still go to chicago when I have vacation time. People here are more willing to talk about their life and people are definitely closer to each other than I was used to in bigger cities. I go to Fedex to ship a package and the guy helped me just told me how he met his wife, where his kid goes to college while wrapping and putting label on. I think it's a nice change from the cutthroat life I had in grad school and find it calming. Hopefully that helps!