Chatham, NY may be small, but it has so much to offer

There are more cows in my county than there are people in my town

If you’re from a small town, chances are your town isn’t as small as mine. I’m from a rural town in upstate New York. I really hated it while I lived there. I always thought there was nothing to do, even when there’s plenty to do.

Everyone wants to get the hell out of Chatham, NY. But since I left, I have come to realize that it’s such a special place with so much to offer.

The people

Everyone in my community cares about each other. Yeah, there are old family rivalries but somehow people look past that. Everyone is so supportive of the kids that grow up in C-Town and that made my experience there so positive. Everyone in town comes out for the Homecoming game and even our track meets. It makes everyone so tight knit and helps the town churn out some great people. (Like me, duh)

The food

Chatham is in the Hudson Valley so we know food. The Hudson Valley is the second largest apple production area in the country so everything that is anything has apple in it. Apples, apple pie, apple crisp, apple strudel, apple cider, apple cider donuts, apple juice, apple sauce…The list goes on. The best place to grab a snack in the fall (or pretty much any time of the year if you’re obsessed with fall like I am) is Golden Harvest, right outside of C-Town. Everyone in Co County knows that’s the place to be because everything is Golden Harvest.

The fun (kind of)

Our idea of a party is getting a bunch of people in plaid together in some field with a bonfire and a lot of beer. It’s actually straight out of some high school movie filmed in the south except for the fact that we’re in upstate New York.

Beyond partying, we go hiking, swimming, and cow tipping. (The cow tipping part was a joke.) We don’t have any chains in our town and the only sources of entertainment are either the movie theater or the bowling alley. Luckily we get snow so sledding and other winter sports are an option. We have tons of rolling hills and ski resorts. Everyone loves Catamount because it’s so much cheaper than some of the other ski resorts just outside of town.

If you didn’t do ski club as a kid, who even are you?

The part when you leave C-Town behind

Most people want to leave Chatham the second they’re old enough to realize that they can leave their hometown. When I left for the first time, I really left. I got on a plane to Italy for college and thought I would never come back. Damn, was I wrong. I missed home so much. Even now at SU I get homesick all the time. The best part of leaving such a great place is knowing you get to go back. There will always be a spot for every Chathamite when they want to return.

So to all of you who hate Chatham and can’t wait to leave, I can’t wait until the day that you say you miss this damn town.

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