That can be nice too though --- in good small towns people look out for each other even while they're knowing everything.
More often it can be ugly. I lived in a small town for 16 years. I was never so ready to get back to the city.
Recently I had dinner with 3 women who live in a small town in another state. They launched into "gossip with gusto". I was sitting there having a flash-back to MY small town experience when one of the women apologized for talking about people I didn't know. As if talking viciously about people you DO know is OK. LOL