I Live In a Small Town

I grew up in a small town and dread coming back to it when I've been away. I lived elsewhere for 12 years and lived in a city for 9 of those, which was an eye opener. However, I missed home and when my children were young I moved back "home". I've been back a long time now, my sons both moved out after school to study and work in the city, and I feel I've outgrown the place. I get away when I can and always dread coming back. It's the small minds and mindless gossip that get me down the most but there are so many downsides to living in a small community, cut off from "civilisation" due to the location (an island). I'd love to live somewhere else but I have ties that bind me here. I know the grass isn't always greener but I know from experience what it can be like to live in a larger community and what the advantages of that are. I just have to make the best of it I guess.