One thing finally occurred to me when I was last in Berlin, NY, I got the feeling that people who live in the country take (a lot) more pride in where they live and know more about where they live than those who live in the city.
I'll admit, this is a broad statement and probably not true for every city slicker (especially those who may take good care of their brownstones in downtown Troy or Victorian homes in east side). But, the reason I thought of this was because the address I had for a maple sugar house was totally wrong (thanks internet). I had wound up at a store that sold their syrup but that did not even really help me since the place was closed - it was a Sunday, after all.
I drove down a side street near the store for a bit and found some people standing outside, enjoying the yay-it's-not-snowing weather. I asked for directions to where I needed to go, Kent's Sugar House.
Not only did this random mother know of the place but she knew exactly where it was was too. "On the mountain," she said, pointing behind the nearby fire house to the west, where a small mountain sat adjacent to the town of Berlin, separating it from Poestenkill.
One thing I'll say about street layouts in the country is that they do seem a bit more simple than in the city, which could be a reason why it's easier to remember where things are.
To me, it also seems like she knew the family (maybe even grew up with Kent) and was more than familiar with the business and its location.
This amazes me. And maybe it shouldn't, but it does. I've been asked for directions by people in downtown Troy and I'll admit, sometimes I know where they need to go but sometimes I don't - even though I've lived here a good majority of my life.
Maybe it's a generational thing, maybe it's a complex downtown Troy thing (with a lot of one way streets and, luckily, new businesses), or maybe it's just me.