I grew up in a small town (4,500) with one stoplight and no chain stores/restaurants. Hell, my dog, when he got older, slept away much of his days in the middle of our street (not road, like a country road, but street) in front of our house.
While I had friends of both types you describe, I knew I was getting out as soon as I could. My parents still live there, and the town has shrunk, and is a depressing shell of its former self.
I don't understand why anyone stays there, and I have unsuccessfully tried to talk my parents into moving to a bigger city, with doctors and everything. My dad has said he will be wheeled out of our house in a stretcher.