The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world… The reason is obvious. In a large community we can choose our companions. In a small community our companions are chosen for us.
-G.K. Chesterton, cited by Tim Chester, Total Church, 113.
One thing I love about both James Herriot and Jane Austen — books peopled with characters of all sorts who are stuck having to get along with each other and, for the most part, do.