I grew up in a town of about 10,000, and now I live in another town of about 10,000. I would count both a small towns (though, in Maine, a town of 10,000 puts you in the top 10 largest cities!!!)
Where I grew up, I was about 40 miles form anywhere. For many years, we didn't even have a movie theater. We had to drive 40 miles to get to one. I was ready to get the hell out of that place.
During school, I lived in a town of about 50,000, which was part of alarger metro area of about 250,000. I loved it there.
Now I live in another small town, but I'm about a half hour from Portland, Maine's largest city, which has a population of about 65,000. Its a really great town. Having easy access to Portland is what makes it bearable to live in such a small town. For me, at least, living in the same town further down the coast would get tired real quick...
So, I think that its a matter of location. We're lucky to be far enough away to not be in the suburbs and have a real small town atmosphere, but also close enough to have access to arts, entertainment, and stores in the big (!) city.