I live in a fairly small town. I know all my neighbors. I know everyone at my church. Whenever I go into town, I won't recognize everyone I see but I'll always see someone I know.
If all goes well, I will start living fulltime as a woman this summer. My face should be mostly cleared by then and I should have been on hormones for several months.
I've already told all the people I usually socialize with. I'll tell my neighbors in the next few months. I expect to announce to the church as a whole before summer. My question is: What about everyone else?
I'll try to tell the few others I socialize with only rarely. What about the staff at the coffee shop and several restaurants who know me? The woman at the grocery checkout I always chat with? The guy at the card shop I always talk to? The bank tellers? Then there's the game warden, the newspaper editor, the old guy I always nod to but don't know his name? (Not really worried about him.)
It seems like it would be easier to transition where you are not known, but I live here and want to do it here so that I have the support of all my friends. Anyone else transition in a small community (small town or community within a large town)?
