Watching Parks and Recreation is kind of like reading a love letter to Pawnee - watching from Leslie's perspective, at least. There is nothing that Leslie would rather do than spend her life devoting herself to the small-town causes that Pawnee presents her with, and yet, as viewers, people are not necessarily so won-over by this supposedly beloved town.
fair share of absurdities, there are also a lot of ways that it is just the kind of place many would love to settle down.
Would: The Small Town Appeal
Pawnee is a pretty small town, which means it has the draw of intimacy that a small town often denotes. Not everyone in Pawnee necessarily gets along, but most of them know of one another. The meetings Leslie hosts, and the effort she puts into her job, wouldn't mean as much in a big city - showing the direct impact of actions one would feel if they lived in Pawnee.
Wouldn't: The Isolation
Living in Pawnee would mean being more in touch with the community, but it would also mean isolation from the wider world. This is why so many people prefer large cities - there is a greater variety of options for things to do and more conversations happening than is possible in the confines of a small town, where the same old ideas tend to repeat themselves.
Would: Li'l Sebastian
The fact that an entire town can get excited about a single pony is reason enough for many to want to live in Pawnee. It's never fully explained why Li'l Sebastian is such a hit - he just is. This speaks to the unanimity that tends to come with small towns and the fact that an in-joke can be known to everybody there, a mystery only to outsiders.
Wouldn't: A Lack Of Diversity
You don't have to watch Parks and Recreation for long to realize that there is a lack of diversity in Pawnee.
Most of the lead characters are white, and most of the people in town also end up being white. Even when a BIPOC character is featured, they are often white-washed and subject to jokes that further emphasize their minority, like Leslie's cringe-worthy treatment of Tom time and time again.
Would: The Town Fairs
When Pawnee has an event, it's a wholesome thing to behold. This is likely because Leslie is usually the one behind said events, but in this ideal world, one would hope Leslie is there. There's nothing quite like a small-town fair to make one feel like part of a community.
Wouldn't: Few Restaurants
The characters frequent a limited amount of restaurants in Pawnee, their favorite being a diner, "JJ's Diner", that Leslie adores almost purely for its waffles - which doesn't say much else about the rest of the food. It's clear that there are only so many places to go out to eat in Pawnee, something that would be a bit of a bummer for anyone who is a food lover or just wants to mix things up every once and a while.
Would: It's An Underdog
Pawnee might be rough around the edges, but many would prefer this underdog of a town to its neighbor, for example; Eagleton. Eagleton is known for being elitist and pretentious, casting Pawnee in a much more preferable light even if that light reveals how inferior most of Pawnee's parks are - but at least their people are more approachable, and they aren't fake.
Wouldn't: Limited Dating Pool
Just watching Mark go from Leslie to Shauna Malwae-Tweep to Anne tells viewers enough about how dating works in Pawnee.
Even Andy moves between two lead characters of the show, Anne and April, and Anne goes from Andy to Mark to eventually romantic life in Pawnee, they'd have to get used to seeing ex-partners all the time - possibly dating their friends!
Would: The Town Meetings
The town hall meetings might seem like an obvious reason not to want to live in Pawnee - they are crazy, after all - but the level of absurdity one finds in these meetings is so high that it would be a priceless thing to sit back and watch in person... at least in theory. The reality might be more of a nightmare, but it's fun to imagine meeting such off-kilter people in real life.
Wouldn't: No Privacy
A big downside of living in Pawnee is that it would be difficult to have privacy, especially working in any kind of job that makes them open to the public, like Leslie's work in the department. But even if they didn't, just frequenting the same supermarket regularly would be enough to give people an idea of what's going on in your life and to attract unwanted attention, when sometimes it's nice to travel unnoticed.