I was born and raised in Northern Manitoba in a town that fluctuated between 750 and 1200 people depending on how good the mining industry was doing at the time.
It was three hours away from any other "city" and about 8 hours away from Winnipeg.
There is only one grocery store and three bars. No clothing stores. No movie theatres, no mall, no Tim Hortons. There were no good restaurants. The two restaurants in town made things like mozzarella sticks and burgers and club sandwiches and deep fried things from a frozen box. There wasn't any Indian or Chinese or sushi. There was one pizza and sub place but it was verrrry overpriced - very good though. I miss it.
A lot of shopping you have to do out of town. Things like diapers and shampoo and toilet paper and tampons/ condoms are really over priced and just easier to buy on a trip out of town. You have to stock up your cupboards with these kind of things because you can't just nip out to wal-mart to pick more up.
Food prices can be much higher and produce variety and quality is limited. Things like mangos and avocados are something that you get only sometimes. You there will be weeks where you can't get green onions or other more delicate items or out of season veggies.
There used to be a pharmacy in the local health clinic but I think heard it just recently closed. So you have to travel to get your medication.
You have to travel to see a dentist or any kind of medical specialist. There is no place to buy glasses or contacts. So hopefully you have a backup pair for the drive to the opticians, 3 hours away.
When you get pregnant you have to sign a waiver saying you will travel to a city with a hospital 2 weeks before your due date. If you go into labour early or fast, you might be having your baby in a 3 hour long ambulance ride.
Education is a bit limited because it's hard to convince good teachers to live and work so far north. Often classes will be grouped together so grades 1,2,3 are being taught by the same teacher or in high school (the same school just on a different floor) the same teacher who teaches all the sciences classes (bio, Chem, general science) will also be teaching gym classes and art classes. When I was in high school french classes were not offered because nobody was able to teach it. You have to leave town if you want to pursue any secondary education.
It was nice growing up there as a child because the community was very close knit and crime was practically at 0. We were allowed to play outside and in the surrounding bush with zero supervision. Ride our bikes wherever (practically zero traffic) There were hills to go sliding on and ski trails to ski on, snow forts to build and an indoor and outdoor skating rink. We had a curling rink too. Thinking back to being very young, it was practically paradise.
As a teenager it is a bit different because there isn't much for teenagers to do other than hangout in each other's basement and drink and smoke pot. It's actually pretty crazy how completely rampant teenage binge drinking is where I am from. It's a pretty big problem. There have been a small (but big enough!) number of alcohol related deaths of teenagers over the years. Mostly kids getting drunk and taking their skidoo out for a rip.
Overall, I am glad I lived there growing up but I am glad I got put when I did. Small towns are claustrophobic and suffocating - at least ones where you can't just drive 40 minutes to the next town over. Everybody knows everyone's business. Cliques are formed, grudges are held and rivalries maintained. Personally, I don't enjoy that part of small town living.
Anyway, there is my account. Hope it was what you were looking for.