Often, “how-to” articles on escorting are written with larger, metropolitan areas in mind for one’s workplace and residence. However, some escorts live in rural or less urban areas where small towns are their only choices, unless they want to move to a new location. There are some specific challenges experienced by escorts who work in small towns, but there are other perks, too.

Keeping in mind several factors when escorting in a small town can ensure a successful career. Consideration of additional details can also help you avoid the stigma and discrimination of being a sex worker by the members of the community you deal with regularly.

1. Make your workplace in another town at least an hour from your residence. Even if all communities around you are small towns, it’s still possible for you to lead a life of discretion as an escort. Working in your hometown is just a recipe for disaster. When you work where you live, you always have the risk of running into your clients (or their wives) in a grocery store. Attending a nephew’s soccer game can go from being a fun, comfortable affair to a paranoid, anxious event. Working in a town nearby, but far enough away can be very beneficial not only for yourself, but for your clients as well. If they don’t have discretion and privacy, they will likely shy away from being a regular client of yours.
2. Make up a good cover story. While escorts in big cities may need to make up a good cover story for their friends and family members, escorts in small towns must have one for everyone. Small town residents are typically very nosey. Most people who have grown up in small towns that everybody else in town knows their business before they, themselves, do. That’s pretty much on target, especially if you’re the object of juicy gossip. Without a cover story, people will wonder what it is that you do for work, how you make your money, where you go all the time and a number of other questions. And if they don’t know, they will make up their own story and spread it around town. For these reasons, you definitely need an excellent story about your job and where you go. Working from home is always a good one, with your job being a consultant (in any industry), especially if you have the background and education to possibly back that one up. However, other good cover stories including working in sales (which can explain travel and overnights), cleaning houses, massage therapy, or simply working another job. Neighborhood folks are unlikely to actually check up on you, especially if your story seems slightly boring. So, keep your story uncomplicated and you’re probably good, even from the nosiest neighbor.
3. Make constant attempts to fit into your community. Dress as others in your community do, attend community events such as local festivals or ballgames and drive a similar vehicle. Avoid attracting extraneous attention by flaunting your wealth or gifts from clients. Don’t wear your most expensive designer clothes around town. Act in similar ways as other people in your community do. Don’t go out of your way to actively support the legalization of prostitution or rock the boat on any other political activism efforts. Even though you may have opinions that differ from the norm in your small town, your job is to blend in and to attract as little extra attention as possible. Extra attention creates questions. If you fit in, people will think that they know you, and we don’t have questions about things that we think we know. Even though it’s boring and possibly against your personal beliefs, it’s not in your best interest to stand out on your individualism and draw attention to yourself. Because you’re an escort and are trying to protect your reputation, go with the flow and live a nice, boring lifestyle when you’re at home. Stay invisible: talk little, ask questions, and remember everything people say.
4. Keep secrets. People in small towns tend to ask questions and share too much information. Don’t reveal too much information about yourself. Escorts in big cities must abide by this rule, too, but for different reasons. There are two main reasons why small-town escorts must avoid sharing too much information:
   • Keep your reputation intact. Sharing your real name, children’s names or real town of residence gives too much information to a client about who you really are. Clients, unknowingly and unwittingly, could share your information with someone else and the information about your escorting career could follow you back home. Once it hits your hometown (or the town you live in), it’s only a matter of time until the whole community has heard about your adult-industry exploits and has passed judgment on you.
   • Keep your privacy. In small towns, it’s pretty easy to find someone, especially if you know a name and any other basic information. Clients who might decide they want to see you on occasions other than during booked encounters can easily track you down. And, even though this isn’t terribly likely, a client can begin to stalk you with just a little information. In addition to your own name and address, carefully protect the name of family members, too. Don’t allow a client to get too chummy and be able to identify your kids or siblings. Keep your information to yourself and share only the necessary minimum. When others know a lot about you, you become predictable; when you are predictable, you become a prey.
5. Don’t let your guard down. Just because you are an escort in a small town doesn’t mean that everybody is an ally and crime is non-existent. Continue to exercise safe escorting practices. Screen your clients. Always make sure that you meet somewhere where your personal safety is not at an extreme risk. For instance, even though it is a small town, it’s still not safe to meet your client in a park late at night. Safeguard yourself, and always carry pepper spray or other device for your personal safety. Line up with a friend or family member to safe call them at an agreed upon time. Being dead or injured is the same in a small town and in a big city.
6. Screening a client is easier when it comes to small-town clients. In a big city, there may be several men named “James Wrigley”. In a small town, there is likely one or two, at the most. Finding out bits and pieces about someone is usually very easy. Online resources are always helpful, but it also helps to be in the loop in the community, if possible. Small town chambers of commerce usually have directories of all business owners and contacts in town. These are great to use as cross references for information given to you by clients. Additionally, observation is a great tool to use for screening in a small town. Drive past a client’s place of work to quickly check him or her out. Observing a client from afar can give you information you need to know before meeting up with him or her for an encounter.
7. Avoid using photos featuring your face on your website or escort profile. Because you live in a small area, you could be easily recognized in public if you post pictures featuring your face. And, while clients may recognize you, they certainly won’t be boasting about your dates. Others who have simply seen your profile or website online won’t have a clue that it is you without being able to see your face. Keep your privacy protected by posting only body shots or photos with a blurred face.
8. Outcall only. When you show up in a new town and spend time at a house only during the day or special evenings, you will be attracting attention to yourself. Plus, it can be terribly expensive to maintain an incall location somewhere else. (If you have a client who will provide you with such a place, though, you can probably make it work, especially if it’s in a location where you will not be noticed by neighbors, etc.) However, if you only provide outcall services, questions about your residence and your travel habits will not be as burning. People won’t think that you are living in their community, too, and wonder about what it is that you do. Your cover story when you only provide outcalls is much simpler. Being on town for business or visiting friends is a simple excuse.
9. Encourage regular clientele. It might seem counter-intuitive, but in a small town, the fewer number of people who know you are an escort, the better! You will decrease the chances of leaks about your real career when you have fewer clients. Once you have an adequate number of clients within a month to sufficiently pay your bills and pack some savings away, decrease your potential trouble by not taking on new clients. Maintain a consistent schedule with your clients, because this adds credibility to your cover story. A small number of clients ensures your privacy, and theirs, too. You avoid rumors spreading through town, because you can reduce your marketing once you obtain a regular client list. You can simply rest assured that discretion and privacy are much more possible when you limit your bookings and conversations to clients who are accustomed to the rules and how things work. You don’t run the risk of timewasters sharing information about you and your business around town. You protect yourself with a list of loyal, discreet clients who care as much about their privacy as they do theirs. (After all, they probably have much more to lose than you.) Protecting oneself with a small regular clientele is the best thing for escorts.