move to a small town

I have lived in big cities all my life, and have this fantasy that I will find a small town where I can feel part of the community. Just like Everwood! SIGH. I have no idea to find one! The US is a big place and I don’t even know where to start – except the SW states and CA are out due to their water issues. I want to find a safe place to live – meaning that global warming may not affect it as severely as places that will be really affected (like the east coast and the hurricane thing…).