8000 people sounds large enough to me. I lived in small town (2500 souls) and I wish I never left.
Do they have a dentist? Local hospital? Car repair shop? School? Churche? Boy scout club? Kindergarden?
Hey, who needs WalMart, when you have Abdul's hardware store, Mrs. Mervinsky Buttons&fabric, Soltys Brothers Butchery and delicatessen, local grocery, and two (!) coffe and ice cream shops (I already forgot owners names) on town square less than five minutes apart by walk.
What makes quality of life? possibility to buy the same goods in more shops?
Go for it and give it a try. Dating will come.
And FedEx and Netflix operates nation-wide.
P.S: see this movies:
Doc Hollywood,
The Family man