Small towns and local publications love to have a hero of some kind. For Portland, it's definitely Ian Karmel and Ron Funches, but every year now they're looking for that person. If you know they're looking for it, then you could just try to insert yourself into that position, and it's much easier than if you're in a bigger town.
In L.A., there could be a million delusional comedians or actors and they all blend in together and no one is ever like, "You're living a lie." But if you're in a small town and you're like, "I'm the funniest person here," but you're not that good, everyone's going to notice and call you out on it.
That's a really common trap that people in small scenes will start to rely on. They'll have all this material joking about that place, and then take a trip to Atlanta or whatever, and be like, "Half my act is gone because I can't talk about how everybody has a bicycle."
