I'm not sure I would generalize that much about attitudes. Like anywhere else, a small town will have a mix of those.
The people around there would be the ones with the most info to share. Maybe some pics to show you of the yard in its heyday.
Until weeds invade, or unless stuff was planted with no room to grow, there should be little to no maintenance required for shrubs & trees. You just enjoy the shade and privacy they help create, probably some blooms at some point, or pretty fall leaf colors. They are probably giving homes to squirrels, various birds, whatever runs around the neighborhood. A big empty expanse of mowed area can't compete, as far as being interesting and active.
If there are smaller plants that have gone dormant for winter, you can decide to keep them when they have grown back enough to show you who they are, or you can give them away or mow over them and forget about them. As said, you don't have to dig up plants to give them away. Somebody will be happy to bring their own shovel and take them away. If you do that, any talk about you will be how nice and considerate you are, to see that the plants people loved were shared with the neighbors.
If you put pics of them on the Plant ID forum I linked before, somebody here should know what they are. It's less confusing if you do a separate discussion for each type of plant.
