Just as people have different personalities, I believe that individual congregations also had their own personality.
The hall I went to while growing up, was just awful. The PO of the hall was known in the entire area, and was just a tyrant. You didn't get away with anything at all. There were no grey areas. Everyone was taught to be cautious of the other, for fear of bad association even between witnesses. No dancing, not too many get togethers, etc. Anything that was taught by the WTS was taken to the extreme.
Now, just on the other side of town, was another Kingdom Hall. This one actually had two built together, and had about 5 congregations between them. If you went to this hall, it was actually pleasant in comparision. The elders seemed to actually care, and you felt that you could have actual friendships. Oh sure, the teaching was the same, but everything had a lighter tone to it. Going out in service was much more tolerable (they went for donut breaks), the meetings were even easier to attend. The kids had more friends, and got together much more often. I cannot even begin to spell out the differences.
Both were full of witnesses, and had the same teachings, but one was tolerable, the other not. I never attended the "fun" hall, as I left the area. I moved about 600 miles away, and found a hall, that though it was not as bad as the one I grew up in, it was not enjoyable. Moved again, about 1,000 miles away, and again, found a hall not as bad as the original one, but more like what I think most halls are like.
Had I stayed in the area that I grew up in, I know for sure I would have moved into the "fun" hall. I wonder how long I would had stayed. It scares me to think, that being it was so easy going, would I had stayed a witness for years more? It was easy going enough there that I don't think I would have tried too hard to look elsewhere. Lots of friends, I could have worked with some of the brothers there. There would not have had much chance to consider leaving. Kind of like a little shelter, where everything is ok.
So much for the "unity" that there is. Perhaps the hall I grew up in was the one extreme of strictness, and the other hall was extreme in its ability to be relaxed and loving. Maybe most halls are in the middle, just following the stupid rules and teachings that the WTS puts out there.
A question I have is: Would it had been harder for you to leave had the congregation been more friendly, loving, accepting? What would have been the final straw? Did you notice big differences in the halls you attended? Would you have lasted longer in one hall over another?
For me, it was seeing a lack of love, lack of unity to start with. I faded away, then learned what I now know.