Tuesday, 18 April, 2006

1. By Pancho. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @08:58am:

   Houston:
   
   1. Great weather.
   2. Decent public schools.
   3. Very rewarding if underrated cultural scene. Theaters, museums, parks, etc.
   4. Great airport with lots of direct links.
2. By El-Roy. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @09:14am:

   Jenkinsburg, GA:
   
   1) Population of about 200
   2) Not one traffic light in all of Jenkinsburg
   3) Blind preacher/singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Jenkins was born here in 1885 http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-887
   4) We're located in Butts County and yes, we've heard all the jokes and wisecracks that are popping into your head at this moment
3. By meg_mac. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @09:14am:

   MARIPOSA:
   
   QUIET (unless the sound of the wind in the tree's bothers you)
   SERENE (just trees and mountains. people are spread out and keep to themselves)
   CLEAN AIR (thanks trees!)
   YOSEMITE (Water Falls to the max right now!)
4. By Mean Jean. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @09:23am:

   Asheville, North Carolina
   
   Beautiful mountains (the air would be nicer if Tenn. would fix their pollution problem)
   
   Diversity! My fav bumper sticker "Asheville, 10,000 lesbians can't be wrong!"
   
   Culture! Forty-plus art galleries and Thirty-plus artist studios.
   
   Nice people.
5. By Petunia. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @09:34am:

   Cortland, OH (where I grew up):
   
   1. All four seasons are represented.
   2. People in Cortland look out for each other.
   3. There's a good mix of young and old residents in most neighborhoods.
   4. It rests on the west bank of Mosquito Lake.
6. By Huts. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @09:45am:

   I can't think of 4 good things. Guess that's why I want out of Hellhole, IL (peoria, IL).
7. By Petunia. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @09:47am:

   Warren, OH (where I live now):
   
   1. Home of the largest Relay For Life in Ohio and the largest (per capita) in the United States.
   2. My neighborhood has 5 separate ethnic groups.
   3. The Hot Dog Shoppe has the best and cheapest chili dogs around and the restaurant still looks the same as it did in the 60's. Even after it burnt down, they rebuilt it exactly the same.
   4. Easy access to the big cities of Cleveland, Akron and Pittsburgh.
8. By Michelle. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:01am:

   There's not much in my hometown but I can probably find 4 neat things about New Hope, MO:
   
   1) There's a golf course filled with really nice guys who gave the hard-working clerks enough tips to buy their first cars. (Thanks!)
   
   2) If you walk down the (very quiet) gravel road at just the right time, you'll see the most amazing sun-set.
   
   3) In my youth, I could spend all day on the trails I made in my 5 acres of yard and woods and never get bored.
   
   4) It used to be the biggest city in Lincoln Co. (which isn't saying much), but when the railroad went through the next town over, it tapered out, leaving now only a church, golf course, and a few people.
9. By Bryan. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:07am:

   Kansas City
   
   4 neat things!
   
   1) Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
   2) Hot Summers!
   3) Cold Winters!
   4) Close to Omaha!
10. By pj. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:14am:

    Toledo
    
    4 neat things!
    
    1) Toledo Museum of Art - one of the top ten in the USA.
    2) Toledo Zoo - one of the top ten in the USA.
    3) More restaurants per square mile than NYC!
    4) The Toledo Mud Hens.
    5) Lake Erie Walleye and Yellow Perch
    6) Art Tatum Jazz Heritage Festival
    7) The Old West End - Largest concentration of Victorain style homes anywhere.
    8) I am 45 minutes from Detroit or Ann Arbor, 2 hours from Cleveland, 3 hours from Columbus, 4 hours from Cincy, 5 hours from Chicago. (Yeah - we're a suburb of all those cities :)
    9) Cedar Point - more roller coasters than anywhere else - 45 minute drive to Sandusky.
    
    10) I have to get back to work now...
11. By Mark. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:15am:

    Chicago's four neat things:
    
    1. It's not NY
    2. It's not LA
    3. It doesn't care that it's not NY
    4. It doesn't care that it's not LA
12. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:21am:

    4 Neat Things about Wheaton, IL
    
    1) Adams Park, especially with a new public library entrance into the park.
    2) Wheaton North High School
    3) DuPage County Historical Museum
    4) My vet.
13. By Maven. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:25am:

    Richmond, Missouri
    1. low cost of living
    2. nice farms
    3. amazing spring/summer thunderstorms
    4. beautiful new library
    
    ..and a bonus: It doesn't care that it's not NY/LA either :D
14. By Sheldon. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:27am:

    Austin:
    1) Weird Attitude of the people
    2) The lakes and the "mountian"
    3) SOCO
    4) The Live Music
15. By Rg. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:30am:

    John, I thought your hometown was St. Louis?
    
    Do people really say "hometown" when they're talking about where they currently live? Unless it's the same place, of course.
    
    "Rg, what is your hometown?"
    - Minden, NE
    
    "Rg, where do you live?"
    - Charlotte, NC
    
    "Rg, where are you from?"
    - The answer would depend on the context. But it's also a question I would probably never ask.
16. By cms. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:33am:

    Southborough, MA
    
    1) The blink-and-you'll-miss-it town center.
    2) People are friendly - the second time I went to breakfast at the local restaurant, the waitress remembered what I'd had the first time.
    3) The annual Sunday before Halloween event, where hundreds of people line their carved pumpkins up for view on the stone wall of the cemetary in the center of town.
    4) Outdoors - woods, reservoir, wild turkeys, foxes, snapping turtles.
17. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @10:40am:

    Caledonia, Minnesota
    
    1. Is the Wild Turkey Capitol of Minnesota (yet ironically was one of the last "Dry Counties" in the state ;)
    
    2. Is the birthplace of the famous Kunst brothers, otherwise known as the "Earthwalkers" http://home.earthlink.net/~earthwalker1/caledonia.html
    
    3. Some reports say that the first dandelion introduced into the United States was planted by Jacob Webster in Caledonia, Minnesota
    
    4. Is the home of the tree from whose cuttings the Summercrisp Pear was developed. Originally called the Gaspard Pear #5 after amateur local orchardist John Gaspard, it gained in popularity as a result of its clean mellow flavor, cold-hardiness, and resistance to fireblight.
18. By Chris J. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @11:17am:

    In Seattle
    1) We don't use the term neat, we say "cool"
    2) C-c-c-c-coooffffeeeeee we've got tons of it.
    3)It really doesn't rain as much as rumor would have it
    4)One of the most scenic locations on the planet.
19. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @11:17am:

    Rg, good point about "hometown." I consider the place where I live to be my hometown. According to the dictionary definition, it can mean anything:
    
    Hometown: The town or city of one's birth, rearing, or main residence.
    
    On the other hand, it would be difficult for me to come up with 4 neat things about St. Louis.
20. By Brian. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @11:22am:

    Memphis
    
    1. Memphis in May: http://www.memphisinmay.org/
    2. Music heritage: http://video.aristotle.net:8080/ramgen/epe/Pilgrimage_BroadBand.rm
    3. Remembers its past: http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/
    4. Easy drive to mountains or beach
21. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @11:28am:

    Ajos, can you still get Spring Grove Pop in Caledonia? My late best friend was born there. I have fond memories of Caledonia.
22. By Greg. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @11:54am:

    Felton CA:
    1) The Bigfoot Discovery Museum (http://bigfootdiscoveryproject.com/)
    2) Henry Cowel State Park
    3) Redwoods
    4) Cute downtown, but not discovered as a tourist town yet.
23. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @11:54am:

    Fort Worth, Texas
    
    1. not as many cows here as you'd think.
    2. resting place for lee harvey oswald (rose hill cemetary).
    3. portions of the sci-fi movie "logans run" filmed here (water gardens).
    4. birthplace of mark david chapman (okay, that's not really neat at all).
24. By Thrash Cardiom. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @11:58am:

    Upper Hutt
    
    1) More fast food outlets per head of population than anywhere else in New Zealand
    
    2) More petrol stations per head of population than anywhere else in New Zealand
    
    3) More black jersey/black jeans/black boots per head of population than anywhere else in New Zealand
    
    4) I don't live there any more (and that's a relief).
25. By sasha. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @12:08pm:

    More fast food outlets per head of population than anywhere else in New Zealand
    
    That reminds me of Georgie Pie. I miss Georgie Pie, it used to be my favorite fast food.
26. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @12:32pm:

    Ocean, NJ
    
    1. ummm....i'll get back to on that later.
    
    
    lol
27. By Geeza. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @12:39pm:

    1. Red buses, the tube.
    2. Enormous(!!!!!!!!!) amount of things to do. Theatres, museums (most free), the buildings (The man who is tired of London is tired of life).
    3. Tolerance - racial etc
    4. Widest and best quality of restaurants in the world.
    
    Don't ask me about the things that aren't neat!
28. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @12:44pm:

    Debb you sure can.
    I love the stuff, but I only get it on those rare trips back "home".
    I am a lemon sour fan myself, but the wife likes the black cherry.
    There really is nothing else quite like it. Nostalgia in a bottle for me. I grew up next to an old tavern, and when we were kids we would buy a bottle for 30 cents, race outside, drink it in the sun, then race back in where the owner would give us a ten-cent lolli for each bottle we returned (we had no idea you could actually get money for the deposit).
    
    http://www.springgrovesoda.com/
29. By Birdie. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @12:46pm:

    4 good things about St. Joseph, Minnesota
    
    1. Population depends on what time of year it is (two colleges).
    2. Great arts and music scene here September through May (TWO colleges).
    3. Except for Parade Day, how peaceful it is here in the summer (the Catholic Church Bazaar, but MINUS two colleges).
    4. The Lake Wobegon Trail heads west from here, away from St. Cloud.
    
    The colleges: http://www.csbsju.edu/
    The trail: http://www.lakewobegontrails.com/
30. By Jules. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @12:49pm:

    Aw, I live in California, and I'm nice.
    ):
    But maybe that's because I'm originally from Montana...
31. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @12:50pm:

    The main problem with your "#3. A significant portion of the population leaves in the summer" is that they keep coming back.
    I would also amend "It's not Phoenix." (Who's a native of Tucson?;-))
32. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:12pm:

    Oh Ajos, nostalgia overwhelms me and I'm having a really rotten day. (If anyone wants the name of a mortgage company NOT to go with, I'll tell you.) I'm of the generation that got pop in bottles from the ice filled cooler. For 5 cents, you would weave the bottle through the lines and pull it from the machine. I remember being about 5 and not being able to get the bottle out and the guy in store having to help. In the summer, the ice would melt and that would be the coldest water on the planet. Looking through the places selling Spring Grove pop is a story of my childhood. I like the Cream Soda, the Strawberry and the Black Cherry, ice cold.
    
    It might crash your server John, but it would be interesting to see what other people remember from their regional childhoods.
33. By Birdie. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:29pm:

    We don't want El Roy to be the Butt of any jokes here, Butt did you see the color of his county in Georgia? Doesn't Jenkinsburg have ANY churches???
34. By Mean Jean. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:42pm:

    Untwist an old wire coathanger and then walk 4 blocks to the laundromat, get down on your belly and use the coathanger to fish for change. Get lucky and find two dimes. Then you and your best friend can walk another 3 blocks to the DQ and get a cherry coke.
35. By Jennifer. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:47pm:

    Davis, CA:
    
    1. We still have red double-decker busses here. http://daviswiki.org/Double-Decker Buses
    2. Toad tunnel: http://daviswiki.org/Toad_Tunnel
    3. Eggheads: http://daviswiki.org/The_Eggheads
    4. Awesome local festivals:
    http://daviswiki.org/Picnic_Day
    http://daviswiki.org/Whole_Earth_Festival
36. By Geeza. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:47pm:

    I feel that the '4 neat things' rule has been wilfully ignored here.
37. By cobra427. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:54pm:

    4 things about my town eh
    
    1 - twined with Krakatoa
    2 - If the world had piles my town is where they'd be
    3 - Has a football stadium that's taken longer to build than Wembly Stadium (10 years so far and still not finished)
    4 - More pointless traffic lights and raod signals than Blackpool has illuminations (sorry a brit thing - google it)
38. By meg_mac. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:55pm:

    'kick the can' until all hours of the night. Fresno 99 degree's at midnight. mom moving the bunkbeds outside under huge grapefruit tree
    so we could sleep outside all summer. brothers building forts with dads tools and then watching it burn down from errant lit candle WITH dads tools inside!
39. By Champthom. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:56pm:

    Let's see, for my hometown of Rome, NY:
    
    1) Birthplace of Francis Bellamy, writer of the Pledge of Allegience.
    2) Construction of the Erie Canal was started in 1809 in Rome.
    3) We have a statue of Romulus and Remus from the mayor of Rome, Italy that's like, over a 100 years old now.
    4) Home to the first Wal Mart Supercenter in NY State.
    
    ...yeah, it's a pretty boring town.
40. By wally the duck. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @01:57pm:

    Ajos,
    Been there (Caledonia)... and I had an autograph by Kunst (don't ask why... no good reason). One of the brothers was killed, I believe, when they were walking. Naturally, they wore Red Wing boots.
41. By Jonco. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @02:08pm:

    OK. I'll do St. Louis since I live here (well real close anyway)
    1. The Gateway Arch
    2. New Busch Stadium
    3. St. Louis Zoo.... (worldclass zoo in the 2nd largest park in the country [Forest Park])
    4. Anheuser Busch Brewery and Grant's Farm (owend by AB)
    
    Shall I go on?
    
    Jonco
42. By Jack Brewster. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @02:09pm:

    Olympia, WA:
    
    - Can see Mt. Rainier from pretty much anywhere
    - Right on the Puget Sound so there's plenty of boating, fishing, kayaking anything you'd like to do on the water
    - Only a little over an hour away from both Portland and Seattle
    - It's the state capitol, but it's not a big town - sized just about right IMHO
43. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @02:15pm:

    Wally "el pato" I'd love to know your impression of the town.
    
    Yes, I believe it was John that was shot by Afghan Bandits. All good Minnesota men wear Red Wings.
44. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @02:32pm:

    From almost the exact center of nowhere: Wausau, Wisconsin
    
    1. Only 40,000 peeps - no traffic to speak of
    2. Seasons (these are myths to folks in Dallas, from whence I moved)
    3. Cheese, cheese, and more cheese
    4. Outdoor stuff to do ALL year long
45. By Tombraider. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @02:41pm:

    Four neat things about my original hometown - Grand Rapids, Ohio.
    Upwind of Toledo. (Joking, PJ, I actually agree about the Zoo and the Museum - two of my faves.)
    The sort of small town where everybody knows your name - and calls your parents to tattle on you.
    The Maumee River - not all of the carp are toxic.
    I ain't there anymore.
    
    Four neat things about my new hometown of 25 years - Damnearalabama, Georgia.
    Upwind of Atlanta.
    Big enough to provide Friday night entertainment, small enough to not provide the sort of entertainment that requires bail money.
    A real town square that is being rebuilt to cater to the local college - lots of funky little shops.
    Rapid influx of Damnyankees who are never so busy that they won't graciously take the time to share their wisdom by explaining to you How We Do Things Up North.
46. By geeza. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @02:44pm:

    It seems strange that I live in one of the most densely populated areas in the world and you guys in the middle of nowhere (Tuscon etc) complain about people.
    
    C'mon, they're not so bad.....
    
    Really, they'e not!
47. By Jenn. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @03:12pm:

    Madison, Wisconsin
    
    1. Four distinct seasons...a real novelty for me since I grew up in Louisiana.
    2. Tons of free things to do and some cool not so free things, too
    3. The lakes.
    4. Great public transportation
48. By Pedro Subrosa. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @03:52pm:

    4 neat things and why I'll live in Penticton til the day I die.
    
    1 Gas and cigarettes at the Rez station are the cheapest in the valley.
    2 80 wineries within a one-hour drive and world-class wines from vineyards overlooking a 75 mile long and very deep lake. Not to mention all the orchards.
    3 Getting mistaken for a Mexican or a local Indian because I tan dark and have a ponytail though a Dutch/English mongrel. Lots of sun here.
    4 Last but best, Jenny, the Navajo-style weaving, blues-harp playing love of my life.
49. By Mean Jean. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @04:04pm:

    Tombraider we have friends who live in Cumming, GA. Are you near there? Have you ever gone to see that Elvis impersonator guy at the roadhouse? The one who's sister does the Patsy Kline that makes you want to slit your wrists?
50. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @05:00pm:

    Four great things about Orange County, California:
    1 - Weather
    2 - Beaches
    3 - Mountains
    4 - Money
51. By Strah. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @05:10pm:

    Portland Oregon
    
    1) Community supportive of local music, beer, arts and businesses
    2) Downtown is small enough to feel cozy but large enough to have plenty of diversity
    3) Very bike friendly
    4) Easy travel to the mountains or beach
52. By Andie. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @05:29pm:

    The NY metro area (Long Island specifically):
    1. Beaches although there are better ones
    2. Close to NYC although this is also a bad thing
    3. You can find pretty much everything you want nearby
    4. Large diversity in the population
    
    That said I'd move in a heartbeat.
53. By Morgan. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @05:41pm:

    Brantford, Ontario, Canada
    1- Alexander Graham Bell, invented the phone here in 1874, placed the first long distance phone call from here in 1876.
    2- Wayne Gretzky was born here.
    3- Rich with history like Chief Joseph Brant, Pauline Johnson, 1st Protestant church in Ontario built here.
    4- Tons more famous people born here:Phil Hartman(comedian), Graham Greene(actor), Lawren Harris(group of 7), Robbie Robertson(musician), James Hillier(scientist).
    
    Man, I love that city.
54. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @06:19pm:

    Niagara-on-the-Lake
    
    1. It takes three hyphens to spell.
    2. It had an overhead sign that said Stop then Go, but I forget when they converted to conventional stoplights.
    3. Everything is historic - eg. 1st golf course, 1st capital of canada, etc,etc.
    4. It's not on the road to anywhere.
55. By Audra. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @06:39pm:

    Napa, Ca
    
    1. It is pretty once you get away from all the freakin' tourists
    Uh...
    2. Has a nice Downtown.
    3. If you like bad traffic we have plenty.
    4. We're home to the worst shirts ever "I survived the New Year's Flood! 2006"
56. By biff. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @06:48pm:

    Pittsburgh
    
    1. Toad
    
    2. The Steelers
    
    3. Primanti Brothers sandwiches
    
    4. You don't have to worry about getting skin cancer due to exposure to the sun!
57. By Daniel. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @07:46pm:

    Well, I don't even know what a home town is anymore. But I'll give it a go:
    
    New Plymouth, New Zealand:
    
    - close to the ocean
    - clean air
    - clean water
    - no one gets shot
    
    
    Brisbane, Aus
    
    - close to the ocean
    - nailable tourists
    - excellent beer
    - can swim in winter
    
    Lincoln, Ne
    
    - all the corn you can eat
    - less people are shot here than in other US cities
    - only a 10 minute commute to work (unlike Brisbane, Aus)
    - there are actually some jobs here (unlike New Plymouth, NZ)
    
    Ps, isn't it lovely how every person from Nz has to make some sort of statement about the fact that they are from NZ?
58. By Daniel. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @07:49pm:

    4 good things about Los Angeles? geez . . visiting Los Angeles increased the appeal of my home town(s). Driving 2 hours to go only 10 miles isn't exactly something that is appealing
59. By Daniel. Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @07:53pm:

    Damn it Brian, what are you thinking? #4 - close to Omaha? Are you wasted or what?
60. By . Comment posted 18-Apr-2006 @09:43pm:

    San Antonio, Texas:
    
    1. Sacred city - the Alamo
    2. The Hill Country is minutes away
    3. The Witte Museum & the Sunken Gardens
    4. Good restaurants of every kind - I recommend India Oven on Patricia Street - great lunch buffet and dinners.
    
    Unfortunately, I now live in Houston, but San Antonio will always have my heart.
61. By FishTaxi. Comment posted 19-Apr-2006 @04:55am:

    Didn't Caledonia have great big feet?
    
    4 Neat things about my hometown:
    
    Internet, Internet, Internet and
    
    Internet.
62. By . Comment posted 19-Apr-2006 @07:00am:

    Raleigh NC
    
    1. Convenient to go anywhere else but here (good airport, 2 hours to beach, 3.5 hours to mountains)
    2. Durham Bulls
    3. Beautiful spring blooming things (dogwoods, azaleas, bulbs, bradford pears)
    4. Home of Red Hat, Alien Skin, and close to RTP
    
    Like Andie I'd move in a heartbeat, too.

Original content © 2009, John Walkenbach