"There's just nothing to do there!" - What do ya'll mean?

[Zeke1955]

Hey everyone,

I heard it not less than 1.0 X 10^5 times in high school, and even more in my undergrad. Usually I hear it about places that don't physically lack anything to do... they have movie theaters, retail shopping, bars, video arcades, pool halls, bowling alleys, freshwater lakes, etc. Yet... people still say it? (Denton, TX, where I live, has all of these things, for example)

The only really good reasons I can come up with are things like:

1. Everything closes @ sundown and on the weekend, except Wal-Mart. (My parents place in rural TX has this problem)
2. Traffic is so congested, it's like living in L.A., but without the scenery. (currently have this problem in Denton, TX)
3. Being into car performance/audio/modding and no place to have meets in the area.

What exactly is it that people use as evidence to declare a place "un-inhabitable due to having nothing to do?" Even if you're into entertainment like Broadway plays and musicals, who can possibly afford to do that with all of their spare time?

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[Kamzu]

You've pretty much hit it on the head. Most people I know consider "things to do" as having some sort of a night life. Or maybe they want an amusement park attraction like Disneyland or Knotts. xD

 

[Zeke1955]

You've pretty much hit it on the head. Most people I know consider "things to do" as having some sort of a night life. Or maybe they want an amusement park attraction like Disneyland or Knotts. xD

Yeah, since I'll be moving to Amarillo, the one thing I'll be missing is that in DFW, you can go to whataburger @ 4AM and dine-in, most things are open until at least 10PM every night, and you always have dozens of the same thing to choose from. But still, from visiting Amarillo twice now, it's got plenty of bars and places to "hang out" at night. To me, I just can't see the problem...

 

[omnione]

It's all relative. A person growing up in LA or NYC sprawl cound find places like Lubbock and even Austin to be quaint and boring. A person growing up in a town of 3,000 will probably find any town with a 100,000+ population to be lively.

I guess that when a "big city" person moves to a smaller and isolated town, they see that options for fun are more limited. Big cities don't necessarily have better stuff to do, those places have more options and more variety of those options.

 

[Zeke1955]

It's all relative. A person growing up in LA or NYC sprawl cound find places like Lubbock and even Austin to be quaint and boring. A person growing up in a town of 3,000 will probably find any town with a 100,000+ population to be lively.

I guess that when a "big city" person moves to a smaller and isolated town, they see that options for fun are more limited. Big cities don't necessarily have better stuff to do, those places have more options and more variety of those options.

That's a great point. I grew up in L.A., Detroit, and the suburbs of Dallas... I don't see how the presence of 20+ story buildings suddenly increase the "livablity" of a place, but yeah, more options probably seems more lively to folks.

 

[Bhavesh]

datable women

 

[Lurkerkat]

Selection. I love living in a pretty large city because I can get any cuisine I want. I like knowing that I'm a short drive from Ethiopian, Moroccan, multiple interpretations of Mediterranean, and authentic Thai food. The guarantee of having a sushi place where the fish served were swimming in the sea 24 hours ago. It's easier to see movies that are limited release. Better concerts and shows come through and larger local music scene.

Sure a small town may have everything a big city has, but it's smaller scaled and limited.

 

[JamesL1585]

THere should be one bikini contest or foam party in the city at least every weekend, unless its a lame city

 

[pharmd4me@510]

THere should be one bikini contest or foam party in the city at least every weekend, unless its a lame city

Add mud wrestling to that list

 

[117296]

Add mud wrestling to that list

hahahaha

 

[Zeke1955]

the responses so far... hahaha... As a connoseiur (but definitely not an expert - only been 12 or so times) of sushi, I have to agree with the notion about the variety of cuisine being superior in larger cities.

 

[omnione]

the responses so far... hahaha... As a connoseiur (but definitely not an expert - only been 12 or so times) of sushi, I have to agree with the notion about the variety of cuisine being superior in larger cities.

Oh yeah......

In Lincoln, we don't have What-A-Burger, Jack In The Box, The Waffle House, White Castle, Carl's Jr., Kroger's, Rite-Aid, and all those specialized sushi places.

Up north in nearby Omaha, there are more cool options but not as many as a true big city.

The nice thing about living in a college-oriented bar is that the bar scene is lively. In Lincoln, you can get your favorite drink in a fishbowl!

 

[Farmercyst]

the responses so far... hahaha... As a connoseiur (but definitely not an expert - only been 12 or so times) of sushi, I have to agree with the notion about the variety of cuisine being superior in larger cities.

Oh come now, Armadillo has like the most we'll known 72oz steak place along the I-40 corridor. (at least the section between Memphis and Barstow) You can't beat Braum's Ice cream (at least not easily) It's the smell of Amarillo in the summer that I can't stand, that, the wind, and the lack of scenery, oh yeah, and the heat.

Lived in Lubbock long enough to know there were plenty of places to find something to do. Of course Texas Tech was involved in most of them.

 

[Zeke1955]

Oh come now, Armadillo has like the most we'll known 72oz steak place along the I-40 corridor. (at least the section between Memphis and Barstow) You can't beat Braum's Ice cream (at least not easily) It's the smell of Amarillo in the summer that I can't stand, that, the wind, and the lack of scenery, oh yeah, and the heat.

Lived in Lubbock long enough to know there were plenty of places to find something to do. Of course Texas Tech was involved in most of them.

So true! My dad took on the 72oz steak about 25 years ago on a cross-country trip. Even though he got it "because (he) didn't have any other option since (he) couldn't pay for it," he was miserable afterwards... !

I'm personally looking forward to Amarillo....