Let's start off by saying there are a lot of negatives to living in a big city. Tons of them. In St. Louis, there are parts of the town that you just don't visit. In fact, there are parts of St. Louis that the people you think are scary don't go to.

So, let's not confuse this with an article criticizing Lubbock, but a reminder of some of the things we are missing and/or could do better.

What I give you here is mostly Lubbock vs. St. Louis, but most of it is true between Lubbock and any large metro. In short, Lubbock is really more of a town than a city.

  • 1

    Culture

    I saw more culture, more art and more beauty in less than three hours of actually time on the streets of St. Louis than I've seen my entire life in Lubbock. There's everything from giant works of art to the incredible architecture of the buildings downtown. Everywhere you looked there was something that you could stare at for hours if you wanted.

    We went to the most amazing place for kids EVER called City Museum, which was covered with reclaimed stuff that kids could crawl on, under, slid through and more. It actually had built-in caves for kids to play in. It was nuts.

    Nessmania/Art on a poll in a place to see art. Meaning you see art even in places or on things that are there to hold art.
    Nessmania/Art on a poll in a place to see art. Meaning you see art even in places or on things that are there to hold art.
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  • 2

    People

    Everybody says 'the people' are one of the best reasons for living in Lubbock. I'm sorry, but this really isn't exclusive to Lubbock.

    In Lubbock, we have a nice population with "country manners," but the fact is, people are more neighborly than nice. The people in the area I was in seemed genuinely nice, friendly and helpful. In addition, being around people from many cultures helps make you part of a bigger culture. In other words, people in generally white areas tend to be suspicious (at best) of people of different colors.

    When there are people of many different ethnicities around, it becomes one of those things you don't think about at all.

  • 3

    Food

    It is so absolutely, patently ridiculous how excited Lubbock gets about new food places when it's the same, mass-produced stuff. When you eat in a really large city, you start getting real differences in the cuisine.

    For instance, you won't just find Chinese food; you'll find one place that specializes in one region of China or even a place that only serves noodle-based dishes (and so on and so on). You end up with some truly amazing variations on what you would consider that countries cuisine.

    Taking it one step further, while you're choosing between beef and broccoli or General Tso's Chicken in Lubbock, we had an option for Squid and Quail Egg soup (much better than you think).

  • 4

    They RUN Their City

    In Lubbock, we don't "run the city;" we just keep the city running. There's a big difference.

    When you arrive in St. Louis, there are people on the street corners who's job it is to help you get where you are going. They welcome you, they direct you and they give you advise. They truly treat you like a guest and they anticipate the needs of visitors and tourists. You never feel lost or even endangered because there is not only advise, but also police at regular intervals.

    They recognize and anticipate needs and there are just random tables and chairs in most of the common areas of downtown where you can just chill. They KNOW that if you're rested and comfortable, you're gonna stay longer. Seems pretty simple.

  • 5

    Transportation

    Imagine, if you will, that the Marsha Sharp Freeway had a tram or train of some sort. You could just zing around town for $2. Imagine businesses popping up all up and down that train line. That is kind of what the system is in St. Louis.

    Even if you have your own car, jumping on the Metrolink would be a nice break from driving every once in a while. Public transportation is something that every city has to deal with sooner or later. In Lubbock, we've pretty much already screwed the pooch because our town leaders keep stretching the city out further and further, making any business/shopping/entertainment/medical or any other type of grouping spread all over the place.

    If growth had been encouraged just inside The Loop, a quickie rail, trolley or some other system might be possible someday.

  • BONUS

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