Driving through Redding, CA last week made me wonder if we owe the town an apology for how we talk about small cities

I was driving through Redding, CA last week and honestly, it was way better than people give it credit for. The Sundial Bridge alone is worth a stop, but everybody just jokes about it being hot and boring. Meanwhile I bet folks from Redding get sick of hearing the same complaints. So here's the debate: are we too quick to bash places like Redding, or is fair criticism just part of living in a small town? What do you all think, should we write apology letters to the cities we dunk on?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_coleman21d ago

Rowan said "people just want to feel superior about living in a city with better nightlife" and I gotta push back on that a little. Is it really that deep? I mean yeah Redding has some cool stuff but it's also 110 degrees for months and the whole town kinda shuts down after 9pm. I don't think people making jokes about that are trying to feel superior, they're just stating facts. The Sundial Bridge is nice but it's one bridge. I lived in a small town for years and yeah it gets old when people dunk on it but at the same time there's a reason a lot of folks leave for bigger cities. It's not some conspiracy to make you feel bad, it's just different priorities.

rowan96921d ago

People act like any town under 100k people is a barren wasteland and it drives me nuts. Redding has the Sundial Bridge and easy access to Shasta Lake, that's more than a lot of bigger places can offer. The jokes about the heat get old fast too, like nobody's ever been outside during summer before. Folks just want to feel superior about living in a city with better nightlife I guess. Small towns have their own charm if you actually stop and look around instead of driving through with your windows up.

david_jones3821d ago

You're taking this way too personally @rowan969, it's just people joking around about the heat and small towns. Not everyone who makes a comment about Redding is trying to feel superior.