Sim City

April 16, 2005

I recently took a little trip up to Kansas City. Yes, folks… you heard me… I actually left Springfield and went to another city. It’s amazing, I know (and explains the lack of posts lately… haha). Leaving Springfield really drove home a theory I’ve had about why Springfield does absolutely nothing for me: it’s a city without character, without uniqueness… a city without a soul.

A city without a soul, you say? What kind of crazy talk is that? Cities don’t have souls. Or do they?

A prime example of a city with a soul is Austin, Texas. My brother lived in Austin for several years. Since moving, he and I have discussed on many occasions what made Austin so different from any other place we’ve ever been. Most cities of any size are busy… streets filled with hustle and bustle… people going here and there to do this or that. But Austin is more than that. There is a vibe there that is hard to explain to someone who’s never felt it. But it’s something you can honestly feel and honestly see in the faces you encounter and the places you go. I’ve never seen so many people happy to be living where they are. Seriously… ask around. The people who live in Austin love it there and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. There’s a modern, hip feel to Austin (check out 6th Street downtown if you need a close-up experience). The people are so casual and so laid back and so content just doing their own thing. It’s a very fit city, as well. It hardly ever rains in Austin, and all over town you see folks out and about enjoying the sun in one of the many parks or out on the lake (which sits right next to downtown… it’s quite an odd experience to be canoeing around a lake surrounded by tall buildings).

Similarly, but also quite different, is Houston, Texas. Houston has a soul as well. Many will tell you that Houston’s soul is dark or ugly. The people in Houston are much different than the people in Austin. As my brother puts it, the people in Houston are “polished”. That is to say that Houston lacks the casual feel of Austin and appearances are much more noticeable in Houston. But Houston has various subareas that each have their own look and feel. There’s the Galleria area, filled with world-class shopping and boutiques of every kind imaginable… there’s Montrose, the trendy, hip, and sometimes wonky area where the people of Houston go to experience a less-than-Beaver-Cleaver night on the town… the Asian area (whatever it’s called), where the air is filled with the smell of food and the street signs are not in English. These are just a few of the many divisions the city has to offer. And if you’re not busy getting run down in the street without a glance from passing Houstonians, there actually is fun to be had there.

Kansas City has a vibe as well. I haven’t spent enough time there to get a finger on exactly what sort of vibe it is, but I definitely felt vibeage while I was there. It has an old feel to it, and while some of it’s “old” exterior is actually quite new, it none the less adds to the character of the city… to it’s soul.

Then we have Springfield. Springfield has none of the characteristics mentioned above. It has no distinct areas of town. It has no culture. The people are not happy (or sad) about being here… they all just seem to be existing here. If theoreticians had been given a plot of land with the task of creating a model city from which to cookie-cut all future suburban cities, Springfield would have been the result. Tic-tac-toe board streets lined with zones so obvious it’s almost scary. By zones I mean this: lining the streets are commercial areas… strip malls… behind the commercial areas are residential areas… and tucked away in the far corners are industrial areas. It’s like being caught up a game of Sim City. And just like Sim City, all goes well and flows according to the game player’s master plan in Springfield. But something else is missing. There is no newness in Springfield… nothing fresh… nothing different. Once you’ve been to Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, and the Mall… what’s left?

Springfield may be perfect for some people. It’s uneventful, predictable, and clean. It would be a good place to raise a family I’d suspect. Crime is extremely low, the people are friendly (although I believe it to be forced friendliness), and there’s enough shopping and eating to keep suburbanite families entertained.

But not me… I’m tired of the Sim City. Bring on Roller Coaster Tycoon….

Posted in Personal

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