This really isn't meant as a condemnation of Joplin, but there are certain aspects of any community that are special and unique. Having lived for three years in Bloomington, Indiana, we grew especially fond of the culture there in several respects. And, okay, so the list is actually eleven things, not ten. Hey, it could've been thirty!
- Division I sports
- Real soccer leagues (7 NCAA titles by Indiana University has made it a soccer-crazy town)
- The entire culinary scene (especially Opie Taylor's and Snow Lion, but this could be the entire list if you get right down to it. Restaurant Row? AMAZING!)
- Downtown Bloomington (Especially at Christmas when the lights are up)
- The Indiana Daily Student (featuring Get Fuzzy)
- Ice Cream Parlors (NO, Joplin does NOT have a single real ice cream parlor, and YES that includes Shake's and Braum's... okay, Shake's is borderline, but just barely)
- Brown County (It's not Oregon, but it sure beats SW Missouri for natural beauty)
- The friends we made who still live there
- Borders and Barnes and Noble (real bookstores)
- Seeing the Indianapolis Colts play every Sunday
- The performing arts community. (Much livelier than we have here in Joplin. The music school at IU alone is a hue difference. Imagine being able to hear world class musicians anytime you want for free... wouldn't that be nice? Well, in Bloomington that's just normal.)
