Her: “So, what are you going to do now?
Me: “Well, I really like it here, so we’re gonna stay for a while.”
Her: “REALLY?!? But this is Bryan (or College Station, same thing really) and it sucks to live here!”
Me: “What? BCS is awesome!”
I’ve had this conversation so many times, I can’t even count any more. For those of you who haven’t made the trip to the thriving metropolis of BCS (Bryan/College Station), these twin cities are two of the most populous in Brazos county TX, and home to just over 200,000 people. Most people who come to live in Brazos county admittedly come because of the university (in fact, that’s what brought us here, too). I mean, why else would you move to the near dead center of Texas? With a revolving student population topping out at 47,000 this past spring, the population turn over here is significant. As you might imagine, this results in a rich population for part of the year, followed by a near ghost town during break time. It’s hard to develop a sense of community or a bustling down town feel when 20% of the population changes on a regular basis.
The upside to this is no traffic or lines during summer and winter, and there’s a plethora of drinking establishments for everyone’s “enjoyment.” The down side is the inability of this area to create an obvious sense of community…a cohesion of awesomeness, if you will, that most people associate with a great place to live. However, even if most people use this area as a stopping place between the obviously awesome, the brief time here leaves its mark. If you look hard enough, you’ll find that BCS actually has some pretty amazing things to do.
In fact, you might say that BCS Doesn’t Suck.
I guess to really dig into how BCS Doesn’t Suck, I’ll have to quantify what I mean when I say “awesomeness.” I’ve lived in big cities before, and I’ve lived in thriving little towns. I’ve even lived in places that were considered college towns first and foremost. Finally, I grew up in a stereotypical suburb. There are things about each of those places that make them awesome places to live.
1. The people. If you live in an area where people suck, living there is gonna suck. I’ll write a few posts about various groups of people that make living here awesome, and how you can hang out with them.
2. Free things to do. There’s nothing better than finding free stuff to do in your home town, either alone or with new friends. Funds can be a problem, so I like to find things that don’t cost a thing. Lots of free stuff in a new town makes for fun packed weekends.
3. Paid events. Every bustling city is packed to the gills with events that require tickets to attend. Heck, these events are a major draw to many places. I’ll do my very best to visit as many of these events as possible in the area.
4. One-time events. These aren’t as interesting as annual or on-going affairs, since once I bother to write about them they’ll be done and gone, but a bunch of one-time events means that there will be more.
5. Stuff in nearby areas. I’ll focus on what’s available in Brazos County. Since this blog isn’t called “Austin Doesn’t Suck” or “San Antonio Doesn’t suck” I’ll stick to what is in this area, although I may do a piece on some interesting on going stuff within an hours’ drive or so.
Got an idea for something I should go and do? Let me know!