Trouble, as they say, begets trouble. I’ll give you a hypothetical, focused on random cities in the US.
Say you have a reasonably high-paying and stable job at a small hospital. You tell your wife you want to work less and be a blogger. With time, you say, you’ll make up for the loss of income.
A few years pass, and you haven’t accomplished sh*t, at least from a monetary perspective. You know you have to make some changes.
But then March rolls around, and you can’t help but write a blog post about college basketball. You know no one will read it, but you make a list of all NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams.
It takes way longer than you expect, leaving little time for anything else. In a panic move, to pretend you’re productive, you take five random cities in the US with Division I men’s basketball teams and turn that into yet another blog post no one will read.
St. Bonaventure, New York
You start close to home, as in a tiny hamlet located where Western New York meets the state’s southern tier. It’s sandwiched between the village of Allegany (population 1,596) and the city of Olean (population 13,937), the latter being large enough for this map.
Before moving to the middle of nowhere, it’s the type of place that would’ve scared you—now you think of it as cool. It’s home to St. Bonaventure University, a private Franciscan school known for creating a family atmosphere and competing in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The immediate area has some restaurants, art galleries, and the like, but the drop off is quick. A drive east gets you to Elmira. Go west and you hit Erie in Pennsylvania. A trip north takes you to the prison-riot capital of Attica. And a jaunt south lands you in some sort of forest.
Enough said.
Bozeman, Montana
Next, you throw a dart at a map and end up in the southwest of another state—Montana.
The fourth-largest city in Big Sky Country—population 53,293—is home to Montana State University of the Big Sky Conference, and it’s one of those places that has carved out a brand far exceeding expectations. The magic formula, it turns out, is rather simple: mountains.
Located where the plains meet the Rockies, Bozeman is known for its natural surroundings, outdoor recreation, cultural and culinary offerings, and overpriced real estate. It’s also in one of the few Montana counties that tends to vote blue in presidential elections.
Because the town seems a little too nice, you step into the “car” for a few hours to see where else life can take you.
Pocatello, Idaho
Eventually, you stumble across a dot on the map in southeast Idaho called Pocatello.
Home to 56,320 Idahoans and Idaho State University, also of the Big Sky Conference, the city offers more than you anticipate. Being in the western foothills of the Rockies, it’s another outdoor paradise.
Thankfully, given an economy historically built around railroads, agriculture, and industry, there’s a bit of grit. In other words, there’s none of that blue nonsense you whiffed in Bozeman.
Still, the burg seems too big, and you’re ready to downsize.
Ruston, Louisiana
As far as you can tell, Louisiana’s fun cities—Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans—are in the southern part of the state, so you find a spot in the north.
Ruston—population 22,166—suits your needs. Home to Louisiana Tech University of Conference USA, the town is known for, well, Louisiana Tech.
Karl Malone and Terry Bradshaw played there, and the women’s basketball team was once a national powerhouse. Nearby Grambling State University has produced some serious athletes as well.
Besides that, rumor has it there’s a firehouse and maybe a cemetery.
Charm is fine, but you change course and decide you’re more the big-city type.
Clarksville, Tennessee
Not wanting to overshoot, you opt for a midsize dot near the Kentucky border.
Clarksville—whose 166,722 residents make it the fifth-largest city in Tennessee—is known for Austin Peay State University of the ASUN Conference and easy access to a US Army base, a certain Fort Campbell.
Rapid growth, affordability, downtown life, outdoor stuff—you name it and it’s there.
You even think about making the 50-mile drive to Nashville, but alas, reality beckons.
Eventually, you end up back home, realizing that you already live somewhere that could be on a list of random cities in the US.
Something, however, doesn’t feel quite right.
Perhaps it’s the absence of Division I basketball.
Or, perhaps, it’s the absence of money.
