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I lived in Waco since I was six. Actually, until I hit sixth grade in middle school, I used to live in a very country town outside of Waco called China Spring. Waco was an improvement. But we're speaking on relative terms here.
Waco has an extreme lack of culture. Call me spoiled, but my idea of culture in a town means you have to be near the level of somewhere like Austin. All there is to really do in Waco is eat or go to the movies. Sit on your butt and get fat.
There is Cameron Park. It's actually very beautiful. One of the few good parts to Waco. But it's not exactly a great place to go when daylight is going or gone. That place is notorious for theft, rape, and even murder. It doesn't help that the Brazos flows right by it. The river is terrible. The filtration system is weak, and the locals use it as a dumping ground. I remember reading in the paper about five years ago when they were working on the damn about everything they found at the bottom of the river. The pictures looked like something taken from a dump. Tires, trash, cars, and even a few dead bodies were found.
There is something in the water. My family and friends have all experienced the terrible quality of the drinking water. Even in a recent news article, I loved how the paper said "Don't worry about your water smelling like bleach." We've put beta fish in this water, the supposedly unkillable fish, only to find them dead in a few days. My family has to filter the water to make it hospitable for their fish.
They are religious. A bit too much so in some places. Church on the Rock is a prime example. They have a third of their lawn completely covered in tiny "baby crosses" to express their views on abortion. It's an eyesore.
One of the highest crime rates in the nation. It's the theft crimes that rack up the points in this department. On a recent list of american cities with the highest crime rates, Waco popped in at around 6 or 7. You have really nice neighborhoods around Mountainview Elementary school where you can leave your car or front door unlocked. And then others were you have to bolt everything. You'll see really nice houses for about four or five blocks, and then all of a sudden a slum will show up for another four or five.
The economy is terrible. Waco doesn't grow businesses. The businesses simply move on like a parasite. Downtown waco is nearly barren. Most people refer to the two block area with all the restaurants as downtown and completely forget about the dilapidated and vacant buildings that litter the downtown area. I've also seen business after business open up and then subsequently close down. Only major chains stick around. We had a kripsy kreme and a Krystal burger in town for about half a year before they had to close down.
Valley mills is annoying. Wanna know another source for a lack of culture? Every weekend the young bodies drive up and down in their vehicles on Valley Mills, aka "The Valley." What do you wanna do this weekend? Oh, lets just stand by the side of this street and occasionally drive up and down it. It makes traffic worse, and every person with the money to afford an obnoxious sound system has to play their equally obnoxious music.
The schools are bad and getting worse. Year after year, more and more kids from WISD are failing the TAKS standards. Gang fights aren't an odd occurrence at Waco or University High.
The drivers I find to be worse than most in other towns. This is compacted from the terrible traffic. So often you have people driving 10 miles under the speed limit with others who are ten over. It seems once you enter this town, most people tend to forget basic traffic laws. Most of my near accident experiences have been in Waco.
I hate alot about Waco. But there is plenty good.
I've never been to the Dr. Pepper Museum or Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, but I've heard good things. Also, the Cameron Park Zoo is one of the best in Texas. You'll only find better in Dallas or Houston. The quality and range of animals, not to mention their living environment is phenomenal. There's the Hippodrome theatre, one of the few good parts to downtown which sadly almost got shutdown a couple of years ago. There is the Elite Cafe and Buzzard Billy's, which first opened up in Waco and is credited with the revitalization of that small area in downtown near Baylor. And then who could forget Bush's Chicken?
As far as college's go, I'm no fan of Baylor, but McLennan Community College has an amazing arts program that rivals most universities, and the professors who teach there are knowledgeable and likable. And TSTC (Texas State Technical College) is one of Waco's best kept secrets.
There is alot of good to Waco, but there is far more wrong with it. That comes from poor city leadership mostly. Sadly, at this point, there really is no shining horizon for Waco's future. It's pretty much on the road to slowly imploding upon itself.
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08-22-2007, 07:28 PM
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