Why Centralia WA may be the best small town in America
© 2024 Mark McWiggins
We have a city that is so easy to get around that one can do without a car … we have a small very pleasant city that my wife and I just love here; there’s a lovely town square, a beautiful downtown area with nice shops and excellent restaurants, and so far this year the weather has been pretty darned near perfect (for this region, anyway) … we get a lot of rain this time of year, but so far (quite possibly beginner’s luck for this region) we have not had the typical Thanksgiving time “Atmospheric River” that just lay waste to the Seattle area the past few days.
I am not sure how the city and the county do it, but (1) you can go anywhere in the county for $3 round trip, and you don’t even have to have it up front; they bill you. Also the bus system is totally free and goes not only all over the county and even into the adjacent county, Thurston, all free.
We also go to a lovely church, Immanuel Lutheran, where we have been welcomed with open arms by everyone there.
One thing more we could do to make the place even a bit better: there is technology from Japan that could help.
I was visiting Tacoma with my wife sometime last year to sell some small trinket she had sold in the area, and when we got there I discovered a powerful urge to urinate. “How hard could this be?” I thought … “any restaurant” .. but the only ones in evidence had NO PUBLIC RESTROOMs in large unfriendly-looking letters on the front. I finally found a little convenience store and I’m sure I looked desperate because the (Asian) guy behind the counter said “sure, back there” … I just made it, and was thinking that if I’d been black I’d have probably wound up having to go outside.
But it turns out that Japan has already solved this problem, at least in some cities. I wrote this story based on a couple of YouTube videos I saw.
They also have Kiosks some places in Japan that pay civilians to clean up the place.
Do you know a better managed small city? Please let me know .. my email address is mark@pythonsoftwarewa.com
