America's Most Boring Towns: 5

Chris Erb: 19th Jun 2006 - 19:06 GMT

I used to live by a small town called Norton. Frighteningly enough, it was even more boring than how this place looks.

Jamie: 19th Jun 2006 - 19:07 GMT

it seems to me, as an outsider, that middle america is chock full of creepy nothingness

Peter: 19th Jun 2006 - 19:22 GMT

jamie: youre pretty much right. not all are as creepy as they appear in some of these sorts of photos, but theyre definitely desolate and full of tons of nothingness. when i drove from nyc to san francisco on a route that took me straight through the "heartland", i was shocked to make this same discovery. i like to describe it as if "someone took the same mile of scenery- pasture, irrigation ditch, farm, endless miles of cornfields- copied it, and pasted it 5,000 times between the northeast and the west coast".

save for parts of nevada and wyoming. those places were just desolate rocky crags, deserts and salt-flats.

seeing these entries has me thinking i should dig up all my old images from that trip back in 2002. I have most of em on photo-cd (pre digicam, lol) so it shouldnt be too hard.

EvilGentleman: 19th Jun 2006 - 19:59 GMT

Aside from the campy invitations to "See the Tri-County Area's Largest Ball of String" and so on, the heartland actually does have a lot going for it. The beauties of nature are often harder to find, due to the scope of the plains overwheming eveything else, but trust me, if you slow down enough to take a good look around, everything is there. The best way to see things is to get off the interstates and take local roads, but even I must admit, that can be a bit much, since we usually want to spend more time at our destinations than on the road.

Since he originally hails from the Volunteer State, I suspect Peter may be able to back this statement up, although his love for his newly-adopted urban lifestyle may prevent him from admitting it ;-)

PS - Peter, I would love to see your I-80 shots. I never did much of I-80, except for the part east of the Mississippi and a bit around the San Francisco Bay area. My more familiar Interstates are 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 39, 57, 70, 75, 87, 89, 90, 91, 94 and 95.

Jamie: 19th Jun 2006 - 20:21 GMT

as if "someone took the same mile of scenery- pasture, irrigation ditch, farm, endless miles of cornfields- copied it, and pasted it 5,000 times between the northeast and the west coast".

kinda like a scooby-doo chase scene, then...

Brian Klaus: 19th Jun 2006 - 21:15 GMT

Let's not pretend that the Northeast is uniformly grear. Norton looks like Paris when compared to North Wales, PA.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 20th Jun 2006 - 01:11 GMT

I've watched too many horror films where someone says, "let's take this local road." They usually end up with less fingers and witless friends than they started with. I don't want to be made into a girl suit.

elaine: 20th Jun 2006 - 05:28 GMT

"rooby-rooby-rooo!!!"
yes. i have stopped watching suspense thriller things, i can't take the suspense, it makes me feel ill. but also there is always that 'let's go towards the creepy noise/basement/woods' moment when i lose sympathy with the character. i once lived in a squat which had a creepy cupboard. we nailed it shut.

Dustin: 15th Oct 2006 - 21:32 GMT

I spent 4 years in Norton as a kid, and I can assure you, it is utterly boring. However, I can tell you that there are areas of town that are quite beautiful, including the courthouse in the center of town (built in the late 1800's). It really is just a typical small town. One movie theater, high school football games on Friday night (very good team most years), a dairy queen and pizza hut (no McDonalds). Not a bad place to live if you are looking for small town life. I remember the sign coming into town used to say "Welcome to Norton. The "hub of northwest Kansas".

Rodney: 20th Oct 2006 - 06:51 GMT

This is my home town and I have lived in many a big city (NYC,KC,Nashville,LA),but this is the place I still want to come back to. Here you are a person not a number. Everybody knows you and is glad to see you, even after you have been gone for awhile. I should know............to bad some people don't like small town life?

Susannah: 20th Oct 2006 - 11:24 GMT

Living in a small town can be humbling, everyone knows your story, some people are okay with that, some people are not.

Susannah: 20th Oct 2006 - 11:27 GMT

Why does every town have to have a slogan. The town where I spent my teenage years was called "Home of the Nice Guys", which was funny because most of the people there weren't very nice.

Liberty Stephens(14): 10th Mar 2007 - 17:48 GMT

I have been living in Norton Kansas for the last 14 years of my life, i live with my grandparents, and we havent moved once, the same house in the same town for 14 years yeah its really boreing......but the good thing is its a great place to raise kids...... because theres very few weird things that happen here! We have a beautiful park-race track-recreational track! So yeah where the best begins i have no clue what their talking about but thats alright haha!

Liberty Stephens(14): 10th Mar 2007 - 17:49 GMT

And i just searched our town on google and it came up as the 5th most boreing town in america i find that hillariouse wait till i show this to all of my friends at school hehe!

Megan: 1st Apr 2007 - 19:42 GMT

Just an FYI to Dustin...there is a McDonald's in Norton. There's also a Taco Bell! That's considered "big time" in these small towns!

Marilyn : 12th Apr 2007 - 18:58 GMT

I have lived in Norton for 32 years. To some people it may seem "boring" but I assure you a person can be as busy and involved as they want to be. We have a great school system and lovely parks for children to play and enjoy and be safe while they are playing. We also have a great group of people who oversee our fair every summer. We had nieces and nephews that came from Kansas City who were impressed that they didn't need to "hold their mom's hands" the whole evening!! They were given books of tickets and told to have a GREAT time!! Norton is the place to be for ME!

Joan: 13th Apr 2007 - 01:13 GMT

I looked at the pictures and yes, those places do exist. Of course two of the four were taken of alleys. How many beautiful alleys do most towns have? I could go to the "most beautiful and exciting" city in America and take pictures like these, or worse. People see exactly what they want to see. For every one of Scott's photos, I could take several more of very nice spots in town. As one person said, Norton is a very typical small town and it is a great place to raise children. My two young children and I moved here with the intention of staying one year for my job. Sixteen years later I'm still here. Several young people who left after high school (probably thinking Norton was boring) have returned to raise their families. An amazing number of people from large cities, such as Denver for example, have moved here to get away from the rat race. I guess they see something that those of you who pass through Kansas, in general, never take the time to see. Someone once said that intelligent people don't get bored. Maybe, Norton just has a lot of intelligent people.

Jordan: 16th Apr 2007 - 16:24 GMT

Norton rules, actually. You just took pics of the most crappy places.

JANICE: 11th May 2007 - 14:36 GMT

I GREW UP IN NORTON, MOVED IN 67, AND HAVE MISSED THE SMALL TOWN FEEL EVER SINCE. I REMEMBER PLAYING ALL DAY LONG AND NO ONE EVER WORRIED ABOUT OUR SAFETY. I NEVER REMEMBER BEING BORED AS WE HAD THE PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL, THE SUMMER FAIR, THE RACE TRACK, ELMWOOD PARK, 4-H, AND MANY OTHER GREAT ACTIVITIES TO OCCUPY OUR TIME AND INTEREST. IF I HAD THE CHANCE, I WOULD WELCOME A SMALL TOWN BACK INTO MY LIFE. I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF SITTING IN TRAFFIC, FIGTING THE CROWDS AT THE MALL AND THE STRESS OF THE BIG CITY LIFE. ENJOY THE SUNSETS WITH NO HIGH RISES TO OBSURE THE VIEW, ENJOY THE FRESH CLEAN AIR, AND ENJOY KNOWING THE NAMES OF YOUR NEIGHBORS.

John : 15th Jun 2007 - 03:08 GMT

I mean, as a lifetime resident of megalopolis, I find this fascinating. I mean, what do people DO in these places? Name the garbage and stray cats?

I can't even imaging how so many horror stories are set in these types of places. When I try to imaging what might be lurking in that old warehouse or abandoned shed, nothing really comes to mind except more nothing.

These places just aren't interesting enough to have a killer scarecrow or corn children.

joey: 18th Jun 2007 - 05:01 GMT

people will wait all day to see the sunset, and roll up the sidewalks.

Desiree Rice: 22nd Jun 2007 - 18:02 GMT

I lived in Norton for 8 months of my life...I know, it's not as long as most people but I actually miss it...I used to live in KCKS before that. I spent most of my life hearing gun shots right next door to me, and they weren't hunting animals...they were hunting people! I think the move to Norton was the best thing for my family...My grandmother saw it and LOVED the town...not just liked but LOVED! Plus, the races up there are the BEST! I miss them the most!

Susannah: 10th Aug 2007 - 02:56 GMT

The sky IS beautiful - so clear. I'll bet its awesome at night.

anon (p179n5.ruraltel.net): 27th Sep 2007 - 10:33 GMT

I live in Norton, and I have to say that these pictures are seriously not typical of the town. They are of alleys, and how many people are hanging out in alleys? Well, if they are, I sure wouldn't want to be meeting them lol. Also, the other pictures are of a car dealer that was closed and out of business for a couple of years. I can understand the weirdness of a small town if you are from a large town, not getting why people want to live here etc, but honestly, if you are going to take pictures of a town and then call it boring, take some that honestly reflect the town, and not try to make it look worse than it is, thanks!

Kim: 14th Oct 2007 - 18:47 GMT

I have lived in Norton my entire life, 48 years. This is a place where memories are made, cherished and passed on to our children and grandchildren. Norton is on the path for economic growth due to a select number of forward-thinking residents and business people. We all have a vested interest in seeing small town America survive and flourish. I would invite anyone to come to our town and stay a few days, get to know the people and hang out doing some of the things we do to fill our time with. It will be well worth the trip!!! By the way, that was more than an invitation, it was a challenge.

Rose Garrison: 15th Oct 2007 - 16:05 GMT

What a sad statement the author of this article has made about small town living, he, who obviously has never experienced small town living. It is truly where the best begins and some of our most successful people have originated from small towns all across this nation. The quality of life is up to you and what you make of it, it is up to you to provide your own entertainment and that can range from school activities to reading a book and gazing at the beautiful sunsets or the clouds and blue sky,church activities, swimming, golf, visiting friends, working together to better your local community. Give it a try, you might just like it.

Scott Regner: 30th Oct 2007 - 15:53 GMT

My wife and kids spent a night in Norton Kansas on our way driving across the country in 1994. After driving 10 hours it had the only Best Western hotel available--arrived there around 7:30 PM--the hotel manager was wearing a dirty, ripped white tank top undershirt and we had to keep the room door open due to the really bad smell in the room. At the only eatery we ate dinner at 8PM (late apparently for this town) while being contstantly stared at by the local folks (I guess they didn't like my long hair and tie dye shirt). All I can say is my family will always remember that one night in Norton, Kansas. Didn't seem like much ever happened there.

anon (p179n5.ruraltel.net): 4th Nov 2007 - 08:18 GMT

In reply to Scott Regner's comment. I live in Norton, and have posted before on this forum, but I have to say, I have no idea what you are talking about saying Norton only had one "eatery". We have a heck of a lot more than that, so I don't know what town you were in really. I also happen to know that the Best Western in 1994 was owned by a man who had the disease Lupus, so maybe having a ripped tank top undershirt on was the best he could manage for that day. You judge and complain about what he was wearing, and then turn around and complain that someone was staring at you for what he was wearing. Honestly people, get a clue.

anon (214.87-241-81.adsl-dyn.isp.belgacom.be): 27th Nov 2007 - 19:11 GMT

View of Belgium(1)

View of Belgium(2)
Everyone can have one's own opinion. Over almost anything or everything. But is it the place that makes the people rather than the people who make the place?
1. Look at the attached pictures: if you know nothing about Belgium, you could think it is overcrowded, or totally uninhabited...depending on which picture you choose. Actually, both pictures are Belgium. Two extrems. If I know nothing about Norton and when I look at pictures that Scott has chosen, and only those pictures, well, my impression is if not distorted, r

Steven E: 27th Feb 2008 - 00:04 GMT

Norton Kansas is truly a wonderful place. It is so much more than pictures of it's alleys and a closed dealership. My little home town is surrounded by beautiful green wheatfields, big blue skies and sunsets that stretch from one horizon to the other. Summers are filled with swimming at the local pool, little league and picnics by the lake. Each fall, Norton fills with Bluejay pride and everyone comes out for Friday evening football down by the park... It certainly is a perfect place to raise a family. Come see for yourself...