Many Places or Nonplaces

By Ryan Dettmann

Throughout my life I have lived in towns or cities that are described as a place on a nonplace. I was born in Chicago, Illinois which is by far a place. Its known for its deep dish pizza, sports teams, skyscrapers, and many other things that make the town memorable. But with this, it makes a crowded city that more crowded with the millions of tourists and visitors that visit the city. From Chicago’s hospital, I was taken to my families suburb of Barrington, Illinois which at the time was away from the city a somewhat of a nonplace with a small town atmosphere. But Since I left there it has become a place mainly, because it was engulfed by the city and has gotten significantly larger.

After living there I moved to the great cheese state of Wisconsin to a town named Middleton. It is the sister city of the capital Madison and is across lake Mindota. In most the sense Middleton was a place with big schools and places, with it literally being connected to Madison. Madison/Middleton was most known for being the capital of Wisconsin, its school University of Wisconsin, and cheese of course. It is also a place known for its liberal ideas and commonly in schools being clicky. Most recently the town was known from being picked a couple of years ago as the best place to live in the United States, which makes it that more a place.

After living there five years my family moved again and that next place was Charlottesville, Virginia. We actually live outside the city near the towns of Crozet and Ivy, but my address says Charlottesville. Charlottesville is a smaller town compared to Middleton of Barrington, but is widely known for rich history that attracts tourists from around the world. The most notably places are Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and also University of Virginia, the school that Jefferson founded. It’s streets are flooded by tourists and college students every year, yet it fights to expand its boundaries like adding bypasses or allowing buildings to be taller than the Rotunda at UVa’s Lawn.The city is also known for being named the best place to live recently like Middleton. I did not go to school in Charlottesville, but rather I went to high school in Crozet, which is 20 minutes outside of the city. It is a quaint town, with three gas stations, a small library by the railroad tracks, and small town feel. It doesn’t have much going on unless its a school event, but everyone likes it that way because the big events are what Charlottesville are for. Though it keeps expanding rapidly I hope it will never become place and stay a none place.