Which is Better? Rupert or Burley?

Friendly rivalries are common.  When I was a kid growing up, several of my cousins lived in a neighboring town.  Their school dominated mine in football.  My school made them suffer in basketball.  It made for some loud but friendly chatter at Thanksgiving dinner.  I was thinking about these rivalries as I wrote a story yesterday about Christmas in Rupert. 

Many years ago I referenced Burley on-air.  A caller from Rupert followed and he told me Burley was the “armpit of Southern Idaho”.  Strange, I find it quite pleasant there.  A river and county lines bisect these communities.

I’ve worked remote broadcasts in both cities and found the people who came by to say hello were all nice.  Most everyone speaks the same language and the occasional Spanish you hear is an echo of the Portuguese and Basque languages you would’ve heard decades ago.

The restaurants are pleasing in both places and if you polled people about their cultural and political beliefs you would find things are much the same on each side of the river.

I don’t really want to take sides but if I was told I was moving and had to choose between the two…

“On the whole, I’d rather be in Oakley,” I might say.  No, seriously.  Rupert would be my choice.  No fault of Burley but Rupert seems the calmer of the two places.  Not quite as busy and as I grow older busy isn’t on my list.  Which isn’t to say I would avoid Burley.  It has for more shopping and restaurant options.  It’s just that at bedtime Rupert would be the place where there would be fewer distractions.