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Perspective really is everything. For instance, we often hear people say that there’s nothing to do in LaGrange. In fact, we heard a commission candidate use that exact phrase (referencing what people have told him on the campaign trail) at a candidate forum last week.

It’s an argument that frankly, we’ve never understood.

Look, LaGrange isn’t Atlanta. It’s not Columbus. It’s not even Opelika or Newnan. Our city has its flaws. If you went to a city council meeting or Troup County Commission meeting (both meet in the next week), you’d hear about some of the problems our leaders are dealing with. Whether that’s litter or just not having a Target (seemingly the one complaint everyone can agree on), LaGrange has room for growth. There’s no doubt about it.

But we spent part of Thursday talking to mayors from all over the state of Georgia, and while it’s true they were flattering us some, they were also amazed at all we have for a city our size. Of course, to most of them, LaGrange is a larger city. Out of 537 cities, LaGrange is in the top 40 in population. It’s important we remember that too.

We have an active amphitheater, a movie theater, a brewery downtown, a walking trail that just reached 10 miles, a downtown hotel — and the list goes on and on. We also have a lake that so many communities would love to have. 

Even some of the visitors who represent cities comparable in size don’t have those amenities.

There’s almost always something to do. Seriously. We promise. All you have to do is look around.

The perspective of hearing visitors talk about how great their time in LaGrange served as a great reminder of just how lucky we are here. It’s true that other cities have more. We’re sure there’s a deal at Target that we’ll be wishing wasn’t a 40-minute drive pretty away soon, or we’ll crave some Olive Garden breadsticks.

But if that’s the biggest complaint we have (and based on social media, we’d guess it is), then we’d say we’re pretty thankful for the amenities we do have. Other communities have much bigger issues.

Sometimes the grass is greener across the road. But sometimes, it’s pretty green where you’re at too.