--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was growing up I used to think…" description: "\"When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn't come from anywhere else in Iowa. By..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/bill-bryson-340_best-things_when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-th_1458793.jpg" --- # When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing… ![“When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn't come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark…” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/bill-bryson-340_best-things_when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-th_1458793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/bill-bryson-340_best-things_when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-th_1458793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/bill-bryson-340_best-things_when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-th_1458793.jpg) > “When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn't come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark socks, often simultaneously.” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Growing up in Des Moines felt uniquely central in Iowa, highlighting the city’s unexpected cosmopolitan vibe amid a largely rural state. **In simple terms:** Des Moines feels like a cultural hub in a rural region. Key Takeaway Recognize local uniqueness in broader contexts. Themes regional identity urban vs rural cultural perception Mood nostalgic proud Type observational descriptive When to use this quote - travel planning - community building - regional marketing Key Concepts place attachment social geography urban pride Questions to Reflect On - How does your hometown shape your identity? - What makes a city feel cosmopolitan? A Different Perspective The view may overlook socioeconomic disparities within the city. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-things/) [Cosmopolitanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmopolitanism/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Des moines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/des-moines/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Iowa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iowa/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [God had a plan for everything. I never knew I'd come to Iowa, but now I love Iowa. Everything is so great about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liang-chow/god-had-a-plan-for-everything-i-never-knew-i-d-come-to-iowa-but-now-i/) [Liang Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liang-chow/) > [you are brilliant and subtle if you come from Iowa and really strange and you live as you live and you are always very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/you-are-brilliant-and-subtle-if-you-come-from-iowa-and-really-strange/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-earl-jones/ray-people-will-come-ray-they-ll-come-to-iowa-for-reasons-they-can-t/) [James Earl Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-earl-jones/) > [“Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robinson/ray-people-will-come-ray-they-ll-come-to-iowa-for-reasons-they-can-t-2/) Phil Robinson > [I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-come-from-des-moines-somebody-had-to/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I grew up in Des Moines. My dad had a house full of books, things like P.G. Wodehouse books and 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-grew-up-in-des-moines-my-dad-had-a-house-full-of-books-things-like/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Much as I resented having to grow up in Des Moines, it gave me a real appreciation for every place in the world that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/much-as-i-resented-having-to-grow-up-in-des-moines-it-gave-me-a-real/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I come from Des Moines. Someone had to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-come-from-des-moines-someone-had-to/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Hardly anyone ever leaves. This is because Des Moines is the most powerful hypnotic known to man. Outside town there is a big sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/hardly-anyone-ever-leaves-this-is-because-des-moines-is-the-most/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Des Moines is like your typical American city; it's just these concentric circles of malls, built outward from the city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/des-moines-is-like-your-typical-american-city-it-s-just-these/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I come Des Moines. Somebody had to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-come-des-moines-somebody-had-to/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Where I grew up, in Des Moines, Iowa, there is hardly any downtown economic activity now. Everybody shops in malls - you don't find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/where-i-grew-up-in-des-moines-iowa-there-is-hardly-any-downtown/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [So I rushed past the pretty girls, and the prettiest girls in the world live in Des Moines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/so-i-rushed-past-the-pretty-girls-and-the-prettiest-girls-in-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I think that the Internet is going to effect the most profound change on the entertainment industries combined. And we're all gonna be tuning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-think-that-the-internet-is-going-to-effect-the-most-profound-change/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [If you want to be a comedian, go out. Do a week in Des Moines, Iowa. Try to make those people laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-swardson/if-you-want-to-be-a-comedian-go-out-do-a-week-in-des-moines-iowa-try/) [Nick Swardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-swardson/) ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-dining-table-was-a-plain-board-called-by-that-name-it-was-hung-on/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“From almost nothing, France in four years built up an aircraft industry that employed nearly 200,000 people and produced some 70,000 planes. Britain built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/from-almost-nothing-france-in-four-years-built-up-an-aircraft/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More Best things quotes > [I need the best things in life, that's women, thats cars. Cigars in Venice, bottle on ice, thats priceless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-need-the-best-things-in-life-that-s-women-thats-cars-cigars-in/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The next best thing to being witty one's self, is to be able to be able to quote another's wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/the-next-best-thing-to-being-witty-one-s-self-is-to-be-able-to-be/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [I really believe that our past can really hold us back from growth, so the best thing that we can do is MOVE ON…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-harper/i-really-believe-that-our-past-can-really-hold-us-back-from-growth-so/) [Bob Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-harper/) > [The best thing for you to do is shop at your local farmer's market and support the organic growers who are there. Because those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/the-best-thing-for-you-to-do-is-shop-at-your-local-farmer-s-market/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The best thing about the term 'performance artist' is that it includes just about everything you might want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/the-best-thing-about-the-term-performance-artist-is-that-it-includes/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [The best things in life are free. Sunsets and sunrises are free. Air is free. Love is free. Death is free. The best things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-best-things-in-life-are-free-sunsets-and-sunrises-are-free-air-is/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I always wanted to be a player, but I never had the talent to make the big leagues. So I did the next best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-finley/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-player-but-i-never-had-the-talent-to-make-the/) Charlie Finley > [I was a 36C or D, and at 5' 1'', I knew that being a small person with big boobs standing in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-was-a-36c-or-d-and-at-5-1-i-knew-that-being-a-small-person-with-big/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Each time I stop somewhere and look out, there are more people sitting there than there were the time I came before. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/each-time-i-stop-somewhere-and-look-out-there-are-more-people-sitting/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [One of the best things that happened for me as a playwright is becoming a comic-book writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/one-of-the-best-things-that-happened-for-me-as-a-playwright-is/) [Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/) > [I don't really know who I am as an actor: the best thing would be to experiment with it for the next 30 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-barnes/i-don-t-really-know-who-i-am-as-an-actor-the-best-thing-would-be-to/) [Ben Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-barnes/) > [The best thing about time passing is the privilege of running out of it, of watching the wave of mortality break over me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/the-best-thing-about-time-passing-is-the-privilege-of-running-out-of/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [What was the best thing before sliced bread?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/what-was-the-best-thing-before-sliced-bread/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [The best thing about waking up early is seeing the sun rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridgit-mendler/the-best-thing-about-waking-up-early-is-seeing-the-sun-rise/) [Bridgit Mendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridgit-mendler/) [Browse all 1,021 Best things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn't come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark socks, often simultaneously.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Bryson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-that-the-best-thing-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Best things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-that-the-best-thing-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/bill-bryson-340_best-things_when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-th_1458793.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/bill-bryson-340_best-things_when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-th_1458793.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/bill-bryson-340_best-things_when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-th_1458793.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you…” — Bill Bryson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Bryson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was growing up I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-that-the-best-thing-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-i-was-growing-up-i-used-to-think-that-the-best-thing-about/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```