Twenty-five years ago when I first moved to Manteca, one of my bicycle trips took me up Airport Way into Stockton and then Charter Way out toward Linden and looping back to town.
When I told another Manteca bicyclist of my route he told me I had a death wish and that no one in their right mind would bicycle through South Stockton.
It was the first glimpse I got of how Stockton was perceived — even by some of its neighbors that should know better — as the Rodney Dangerfield of cities at best or a hell-hole at worst.
The housing crisis and subsequent municipal bankruptcy weren’t exactly image builders. That, coupled with crime issues, led some to joke that Stockton’s city motto should be changed to “At Least Stockton Isn’t Oakland.”
Ironically, the housing crisis showed there is a significant economic price Stockton’s neighbors pay for helping perpetuate the myth that Stockton is about as safe as Kabul, that it is devoid of culture, and that it is somehow on the same path as Detroit.
Banks handling foreclosures using appraisers far from California were churning out remote appraisals on the growing stockpile of repossessed homes in smaller communities like Manteca, Ripon, Lathrop and Lodi based almost exclusively on square footage and age while relying on Stockton market conditions to drive prices.
It was good news for me as the price I paid for my home in 2008 was a good $10,000 or so lower than it should have been even for the market at the time. But the real hits came in 2009 when McMansions in Manteca were being unloaded by banks for the same prices as similar homes in Stockton. Even Ripon prices tumbled close to those in Stockton. By the end of 2009, banks started backing off boiler room style selling efforts and re-enlisted the service of real estate professional on the ground where they owned foreclosures. The local market and financial experts understood the nuances that made homes of similar size and age more valuable in a Manteca ZIP code than in Stockton.
While Stockton at that time had been lower priced for housing for a good 40 plus years than Manteca, San Joaquin County as a whole was being judged nationally by Stockton’s trials and tribulations.
Unfortunately a lot of people — including those in California — that paint in broad brushes based on raw statistics that create intellectual popcorn in the form of city ratings swipe that same brush over the rest of the county. A more deliberate effort paints a clearer picture showing things are far from dismal in nearby cities as well as in much as Stockton itself.
I travel to Stockton six to nine times a month for personal reasons. It is my first choice when it comes to finding amenities or items I can’t find in Manteca. Granted four of those trips are to other InShape Health clubs that offer classes that fit my schedule and exercise needs and two of the other trips are built around platelet donations at Delta Blood Bank. But the other part of those trips and at least one other excursion in a typical month is for some of the same reasons why most of Stockton’s 302,000 residents live where they do — Stockton has a lot to offer.
I’m not a big shopper, but Stockton has my favorite store — REI — along with a host of others in Stone Creek Village as well as Fleet Feet, Podesto’s (who needs Whole Foods), Trader Joe’s and others in Lincoln Center. When I want to completely blow my diet for a decadent dessert to accent a quality meal Papapavlo’s Bistro & Bar tops the list. (It also happens to be in Lincoln Center.)  There are also incredible hole-in-the-wall restaurants like Xochimilco in a tired section of downtown.
Stockton does have urban decay but it also has the Bob Hope Theatre, Weber’s Point, Banner Island, Stockton Arena, the Waterfront, stately 1930s-1940s neighborhoods, homes on lakes and on Delta inlets, the University of Pacific, Delta College, the Stockton Symphony, and Stockton Civic Theatre to name a few.
Yes there is crime. Yes there is poverty. But also remember most of the city’s 302,000 residents are marginally impacted by either.
Dump all you want on Stockton but before you pile on ask yourself two questions:
uWhy are there 302,000 people living there and why do people keeping moving there?
uIs it in our collective best interest to knife the lifeboat known as San Joaquin County that we share with Stockton?
Stockton is the proverbial 900-pound gorilla when it comes to San Joaquin County. The city and the county’s image and ultimately their destinies are intertwined. Stockton isn’t the perfect community like Seahaven in Jim Carrey’s movie “The Truman Show.” But then again neither is San Francisco, Manteca, San Diego, Ripon, or any other city. There are areas of Stockton you would not wander into at certain times of the day but the same holds true for Seattle, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Omaha.
 Every city has its warts, even wealthy enclaves such as West Palm Beach and Beverly Hills.
Cut Stockton some slack especially given the city is tied to you as a San Joaquin County resident.

This column is the opinion of executive editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Bulletin or Morris Newspaper Corp. of CA.  He can be contacted at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com or 209.249.3519.