Although it’s true that Walla Walla can be characterized as being in the boonies, I think there are some distinctions that make Whitman less isolated than either Grinnell or Middlebury, two schools that Whitman has been compared to for remoteness. For one thing, the Walla Walla airport has three Alaska Airlines flights per day to and from Seattle and is located 15 minutes from campus. Neither of the towns of Grinnell or Middlebury has commercial airline service.
Grinnell, IA has a population of 9,069 and Middlebury, VT has 6,588 people, while Walla Walla has 31,910. Walla Walla is nearly 5 times the size of Middlebury, and that larger size translates into the presence of things that Whitman students like having access to, like the movie theater that has 12 screens and shows first run movies. There are large grocery stores as well as small health food markets. There is a Target, a Macys, an Office Depot, a Panda Express and a Starbucks. There are excellent places to eat for every budget. Students find most things they need within the city limits. And, yes there is wine.