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.