my wife and I are in our mid-30%26#39;s, we have three daughters one is 16, the other two are 6 %26amp; 7. My oldest is very active in a program called, ';Best-Buddies'; and she is wanting to attend IU due to it%26#39;s active involvement in this program. At present we live in Phoenix, it is not my type of life style. FOr me it is to big, and it%26#39;s getting hard to give my children a good life. The schools are over crowded and it doesn%26#39;t seem the teachers really care, the kids can%26#39;t exactly go outside and play, it%26#39;s over 100 degrees for almost half the year, I want a better life for my family, is Bloomington a place for us? IN Phx, due to the growth it%26#39;s fairly easy to get work, the problem is the pay is low, and the expenses to live here are high. Honestly, how does Bloomington add up? Is it tough to get work? Will my kids enjoy it? MOst importantly, will my wife? We are into culture, we would love to picnic, and hike, fish, and teach the kids that there is more to life than sitting in traffic 6 hours a day, and lock yourself indoors, cause the Police Helicopters are flying over head with there Spotlights on..
Bloomington....A better life?
The hiking and fishing is great in many parts of Indiana, and it%26#39;s especially popular near Bloomington. Bloomington is also a great place for cultural events.
We definitely have a wide range of temperatures. Traffic isn%26#39;t that bad in most places. It%26#39;s been awhile since I lived in Bloomington, but I definitely don%26#39;t think you%26#39;d have to sit in traffic for 6 hours a day.
As for work, it depends on what you do.
Why don%26#39;t you plan a visit? Spring is a nice time to come and it%26#39;s just around the corner. We can give you hints for visiting other parts of Indiana at the same time.
Bloomington....A better life?
Helpful websites:
Bloomington
http://www.visitbloomington.com/
Bloomington is right beside Brown County, Indiana.
http://www.browncounty.com/
Indiana Tourism Site:
http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/
Indianapolis
http://www.indy.org/
Make sure you watch the Jon McLaughlin video.
I hope these help!
Lily
I%26#39;d say yes, but of course individual results may vary.
Bloomington is MUCH smaller than Phoenix (duh). Cost of living is obviously lower, but then so is pay (maybe, you indicate Phoenix isn%26#39;t the greatest). Lower cost of living, the cheap labor pool of the university (for part-time work) and the fact that many students want to stay after graduation can depress the pay for ';degree jobs'; (at least at the starting level), so you won%26#39;t necessarily find the best paying jobs here. Also, like most of the US, Bloomington is having a ';shakedown'; related to blue collar jobs.
In terms of culture and outdoor activities I%26#39;d think you%26#39;d be very happy. Being a college town the university brings all kinds of cultural stuff - multiple museums, shows, venues, etc. Being one of the top music schools in the country means there are all kinds of events (many free) covering just about every kind of music you can think of. College sports (particularly basketball, this in Indiana) are obviously part of the mix too.
Also, the city is very supportive of the arts; it%26#39;s in the startup process of ';BEAD'; (Bloomington Entertainment %26amp; Arts District) designed to foster more arts and arts related economic growth (both from an artist standpoint and as driver of tourism growth).
In my opinion another real gem is the Lotus World Music Festival held every fall. (Full disclosure, I%26#39;m on the board of directors). It%26#39;s a multi-day/multi-venue festival which closes down a few streets in the downtown and creates a wonderful ';street scene.'; Roughly 15-20 artists over 6-10 venues, over two nights, all for about $30. (Plus extra stuff, both free ans separate admission). Any one of the acts would cost you about that much for a single set anywhere else. It presently includes a free concert in a park near downtown (typically 3-5 artists) which is geared for families (educational %26amp; crafty components). While attendance is hard to measure as a hard number, an estimate for last year%26#39;s festival is 10,000+. It turns 15 years old in 2008.
In addition to Bloomington, Indianapolis roughly an hour away, and events going on there are drivable; certainly for anyone used to large city sprawl where an hour to two drive time to get somewhere specific is not out of the norm.
For outdoor stuff there%26#39;s one of the largest lakes in Indiana nearby, multiple state parks %26amp; forests with smaller lakes/ponds within a short drive (hour or two) and hundreds of thousands of acres of national forest. I grew up camping all the time, used to just load the car up, head to trail head and . . . .
Regarding traffic, I moved back from SF about 10 years ago and immediately gained about an hour/day due to shorter commute time. Even in ';rush hour'; you can get anywhere in town in 15-20 minutes, 30 tops (perhaps as short as 5-10).
Downtown has remained vibrant with shops, eating, etc. (About the only thing missing is a movie theater, although there is a small storefront rep place and a larger theatre that shows occasional movies). The students and associated bars are either a plus or minus (or both), but they do bring in music acts so there are multiple venues with things going on just about every night of the week.
Regarding eating, you probably won%26#39;t find more than a handful of similar size towns with as wide a culinary diversity as Bloomington. In addition to everything you would normally expect, we also have some of the only Tibetan restaurants in the United States (note the plural).
For kids there%26#39;s a good parks %26amp; rec department (both city %26amp; county) as well as all kinds of other things going on. Plenty of city/county parks, a (relatively) large YMCA with plenty of kid oriented activities, etc.
Schools are good and there are a few private options as well. That said, crowding is a bit of an issue (particularly with some age ';bubbles'; at some schools) and unfortunately the MCCSC (main school system) has the shortest day allowed by state law. High schools are good and many opportunities are available because of Indiana University.
The websites listed will provide more information and I%26#39;d be happy to try and provide more specific information as requested.
Hi,
I thought this was interesting because I grew up for 12 years of my life in Phoenix and went to college in Bloomington, Indiana. Now, both were a while ago since it seems like we are the same age, so some things have changed. But I have visited both since I have left (Phoenix for a few of the past Fiesta Bowls and to visit people).
These are the main things that I noticed - please note, these are just what I noticed growing up.
There can be a bit of culture shock for you just due to regional differences.
1. You will not have nearly the Spanish/Native American influence (furniture, houses, jewelry, art, ect.) that you have there, but you will get a multi-cultural mix of people, especially due to the college, so your children will be able to interact with all kinds of people and be exposed to other cultural influences.
2. The weather/change of seasons will be very different; of course you will get four seasons in Indiana and it can be a little depressing with days of gray skies and rain or snow when you are used to sun, sun, sun. I was just so used to sun and lots of outdoor swimming. Now, no problem outdoor swimming in Indiana in the summer, just shorter season for it, and less days of sun. And they don%26#39;t have the ';Dry'; heat - LOL, once over 100 it doesn%26#39;t matter anymore!
3. Even the plant/animal life will be a big difference. Lots of trees, grass, flowers, deer, bird watching, ect. Lots of beautiful parks around Bloomington.
4. Possible that you might find it a little slower pace of life and stangers can be very friendly - just what I found, but might be different now.
With the IU campus right there you will be able to go to university concerts, operas, art museum, archeology museum, community lectures, ect. so there will be many opportunities for culture. When I was there many were free or just a donation of a couple $.
With the parks around Bloomington there are opportunities for camping, hiking, spotting wildlife, picnicing, ect. We loved going to Nashville, Indiana (1/2 hr. from Bloomington) in the fall to see leaves chaning colors, the deer, walk around the shops (not a modern shopping mall), picnic, ect.
When I was taking classes there I was working my way through school and one of my jobs was working with children at the after-school program at one of the local public schools. Back then the teachers seemed very caring and involved. I%26#39;m sure they still are, I don%26#39;t think many would go into that profession if they didn%26#39;t have a special place in their heart for children and making sure they receive a good education.
I agree with another poster, go visit Bloomington and get a feel for it. If you can%26#39;t afford to take your whole family at least you and your wife should try. Tour the IU campus (nice walk), go to the grocery store and check out prices, if you have time go to Nashville, check out the real estate, look at job postings, go to one of the campus museums.
I think you and your family could really like Bloomington, but I also believe you need to visit first so you can make a more informed decision.
If you have any other specific questions about comparisons and want to ask, I will try and answer given my time in both places a few years ago.
Take care and good luck,
Snowbrdgrl
I appreciate the feed back that you all gave. You gave me more ideas and more info that I was looking for.
I grow more tired of the Phx life more and more each day, especially with the long summer right around the corner. I don%26#39;t do the heat here, it literally makes me sick. And the allergies right now, oh...anyway... I%26#39;m hoping my wife and I can get out there soon for a visit and see for ourselves. I';m excited about the possibilities, and going, but also I%26#39;m looking forward to seeing the campus, and the nearby lakes and parks, and I do want to visit Nashville, IN, I looked it up online and it seems like a nice place to visit.
Thanks again,
Ryan
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