Moving to Bloomington from the south: Good idea?

I have a job opportunity in Bloomington; however, I%26#39;m concerned about the potential cultural shock my family (especially my wife) may experience. We live in a west texas college town which is part of the bible belt and very conservative. I have three kids (10 and under). I would appreciate some advice to help us make a decision. Here are some questions I still have:

Where to live? Want excellent schools, conservative lifestyle, lots of families. I%26#39;ve heard the Greenwood area is good, but that is quite a commute.

Is there little league baseball? :) We are big baseball fans and have some very talented kids.

What is there to do (with kids)?

ANY OTHER helpful advice would be appreciated.

Moving to Bloomington from the south: Good idea?

I%26#39;m going to post a couple of sites fast in case they close this since ';moving'; questions aren%26#39;t really allowed on Trip Advisor.

You can always ask again about travel to Bloomington with kids. :-)

Official Bloomington Visitor%26#39;s Site:

http://www.visitbloomington.com/

--------

WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology

P.O. Box 996

Bloomington, IN

web site: www.wonderlab.org

Moving to Bloomington from the south: Good idea?

This info might help, but so far I haven%26#39;t seen one in Bloomington. I%26#39;d be surprised if they didn%26#39;t have it though!

www.littleleague.org/findingaleague.asp

Relocation Info:

www.visitbloomington.com/static/index.cfm…

I sent you a message because I thought this thread would be closed down quickly. In case you haven%26#39;t gotten it, Bloomington has a lot to offer, from cultural events to outdoor recreation. I would not describe it as a conservative town, however.

Best of luck with your decsion-making!

Lily

I went to school in Bloomington, and have family in West Texas. Yes, it%26#39;ll be a bit of a culture shock, but not too bad. There will be plenty for your kids, and the schools in Bloomington are good.

I would recommend Greenwood over Bloomington. I have lived in Bloomington for nearly 4 years. This not a family friendly town and is very liberal, they have a very vibrant homosexual community, hippies, and your random protests and such.

I work in Greenwood, they have excellent schools. Center Grove seems to be one of their best schools. It is a conservative area with excellent shopping. Most people I know in Bloomington drive up to Greenwood to go shopping as the mall here is very small and many stores (JC Penney, Nordstrom, Toys R Us, Circuit City, etc.) don%26#39;t exist here in Bloomington. You%26#39;d also be very close to Indianapolis and would be able to enjoy the sports teams and restaurants there.

I honestly can%26#39;t recommend Greenwood enough, it%26#39;s really a great place for families, they have so much to do and it%26#39;s an expanding community, new stires and homes are always going up. Bloomington is certainly not a place where I would want to raise children. As soon as my wife graduates from IU, we are out of here. It%26#39;s not that I hate it, but again, it%26#39;s not a place for kids or couples starting out their lives.

I%26#39;m going to TRY to make this brief.

Indiana as a whole would definitely be considered part of the bible belt and is a very conservative state (last went democratic for the President in 1964 - along with the rest of the country). That said, Bloomington is one of a few islands of liberalism in an otherwise conservative state.

It is worth noting that the same holds true on a more local level. Monroe County (in which Bloomington is located) and the surrounding counties %26amp; cities are generally conservative (albeit somewhat ';tainted'; by the Bloomington ';overflow,'; some more than others).

Bloomington has good public schools (two systems: MCCSC and Richland Bean Blossom) and there are private alternatives that might meet your needs if you consider the public education too liberal (St. Charles %26amp; Lighthouse Christian Academy come to mind).

Can%26#39;t help you re: little league. Do know that both Bloomington and Monroe County have good Parks %26amp; Rec departments with loads of very nice facilities. (Including at least two major baseball/softball facilities).

There are TONS of things to do with children (I have an 11 year old). Won%26#39;t go into details since I don%26#39;t know your focus or interests, but they includes all kinds of outdoor activities, museums, sports, libraries, music, etc.

Personally, there is no way I would consider living in Greenwood if I worked in Bloomington; you%26#39;re talking a good hour or more each way - I would rather spend the time with my family then driving. But then I don%26#39;t have a problem living in Bloomington proper.

Without knowing more of your concerns, criteria, etc. I can%26#39;t say what I%26#39;d recommend, but would suggest you consider some of the closer towns in the surrounding counties (Bedford, Martinsville, Nashville, Bloomfield %26amp; Spencer come to mind immediately). Most of these would be more like 15 to 30 minute trips to get to Bloomington.

Also, consider Ellettsville (sp?) it is a smaller town in Monroe County (rapidly becoming a ';twin-city'; with Bloomington as they grow together). It is more conservative and has a separate school system (Richland Bean Blossom) from Bloomington.

About the only other suggestion I can think of is to contact a Bloomington ';branch'; of your church (presuming there is one, which is likely). I would guess they would be more than willing to help you in general and you could probably speak with some members (who values are presumably in line with yours) regarding their thoughts on Bloomington, the amount of culture shock you might expect, et cetera.

Hope this is helpful (okay, it wasn%26#39;t that brief, but . . . )

It only takes me 45 minutes to commute to Greenwood from Bloomington.

Congratulations. Are you trying to imply that is a typical figure, maximum figure, or that the hour or more figure I mentioned would be impossible?

The question I ask and which would be helpful for scepica is, do you consider your commute typical? Perhaps it is, I don%26#39;t drive Bloomington/Greenwood on a daily basis.

I do know that when I drive to Greenwood from Bloomington, I allocate an hour at least an hour and I%26#39;m rarely doing it when there is anything approaching commute time traffic (not to imply it ever gets to say, LA standards, but . . .).

Yes, it sometimes takes a little less/sometimes a little more but I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s unreasonable to warn him he could have an hour commute.

Heck, I don%26#39;t speed (too much), I live on the south side of Bloomington and have been known to make a pit stop - maybe that%26#39;s why it can take me an hour or more.

huntlawoffices remarks were spot on and he gave excellent, unbiased information.

Hippies? All univerity towns have a few of those.I did some volunteer work in Bloomington for several years on a regular basis. I%26#39;ve never noticed them teeming the streets of Bloomington! It%26#39;s a college town!

Btw, I went to Purdue and I think Bloomington is a great town! I%26#39;d have no qualms whatsoever about raising a family there.