Letters to the Editor
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Judging by the letters here...
... there is no part of the US that is much good to live.
Probably the only solution is to move overseas. Minsk is supposed to be a nice city.
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life in Indianapolis
"But in terms of actually living in the Midwest as a transplant couple with no kids - meeting people, particularly native Midwest people - and making friends can be very slow. (note - should you choose to move to Madison this again would be different because the city's population is all more transient due to the university) However, the people who populate much of the Midwest are people who grew up there. People who have family and friends in town who've been there for years. People who aren't always looking for new friends. And often the people easiest to meet will be other transplants like yourself."
Cresyd has nailed it, at least here in Indianapolis. My husband and I grew up in Illinois, moved to Dallas for a few years, and now are in Indianapolis. It was a tossup between Northern CA and Indianapolis when we left Dallas, and Indy's closer to all the relatives.
It seemed like nobody we met was actually from Dallas, so most people were eager and ready to make friends. Here, it's been a looooong slow struggle, and because although folks are genuinely nice here, most of the people we meet have never lived anywhere else, and they do already have a full circle of friends and family around them. Because they've mostly always lived right here, there's also a pervasive complacency and frequent lack of interest and closedmindedness about new things, new ideas, new friends that is really frustrating. I think if we were churchgoers or had kids, we'd have a much easier time. For a long time we thought it must just be us, but I have heard the same thing from other transplants.
The upside to Indy is that the city's working hard to welcome arts and culture and is having good success with it, we have a downtown that's fun, safe and very lively day or night, and people are genuinely friendly and pleased to have you here. I know that sounds contradictory to what I said above, but both are true. I can't tell you how many times when I told people we'd just moved here, they replied with a hearty "Well, welcome to Indy!" or "Welcome to Indiana!"
Also, be aware that most of the Midwest is very, very conservative, and yes, unless you're in Chicago, public transportation does suck so you'll definitely need a car. There is a lack of diversity (although that seems to be changing slowly). Chain restaurants serving mediocre food are the norm, so you'd probably miss the fresh, tasty and healthy fare that's being dished up all around you now.
Finally, visit wherever you're considering for a week in February and then see how you feel about it. But also come check out October, because it's beautiful here right now.
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You can't sneeze in Austin nowdays without getting spittle on a Californian
They're pretty easy to spot. They're usually the ones cutting you off on the freeway, making ridiculous demands at the local diner, driving up the cost of living to the point that all the locals have to leave, and generally making my beloved city a more miserable place to live everyday.
So my question is, if Californians are coming here to escape California, where do I go to escape Californians? Don't tell Hell. I've already been to Orange County.
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starting out
if you have the experience of being invited to a small welcome dinner in which the host systematically goes through your pockets for strategies to embarrass you and see what kinds of manipulative things they can figure out to do to you, realize you might have an interesting time in that community.
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I say go ahead and move!
Just please don't come to Austin. We already have way too many Californicators.
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starting out
also realize and the sooner the better that the host is a sick jerk, who if they have any friends it is not for very good reasons.
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movin' on!
folks....the internet is a wonderful resource for everything from gourmet coffee to exotic buffalo steaks - so deprivation for the finer things is no longer a concern!
move out and move on. i too am looking for a reason to get out of Los Angeles and live a sweeter life free from the narcissistic lifestyles of the sick and infamous.
good luck - just make sure you save up for a good snow-blower. or at least put the chains on the tires. it's a small price to pay for sanity.
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If you go, go NOW
When my husband and I got married, he wanted to move "home" to a state full of small towns, genuine people, and natural beauty. But, the economy in his home state was bad, and where we were had a booming economy with jobs for both of us. So we waited 10 years to move.
I regret that now. In those ten years, we made friends, put down roots, bought a home, and got involved in our community. *Then* we moved, far away to a different climate and a different way of life. He's thriving - he's from here. But I have been heartbroken to lose the life I'd built over the last 10 years. I don't make friends easily, and prefer to have a few very close friends. So it's been lonely.
This is a wonderful place - beautiful, great pace of life, with honest, friendly people, and many ways to get involved in the community. If I were not so sad for the life I left behind, I would be very happy here. So if you think you'd like to move to the Midwest, go NOW, when you are still in the building-a-life-together stage of your life. With all the financial struggles we would have faced had we moved here earlier, at that time my heart was free to fall in love with a new place.
If you long to put down roots, put them someplace you'd like to keep them. Uprooting later is hard to do, even if your roots are not in the type of soil you like the best.