Best place to raise a family??? (Columbus: power lines, schools, taxes)

[GaBoy-n-Iraq]

[SIZE=3]Hello Indiana,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] I will be leaving the military in about a year, I’m from Georgia but I’m thinking about maybe moving to another state. I have done a lot of research on Indiana, but would like to know what the residents think. What are some good places (cities) to live? Things like crime, schools, economy, state taxes, cost of living, are all important but a couple of things I’m looking for as well is “hospitality”, a sense of neighbor hood, and politeness. I’m looking for a place that has community events (festivals, parades, carnivals, fairs, concerts), with beautiful scenery, hunting, and fishing. I’m currently in the US Army serving in Iraq, I built power lines before I joined and I’m a (25L) Signal Corp Telecommunications Lineman inside the Army. I will be looking for work in the power lineman or telecommunications field when I separate from the military. My wife is a Registered Nurse (RN) and will be looking for a job as well. So any info on power companies, telephone companies, and hospitals in those areas would be greatly appreciated. Best place to raise a family? So what’s your states “Mayberry”? [/SIZE]

[Capt. Dan]

You had a better idea with Arkansas

[artemis]

NIPSCO is the utility company that spans Northern Indiana (Northern Indiana Public Service Co). My friend's husband has been a lineman for years. For the last 15 yrs or so he has worked on the towers.

Depending on where you live, your wife shouldn't have a problem finding work in Northern Indiana.

[Jay_F]

GAboy,

Columbus IN has a lot of what you are looking for. It has a growing employer base, Brown County woods to the west, many different type of folks from around the world because of all of the multinational companies in the area, TOP FLIGHT events, music, festivals, reasonable cost of living, easy travel to Indy, Cincinnati, and Louisville, and a very large medical center that your wife I'm sure could find a good job.

I find it an interesting mix, and the schools are generally very good. I wish you the best of luck, and thanks for what you are doing in Iraq... I was an 11Z (combat infantry platoon leader), and it was a lot harder telling employers about what skills I could bring to the job... So, I see you can blow up tanks 2 miles away....

Here are a few links I hope you will find helpful.

Columbus, Indiana Convention and Visitors Bureau

Here is a link to Columbus regional hospital, which is rated one of the five best places to work in the state:

Home

And their job ads:

Jobs & Volunteers

Lastly, a Wiki page about Columbus:

Columbus, Indiana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia