Potential move to Bloomington

[rrah]

kyle--I've been out of town for several days, so am a little behind on weighing in here as the local B-ton person. Yes, it is a great place to live. If you're willing to work as a waiter or bartender in something that is not fine dining, you should be okay finding work. There are some finer dining establishments, I'm just not sure what the needs are there for employees. I suspect they've been hit a bit hard lately. Two of the more unique places have recently closed down.

In terms of a gourmet to go type establishment--interesting idea. I do think there is one place that does something similar. I don't know though because the parking, which I would think is key for a "to go" type establishment, is less than ideal so I've never tried it. IMO, as someone that might consider a gourmet to go option, I think parking is crucial. If I'm picking up dinner to go, I don't want to have to drive around looking for parking and then walk a few blocks to pick up my food. I want convenience. This would probably mean you need to be away from downtown, but then the issue of who is your market comes into play. Away from downtown and you may need to forego the student market. Again, this is just one Bloomington consumer's opinion though.

[kyle19125]

Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback. I'm still planning the move but waiting for the "economic downturn" to end. I have to sell my house and don't want to do it now and have few offers to deal with. Though at least in Philadelphia we're seeing signs of an end in sight. Hopefully I can put my house on the market by the end of summer.

Does anyone have any recommendations of rental housing? I would want a smaller two bedroom house (older with some character), or if unavailable in a non-student area
(grad students are fine, just not undergrads!)...a townhouse/condo in a more adult setting separate from the student 'hoods. Thanks.

[rrah]

Many of the older rentals such as you describe are in student neighborhoods. The Bryan Park area might be a possiblity as it attracts a bit more mature crowd than closer to campus. One thing to know is that many rentals are from August to August or May to May. You maybe able to find a sublet though from someone graduating in December. Be leary of craigslist ads as there are quite a few scams on there.

I can't really name particular townhouse/condo places (it's been many years since I've looked for a rental so just don't know the names), but I generally can tell by location if it's likely to be populated by undergrads.

[Troubleshooter]

What you will not like is the 20,000 people unemployed in the area, because several factories in Bloomington, Martinsville, and Bedford closed.

We have daylight-stupid time. We are an hour ahead of the sun in winter, and two hours ahead in the summer, because some TV stations wanted to be on New York time. This costs us more in energy.

[tooningBlom]

Bloomington:
1. Jobs, jobs, jobs: COOK, Inc. (medical manufacturer), I.U., any local restaurant, and construction -- this town is growing!
2. Get cable TV or Dish -- the only channel here is PBS and that gets really boring
3. Find a place to live in advance -- we get 40,000 students living in town every year
4. Visit first to get a feel for the town
5. Beware of all the one-way streets downtown
Bloomington is a charming town -- they even have those old-fashioned iron-cast lampposts lining the streets downtown! I just wish there were more to do in Bloomington, but then again I'm from St. Louis and city life is awesome. As far as shopping goes, it's OK. There's a small mall on the eastside of town about 2 miles from downtown and a few stores downtown, a Target, a Wal*Mart, K-Mart, Kroger, Marsh and CVS. I just miss my skyscrapers and noise. But do visit at least for the heck of it!

[old neighbor]

You will be competing for jobs with a large pool of available service sector labor due to students and IU hangers on, which affects wages. It is a peaceful and stimulating place to live. Much to do, great restaurants and entertainment of an incredible variety for a town of Bloomington's size. Gay friendly and liberal. The whole town is good, but the east side is more "gown" and the west side more "town". Native culture of the area is a blend of midwest and south.