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Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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There's actually a significant amount of migration from the poorest parts of KY to Southern Indiana, including the problem towns. A lot of the newcomers are good people but some bring the same attitudes that create the same problems as where they left. My wife's family came from E KY to Salem in the 1960s. Half the second generation of Hoosiers turned out fine and half are unemployed and live in poverty.
I am from Seattle 25 years, and agree it is gorgeous! I grew up in Indiana and it has some of the best State parks I've been to. Turkey Run is fantastic, and Brown County is beautiful in the fall.
Brown County, areas around the Ohio River like New Albany and areas on the Western border with Illinois near Shades and Turkey Run SP are very pretty. Everything else? Meh.
Indianapolis has had good academic infrastructure (grade school through college) for years. Their problem is brain drain. I'm one of them - a Kelley School of Business graduate who wanted so much more than what Indy or Bloomington had to offer.
I think some of the brain drain is connected to the environmental offerings that Indiana has to offer. There are some parts of Indiana that are great, like Turkey Run and Shades, and places in southern and southeastern Indiana (haven't been to the SW part of the state really). Unfortunately, these places pale in comparison to other areas of the country. The Indy metro area is what is driving most of the state in terms of growth. However, that is also a downside as this central part of the state isn't really all that close to some of the more popular outdoor areas. So our outdoor areas are what I would rank as middle of the pack when compared to other places like the Blue Ridge Mountains, S. Utah, N. Arizona, etc..
I'm fourth generation Indy area resident on one side, third generation on the other side. I have a huge extended family and 90% have stayed within the area. Given how the world is changing, how the US is changing in terms of marriage rates, personal debt loads after college, job consolidations (buyouts, mergers), one now has to be open to the idea of having to move to obtain even a job that pays a decent enough amount anymore. Plus, if one wants to live in a very unique area, like popular tourist destinations, they might need unique skills for the few jobs that are stable (ie: Local hospital healthcare jobs, tourist related jobs, etc.)..
You are a good example. You want "so much more." What exactly do you want specifically? Is that how many young people feel? I have early 20 somethings admit their generation is very spoiled on some levels, and they want everything, now, and many think others should pay for it. Mass transit is a good example. Too many young people think every city, no matter the density, should have a NYC level mass transit system. Of course, they want everyone else to pay for it.
I just got back from a beach vacation in NC. Once again, NC is an awesome state. I know of three or four legal/medical professionals out of about ten I spoke with that are heading to that state. The others are going all over, no one state matched the relocation rate that NC had in this case. Two grew up in smaller cities/towns in Indiana from what I recall, one was from Chicago area I think. NC has been a very fast growing state. It offers three metro areas of 1M people or so. It has mountains on one end, beaches on the other. My wife and I have great jobs here in Indiana. Her entire family is spread all over the US, so relocation isn't a big deal. She wouldn't mind moving to a beach area, but our skill set, for now, keeps us here with our good jobs. If we save up enough money over the next decade, we might move, as we could survive on $10/hour jobs and live comfortably. If we decide to stay near a major metro area, even better as our jobs would likely pay more. I'm drawn to mountains, and while I really don't hate large urban areas, I'm more drawn toward smaller cities and towns or suburban areas. However, I can understand why young singles want to live in urban areas, mostly it seems so they can walk to bars and continue to the college tradition of binge drinking and not have to worry about DUIs, costly cab rides, and plus it is closer to the "action" (that they usually want others to pay for in part).
If I change my career, I would do something that is needed US wide. Either something like nursing, or something along the lines of the trades like HVAC/electrician. I wouldn't mind moving to TN, NC, MT, WY, UT, NV, AZ, CO, and maybe even Alaska or Hawaii, though the last two would be very low on the list.
I think some of the brain drain is connected to the environmental offerings that Indiana has to offer. There are some parts of Indiana that are great, like Turkey Run and Shades, and places in southern and southeastern Indiana (haven't been to the SW part of the state really). Unfortunately, these places pale in comparison to other areas of the country. The Indy metro area is what is driving most of the state in terms of growth. However, that is also a downside as this central part of the state isn't really all that close to some of the more popular outdoor areas. So our outdoor areas are what I would rank as middle of the pack when compared to other places like the Blue Ridge Mountains, S. Utah, N. Arizona, etc..
I'm fourth generation Indy area resident on one side, third generation on the other side. I have a huge extended family and 90% have stayed within the area. Given how the world is changing, how the US is changing in terms of marriage rates, personal debt loads after college, job consolidations (buyouts, mergers), one now has to be open to the idea of having to move to obtain even a job that pays a decent enough amount anymore. Plus, if one wants to live in a very unique area, like popular tourist destinations, they might need unique skills for the few jobs that are stable (ie: Local hospital healthcare jobs, tourist related jobs, etc.)..
You are a good example. You want "so much more." What exactly do you want specifically? Is that how many young people feel? I have early 20 somethings admit their generation is very spoiled on some levels, and they want everything, now, and many think others should pay for it. Mass transit is a good example. Too many young people think every city, no matter the density, should have a NYC level mass transit system. Of course, they want everyone else to pay for it.
I just got back from a beach vacation in NC. Once again, NC is an awesome state. I know of three or four legal/medical professionals out of about ten I spoke with that are heading to that state. The others are going all over, no one state matched the relocation rate that NC had in this case. Two grew up in smaller cities/towns in Indiana from what I recall, one was from Chicago area I think. NC has been a very fast growing state. It offers three metro areas of 1M people or so. It has mountains on one end, beaches on the other. My wife and I have great jobs here in Indiana. Her entire family is spread all over the US, so relocation isn't a big deal. She wouldn't mind moving to a beach area, but our skill set, for now, keeps us here with our good jobs. If we save up enough money over the next decade, we might move, as we could survive on $10/hour jobs and live comfortably. If we decide to stay near a major metro area, even better as our jobs would likely pay more. I'm drawn to mountains, and while I really don't hate large urban areas, I'm more drawn toward smaller cities and towns or suburban areas. However, I can understand why young singles want to live in urban areas, mostly it seems so they can walk to bars and continue to the college tradition of binge drinking and not have to worry about DUIs, costly cab rides, and plus it is closer to the "action" (that they usually want others to pay for in part).
If I change my career, I would do something that is needed US wide. Either something like nursing, or something along the lines of the trades like HVAC/electrician. I wouldn't mind moving to TN, NC, MT, WY, UT, NV, AZ, CO, and maybe even Alaska or Hawaii, though the last two would be very low on the list.
I grew up about 40 miles from the western NC border and I agree it's fabulous. NC offers really almost everything in its borders, and that is one of the reasons so many move there. The flip side of that is when a market gets hot, competition for jobs increases and wages go down.
I think some of the brain drain is connected to the environmental offerings that Indiana has to offer. There are some parts of Indiana that are great, like Turkey Run and Shades, and places in southern and southeastern Indiana (haven't been to the SW part of the state really). Unfortunately, these places pale in comparison to other areas of the country. The Indy metro area is what is driving most of the state in terms of growth. However, that is also a downside as this central part of the state isn't really all that close to some of the more popular outdoor areas. So our outdoor areas are what I would rank as middle of the pack when compared to other places like the Blue Ridge Mountains, S. Utah, N. Arizona, etc..
You are a good example. You want "so much more." What exactly do you want specifically? Is that how many young people feel? I have early 20 somethings admit their generation is very spoiled on some levels, and they want everything, now, and many think others should pay for it. Mass transit is a good example. Too many young people think every city, no matter the density, should have a NYC level mass transit system. Of course, they want everyone else to pay for it.
I mentioned some of what I wanted in my post. I'm not young (by standard definitions) at 39. I was married to an Indy native and lived in Fishers, and just realized that the entire area was just way too sanitized for my liking. One thing I realized that I highly desire is a walkable city. Another is cultural diversity. Indy is neither walkable nor culturally diverse. My ex eventually revealed that she wanted to build a family and move to Greenfield. I wanted no part of that, and so after divorcing I took a job opportunity in Orlando where I met wife 2.0. Orlando is much more culturally diverse, and is slowly beginning to take on the responsibility of making the metro area more walkable and accessible via public transport. They started SunRail (which Indy needs badly also), but the older people who are set in their ways and attached to their cars fought it tooth and nail for years. I wouldn't mind paying extra for those, but that's because I view myself as someone who would gain tremendous benefit from it.
I gave up an Infiniti G37 when we moved from Orlando to SF. I love cars, but we're saddled with my wife's older Prius for now, and I might use it once or twice a week to drive to work. I kinda miss the car, but only when public transport is having a terrible day.
I work in bank software, so being around an area with more technically savvy people is a huge draw as well.
Honestly, the toughest part of living in CA is finding people who are as basketball-savvy and crazed as I am. That's something you find plenty of in the IN/KY area. We're actually saving more money now despite paying $2,500 for a 600 sq ft apartment than we did in Orlando. COL is relative, and you can actually do quite well out here if you're willing to work for it.
I actually was rebutting the comments that Indiana was ugly overall. I didn't have expectations when I lived there, but I sought out the pretty parts. As most people (I think) understand is that beauty can have varying levels. There are some incredibly pretty areas of Brown County, but they don't hold a candle to the Big Sur area in California. However, that doesn't diminish the value of a nice vista in southern Indiana.
Indiana COULD have a big city and a big population, but I think the natives were against that, and thus elected officials who would moderate growth. Industrial diversity has helped Indy, but smaller towns didn't have that diversity and are now incredibly poor. Southeastern Indiana might as well be as bad as parts of West Virginia now. Take Memphis and Scott, Clark, Jackson, Perry and Washington counties with all of the HIV outbreaks. I think that harms Indy indirectly, as well as Louisville, but not to the same degree since it's not in the same state.
I'm probably a Type B+ personality. More of an opportunistic go-getter than balls-to-the-wall workworkwork attitude that pervades NYC and my now hometown of San Francisco. However, the drive to leave Indiana was more of the attitude of the people more than the climate. I don't really get caught up in the political battles, and there are just as many close minded liberals out here in SF as there are conservatives who operate the same way in Indiana, but the lack of population diversity creates a lack of diverse opinions and attitudes, which in my opinion holds back growth. I feel much more comfortable around a bunch of different cultures who intermingle versus Indy which is generally whites and blacks who rarely co-mingle.
I feel Louisville, while having similar demographics, is more open to diversity than Indy. That's just my observation having lived in both cities at one point in my life. Neither area has a strong influx of non-natives, so the areas can be more cliquish as a result, making it tougher on newcomers.
I believe Indy is slightly more liberal and open than Louisville with a liberal haven nearby in Bloomington. Sure, Louisville's Highland neighborhood might be bigger than Broad Ripple but Indy still has more of urban feeling to it. I really like Hoosier Hospitality you see in Indiana.
Speaking of cliquish due to a strong influx of non-natives, try living in East Tennessee, especially Knoxville. During graduate school, all of my friends were from out of state. Former classmates who are TN natives wouldn't do anything outside school; they prefer to hang out with people they know from high school, church, and through family.
Last edited by SciFiNerd1; 07-09-2015 at 08:28 AM..
I believe Indy is slightly more liberal and open than Louisville with a liberal haven nearby in Bloomington. Sure, Louisville's Highland neighborhood might be bigger than Broad Ripple but Indy still has more of urban feeling to it. I really like Hoosier Hospitality you see in Indiana.
Speaking of cliquish due to a strong influx of non-natives, try living in East Tennessee, especially Knoxville. During graduate school, all of my friends were from out of state. Former classmates who are TN natives wouldn't do anything outside school; they prefer to hang out with people they know from high school, church, and through family.
I think you are wrong here. Not only is Louisville more liberal, but it is also more urban. Louisville is like a bigger city version of Bloomington. That is because for much of its history, Louisville was the larger built urban environment than Indy, namely in the 19th century and the early 20th century. The reason Indy feels larger I think is a more dense downtown with less surface parking and a substantially larger metro (mainly due to places like Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood, Avon, etc). I will give you that. But Indy cannot hold a candle to the urban neighborhoods of Louisville. It is not only Highlands. Indy cannot match Old Louisville, Nulu, Germantown, Clifton, Crescent Hill, or even parts of Beechmont, New Albany, Jeffersonville downtown, or Butchertown.
I think you are wrong here. Not only is Louisville more liberal, but it is also more urban. Louisville is like a bigger city version of Bloomington. That is because for much of its history, Louisville was the larger built urban environment than Indy, namely in the 19th century and the early 20th century. The reason Indy feels larger I think is a more dense downtown with less surface parking and a substantially larger metro (mainly due to places like Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood, Avon, etc). I will give you that. But Indy cannot hold a candle to the urban neighborhoods of Louisville. It is not only Highlands. Indy cannot match Old Louisville, Nulu, Germantown, Clifton, Crescent Hill, or even parts of Beechmont, New Albany, Jeffersonville downtown, or Butchertown.
Oh, c'mon! Louisville homer v. Indy homer?? We don't get enough of that on C-D!
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