Has anyone moved from CALIF to Indiana? INPUT PLEASE (Bloomington: unemployment rate, earthquakes)

[redhd7]

I know I have said it before but after 9 months here we still love it! I haven't had any desire to go back to Ca and actually got my mother to come out here in late May instead of our flying back. I do miss my Mexican food but we have found places here that are good enough. We have found some excellent restaurants in Carmel and Ft.Wayne. We spent the Summer and Fall outdoors in the parks and I can not wait to get out there again.
We were able to acclimate really well. Yes winter was cold but I found many days that a light jacket was fine because the sun was shinning.
The town we live in is kind of a valley and so most of the weather seems to pass us by. We didn't get nearly enough snow for my taste, most days the snow never stuck and once we got a 5 inch accumulation but other then that it was less then an inch. We had thunderstorms the other day and were in heaven! I always wanted more thunderstorms but they rarely happen in So Cal.
Since getting here I started volunteering at my sons school and it has helped me meet people. Most people have been really nice. It has been hard making friends but I can honestly say it was, in a lot of ways, my fault. Another family moved here one month before we did from So Cal, actually quite near where we were from. They have been able to make many friends but they are more outgoing then DH and I. DH and I grew up in neighborhoods where you didn't look at other people unless you knew them. I grew up in an area that by the time I got to high school had a number of gangs, the other family grew up in the better areas.
To sum up all my ramblings, we love it here. Our kids love it here. It is not perfect but it is charming and warm, like a cozy fire in the winter. I love driving through the country side. If I want Del Taco we take a day to visit Notre Dame and then go down the street and have some food from home.
The only thing we need out here is in In & Out!!!!

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by redhd7

I know I have said it before but after 9 months here we still love it! I haven't had any desire to go back to Ca and actually got my mother to come out here in late May instead of our flying back. I do miss my Mexican food but we have found places here that are good enough. We have found some excellent restaurants in Carmel and Ft.Wayne. We spent the Summer and Fall outdoors in the parks and I can not wait to get out there again.
We were able to acclimate really well. Yes winter was cold but I found many days that a light jacket was fine because the sun was shinning.
The town we live in is kind of a valley and so most of the weather seems to pass us by. We didn't get nearly enough snow for my taste, most days the snow never stuck and once we got a 5 inch accumulation but other then that it was less then an inch. We had thunderstorms the other day and were in heaven! I always wanted more thunderstorms but they rarely happen in So Cal.
Since getting here I started volunteering at my sons school and it has helped me meet people. Most people have been really nice. It has been hard making friends but I can honestly say it was, in a lot of ways, my fault. Another family moved here one month before we did from So Cal, actually quite near where we were from. They have been able to make many friends but they are more outgoing then DH and I. DH and I grew up in neighborhoods where you didn't look at other people unless you knew them. I grew up in an area that by the time I got to high school had a number of gangs, the other family grew up in the better areas.
To sum up all my ramblings, we love it here. Our kids love it here. It is not perfect but it is charming and warm, like a cozy fire in the winter. I love driving through the country side. If I want Del Taco we take a day to visit Notre Dame and then go down the street and have some food from home.
The only thing we need out here is in In & Out!!!!

I guess Jack in the Box is coming to Indiana ...

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by domergurl

I guess Jack in the Box is coming to Indiana ...

Yep. Yawn.

[Toxic Toast]

I am not afraid to say it; I LOVE Jack in the Box.

[Charmedlife357]

When you havent had it for a while, Jack-in-the-box starts looking really good.

[Stubbzilla]

96th Street Burgers is a pretty good In N Out substitute.

Five Guys Burgers is not the same style of burger, but is incredibly good. I think it's my new favorite.

I also grew up in an area where you were careful not to look at people when you were out. Too risky. I still do it here to some extent, because old habits die hard. We have worked hard to be friendly with neighbors and we actually know some of them. Our neighbors are very friendly, though - most of them are not from CA.

[JAPP]

Which reminds me... I need to make time for an InNOut binge before I leave San Diego on 4/1

I don't eat it often, but InNOut has always been one of my favorite fast-food places.

Jack in the Box does not compare!

[casualsurfer]

Originally Posted by JAPP

Which reminds me... I need to make time for an InNOut binge before I leave San Diego on 4/1

I don't eat it often, but InNOut has always been one of my favorite fast-food places.

Jack in the Box does not compare!

OMG In-N-Out rulez! double double animal style with extra onions plus light fries FTW!!

don't knock JIB - they don't have that here and i miss the value/variety.

[casualsurfer]

Originally Posted by LIS123

Is the job market in Indy really that bad? I was a bit surprised to see that the unemployment rate in Indiana was at 8.2% towards the end of 2008 and the most recent figure was 9.2% Which industries are doing particularly poorly or well in the area?

i can't speak for other industries, but if you are in pharma/biotech or healthcare (RN/MD) then there might be some good jobs available here; if you're in mfg, especially the MANUFACTURING part of it (i.e. doing the actual work), then that may be a problem. indy's job market isn't as diverse as other places, so there's a cascading effect that can be amplified by this lack of diversity as the economy slows.

some of my friends are RNs, and they're raking in the big bucks while working 3~4 days a week (12 hour shifts though).

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by casualsurfer

i can't speak for other industries, but if you are in pharma/biotech or healthcare (RN/MD) then there might be some good jobs available here; if you're in mfg, especially the MANUFACTURING part of it (i.e. doing the actual work), then that may be a problem. indy's job market isn't as diverse as other places, so there's a cascading effect that can be amplified by this lack of diversity as the economy slows.

some of my friends are RNs, and they're raking in the big bucks while working 3~4 days a week (12 hour shifts though).

I'm moving to Indy for grad school and am likely to look for work in Pharma and related fields once done with school. As you say, I've heard Indy is strong in these fields.

Do you have any insight as to why Indiana as a whole has seen its unemployment rate skyrocket the past few months? I think they're in the top 10 nationwide in unemployment (right around # 10). Seeing that came as a bit of a surprise to me.