Help me convince my wife to move to Springfield?

[littlemonkeys]

I will add though that the Springfield library system is fantastic. I especially love that they have drive throughs! I can reserve books online and then just drive and pick them up. There are also fun things to do for the kids at the library. That's at least one positive your wife might enjoy.

[littlemonkeys]

I also just now reread and saw that you are of middle eastern descent. I hate to say it but you should know upfront that this is probably an area where you would experience some prejudice in that regard and your children as well. People here tend towards a little close mindedness and suspicion towards those that are different and you are especially at a handicap not being Christian.

[Wanderer0101]

Have to say that anyone from NY who loves Boston is not going to be happy in Springfield. I like visiting both places but you couldn't pay me to live there so I'm completely opposite. I think you're swimming upstream on this one.

[christina0001]

I would suggest taking a week's vacation (or at least a long weekend) with the family to explore Springfield a little further. Maybe your friends can help convince her by showing the two of you a good time while visiting.

Honestly, your wife's wish list does not jive with what Springfield has to offer, IMO. You mention "restaurants, culture, diversity..." I am from New Jersey and Springfield IMO is what I call white-bread boring; the vast majority of the population is exactly the same: white, Christian, and they love their home cooked Midwestern food. They think cashew chicken is Asian. *sigh* I'm not knocking Springfield, it's a nice town, but it just does not sound like your wife would be happy there. I agree with the above poster that suggested making marriage/happy wife a priority over a job in Springfield. There are other places with good jobs.

[Flyover_Country]

I have a few pieces of advice:

1. There is an old saying, "happy wife, happy life." Wives will nearly always make their husbands miserable if they doesn't like where they are living even if the husband loves it. She will in the typical very roundabout female way tell you where she wants to move if you pay attention.

2. I am sure I am preaching to the choir but DO NOT TAKE A JOB YOU HAVE ANY RESERVATIONS ABOUT as you are a physician. Leaving your contract early is an expensive and painful process with all of the clawbacks that are in most if not all of the physician contracts in the area, and you can't exactly move across town to another group/hospital system due to everybody having noncompetes as well.

3. If this is possible with your family and specialty situation, why not do some locums work somewhere in Springfield to see if you like the area? That will be the best way to tell if you like the area from a personal and professional standpoint without making a significant commitment.

[OneHappyMan]

Folks, thanks a million! I agree with everything you said. Just like some of you suggested, we are going to revisit the town though. Little Monkey, thanks for addressing that piece of our concern. Flyover, thanks for drawing my attention to that side of the story and your great suggestion.

[aprilgirl51]

I've lived in Kansas City and St. Louis and find both nice cities with many of the amenities your wife wants; however, they are not cities that never sleep like Manhattan or Boston. Springfield is a small but growing city that has some ethnic restaurants, beautiful parks, great schools, city-like traffic, very nice and accepting people and wholesome food straight from the many farmers markets in the area. You can also buy farm direct meat and eggs at local shops and very healthy milk and ice cream from Braums. Andy's frozen custard has treats that are coveted statewide. No Costco just yet but we do have two Sam's Clubs. There are churches that will welcome you and offer friendship even though you are not of the Christian faith, including a nice Unitarian church, a good place to start. This is a beautiful area but I wouldn't call it a hotbed of sophistication, although there is sophistication here. The public schools, especially in neighboring Christian county are outstanding...and that's only about an 8 mile drive. The best private schools are Catholic. There are good private pre-schools. Our local hospitals are among the best and I speak from experience after a quad by-pass at Mercy last March.

There is always so much to do here with the beautiful parks, bike and walking trails, water activities, university concerts and sports, etc. There's an entire activities section in the local paper that always is several pages long. There's plenty to do locally and in areas not that far from here. You're only 3 1/2 hours from KC or St. Louis for the large museums, elegant shopping and plenty of ethnic cuisine. There's also a direct flight to Chicago for quick weekend trips to the Windy City and direct flights to Vegas for the major gambling fix, although smaller casinos are not that far away.

When you come back, forget the downtown except for the monthly art walk or night life if that's your cup of tea. The druggies come out at night and it's not the best place to be even though it is getting better with the growth of a loft living community in that area. Your contacts at the hospital will gladly give you some good dining suggestions, and I recommend a good middle eastern meal at Gem of India, Italian at Brunos, Chinese at Mr. Yens. and others.

Good luck with this decision. I am a believer that you'll find what you need anyplace you are if you seek it. Welcome to the area if you decide to join us.

[OneHappyMan]

AprilGirl, I appreciate your post, it was a very good piece of information. Again, thank you all. You have been of great help to me...

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by aprilgirl51

I've lived in Kansas City and St. Louis and find both nice cities with many of the amenities your wife wants; however, they are not cities that never sleep like Manhattan or Boston. Springfield is a small but growing city that has some ethnic restaurants, beautiful parks, great schools, city-like traffic, very nice and accepting people and wholesome food straight from the many farmers markets in the area. You can also buy farm direct meat and eggs at local shops and very healthy milk and ice cream from Braums. Andy's frozen custard has treats that are coveted statewide. No Costco just yet but we do have two Sam's Clubs. There are churches that will welcome you and offer friendship even though you are not of the Christian faith, including a nice Unitarian church, a good place to start. This is a beautiful area but I wouldn't call it a hotbed of sophistication, although there is sophistication here. The public schools, especially in neighboring Christian county are outstanding...and that's only about an 8 mile drive. The best private schools are Catholic. There are good private pre-schools. Our local hospitals are among the best and I speak from experience after a quad by-pass at Mercy last March.

There is always so much to do here with the beautiful parks, bike and walking trails, water activities, university concerts and sports, etc. There's an entire activities section in the local paper that always is several pages long. There's plenty to do locally and in areas not that far from here. You're only 3 1/2 hours from KC or St. Louis for the large museums, elegant shopping and plenty of ethnic cuisine. There's also a direct flight to Chicago for quick weekend trips to the Windy City and direct flights to Vegas for the major gambling fix, although smaller casinos are not that far away.

When you come back, forget the downtown except for the monthly art walk or night life if that's your cup of tea. The druggies come out at night and it's not the best place to be even though it is getting better with the growth of a loft living community in that area. Your contacts at the hospital will gladly give you some good dining suggestions, and I recommend a good middle eastern meal at Gem of India, Italian at Brunos, Chinese at Mr. Yens. and others.

Good luck with this decision. I am a believer that you'll find what you need anyplace you are if you seek it. Welcome to the area if you decide to join us.