St. Louis, right place for me?

[billiken]

Originally Posted by WRC5

Don't think there is amtrack to anywhere in Iowa that would be close to any family I don't think. MegaBus may be possible...are tickets dirt cheap and how often do they go?

Tickets are dirt cheap (as low as $1 if you book early enough). Stops in Iowa (Des Moines and Iowa City). Runs somewhat frequently (I want to say 4-5 times a day or something in STL).

[FrankMiller]

Originally Posted by WRC5

That's sort of the problem. Have zero idea on what I want to do. I love sports, would love to work in the sports industry if there's anyway, or the media side of it, but i have no idea really. I have no idea about buses/trains that would go from where to where in this country. That'd actually be pretty cool to hear about, because although I love flying, the costs are ridiculous and I wouldn't want to do it while in college more than once or twice a year tops.

Well, you can look for schools with a sports management program. I know Spalding (in St. Louis) has at least one local partnership for that purpose.

Originally Posted by billiken

On the train topic: Your option is Amtrak. Downside: they share the tracks with freight traffic, which has priority. Leads to unpredictable delays at times.

That's not quite right. Amtrak has priority, but it depends on the freight being able to fit onto whatever sidings are available. For example, the Missouri River Runner's on-time percentage went way up when the sidings were expanded by Obama's train thing a few years ago.

[WRC5]

Originally Posted by billiken

Tickets are dirt cheap (as low as $1 if you book early enough). Stops in Iowa (Des Moines and Iowa City). Runs somewhat frequently (I want to say 4-5 times a day or something in STL).

Sounds like a solid option than. $1? lol.

Originally Posted by FrankMiller

Well, you can look for schools with a sports management program. I know Spalding (in St. Louis) has at least one local partnership for that purpose.

That's not quite right. Amtrak has priority, but it depends on the freight being able to fit onto whatever sidings are available. For example, the Missouri River Runner's on-time percentage went way up when the sidings were expanded by Obama's train thing a few years ago.

I hear awful things about sports management though, that's kind of the problem. Think i'd be more into going into a different direction that would make me viable in some way for working for a sports team. Just have no idea what. Doesn't help that math isn't my strongest subject.

[FrankMiller]

Originally Posted by WRC5

I hear awful things about sports management though, that's kind of the problem. Think i'd be more into going into a different direction that would make me viable in some way for working for a sports team. Just have no idea what. Doesn't help that math isn't my strongest subject.

The Top 10 Sports Careers for Non-Athletes | The Best Schools

I think you'll be well-served figuring out some things you might like to do, and making sure you have schooling options available, before you choose a city. It might narrow things down a little.

[Caesarstl]

You said you're near Des Moines so I assume you've been there at least a few times, do you like it? What do you like/dislike about it? As others have said the best thing to do is focus on your education, so figure that out first/make it your priority. Cost for school... crazy expensive in the US... St. Louis has some great schools (I went to one actually) and it was awesome as a student (tons of attractions with a lot of things being free or inexpensive), but the best/most enjoyable are private and very expensive unless you have serious scholarships. As for public schools and instate tuition, does your state/area have any kind of reciprocity with other states? I know of quite a few states/counties that offer this to neighbors, def something to check out!

As for St. Louis in general, you mentioned sports and big city offerings at a low cost, well St. Louis does these two things very, very well in my opinion. As another poster mentioned, you have to find the tradeoff you want. Chicago: top dog but of course the most expensive/stressful, following this direction you then have the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincy, etc.

[WRC5]

Originally Posted by FrankMiller

The Top 10 Sports Careers for Non-Athletes | The Best Schools

I think you'll be well-served figuring out some things you might like to do, and making sure you have schooling options available, before you choose a city. It might narrow things down a little.

Yeah, i'll have to look into things more extensively I guess. Just tough to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life.

Originally Posted by Caesarstl

You said you're near Des Moines so I assume you've been there at least a few times, do you like it? What do you like/dislike about it? As others have said the best thing to do is focus on your education, so figure that out first/make it your priority. Cost for school... crazy expensive in the US... St. Louis has some great schools (I went to one actually) and it was awesome as a student (tons of attractions with a lot of things being free or inexpensive), but the best/most enjoyable are private and very expensive unless you have serious scholarships. As for public schools and instate tuition, does your state/area have any kind of reciprocity with other states? I know of quite a few states/counties that offer this to neighbors, def something to check out!

As for St. Louis in general, you mentioned sports and big city offerings at a low cost, well St. Louis does these two things very, very well in my opinion. As another poster mentioned, you have to find the tradeoff you want. Chicago: top dog but of course the most expensive/stressful, following this direction you then have the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincy, etc.

Yeah, i've been to Des Moines but haven't really looked around it much.

Yeah, schooling is definitely expensive, that's why i'm just unsure on what to do. I want to get away, but I also don't want to get 20-30K+ more in debt than I would being here, especially when i'm not guaranteed anything. I'm an ok student, but i'm not some 4.0 student.

If I stay here in Iowa and get a good education, than move to a city, I think Chicago would be a higher possibility. I think if I do go the route of going out of state right after this year than I will be more likely to go to one of the other cities.

Went and talked to an adviser and apparently most of U of I's degrees do require 4 years of foreign language, which definitely sucks. The good thing is you don't need to transfer those foreign languages in, but you can finish them there. I thought you needed them beforehand. I'm going to take a spanish course next semester and see how it goes, but 4 years of foreign language is not sounding the greatest...

[FrankMiller]

Originally Posted by WRC5

Yeah, i'll have to look into things more extensively I guess. Just tough to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life.

I wouldn't go that far. Just make sure you go somewhere with some relevant options.