What mid-sized cities offer an easy/cheap trip back to Detroit for family visits?

[brodie734]

Indianapolis seems pretty dull to me... it is most similar to Columbus in terms of cities you are considering, but it's a fairly sleepy place comparatively. The closeness to Chicago probably hurts... there have now been a few generations of people from industrial and rural Ohio who have stayed in or moved to Columbus after college as an alternative to leaving the state, but someone from Indiana can pretty easily decamp to Chicago and still be close to home. As such, there isn't really much of an arts or cultural scene and the lack of a major university means there's less of an "intellectual" crowd to fall in with. Indianapolis is also more politically and culturally conservative than most of the cities that you seem interested in.

Not at all familiar with Fort Wayne, my overall impression would be that it's similar to Toledo.

[mjlo]

Originally Posted by brodie734

Not at all familiar with Fort Wayne, my overall impression would be that it's similar to Toledo.

Fort Wayne's city population is deceiving, as the city has annexed it's way to growth. It's more similar in size to a Lansing, but without the university presence too add vibrancy, or easy proximity to a larger city. Fort Wayne's metro area has less people than Toledo's urban area.


If you're hesitant to consider a Grand Rapids which is noticeably larger, more urban, and progressive, I'm not sure how Ft Wayne would be considered.

[DwellerofCities]

Thank you both again!!

[DwellerofCities]

What do you all think of this article in regards to some of the ideals discussed here? https://www.trulia.com/blog/trends/g...n-nation-2016/ (There is a link to the full list on the page.)

It's honestly very on point with many of the things mentioned in my OP, and many of the places you all suggested are near the top of their list! In terms of the methodology, I have some concerns about them having used linkedin and trulia explicitly for those measures, but it seems to me to be an alright starting point allowing some generous room for error. ;-)

[brodie734]

I'd just note that the article doesn't account as much for cultural measures, so places that are less "millennial friendly" like Indy rank higher than they might if cultural aspects were factored in.

[PPU2016]

Originally Posted by DwellerofCities

I'm looking to take up residence in a mid-sized city that is convenient for trips back home to the Detroit area. I'd also consider a small destination city piggybacking off a larger metro area (think Ann Arbor).

Within a couple hours of driving I see: Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne
Within a reasonable (~6 hours) train/bus ride I see: Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis

As far as I can tell, these seem to be the only options?

I'm also happy to consider cities that would entail a cheap round-trip flight, but determining average flight costs between cities seems unusually difficult. Anywhere that would allow a $500 round trip flight home every other month or so would be totally fine. I'm hoping this opens up a lot more options?

Ideally, I'm looking for somewhere that has many offerings but where things are far more centralized than somewhere like Detroit or Chicago, and where basic quality of life factors are also met (e.g., entertainment and career opportunities, other young people, general feeling of safety). It seems like this would rule out Toledo from other things I've read, and maybe Fort Wayne? Honestly, Ann Arbor hits a lot of high points for me, but I'm not having a lot of luck with my job search there.

I'm highly open to suggestion on this. Thanks in advance.

It honestly seems like Pittsburgh would be just right for you.

[LauraC]

Knoxville TN, Lexington KY, Cincinnati Ohio and Dayton Ohio. All on I-75, do-able in one day.