Does anyone else not like living in Indiana? (Indianapolis, Hope: bankrupt, schools)

[MainStreet]

Originally Posted by mingonza

I was born in Miami, raised in Chicago and have been living in Indiana for 20 years I hate it!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to get out of here! as a matter of fact I just graduated and am moving to Las Vegas in a few weeks! Maybe I am just a big city girl but I also hate this weather. I would rather have 100 degree weather than below 0 and snow!!!!! yuk!

I was born and raised in Michigan and moved to the Indianapolis area 20 years ago to get married. Although I love Zionsville, Indiana, I think I love it only because it resembles many of the same towns on the golden coast of western Michigan. One plus, (someone mentioned the low graduation rates in Indiana-very accurate) Zionsville has one of the top high school graduation rates in the state, so I'm staying until the babes are out of school and then I'm moving back to MI. I miss snow and a "real" winter....Indiana just doesn't have winters that can be depended on.

[twixcookie]

Moved here from Ohio for a job.
Now, my company is closing.
Hard to find a job in my specialty, and people say, oh, tons of medical jobs...well, depends on what it is. Nursing is wide open, but the rest sucks here. People think if you work in medicine, you can go work in another capacity in a hospital, but that's not true, it's very specialized.
I have been interviewing in other states.
I have gotten used to Indiana.
It is not a bad place to raise your kids.
I wish I could stay here.
Is anyone else struggling job wise here?
Gosh, I feel so alone in this...

[domergurl]

You're right twix and I'm sorry you are struggling. There are a lot of folks struggling. We moved here for a new job with a bank 4 years ago and the bank was bought out and the compnay he left the bank for is now in bankruptcy ... fortunately, he landed somewhere stable now, but you can only hope that it lasts for a long time because you never know what could happen.

Have you been looking in other parts of Indiana? Not quite sure what you do, but I wish you the best.

[*Holly*]

Isn't there a saying... "If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen".. It only makes sense... if you can't stand where you live, get the hell out. It's common sense (which most people lack now-a-days). If you are in a bad, unhappy relationship...get out. The whinning and complaining doesn't do any good... "I hate this, I hate that"... yada, yada ... YADA. If you can't afford the gas to drive somewhere - then get a bike. If you don't like traffic - move to a smaller city. If it's really "that" bad.... why are you here?


As far as the rude drivers and people .... they are EVERYWHERE... Unless you haven't traveled out of Ft. Wayne (since you were talking about not being able to afford gas prices). I have lived in larger cities... and smaller as well that have been much worse then Ft. Wayne. Everyone is intitled to their own views and opinions but the whinning in unreal.... It's all about making the BEST out of what you HAVE.

[twixcookie]

I don't hate where I live.
A lot of people don't like the midwest, but it's a good place to live. Okay, no big geographical goodies like some of the other states like California. No snowcapped mountains, but we have the Great Lakes.
I have looked all over Indiana, but that won't solve moving my son out of his school. I feel like I am ruining his life.
I have to make a living though, and this job for 12 hours per week and no benefits I looked into today won't cut it. I asked if it could open up to more hours, and they didn't think so.
I can't even go back to Ohio, where I am originally from...no jobs there. I mean it is dead. And employers there are ripping their employees really bad, with all their random drug testing and the new nicotine law. "I don't smoke." But they still inform you that if nicotine is found in your blood, you're not hired. And if you are hired, they do random tests and if they find nicotine, you're fired. Now, smoking at the workplace, even the parking lot in your car is grounds to be fired, so this is going after all the people who smoke on their own time. I DON'T SMOKE. But I do find this invasive. It is all being done under the guise of "Oh, we want a healthy workforce, and smoking is bad!" Yeah right, they are spending all that money testing workers for nicotine...it is about saving money on insurance, pure and simple, and some Ohio companies have admitted this.
Caffeine is bad, that will be next. And alcohol, probably as bad as nicotine...you won't be able to have a beer at home.
You see, it's such an employer's market, and now, they are trying to control the costs by stepping on the employee's privacy.
I hope this doesn't go to other states.

[uggabugga]

I moved to northern Indiana 5 years ago from New Mexico, and I generally like it quite a bit. As others have mentioned, I also like the fact that there are very distinct seasons here - not the case in the southern states I've lived in [NM, OK, and TX]. The weather for about 7 months of the year, May thru October, is great; the winters are much colder than I'm used to, but I'm pretty cold-tolerant so it's not a big deal.
People here are fairly friendly - perhaps not quite as friendly as folks in Texas and Oklahoma, but friendlier than New Mexicans.
Actually, my biggest gripe about this area is the way traffic lights are set up so that 4 lanes of traffic are constantly being stopped the instant any car pulls up at a side road and triggers the sensor camera. It's incredibly annoying.

[Huppermama]

I moved from Indiana to D/FW some years ago and found people there - mostly the natives - to be very clannish. IF you are a "yankee with a u-haul you are not welcomed. It has improved with alot more northerns moving there from areas such as Cleveland and Detroit in search of better work opportunities. Just keep in mind that all you really know is Hoosier hospitality and not to be surprised when you are cut off in traffic or no one stops to lend a hand if you have a car breakdown. I speak from experience. If you want the same weather, but nice people, try Tulsa or Wichita, it is just tough to find a job in the current economy.

[sponger42]

I grew up in Indiana and I couldn't wait to leave.
Finished my education, moved to Florida, then to Los Angeles.

I enjoy coming back to visit. I miss weather and snow. But I get anxious for mountains, oceans, diversity, and culture after a week or two. Even if there was work--and even though housing is cheap--I wouldn't move back.

[twixcookie]

Holly,
A lot of people DO try to change their situations, but things aren't always simple. Leaving means finding a new job and having the money to relocate. I agree, a lot of times, people DO complain and don't try to find solutions. I am not one of them, I have been actively trying to find a solution, but it seems jobs in my profession have gone way down.
Jobs out west are going down, and employers are paying worse than here in Indy.
Jeesh.

[c7sparks]

I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. I came to NW Indiana and felt I traveled back in time to the 50's. Depending on your take of the 50's, that's either good or bad. And it's gotten worse over the years... increasing taxes, utility costs, food, homes, etc. are disporportionately high compared to average wages -- especially if you are on a limited fixed income (like social security, or permanent disability stipends). Many doctors, lawyers, and other high paid professionals who work in Chicago, have moved to NW Indiana to take advantage of lower cost of living -- which is the reason for the disporportionate ratio between average Indiana wages and cost of living. State of Indiana treats NW Indiana like it doesn't exist, or like it's a suburb of Chicago. State government provides for Indianapolis and possibly large college towns llike West Lafayette, Evansville, and even South Bend, but NW Indiana is virtually left out . What's worse, if you are Deaf, don't move here. State government does NOT provide for the Deaf community outside of Indianapolis, in fact, the Director of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Services actively hurts the Deaf community outside of Indianapolis and the good interpreters from all over the State . NW Indiana is NOT the place for innovative non-profit business ideas, either... there's no funding here . Great, though, if you want to open a Subway franchise, other retail business, or traditional services/professions. People are generally okay, many are considered rednecks... be careful where you drop anchor... school systems differ from city to city and county to county... some in NW Indiana are very good, others rank among the lowest in the State. The steel mills are still the means of the basic tax base in NW Indiana. The nice part of NW Indiana? 4 seasons, Lake Michigan beaches, many other smaller lakes, very green in the summer, humidity (good for your skin), good colleges/universities for traditional degrees and professions and the Midwest version of Harvard (Valparaiso University). But you go where it's best for you and your family, whether it's here or not. Opinions are often based on what we don't get from the place we live and we sometimes do forget the good things about where we live. When the cons outweigh the pros, though, it's time to move on. I guess it's time for me to move