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HOWEVER, let's not forget with today's technology, more and more people can work remotely. Not everyone wants or needs a certain "scene" to be happy living someplace. In fact, a lot of people have only stayed put in a high population area because that's where their employment was.
What does that have to do with Evansville turning into Portland, as speculated in the post I was responding to?
Thank your lucky stars for this^^^...it might just be what saves Southern Indiana (and other lesser-known areas) from being overrun.
HOWEVER, let's not forget with today's technology, more and more people can work remotely. Not everyone wants or needs a certain "scene" to be happy living someplace. In fact, a lot of people have only stayed put in a high population area because that's where their employment was.
That doesn't directly correlate to Evansville seeing booming population growth.
My prediction is Evansville will continue to see slow to stagnant growth, slowly pulling people from neighboring rural counties as jobs and industry leave small town America. Nothing in Evansville or Indiana suggests anything different, at this point.
Indiana isn't Oregon, and the Midwest isn't the West Coast. The dynamics that drove people to Portland from Seattle don't currently exist in Southern Indiana. Portland was already triple the size of Evansville in the 70s/80s, so it was a logical place for people looking for a city but felt they were being priced out of higher priced cities. Why would someone who feels priced out of Chicago or Nashville choose Evansville over Indianapolis, Louisville, or even Cincinnati? Nashville itself exploded, but it made sense in 2000 that Nashville could explode. They already had the music industry, there was already a degree of prestige around the Nashville brand, coupled with the already growing sun belt shift of 20 years ago. Which of those dynamics are relevant to Evansville?
This is not unique to Evansville.
You are right that Indiana isn't Oregon and the Midwest isn't the West Coast, Thank God!!! You completely missed (or ignored) the point of my post, which is the very undervalued real estate in an area that has a high quality of life, beautiful country and very low cost of living. And by the way, what makes you an expert on the "dynamics" that drove people to Portland? Please explain what those "dynamics" were. Have you ever lived in Portland? I just used Portland as an example and was not suggesting that what happened in Portland was going to happen in the Evansville area. People move for many reasons but the COST of real estate is one of the top factors in peoples decision to move to an area.
You ask why would someone move to Evansville rather than Indy, Louisville or Cincinnati? Thats simple, quality of life. Apparently you prefer to live in large cities which are attractive to some people but I guess you haven't noticed that people are fleeing all of those wonderful, crime infested large cities in droves, including Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Louisville.
Just last week I got into a conversation with a 19 year old young man who was an employee at Academy Sports. He told me he had just moved to Evansville four months ago with his grandparents, parents, five siblings and a brother-in-law. His family had lived in the Bay Area of San Francisco since before WWII and had been planning to move out of California for over 5 years. They looked at a lot of areas of the U.S. and decided on...Evansvile. The main reason, the cost of real estate. After selling their properties in California, they were able to pay cash for new, "brick mansions on golf courses" (his words) in Newburgh. Other factors were; small, relaxed town that is big enough to provide their needs, friendly people, low crime and the cost of living.
He said that his parents were looking at a half a dozen different states and didn't even know there was a state called Indiana until they stumbled across some real estate ads for the Indy area and didn't believe the prices. They thought there was no way Indiana home prices were real or there must be something wrong with them. They kept investigating, flew into Indy, spent a week touring down to the southern half of the state and eventually decided on Evansville/Newburgh. He said moving here has been like moving to a foreign country, they can't believe how low the cost of living is and how friendly the people are, they love it here. They are telling their friends in California about Evansville and their friends are coming to visit. The experience of this family mirrors the experience of another poster on CD, Noah45, who was a California native and bought a property on the Westside of Evansville after he retired from the Marine Corps.
So no, I agree with you that Evansville is not Portland, but I believe the area will start seeing growth, how significant, I don't know. Of course, I could be wrong but, either way it doesn't really affect or matter to me. I am just throwing out an opinion which is the purpose of CD right?
People move for many reasons but the COST of real estate is one of the top factors in peoples decision to move to an area.
You ask why would someone move to Evansville rather than Indy, Louisville or Cincinnati? Thats simple, quality of life. Apparently you prefer to live in large cities which are attractive to some people but I guess you haven't noticed that people are fleeing all of those wonderful, crime infested large cities in droves, including Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Louisville.
?
You never answered the question of why someone would move to evansville over indy, Louisville, or Cincinnati. The quality of life is in no way better in Evansville than Indy, and the cost of living is basically the same but with better career opportunities. The only people moving to evansville are from the small one stoplight towns in southern Indiana where they think evansville is “the big city.” NOt only that, but you can still live in the indy Metro and find cities with that small town feel or something similar to evansville.
The country has already seen a trend of people moving to urban areas. No one was flocking to evansville before or during this trend and never will. You live in the evansville metro, so you obviously have a bias towards it or you wouldn’t be living there so you can’t be objective. Of course “you think” evansville is great and will see growth. Just like a fan always roots for its home team.
You ask why would someone move to Evansville rather than Indy, Louisville or Cincinnati? Thats simple, quality of life. Apparently you prefer to live in large cities which are attractive to some people but I guess you haven't noticed that people are fleeing all of those wonderful, crime infested large cities in droves, including Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Louisville.
Just last week I got into a conversation with a 19 year old young man who was an employee at Academy Sports. He told me he had just moved to Evansville four months ago with his grandparents, parents, five siblings and a brother-in-law. His family had lived in the Bay Area of San Francisco since before WWII and had been planning to move out of California for over 5 years. They looked at a lot of areas of the U.S. and decided on...Evansvile. The main reason, the cost of real estate. After selling their properties in California, they were able to pay cash for new, "brick mansions on golf courses" (his words) in Newburgh. Other factors were; small, relaxed town that is big enough to provide their needs, friendly people, low crime and the cost of living.
Of course some people will want a smaller metro area style of living, and in that case, Evansville could be ideal for some. The problem is that the vast majority don't, otherwise these type of smaller cities would be exploding with growth. If one is lucky enough to work remotely, then it is a win for them if they want an Evansville sized lifestyle.
The pandemic really scrambled a lot in terms of our concept of work, career, and life in general. Still, I don't see Evansville, given Evansville's location and distance from larger urban centers, as having any serious future growth. I'm the personality that could do well in a metro area of around 250Kish. I don't have that constant fulfillment need type personality where I must have a huge smorgasbord of entertainment and eating out options. Most people seem to lean toward this personality though, and they are likely going to look toward landing in one of the top 100, if not top 50, metro areas in this country.
My distant relatives were from SW Indiana, but almost all of them moved away. I'm from those who relocated to the Indy area. Almost all of us decedents stayed in Indy because of family and always being able to find reasonable employment in our fields. After over a decade of procrastination, I finally got down to visit that area in recent years. I was surprised at how nice Evansville and the surrounding area was. Larger than I thought it would be and more offerings than I thought. Still, not what most people are looking for. With a smaller employment footprint, it is hard to bring people in.
NOt only that, but you can still live in the indy Metro and find cities with that small town feel or something similar to evansville.
The country has already seen a trend of people moving to urban areas. No one was flocking to evansville before or during this trend and never will. You live in the evansville metro, so you obviously have a bias towards it or you wouldn’t be living there so you can’t be objective. Of course “you think” evansville is great and will see growth. Just like a fan always roots for its home team.
As you said the trend is large metro areas continuing to growth. For a while, there were folks that though the older urban cores would continue to see huge growth, but a recent article said the predicted growth wasn't likely to be what was once thought. It also said that the suburbs will actually continue to grow where as before it was thought thought they would level off, with people moving closer to the old urban cores.
Cities the size of Evansville will have to complete with similar sized metros to draw in a very specific group of people. Those who are OK with that level of lifestyle and the limitations it brings. These limitations are usually no pro-sporting events, a small scale arts scene, fewer dining options, and the biggest, limited healthcare options. Where these smaller metros can win is that they can provide closer gateways to amazing outdoor recreation. The problem with Evansville is that it doesn't really offer that. It is still a snow belt city. It isn't close to any mountains or beaches. I put the Evansville area outdoor offerings one or two tiers above those in Central Indiana, but still lower than say a Lexington, KY or Johnson City, TN area.
It all adds up to Evansville not really offering much of anything outside of middle of the road or lower small metro living. There is a reason for the lower cost of living in these regions.
You are right that Indiana isn't Oregon and the Midwest isn't the West Coast, Thank God!!! You completely missed (or ignored) the point of my post, which is the very undervalued real estate in an area that has a high quality of life, beautiful country and very low cost of living. And by the way, what makes you an expert on the "dynamics" that drove people to Portland? Please explain what those "dynamics" were. Have you ever lived in Portland? I just used Portland as an example and was not suggesting that what happened in Portland was going to happen in the Evansville area. People move for many reasons but the COST of real estate is one of the top factors in peoples decision to move to an area.
You ask why would someone move to Evansville rather than Indy, Louisville or Cincinnati? Thats simple, quality of life. Apparently you prefer to live in large cities which are attractive to some people but I guess you haven't noticed that people are fleeing all of those wonderful, crime infested large cities in droves, including Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Louisville.
Just last week I got into a conversation with a 19 year old young man who was an employee at Academy Sports. He told me he had just moved to Evansville four months ago with his grandparents, parents, five siblings and a brother-in-law. His family had lived in the Bay Area of San Francisco since before WWII and had been planning to move out of California for over 5 years. They looked at a lot of areas of the U.S. and decided on...Evansvile. The main reason, the cost of real estate. After selling their properties in California, they were able to pay cash for new, "brick mansions on golf courses" (his words) in Newburgh. Other factors were; small, relaxed town that is big enough to provide their needs, friendly people, low crime and the cost of living.
He said that his parents were looking at a half a dozen different states and didn't even know there was a state called Indiana until they stumbled across some real estate ads for the Indy area and didn't believe the prices. They thought there was no way Indiana home prices were real or there must be something wrong with them. They kept investigating, flew into Indy, spent a week touring down to the southern half of the state and eventually decided on Evansville/Newburgh. He said moving here has been like moving to a foreign country, they can't believe how low the cost of living is and how friendly the people are, they love it here. They are telling their friends in California about Evansville and their friends are coming to visit. The experience of this family mirrors the experience of another poster on CD, Noah45, who was a California native and bought a property on the Westside of Evansville after he retired from the Marine Corps.
So no, I agree with you that Evansville is not Portland, but I believe the area will start seeing growth, how significant, I don't know. Of course, I could be wrong but, either way it doesn't really affect or matter to me. I am just throwing out an opinion which is the purpose of CD right?
Travel more. Evansville offers literally....nothing.
It is a stagnant city somewhat isolated from anywhere. When I-69 is completed all the way to Indy in 2022-2023 may help. Needs new Ohio river bridge badly to finish I-69 into KY. May take time to connect with Memphis. Not sure if having casino gambling has helped any with so much competition from IL. As a visitor shopping on east side seems OK but nothing you can't find other places.
This thread caught my eye because I recently was looking at a list of all of the cities with a population of over 100k in the U.S. (there are 317 of them), noted that I’ve been to 289 of them, and that Evansville is one of the 28 I haven’t been to. I’ve driven all over the continental U.S. for pleasure, but the bolded above may be a significant reason why I haven’t been to Evansville.
Don't forget the green choking smog when you're creeping along at 10 mph - or more likely, just stopped. If not for 39 million people, California would rival Alaska for being our most beautiful state, and some areas still are sparsely settled.
I agree…except for WA.
I think WA is more beautiful than CA, and I’m a native Californian who has been all over the state and has lived in the Bay Area, LA/OC, and in the Sierras.
My assessment of the beauty of Alaska is second hand though. I’ve never been to Alaska (nor Hawaii…I’ve only missed those two states), but many people I know who have been to Alaska have said it is the most beautiful state.
If you think the air seems bad now…..in the late 1960s, the first time I was in LA, it was worse even though the population was much lower.
Responses in this thread also prompted me to look up how far Evansville is from both Cincinnati and Louisville. While looking at the map, I noticed that Evansville is only about 14 miles south of I-64…..so I did come within 14 miles of Evansville (without realizing it). I’ve driven on I-64, and once that was while driving from St. Louis to Louisville. I wonder if Evansville draws in many travelers who are headed to Louisville but, depending on where they are coming from, may be too tired to make it to Louisville, so they spend the night in Evansville, and head to Louisville sometime the next day.
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