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I'm from the Midwest, from the Cedar Rapids area, moved to Chicago, and I have to say I would NEVER EVER move back there. People from these areas are extremely

I'm from the Midwest, from the Cedar Rapids area, moved to Chicago, and I have to say I would NEVER EVER move back there. People from these areas are extremely conservative and xenophobic. The restaurants and any business you might frequent are of lower quality. These cities are not world class cities. Claiming that they are is just ignorant. You end up trapped in a little bubble with nowhere to escape to, surrounded by boring white people. There is NOTHING TO DO. What if you want to go out on Friday night and see a rock show? Or get a decent dinner? I hope you like commuting to Chicago... You will be surrounded by insurance salesmen with none of the diversity and vibrancy a larger city offer. That is to say: These places have no culture. No diversity. They have nothing going on, nobody creating anything, no one performing anything. Just going about their little lives selling insurance. Additionally: Their nature sucks. I hope you're fine with never hiking through any interesting terrain, going skiing, or rock climbing, or really doing any interesting outdoor activities. ( I guess hunting is popular? ) Also.. where are you going to work? I'm a software developer: Where am I going to work in Cedar Rapids, IA? Some insurance firm doing meaningless banking bullshit? "But I moved there for my kids!" What if your kid wants to start a rock band, or be a painter, or do anything creative or interesting? Or, what if they are extremely intelligent and want to progress through a decent, competitive school system? I can answer this one from personal experience: They will be completely alone surrounded by mediocre, extremely homogeneous racially and otherwise, people with no community of peers driving each other forward. There will be no friday-night rock shows, no musical culture in general, no museums or after-school clubs or protests to attend. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Nowhere to explore. So, after all I've said: What's left to inspire you, or your kids, in these mediocre little cities? So I guess if you're willing to do nothing and be nowhere and be nothing, wasting your days watching television, moving to a smaller city is a great bet. Personally, I'd rather live in a decent city than slouch though a mediocre one.

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username223 9y ago
> no museums or after-school clubs or protests to attend. Would that I could attend more protests. Good riddance.
shostack 9y ago
Oddly enough, I lived in Chicago most of my life and moved up the Bay Area. I'd be hard pressed to ever move back despite the network of family and friends there. The weather is beyond awful. The crime rate is through the roof. Rents and house prices have gone through the roof, while comp has not. The city is broke and horribly corrupt. Don't get me wrong... There's a lot of amazing things about Chicago and it will always have a place in my heart. And the food is indeed good (if leaning towards the super unhealthy and indulgent side). But I'd be hard-pressed to ever move back from my overpriced starter home in the Bay.
- 5ourpuss 9y ago
  I agree with you, Chicago is brutal. I'm actually moving out west in a few months for the exact reasons you listed! But, as I said, I grew up in the rural midwest. I would caution people against considering it a cheap-land utopia. Also, I would not equate moving to a small city in the midwest to moving to a small city in the Bay Area. You have at least a proximity to larger cities, and there is beautiful nature and weather to enjoy, along with better culture in general.
nulagrithom 9y ago
I grew up in a town with 30,000 people (much smaller than Cedar Rapids) in the PNW. It's rabidly republican. Also 30% Hispanic. Sure, there's racists around, probably more than your average city, but it's not an intolerable amount. > Additionally: Their nature sucks. I hope you're fine with never hiking through any interesting terrain, going skiing, or rock climbing, or really doing any interesting outdoor activities. ( I guess hunting is popular? ) That's a pretty broad generalization. Around the edge of my hometown we had tons of hiking trails in the foothills. If you were up for a short 30 minute drive you could get to some real interesting terrain. If you were determined enough and wanted to invest a whole day or a few days in to it you can trek through a literal wilderness. It's also 45 minutes from a ski resort, and about the same distance for two great rock climbing spots. Oh, plus there's a 10 mile paved trail at the waterfront that loops around the entire center of the city. Lots of biking, mountain biking, plenty of good water, etc etc... We have people from Seattle move here all the time for the nature, enough to have an effect on the housing market even. > What if your kid wants to start a rock band, or be a painter, or do anything creative or interesting? Oddly enough, I did start a rock band in my hometown. We had a great little punk scene. Someone would throw down the money to rent out a building then we'd pass out flyers around school and charge $5 a head. Usually got between 100 to 200 kids to show up. A couple of my friends went on to build careers in the industry, and actually do work for big names in Seattle now. > Also.. where are you going to work? I'm a software developer: Where am I going to work in Cedar Rapids, IA? Some insurance firm doing meaningless banking bullshit? You can work remotely, number one. Bu there's actually a lot of businesses in rural areas that have a really, really hard time getting software developers, to the point where they sometimes just stop looking. You're not gonna have job offers in spades, but you can definitely find something. You paint a really ugly picture of small towns, but I think it might be clouded by whatever negative experience you had in Cedar Rapids.
- 5ourpuss 9y ago
  > grew up in a town with 30,000 people (much smaller than Cedar Rapids) in the PNW. It's rabidly republican. Also 30% Hispanic. You grew up in a completely different part of the country than what I am referring to: The Midwest, specifically the Cedar Rapids area, so I don't really see how your arguments about how somewhere completely across the country is a better place to live is applicable. In fact: Your statement that the nature around you is great is EXACTLY MY POINT! The Midwest is flat and we've butchered all of our forests in order to plant corn fields. Don't move there. The cheap land isn't worth it. Yeah, the PNW is amazing. I think living there would be great, which is why I'm moving there in the next few months. edit: A apologize if I came off smarmy in my reply, it's obviously my fault that I wasn't clear enough that my feelings are very specific to the midwest, and even more specifically for the cedar rapids area.

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username223 9y ago

> no museums or after-school clubs or protests to attend. Would that I could attend more protests. Good riddance.

shostack 9y ago

Oddly enough, I lived in Chicago most of my life and moved up the Bay Area. I'd be hard pressed to ever move back despite the network of family and friends there. The weather is beyond awful. The crime rate is through the roof. Rents and house prices have gone through the roof, while comp has not. The city is broke and horribly corrupt. Don't get me wrong... There's a lot of amazing things about Chicago and it will always have a place in my heart. And the food is indeed good (if leaning towards the super unhealthy and indulgent side). But I'd be hard-pressed to ever move back from my overpriced starter home in the Bay.

5ourpuss 9y ago
I agree with you, Chicago is brutal. I'm actually moving out west in a few months for the exact reasons you listed! But, as I said, I grew up in the rural midwest. I would caution people against considering it a cheap-land utopia. Also, I would not equate moving to a small city in the midwest to moving to a small city in the Bay Area. You have at least a proximity to larger cities, and there is beautiful nature and weather to enjoy, along with better culture in general.

nulagrithom 9y ago

I grew up in a town with 30,000 people (much smaller than Cedar Rapids) in the PNW. It's rabidly republican. Also 30% Hispanic. Sure, there's racists around, probably more than your average city, but it's not an intolerable amount. > Additionally: Their nature sucks. I hope you're fine with never hiking through any interesting terrain, going skiing, or rock climbing, or really doing any interesting outdoor activities. ( I guess hunting is popular? ) That's a pretty broad generalization. Around the edge of my hometown we had tons of hiking trails in the foothills. If you were up for a short 30 minute drive you could get to some real interesting terrain. If you were determined enough and wanted to invest a whole day or a few days in to it you can trek through a literal wilderness. It's also 45 minutes from a ski resort, and about the same distance for two great rock climbing spots. Oh, plus there's a 10 mile paved trail at the waterfront that loops around the entire center of the city. Lots of biking, mountain biking, plenty of good water, etc etc... We have people from Seattle move here all the time for the nature, enough to have an effect on the housing market even. > What if your kid wants to start a rock band, or be a painter, or do anything creative or interesting? Oddly enough, I did start a rock band in my hometown. We had a great little punk scene. Someone would throw down the money to rent out a building then we'd pass out flyers around school and charge $5 a head. Usually got between 100 to 200 kids to show up. A couple of my friends went on to build careers in the industry, and actually do work for big names in Seattle now. > Also.. where are you going to work? I'm a software developer: Where am I going to work in Cedar Rapids, IA? Some insurance firm doing meaningless banking bullshit? You can work remotely, number one. Bu there's actually a lot of businesses in rural areas that have a really, really hard time getting software developers, to the point where they sometimes just stop looking. You're not gonna have job offers in spades, but you can definitely find something. You paint a really ugly picture of small towns, but I think it might be clouded by whatever negative experience you had in Cedar Rapids.

5ourpuss 9y ago
> grew up in a town with 30,000 people (much smaller than Cedar Rapids) in the PNW. It's rabidly republican. Also 30% Hispanic. You grew up in a completely different part of the country than what I am referring to: The Midwest, specifically the Cedar Rapids area, so I don't really see how your arguments about how somewhere completely across the country is a better place to live is applicable. In fact: Your statement that the nature around you is great is EXACTLY MY POINT! The Midwest is flat and we've butchered all of our forests in order to plant corn fields. Don't move there. The cheap land isn't worth it. Yeah, the PNW is amazing. I think living there would be great, which is why I'm moving there in the next few months. edit: A apologize if I came off smarmy in my reply, it's obviously my fault that I wasn't clear enough that my feelings are very specific to the midwest, and even more specifically for the cedar rapids area.