I kind of want to cheerlead for the Midwest here, but the Midwest is quite big and I have no actual idea what it's like in Indiana. But Parks and Recreation is awesome, which indicates good things, right? (<--airtight reasoning) My childhood best friend grew up in Urbana, which is not too far from there on the Illinois side, and she was very proud--to hear her you would never suspect Urbana/Champaign was anything but the jewel of central time zone. I went to visit her there a couple times, but I really only remember her house--we went out to eat one time but her boyfriend spent the whole meal telling me about D&D and I can't even remember what kind of restaurant it was. I was not very good at noticing places as a kid.
THAT GOT IRRELEVANT REALLY FAST. Congratulations on your new nephew! Good luck with your job search!
Thank you! I have warmed considerably to the idea of the midwest, and not just because it is the location of the elusive TT job. I do think I will have difficulty adjusting to the friendliness (friendliness tends to freak me out a bit, as a New Yorker, the whole 'why are you talking to me? Are you trying to sell me a product/a religion?' thing) but that once my east-coast frozen-bitch exterior melts, I'll genuinely enjoy living there. Also, the totally reasonable property values/really great school district in the area makes the small part of me that is actually a grown-up happy.
One slightly deceptive characteristic of Midwestern friendliness, or at least the "Minnesota nice" variant with which I'm familiar, is that it can be a little shallow. We're good at greeting newcomers, not as good at actually welcoming them into a community in a substantial way. (I am SUPER GUILTY of this, always thinking "that person is awesome, I hope I run into them again" rather than, you know, calling them.) I recommend joining things. And reaching out to other transplants.
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I kind of want to cheerlead for the Midwest here, but the Midwest is quite big and I have no actual idea what it's like in Indiana. But Parks and Recreation is awesome, which indicates good things, right? (<--airtight reasoning) My childhood best friend grew up in Urbana, which is not too far from there on the Illinois side, and she was very proud--to hear her you would never suspect Urbana/Champaign was anything but the jewel of central time zone. I went to visit her there a couple times, but I really only remember her house--we went out to eat one time but her boyfriend spent the whole meal telling me about D&D and I can't even remember what kind of restaurant it was. I was not very good at noticing places as a kid.
THAT GOT IRRELEVANT REALLY FAST. Congratulations on your new nephew! Good luck with your job search!
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