I grew up, er, spent my first 18yr, in the Fort. Decent enough place at
that time I guess, but sadly lacking in anything particularly exciting.
Perhaps in the intervening 40 (!!!!) years it has improved, though I
have heard it has not, and in fact might have become worse off due to
changing demographics of the population, etc. I guess anyplace is what
you make it, but I would not expect a lot of stimulation. The
surrounding countryside is pleasant enough if you go for flat farms. A
bit north of FWA is a lake area with lots of small (and a few a bit
larger) lakes, cottages, and such. There are some river impoundments
around too. Fishing and boating fun. Indianapolis is not too far away,
I am sure there might be a bit more of something desirable there.
Chicago too should you want to risk that.
Cultural diversity seemed to be that we had some Jews who lived here and
there (and some were my friends in HS), but it was mostly your basic
white bread lifestyle, though there was a sizable black population back
then (not much mixing at that time), and hispanics were starting to come
(and I had a friend whose parents started a Mexican restaurant about the
time I left, never got a chance to try it out-- that would have been
quite daring!). There were some heavy industries (Intl Harvester, GM
built a truck plant but I think it might have closed, electronics) but
the economy might have pounded those. A lot of Germans settled in the
area back when, still a lot of that influence. Amish are (were) strong
north of FWA, they might have spread to other areas as they expand their
families/farming activities.
I am planning to go back for my 40th HS reunion in September, will be
interesting to see what changes hath wrought. I have not been back in
like 25yr, my parents left about then to move back to their home domain
in KY so never had much reason to go.
All that said, good luck with your interview, I am sure you will do well
and might have the opportunity to try something new. And being around
kids and teaching will provide a lot of satisfaction, which will make up
for any other shortcomings.
--R
On 7/16/12 8:10 AM, Dan Penoff wrote:
Culturally you will probably find it to be lacking in a lot of respects. I
don't know that specific area in great detail, but much of what has been said
previously will be true - primarily an agrarian society with strong moral
values and limited education.
Wonderful people, but it can be a little stifling due to the limited life
experiences that can lead to a very narrow world view.
Ft. Wayne is close (1hour), and has a fairly active cultural community. You can
expect to find just about anything you would like there. Muncie (Ball State) is
close by as well, and has a thriving cultural community.
I doubt there will be much in the way of cultural diversity outside of Taylor.
As to the comment about minorities, no, the bulk of the locals are Anglos to
the best of my knowledge.
All of this being said, working in a higher educational environment (I have
found) can be quite stimulating. While the locals may not be terribly dynamic,
the faculty will most likely be an interesting bunch of people.
While this hasn't come into the conversation yet, Taylor is an evangelical
school, so the religious aspect plays a very large part in the day to day
operation of the campus. I certainly don't think they are zealots by any means,
at least not based on what I have seen and heard from my niece who graduated
from Taylor a few years ago, but I do know that the religious aspect of the
school is a significant part of things.
Guess that means you shouldn't swear like a longshoreman during your interview?
<grin>
Again, good luck! I hope you are successful in your search.
Dan
On Jul 15, 2012, at 11:45 PM, Craig <diese...@pisquared.net> wrote:
On Sun, 15 Jul 2012 12:52:07 -0400 Dan Penoff <lwb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Excellent!
Best of luck! I suspect you will be flying in to Ft. Wayne? I hope so,
as it's a couple of hours from Indy (and a very, very boring drive.)
I don't know yet; the secretary who makes travel arrangements was out on
vacation last week.
Culturally and climatically it will be quite different from where you
are currently, but that's not a bad thing.
Climatically, I understand. What is the difference culturally (other than
much fewer Hispanics and Indians)?
Again, good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
Thanks, I shall.
Craig
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