Rich, Based on my experiences in the area through the late 80s and from 2008-2010, not a lot has changed in the area. If anything, it's gotten worse, mainly due to the collapse of heavy industry in the area.
GM has a huge plant on the south side of town, but other than that heavy industry that once dominated the area has pretty much disappeared. Marion and Gas City, both nearby towns that lived off of heavy industry, are really hurting. Generally speaking its a nice area with a good cost of living. If you make a decent salary you can live well. I know that Taylor is a very vibrant educational community, based on both what my niece has told me as well as what folks in secondary education in the state said. Despite the small size, Taylor has a very good reputation as a private school, and I was surprised at the number of kids in my son's graduating class of 2010 who were going there (this was while we were living in Indianapolis.) While I would expect the environment to be very different than Los Alamos, it would seem that there are a lot of real positives about the place (not to mention the idea of being gainfully employed!) Living in Indiana, I found the northern portions to be depressing for a lot of reasons, mainly that it was rural and flat. Get up in your neighborhood and you can add the wonderful cities of Gary and East Chicago to that, too. That being said, the Midwest has a lot of positive aspects as well, such as cost of living and a well grounded value system. I have become somewhat jaded, as I have found I can't live without regular exposure to the sun, which is not an attribute of the northern climes. Dan On Jul 16, 2012, at 10:01 AM, Rich Thomas <richthomas79td...@constructivity.net> wrote: > 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 >>> >>> _______________________________________ >>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>> For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com >>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>> >>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
