<p>GladGradDad–speaking of Nebraska–One of the greatest attractions in the whole USA:
CARHENGE!</p>
<p>Having grown up between soybean fields and cornfields, and although I miss my family (sometimes), I never regretted leaving the Midwest. City life (near Chicago) was VERY different than central Illinois, however…and I do sometimes miss not being there. Neither of my D’s would consider any college that wasn’t near a city (as defined by “large enough to have a train/subway system!”) </p>
<p>Boulder should not remotely be considered midwest. It really is a unique area and the natural beauty there is great. </p>
<p>Boston or Washington DC seem to have a lot going for them in terms of being a grad student in a new area…</p>
<p>
I’ve never seen carhenge - maybe I’ll have to look for it the next time I’m in Nebraska. I did see Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo though.</p>
<p>
Agree - not at all. The geography is totally different since it’s up against the mountains. The weather is different as well (i.e. it’s better IMO).</p>
<p>I think spreading your wings at this point in time in your life is a good idea - especially if you’re feeling cooped up where you are.</p>
<p>The last time I drove through nebraska, I was listening to traditional Native American music on the radio… And then, it was all static. We were coming from SD. I did hear about carhenge; not really on my bucket list… </p>
<p>I hear DC has bad neighborhoods. I’ve considered Boston, but the schools there are either top tier MIT, or off the radar for polymer research in chemical engineering (BU or BC)</p>
<p>But if there is good vibe for Boulder, then I will seriously consider it.</p>
<p>My brother-in-law got his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry (or something Polymer and Chemistry-related) at IIT…and still teaches a class there. Not in a great neighborhood, but living in downtown Chicago would certainly be different than anywhere in Iowa.</p>
<p>As far as DC, it (as well as any large city) has bad neighborhoods, but depending on the school you may be in fine shape. Have you considered UMD? (the undergrad choice of both of my D’s). It has a lot to offer and is close enough to DC that getting in via metro is easy if you so choose. The environs of UMD isn’t great, but we’ve never had any trouble in the 6 yrs we’ve had kids there.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not in Maine, NH, and VT. </p>
<p>People tend to forget that the northeast is quite diverse, also, and has very rural areas.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I doubt that there are any major programs in polymer research up here. :)</p>
<p>thanks all for all the feedback. This has been really helpful.</p>
<p>I think you have to define “Midwest”. There’s a vast difference between the Iowa / Nebraska / Missouri Midwest that tends to inspire people to describe it the way you did and the Wisconsin / Michigan / Ohio Midwest. </p>
<p>I’d say the latter group holds its own with geographic and cultural diversity with as much entertainment and different cultures and ideas as anywhere - between the vast Great Lakes beaches, vistas, lighthouses, and mini ocean feel, along with Chicago, Detroit (mostly the metro area beyond the city), Toronto across the border and major college towns like Madison and Ann Arbor. </p>
<p>I’d recommend studying somewhere you didn’t grow up for a number of reasons.</p>
<p>I think jaylynn’s post #8 was quite good. </p>
<p>The midwest is a wonderful place, but it really isn’t “diverse”. </p>
<p>This (grad school) is probably one of the few times in your life when you can choose to try a completely new and different place. </p>
<p>I am originally from a small town in a northern midwestern state, and had you asked me at age 21 where I could see myself living at age 50, I couldn’t have imagined myself living farther than 250 miles from my college town. </p>
<p>Fortunately, my future husband had other ideas, and I found myself living, reluctantly at first, but with increasing enthusiasm with each adventure, in a series of wonderful places from one end of the country to the other. (Partial list: Nebraska, Florida, California, Hawaii, Maryland)</p>
<p>It is a big, beautiful, diverse world out there. Take a plunge into someplace new!</p>
<p>I grew up pretty in the same general area as Thumper and agree – I think the difference is more urban/rural than midwest. We had to drive half an hour to go to the mall, couldn’t do much at all without a car, and didn’t have a lot of decent restaurant options around. On the other hand, my parents have lived there for years and find it a good community to live in.</p>
<p>If the question is about ethnic/cultural diversity and tolerance, the answer might be different (I’m not saying it is – I’ve never lived in the midwest so can’t answer that) but the question sounds to me like it’s more about there being interesting stuff to do, and I think there are towns in NY and MA and CA and all over the country that are far more rural and less interesting than Chicago and Minneapolis and some other midwestern cities.</p>
<p>It is a big world out there, see some of it.</p>
<p>I grew up in rural Iowa, went to college in a large city in the Midwest, moved a bit further east for work and grad school, then moved way out west and to the city for more work and grad school. 17 years after leaving Iowa, I moved back with my family. Live in a college town. Love it and would not it have it any other way. I am glad I tried other places, but equally happy to be ‘back home’.</p>
<p>You can’t really say ‘There’s no place like home’ until, like Dorothy, you’ve been away for a while. I say go - see what the rest of the world has to offer. Then decide where ‘home’ is for you.</p>
<p>My east coast born and raised son went to college in Iowa. He’s back here for grad school, but can’t wait to get back to the Midwest. The ‘hyper’ lifestyle that is typical of a major east coast urban area can be exciting, but also exhausting and he says he doesn’t want to live that way. I’m sad about it, but I get it…</p>
<p>Native NYer here that has lived in 11 states and 4 countries. Chicago and and Minneapolis are awesome. I feel like we got the best of diverse urban/quality of life issues in suburbs of both cities. Both places have every kind of diversity I can think of, great museums, theaters, parks, Fortune 500s, professional sports, wonderful colleges/universities, etc. The pace is better (weekends are generally work-free, parents are BOTH home for dinner, etc. - very unlike my NYC suburban childhood), though. To be fair, I think these cities are the gems of the midwest (my very-easy-to-please cousin is bored silly in Omaha). We have never regretted our decision to raise the family in the Midwest (except fleetingly during a few April snowstorms).</p>
<p>OP, I think your boredom/dissatisfaction IS more of a rural/urban thing rather than a Midwest/Northeast thing.</p>
<p>I lived in Ames IA for many years and visted Des Moines frequently. (Hey, it was the big city - it had a shopping mall!) Really, don’t base your perception of city life on Des Moines. Give Chicago or the Twin Cities a try , if you do stay in the Midwest; there’s a lot of ethnic, cultural, societal, economic diversity there. In fact, I’m often surprised at the cultural and racial diversity here in Michigan.</p>
<p>But eastcoastcrazy is right - if you’re seeking someplace completely new and different, then your grad school experience is a good place to start.</p>
<p>I agree, boredom is a state of mind. When I heard that come out of the mouths of my children, they were handed cleaning supplies and a long list of things to do to relieve their boredom. There are plenty of things to do in Iowa, go to a sporting event, see a play, visit a state park, go swimming in a lake, go out to eat with some friends, take in a lecture at one of the many schools in Iowa, volunteer at a local elementary school or high school, volunteer at a homeless shelter, talk a walk in a park, clean up a highway…all the same things you can do in NY or Chicago or LA…</p>
<p>The Midwest is the ragged edge of the universe.
You should go East and learn the bond business.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>ALL big cities have some neighborhoods that are not safe. I just got back from visiting D1 in DC, where she just started her first job after college. She lives in a neighborhood that I think is quite safe, and on a new college grad’s salary. DC is a great city in terms of culture, diversity, activities, etc. Don’t write it off because it has some bad sections – so do Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, NY, etc.</p>
<p>Boulder is a great town, two of my siblings lived there for years.</p>
<p>Yes, because certainly it’s not like there’s a board of trade in Chicago. @@</p>
<p>
DC has some bad neighborhoods and some good neighborhoods. I don’t know Des Moines well but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t have a ‘bad’ neighborhood as well (‘bad’ defined as less maintained, higher crime). Right in DC the areas around GWU and Georgetown are both nice. If the idea of living in DC sounds of interest to you then check out the grad programs at these two Universities at least.</p>
<p>Have you traveled much? Have you actually been to California, NW, NE, SE, DC, etc.? If you haven’t visited many of these areas you might want to see if you can get to a couple of them to see what it’s like on a surface level.</p>
<p>Des Moines has some bad neighborhoods too…</p>