<p>In NY area anyway. Right down to tensions with often richer coasties.</p>
<p>Bloomington's a great place, and IU is a wonderful school. It's prettier than Wisconsin, and the weather there is mild in comparison to Madison. And without engineering, a med school, an agriculture department, or a large law school, IU has the vibe of a huge liberal arts college. I went there for a while, and the theater/music students had a lot of cachet--nobody laughed at them. That's odd at a large public university where professional students usually set the pace.</p>
<p>I'd take issue with IU/Bloomington being prettier than UW/Madison. Weather no doubt better at IU.</p>
<p>Barrons, did i ever tell you how my one semester at IU was when they were filming "Breaking Away"? In the scene where the locals' car is going backwards and the student's Mercedes is going forwards, that's me on the sidewalk on the right with a girl turning to look at the action. Indiana's main aesthetic leverage over Wisconsin is its architectural coherence. The place looks like its founders had a plan and stuck with it. Wisconsin is like U of Mich at Ann Arbor...lots of impressive buildings, but there's a lack of a coherent theme.</p>
<p>They had all the nice limestone right in the area and were smart to use it. I was at the Clash show in Austin when they filmed their Rockin the Casbah video. great show.</p>
<p>I was at IU with Mark Spitz. People practically fell to the ground in worship when he walked by. Didn't hurt that he was really hot. (ego to match)</p>
<p>I also was there for the intro of Bobby Knight to IU. I'm still a fan (I know, I know). I love IU. Gorgeous campus, strong programs, down to earth students and faculty.</p>