[RonBurgundy]

Most of my friends love working in big and busy cities like NYC and Boston, enjoy paying $2k a month for studio apartments, like making good money, love spending good money, and prefer living to work rather than working to live. I know that this is not uncommon throughout the US, but it is a predominant mindset and culture in the Northeast.

I am seriously considering moving from the East Coast( I decided to take a break from San Diego and the Germans a couple of years back) to a Midwestern or Southern state in a few years after I have reached some savings goals. I know that the cost of living is relative all over the country (NYC salary >>>> Missouri Salary, NYC COL >>>>>> Missouri COL), but the purchasing power in certain Midwestern and Southern states is considerably better than the purchasing power in many states in the Northeast and West.

There is something about the Midwest and the heartland of America that intrigues me and makes me feel good when I think about where I want to start and raise a family. I was thinking about maybe Indianapolis, Indiana; a major sports city surrounded by a lot of nice suburban towns/cities with good schools and affordable housing options. It is not too far from my family on the East Coast and I have some friends in the area.

I was wondering if anyone has made the move from either the West Coast or East Coast to the Midwest and could comment about their change in lifestyle and cost of living adjustment?

And I was also wondering if anybody works in Indianapolis and could comment on the opportunities in or around the city for Accounting/Tax positions and if compensation levels are sufficient for comfortable living in the area?

All thoughts and comments are welcome!

~ You Stay Classy, San Diego

FAR - 77
BEC - 82
REG - 81
AUD - 84

[Anonymous]

Ron – I would think your employment prospects are better in Chicgao than Indy if the midwest is your geographic goal. Yes, you can live downtown in Chicago and pay $2,700 a month for a one bedroom apartment and parking, but within walking distance of your office, or you can go to a suburb and get a very decent house in an area with good schools for a reasonable amount of money. Indy to me is one big suburb (but I live seven blocks from the Sears Tower so take my opinion for what it's worth) so if you're willing to live outside of the immediate city center there are a lot of areas in the Chicago metro area that are nice and might be worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

I moved from near Los Angeles, CA to northern MI, but I was still pretty young when we did that. My biggest piece of advice to you, though, is that especially if you go more southern, don't go to too small of a town initially. I live in southern KY and I LOVE the small town I live in, but it seems like the further south and the smaller the town, the harder it is for a “clueless” outsider to be assimilated into the region. So, if you have a target state (sounds like Indiana), I'd definitely go with a bigger city initially (like Indy or Chicago), and then if you prefer the more idyllic smaller-town existence, I'd move on out to the smaller areas after a little while in the big city. That way you're not totally an East Coast person in the middle of the midwest. Though, it's not as bad in the further north areas – like IN vs KY. If you were to decide on the south, though, I'd definitely say you need to start somewhere bigger and work your way smaller.

Just a random piece of advice. 🙂

[RonBurgundy]

Thank you for your responses!

~ You Stay Classy, San Diego

FAR - 77
BEC - 82
REG - 81
AUD - 84

[Author]

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