meimichan | Okay folks, what next?

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Okay folks, what next?

Okay, so, my job here sucks, although I may be able to start parlaying some work stories into a rather nice humor novel at some point.

I'm financially solvent enough that I can actually pick up and move and probably live for a good six months just about anywhere. Recession or not, I was able to find work pretty steadily in rust-belt hell Cleveland, so I'm not overly worried about finding work. Still, I guess I wouldn't mind some input on where to go. You'll notice(or not) that Ohio is not an option. This state hasn't been horrible to me, but to be honest, it hasn't been that great either.

[Poll #1237047]

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Texas is great, but the heat is getting even me down at the moment.

So, since I'm moving there in a year, whole new category: OREGON! :D

The only reason I didn't say Chicago is because the cost of living is so high. WI is a great place (from all accounts), and not too much downside from what I know. Weather is about my idea of perfect (I don't mind winters, though).

Although, Detroit is still where my heart is, too. =)

I said Chicago because I think it is one of my favorite "big" cities that is still relatively manageable. (I myself might be focusing my job search there soon enough).

Detroit wouldn't be all that bad, I don't think, but it might be hard to find something these days. I dunno. (I grew up in MI, so I'd take almost any chance to live in MI.)

My best friend moved to Austin, TX a few years ago, and I know a few people in the Houston area. But, it is pretty damn hot. Hmmm.

I'm really seeing no downside to Wisconsin. I love beer and cheese. And I know people there, too. I've been to a couple of great weddings there, one of which had awesome weather in November. Seriously, how did that happen?

I have almost no basis for one additional suggestion... Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul?). I've heard (like some of WI) that weather isn't permacloud like MTU. And South Bend.

Cleveland's got the permacloud thing going for it as well. One aspect I don't miss.

I voted for Chicago here myself over Detroit, pretty much entirely because of the job situation. Detroit's in a hole, and it's not coming back from it anytime soon. Chicago (according to wikipedia) has the most balanced economy in the nation. It just has so many industries that when one takes a hit, there's enough there to absorb it. Chicago also has the bonus of being fairly close to just about any place in Michigan I'd visit. Houghton? 6-7 hour drive. Detroit? 4-5 hour drive.

Texas is there as a kind of joke-I've had several people over the years suggest Texas. I've been south of the Mason-Dixon for three weeks now, and I'm really looking to get above it again. Plus, the people I work with seriously believe Barack Obama is a Muslim and will cause 9-11 Version 2.0 if elected, and I can't see Texas being much better (exception for Austin) and that kind of ignorance will make me grind my teeth down that much faster.

I was actually expecting someone to suggest Minneapolis/St. Paul to me, but....well, you're not the specific person I expected to say it. :p I've got a friend who did a co-op there and really loved it.

Based on my industry, I'm fairly certain I'm going to end up in the suburbs. Bona said that the chemist positions aren't really in the city. And I was considering Boston for a time-Boston and Chicago both seem to have decent chemical industries going for them. Trust me, Boston makes Chicago's cost of living look fricking dirt cheap. Wisconsin's a serious consideration though. It'd have to be on the lake, or in Madison. :p

I'm fairly certain you're going to end up in Detroit after your fieldwork. I think you're far more attached to it than I am.

Much as I think I'd like Oregon, that is really far away from my family, and the industry I work in doesn't have all that strong a presence. The only west coast state that does have jobs for me is California, and while I enjoyed my last (and only) trip to California, I have plans to never ever live there.

Yeah the only thing in my mind that made Cleveland cool (I was unfairly trying to compare it to South Bend) was that it had Chipotle. But, we have that now, so I don't care. I'm not in the medical field in any way, so the Cleveland Clinic next to CWRU wasn't really a draw.

Ditto on Chicago.

I think Austin might be that one special little place in all of Texas. The couple times I've been for a week at a time, and they break record temperatures everyday. So, if you do move there, make sure I'm not planning to come to town.

On a side note about the Mason-Dixon Line, I spent a summer in Hotlanta. It was hot, too. Anyway, my really pointless story ends with the fact that I was interacting with grad students. Not industry people, so I know nothing. Good story, eh?

I couldn't resist being the first to suggest MSP. I figured someone would do. Nobody has ever said "don't move there!" unless they were just being anti-cold/snow. A friend of mine co-oped there, and now they work there.

I've still not been to Madison, even though I've been invited to a friends house a couple of times (those weeks just didn't work). But, they insist it's awesome. I have experienced Milwaukee, and I think I'd like that place. One, because I'm convinced I have to be within an hour and a half of a lake (thanks a lot MI for spoiling me so much). Two, I don't think that I made much a dent in the beer available to me during my visit.

I was born in Milwaukee. It gets a fair amount of bad press(not nearly as much as Cleveland, Detroit, Flint), but I was there for a wedding several years ago. My boyfriend and I can't easily drink for health reasons, and Miller is not the kind of beer we go for, so we spent the three hours or so in between the ceremony and the reception driving around town(everyone else did the brewery tour). I really really loved it. Maybe I should've stuck Milwaukee on the list by itself. I really haven't lived there since I was...three?

Yeah, I liked the town a LOT. It seemed like they've done a lot of stuff recently.

I actually didn't drink a single drop of Miller while I was there. We went to Lakefront Brewery, and had New Glarus Spotted Cow at the reception. I'm not sure what else I may have had if we went somewhere not wedding related, but it wasn't Miller.

*Ahem*

Minnesota. We're going to try to gather brothers there. :P Now if only I could find work in that damn state...

Umm, yeah. Good idea in theory, but in practice, that might be a bit harder than planned.

Also...I've never been to Minnesota. Except to change planes that one time, but that is so far outside the realm of counting.

Aw, I figured once I'd been to Minnesota that everyone ever must have been there!

That said, I was only there once, but it was a nice place. I mostly stuck to the suburbs of St. Paul, and it was pre-winter so I don't know how the snow situation goes.

I dunno, I feel like a lot of the northern Midwest is the same, aside from their individual economies (sigh, Michigan).

From everything I've heard about it, I'm sure I would like Minnesota. I think the weather's a lot like where Roberta's from. Fucking freezing in the winter, bake in the summer, not a whole lot of snow though-nothing like Houghton or Cleveland gets.

You didn't vote. I need a tie-breaker. Or one of the other three choices. :p

Have a safe trip! Come back with lots of good stories and pictures! You'll be fine, it'll be a great experience.

I voted for Texas. I know, I know. It's hot and humid and it's Texas. BUT... If you are a chemist in Texas, there is always the oil field. We are always looking for people at Baker Hughes, Baker Petrolite division. I am a walking Baker recruiter, I know. But they are a great company and the oil field is always a conterversy, but there is so much $$$$ there.

You did mention that you really liked Houston, as long as it wasn't in the 5th District. :p So if I ever apply for a job with them, I shall drop your name. Several times. I kinda don't like my current job, what with the owners sucking. :\

Wisconsin is so far winning, if barely. :p

You look really good in your icon picture.

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Okay folks, what next?

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Sigh, LJ ate my comment last night.

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