Bloomington Or Evansville?? (rent, daycare, employment)

[tammy920]

I'm trying to decide which and would like some insider info. I'm about to be a single mom of a 5 year old. My only real work experience has been in childcare. I'm not going to have the chance to visit either one before our move in May so any info would be great!!

[Nafster]

I go to USI and hate the city of Evansville. That's just me though.

Bloomington has so much more friendly family living. Even though it's a college town, they have family programs, social services, and lots more.

There's also a bit of a better economy in Bloomington, as it's one of the few Southern Indiana metropolitan areas that actually gained population between the years of 2000 and 2007.

[domergurl]

I'm not certain about Evansville, but in Bloomington, with IU and lots of students with kids (I used to babysit a lot when I was a grad student, for other grad students with kids ... made lots of money!), you wouldn't have any problems finding employment in a daycare or as a nanny.

[MainStreet]

I recently reviewed my visit to Evansville as looking like a bomb just dropped.

I give you two visuals and you choose:

1. Gray, dusty, out-dated, twisted metal, hot, post-apocalyptic, neglected, strangely humid AND dry, vacant, abandoned, wasteland of urban "old."

2. Lush, green, aware, secret, shady, hilly, X-Games, Outside Magazine, attractive, reeks fitness, historical, hip, artistic, park bench, people watch, architecturally dreamy, fresh, botanical..."do we have to leave!?," land locked paradise.

Can you guess which one is which?

[rrah]

I live in B-ton and really love it, but feel like I should present a realistic picture for you.

I often see help wanted ads for childcare, but know the pay isn't great. The ad I saw today offered $8.00/hr. Could a single parent make it on $8.00/hr in this town? Realistically, probably not. The problem becomes paying rent. The closer one is to downtown and campus, the higher the rent. As one moves farther out, the rent becomes more reasonable, but I think you would be hard pressed to find anything decent for under $500/mth and even that's a real stretch.

I'd recommend looking at the classified section of the herald times online version. I don't think you need a subscription for the classifieds.

Good Luck!