My husband is being transferred with his job, to one of three cities - Indianapolis, Columbus, or Dayton. I've done a lot of research on the first two cities, and am comfortable with them. I don't know much about Dayton, though. Help!
Can anyone tell me a little about it? I'm in my twenties, married, and no kids yet. I'm not super-crunchy, but not mainstream, either. How is the access to natural foods stores? Interesting restaurants and events? Independent movie theaters? Ability to meet people in their twenties and thirties and make friends? How "conservative" is it? I'm a liberal, but I have friends across the political spectrum, so I'm pretty comfortable in a wide variety of areas, as long as I can find some people with similar views to talk about political stuff! I plan to TTC soon-ish after the move. Are the good homebirth providers, or natural-birth friendly hospitals?
I know that's a lot, but also any advice on neighborhoods or suburbs would be wonderful. I'd love to live somewhere safe, good for kids, maybe with older homes and trees. I'm not comfortable in a place that's too crowded, too noisy, or has a lot of crime. I'm not a super-urban person, but I also don't really like identical tract housing in the exurbs. How is the cost of living/housing? I heard its lower than here (Minneapolis) - we'd want to rent a townhouse or house for the first year (for under 1100/month, pref. much lower), then buy a home (for under 150k). Is this reasonable for a decent area?
Thanks and I'll keep you posted - we'll be moving in August or September, and should hear WHERE in a few weeks.
