I’m sick of hearing people bash Indiana. You’ve just seen the boring parts of it. Every state has boring, bleak parts. You should come to Bloomington, IN.
I live in Bloomington, and have lived here for almost my entire life. It is a wonderful town. There are trees and beautiful greenery everywhere. I’ve heard people say the IU campus is the nicest college campus they’ve ever seen.
A 5 minute drive from the center of the IU campus and you’re out in the country. The countryside of Southern IN is totally, totally different from the central and northern parts of the state. There are beautiful rolling hills here that soar up into the sky and offer unbelievable views of hundreds of acres of trees and farmland. Brown County in the fall is one of the most beautiful places in the country, in my opinion. It’s very hilly and scenic, totally unlike the flat north that most people unfamiliar with Indiana picture when they think of the state.
The brother of the Dalai Lama lives here in Bloomington and he owns several businesses and restaurants.
I know John Mellencamp personally and he is an awesome guy. Nobody ever calls him Johnny or Cougar or anything anymore. He’s just John Mellencamp. He drives a yellow Viper.
There is a huge local music scene. Bloomington is home to two prominent indie rock labels, Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar. Secretly Canadian has Jens Lekman, Magnolia Electric Co., Danielson, Richard Swift and David Vandervelde, all people who you have probably never heard of but who are very famous in the world of indie rock. Jagjaguwar has Okkervil River, Black Mountain, Daniel Johnston, Oneida, Swan Lake and Oakley Hall. Bloomington also has a huge world-music festival, the LotusFest, every year with many very prominent ethnic music acts from all over the world. There is also a huge underground scene of local garage rock and punk bands, basement rock shows, a true “college” music scene like a little mini-version of the ones in Austin or Seattle.
Lake Monroe, just 15 minutes away from downtown, is the largest lake in the state and is absolutely beautiful.
Seriously, you should visit here if you don’t believe me. It will be a very memorable city and you’ll no longer associate Indiana only with Dan Quayle and basketball.