Hi,

My partner and I are a inter-racial Gay couple with two pre-school
aged sons. I am 52 and the stay-at-home parent...my partner in 34 and
is a Visual MerchMgr in retail.

We currently live in Chicago however, are wanting to find a midwestern
city with a more affordable cost of living.  Since we only have one
(1) traditional income (I am self-employed as a consultant ) we are
looking to cut rental costs in order to buy a home.

We're looking for a city in the midwest which is culturally diverse.

At present we live in an upscale northside neighborhood in a 3 bedroom
walk-up. We'd like to also stay within a 5 hour drive of Kankakee
county, Illinois.

I have read that Columbus, Ohio is a good choice.

I know this is probably pretty vague but its as precise as I can
manage.

Thanks

---

Request for Question Clarification by digsalot-ga on 17 Aug 2003 00:58 PDT

Take a look at the answer to this question:
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=174351

If you like what I've done there, I will research the midwest cities
for you.  However, you will notice I do have a columbus bias.

Cheers
digsalot

---

Clarification of Question by pinkyandpoodle-ga on 17 Aug 2003 05:52 PDT

Good Morning~

1st, thanks to justaskscott and digsalot!  I appreciate your help in
getting me to focus.

Okay...maybe this will work.  Weather is not a factor.  Also, the
distance from Kankakee isn't a huge factor either.  I was really just
trying to stay within reasonable travel lengths to my "in-laws" ( my
partner's family) who live in Kankakee and Danville, IL.

Earlier this year we were on our way to ABQ, NM...and that went the
way of the dodo...because "Pinky" would have taken nearly a 50% cut in
his salary...doing the same function he does now ( W/ The GAP ).  So,
while still wanting a less urban life, we have decided that it might
be best to stay somewhere in the midwest where we have friends and
family.

So...we like the "Quad Cities" area...that kind of look and
feel....small townish but not the "sticks".

Digsalot, I do like your suggestions about Minneapolis...have been
there and was quite charmed. However the main thing is rental
availability for under $900.00...airport accessibility ( now we can
get to O"Hare on public transport in 35 minutes)..."Gay Tolerant"... 
Oh, the piece disgsalot refered me too was brilliant...except, now
need to be directed to "pricey/upscale" areas <VBG>, we already live
in one *S*

Thanks,

Poodle

---

Request for Question Clarification by digsalot-ga on 17 Aug 2003 07:01 PDT

Hello again

Actually the bit about Minneapolis came from one of the comments and
was not a part of my answer to that question.

You also make reference - "Oh, the piece disgsalot refered me too was
brilliant...except, now need to be directed to "pricey/upscale" areas
<VBG>, we already live in one *S*"

Which part of my answer to the previous question was that, Columbus? -
or all the cities I covered?

digs

---

Clarification of Question by pinkyandpoodle-ga on 17 Aug 2003 07:43 PDT

Hey Digs~

You're up awfully early on a Sunday :~)

It was referring to the neighbor in Columbus that "justaskscott" wrote
about. (Short North area of Columbus).  Sorry my bad!

Thanks

"Poodle"

---

Clarification of Question by pinkyandpoodle-ga on 17 Aug 2003 17:37 PDT

Thought I would "up the anty" on this one a bit and narrow it down a
bit.

Specifically, is it possible to rent a 3 bdroom house or apartment in
a "Gay Friendly" neighborhood for between 600-$800.00. Also, what is
the employment climate in Columbus, should it be that "pinky" decides
not to relocate with the GAP.  Are there places that offer
"partnership" benefits. Lastly, since we are parents...within these
neighborhoods what are the schools like for pre-schoolers.

I *think* this is clearer???

Thanks
Pinky and Poodle

Hello pinkyandpoodle-ga:

It was a pleasure to do research on such an interesting topic. I read
the comments posted by other Google researchers and various
well-wishers and than tried to give you a data oriented result.

I gathered data for about 70 of the cities in the states of IL, WI, MI
and IN for the cost of living and population diversity (as you wanted
to be close to your family, I chose the nearest states). Note that I
only included the cities which had a population of over 50000. After
that, I mentioned notable cities from the list of 70 cities that are
inexpensive and culturally diverse.

I also compiled the data for 27 major or important cities in the
Midwest for the cost of living and population diversity. After
gathering the data I sorted out the ten most inexpensive cities form
the 27 major Midwest city list and ten most culturally diverse cities
from the 27 major Midwest city list. After that I chose the three
cities that made the list in both categories.

The data was compiled by the guide at http://www.bestplaces.net. You
can log on to their website and gather additional information or a
detailed data for the city of your choice and compare it with other
cities.

***************************************************************************
Cost of living for each city is calculated in comparison to US average
of 100. ‘W’ indicates ‘White’.
***************************************************************************


TABLE (i)
70 MAJOR CITIES IN THE FOUR STATE AREA (IL, WI, MI and IN)

NAME				COST OF	        DIVERSITY
				LIVING
				(AVG. 100)

Anderson, IN			88.5		85.2 % W, 14.8 % others
Arlington Heights, IL		131.8		79 % W, 21 % others
Aurora, IL			109.3		73.3 % W, 26.7 % others
Bloomington, IN		101.5		89.2 % W, 10.8 % others
Bloomington, IL		113.5		89.1 % w, 10.9 % others
Champaign, IL		93.9		78 % W, 22 % others
Chicago, IL			112		48.1 % W, 51.2 % others
Decatur, IL			91.4		80.7 % W, 19.3 % others
Des Plaines, IL		122		77.8 % W, 22.2 % others
Elgin, IL			110.8		74.3 % W, 25.7 % others
Evansville, IN			90.3		88.5 % W, 11.5 others
Evanston, IL			147		63.6 % W, 36.4 % others
Fort Wayne, IN		91.3		79.5 % W, 21.5 % others
Gary, IN			84.2		18.1 % W, 77.9 % others
Hoffman Estates, IL		123.7		74.5 % W, 25.6 % others
Hammond, IN			87.3		79.8 % W, 21.2 % others
Joliet, IL			112.3		68.9 % W, 31.1 % others
Indianapolis, IN		94		74.8 % W, 25.2 % others
Mount Prospect, IL		127.6		75.9 % W, 24.1 % others
Naperville, IL			160.7		89 % W, 11 % others
Peoria, IL			92.3		76.1 % W, 23.9 % others
Rockford, IL			89		79.6 % W, 20.4 % others
Schaumberg, IL		124.1		76.7 % W, 23.3 % others
Muncie, IN			90.5		88.5 % W, 11.5 % others
Springfield, IL			88.5		84.2 % W, 25.6 % others
Wheaton, IL			150.7		89.6 % W, 10.4 % others
South Bend, IN		81.6		74.6 % W, 25.4 % others
Terre Haute, IN		85.1		87.1 % W, 12.9 % others
Appleton, WI			92.8		93.3 % W, 6.7 % others
Ann Arbor, MI		117		77.6 % W, 22.4 % others
Battle Creek, MI		93.6		79.9 % W, 20.1 % others
Eau Claire, WI		97.7		92 % W, 8 % others
Canton, MI			114.8		81.7 % W, 18.3 % others
Green Bay, WI		91.8		92.2 % W, 7.8 % others
Dearborn, MI			101.4		85.9 % W, 14.1 % others
Dearborn Heights, MI		98.4		85.8 % W, 14.2 % others
Janesville, WI			95.9		95.9 % W, 4.1 % others
Detroit, MI			88.5		22.1 % W, 78.9 % others
Kenosha, WI			89.7		87 % W, 13 % others
La Crosse, WI			92.3		89 % W, 11 % others
Madison, WI			107.1		86.3 % W, 13.7 % others
East Lansing, MI		96.2		80.5 % W, 19.5 % others
Farmington Hills, MI		132.5		89.9 % W, 11.1 % others
Flint, MI			90		47.8 % W, 52.2 % others
Milwaukee, WI		93.3		59.7 % W, 40.3 % others
Grand Rapids, MI		96.1		74.4 % W, 25.6 % others
Oshkosh, WI			88.3		93.8 % W, 6.2 % others
Racine, WI			95.2		74.1 % W, 25.9 % others
Sheboygan, WI		91.8		91.7 % W, 8.3 % others
Kalamazoo, MI		95.2		76.1 % W, 23.9 % others
Lansing, MI			92.2		71.9 % W, 28.1 % others
Livonia, MI			109		86 % W, 14 % others
Waukesha, WI			107.4		92.9 % W, 7.1 % others
West Allis, WI		95		90.3 % W, 9.7 % others
Pontiac, MI			88		52.3 % W, 47.7 % others
Redford, MI			95.2		86.5 % W, 13.5 % others		
Roseville, MI			95.5		95.3 % W, 4.7 % others
Royal Oak, MI		107.9		94.6 % W, 5.4 % others
Saginaw, MI			86.6		53.7 % W, 46.3 % others
St. Clair Shores, MI		101.7		96.8 % W, 3.2 % others
Shelby, MI			93.7		96.1 % W, 3.9 % others
Southfield, MI			108.1		65.9 % W, 34.1 % others
Sterling Heights, MI		103.1		94.4 % W, 5.6 % others
Taylor, MI			92.2		82.5 % W, 17.5 % others
Troy, MI			129.8		86.9 % W, 13.1 % others
Warren, MI			98.8		95.5 % W, 4.5 % others
West Bloomfield, MI		136.1		88.2 % W, 11.8 % others
Westland, MI			100.4		83.4 % W, 16.6 % others
Wyoming, MI			94.6 		90.7 % W, 9.3 % others

TABLE (ii)
NOTEABLES CITIES FROM THE LIST OF 70 CITIES IN THE FOUR STATES

NAME				COST OF	        DIVERSITY
				LIVING
				(AVG. 100)

Indianapolis, IN		94		74.8 % W, 25.2 % others
Peoria, IL			92.3		76.1 % W, 23.9 % others
South Bend, IN		81.6		74.6 % W, 25.4 % others
Flint, MI			90		47.8 % W, 52.2 % others
Milwaukee, WI		93.3		59.7 % W, 40.3 % others
Lansing, MI			92.2		71.9 % W, 28.1 % others
Pontiac, MI			88		52.3 % W, 47.7 % others
Saginaw, MI			86.6		53.7 % W, 46.3 % others

TABLE (iii)
MAJOR CITIES OF THE MIDWEST

NAME				COST OF	            DIVERSITY
				LIVING
				(AVG. 100)

Chicago, IL			112		48.1 % W, 51.2 % others
Peoria, IL			92.3		76.1 % W, 23.9 % others
Rockford, IL			89		79.6 % W, 20.4 % others
Milwaukee, WI		93.3		59.7 % W, 40.3 % others
Madison, WI			107.1		86.3 % W, 13.7 % others
Detroit, MI			88.5		22.1 % W, 78.9 % others
Lansing, MI			92.2		71.9 % W, 28.1 % others
Flint, MI			90		47.8 % W, 52.2 % others
Grand Rapids, MI		96.1		74.4 % W, 25.6 % others
Kalamazoo, MI		95.2		76.1 % W, 23.9 % others
Ann Arbor, MI		117		77.6 % W, 22.4 % others
Indianapolis, IN		94		74.8 % W, 25.2 % others
Fort Wayne, IN		91.3		79.5 % W, 21.5 % others
South Bend, IN		81.6		74.6 % W, 25.4 % others
Minneapolis, MN		104.7		75.9 % W, 24.1 % others	
St. Paul, MN			98.6		77.6 % W, 22.4 % others
Des Moines, IA		94.8		87.4 % W, 12.6 % others
Cedar Rapids, IA		98.6		94.6 % W, 5.4 % others
ST. Louis, MO		93.6		46.8 % W, 53.2 % others		
Kansas City, MO		93.5		67.2 % W, 32.3 % others
Springfield, MO		90.2		93.5 % W, 6.5 % others
Columbus, OH		97		72.9 % W, 27.1 % others
Dayton, OH			95.1		59.5 % W, 40.5 % others
Cincinnati, OH  		97.7		59.8 % W, 40.2 % others
Louisville, KY			96.7		70.0 % W, 30 % others
Lexington, KY		98.6		83.3 % W, 16.7 % others
Charleston, WV		91.8		84.1 % W, 15.9 % others

TABLE (iv)
TOP 10 LEAST EXPENSIVE MAJOR CITIES IN THE MIDWEST

NAME				COST OF	
				LIVING
				(AVG. 100)

South Bend, IN		81.6
Detroit, MI			88.5
Rockford, IL			89
Flint, MI			90	
Springfield, MO		90.2
Fort Wayne, IN		91.3
Charleston, WV		91.8
Lansing, MI			92.2
Peoria, IL			92.3
Milwaukee, WI		93.3

TABLE (v)
TOP 10 CULTURALY DIVERSE CITIES IN THE MIDWEST

NAME				COST OF	            DIVERSITY
				LIVING
				(AVG. 100)

Chicago, IL			112		48.1 % W, 51.2 % others
Flint, MI			90		47.8 % W, 52.2 % others
ST. Louis, MO		93.6		46.8 % W, 53.2 % others
Dayton, OH			95.1		59.5 % W, 40.5 % others
Milwaukee, WI		93.3		59.7 % W, 40.3 % others
Cincinnati, OH  		97.7		59.8 % W, 40.2 % others
Kansas City, MO		93.5		67.2 % W, 32.3 % others
Louisville, KY			96.7		70.0 % W, 30 % others
Lansing, MI			92.2		71.9 % W, 28.1 % others
Columbus, OH		97		72.9 % W, 27.1 % others

TABLE (iv)
THREE MIDWEST CITIES THAT ARE IN BOTH TABLES (iv & v)

NAME				COST OF	        DIVERSITY
				LIVING
				(AVG. 100)

Flint, MI			90		47.8 % W, 52.2 % others
Milwaukee, WI		93.3		59.7 % W, 40.3 % others
Lansing, MI			92.2		71.9 % W, 28.1 % others


I hope this will help. If you need further information, please
clarify.

Thank you very much for choosing Google Answers.

Best regards,
Leader-ga 

Please Note! The data was compiled by the guide at
http://www.bestplaces.net. You can log on to their website and gather
additional information or a detailed data for the city of your choice
and compare it with other cities.

---

Clarification of Answer by leader-ga on 27 Aug 2003 11:08 PDT

Hello:

Just to clarify that the editor made some changes when I posted my
answer.
Just for example, the data for  Chicago, IL   (112  48.1 % W, 51.2 %
others)
indicates that the cost of living in Chicago is 112 and the diversity
is 48.1 % White and 51.2 % are of other race. Please read accordingly
for all other cities.

It might be difficult for you to get one Researcher to provide an
answer about 10 Midwest cities.  Each of us might know something about
some of these cities, but probably no one person will know a lot about
10 cities.  Maybe someone will have a clever way to research this for
you, though this might take more time and effort than a $20 question
would normally entail (see
http://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html ).

For what it's worth, as someone who has lived near Columbus for the
past year, my impression is that the Short North area of Columbus
would be a good place to live ... except that it is trendy and thus
might be expensive.  Anyway, it's worth looking into.  The city is
undoubtedly culturally diverse.

Of course, if you've tried looking at the directions from Columbus to
Kankakee County, five hours might be difficult at the legal speed
limit.  You'd have to cross half of Ohio and all of Indiana!

Hi Pinkyandpoodle ~

Have you tried CNN/Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" search tool?

It's located here:
   - http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/

the nice thing about it is you can plug in your variables, including
weather, income, housing and cost of living and even the Midwest
region, and come up with a list that will be a good starting place for
you.

Gives you places to start to compare to make your decisions.

Good luck!
Serenata

If you need more information about the Short North, a plain old search
for "short north" on Google should get you started:

://www.google.com/search?q=%22short+north%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1

It's definitely gay tolerant (and indeed, gay celebratory, like Lake
View in Chicago).  It's close by car to the main airport -- I'm not
sure about buses.  (Alas, no trains in Columbus -- perhaps that will
change several years from now.)  And, as I indicated previously, it
might be expensive to rent there, but I don't know that for certain.

Madison is another option. It has a thriving gay community, with gay
nightclubs and a gay paper. It is a liberal town, from all accounts;
it has an active and popular university with a film studies
department, always a good thing in my opinion; and was rated one of
the top ten cities to set up a business by Forbes magazine, for cost
and other reasons.

During the summer, there is live music, free, by the lake in the city
center, and other events.

The website listed in another comment, money.cnn.com, reveals that the
average income is well below the national average, hence house prices
will also be lower, as shown here
   http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/details/5548000.html

It's a good city to travel from: the local airport, Dane County, is
well served by North West, AirTran and other airlines, and it's less
around two hours to O'Hare in Chicago (approx), maybe less to
Milwaukee (good for flights to Florida). (You can check out
www.itasoftware.com, for more info on cheap airports and flights.)

Here's an opinion from a University of Wisconsin website: 
- - -       "University of Wisconsin Law students enjoy the benefits
of living in one of the best cities in the country. Madison, with a
population of over 200,000, is a beautiful and affordable city that
regularly makes the national 'best of' lists. Madison is a complex
community of academic, political, cultural, and recreational activity.
As the state capital, Madison is home to the Supreme Court of
Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Court of Appeals, the Dane County
Courts, the Federal District Court, and various state and federal
government agencies. All are within walking distance of the Law
School. The Wisconsin Union Theater, the Madison Civic Center, the
Dane County Coliseum, and other facilities provide endless
opportunities for you to enjoy national and local cultural events.

"The four lakes in Madison are an ideal backdrop for the city, which
is augmented by a 1,200-acre arboretum, a free zoo, more than 200 city
parks, 11 beaches, and lots of scenic countryside accessible by car,
bicycle, and foot. As a city concerned about maintaining its
unpolluted environment, Madison has a convenient campus and city bus
system and a city-wide network of bicycle paths."
     - - -  http://www.law.wisc.edu/prospective/madison.htm

It was described as "the friendliest city in the Midwest" by Midwest
Living, June 2003.



Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau: 800.373.6376

Just a brief comment... You might also want to consider
Champaign-Urbana, not much more than an hour south of Kankakee. It's
definitely a college town with a tolerant atmosphere, a pretty good
mix of diversity, and a decent amount of culture for a small city in
the middle of corn. Cheap rent, modest cost of living, generally
well-educated populace, and progressive politics (for Urbana at
least). Pretty good selection of ethnic restaurants to serve the
student population and foreign instructors, for that matter. It came
pretty close to sucking me in :)

I can't believe I didn't see Cleveland Heights, Ohio as part of the
answer to this question.  A beautiful city well known for its liberal
community attitude and most important it has entered history as "the
first community in the country to adopt a domestic-partnership
registry through referendum. The passage of Issue 35 is testament to
the respect Cleveland Heights citizens have for one another and for
the sanctity of a union between two life partners, regardless of their
gender or economic circumstances." (from a letter to the editor on
http:www.cleveland.com).  This is a city of large older well built
homes where rents are reasonable and the people are diverse and
friendly and accept people for who they are.  If you haven't already
moved, please consider Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  Best of luck to you.

Thanks mr4968-ga:

It is true that Cleveland Heights is truly a diverse city with a 38
percent black and 58 percent white but the cost of living is a little
bit high i.e. 109 on consumer price index. But that doesn't mean it is
not a nice place to live.

Thanks.
leader-ga