Hi!
I have been wondering (the last few days) on where would be a good place to live and work. This is not a "I-am-moving-out-in-two-months" type of idea, but a long term, far goal. Basically, when I graduate college (or even a couple years after that- I need to save up money, first!) I may want to move away from my hometown to someplace that is a bit more... *forward* thinking. I've been doing searches on google, but so far have not found what I need.
What am I looking for:
At the moment, I am considering being a biologist, specifically a molecular biologist, though that might change. For this post, I am going to assume I keep this goal. Are there any place in the US that have a market or need for biologists? Is there a science-centric, or place where science-minded people live? I know that is vague, but I'm not sure how else to put it. I just recognize that if I were to have a discussion about science or cogsci or anything similar in my current community, I would get strange looks, and lose status.
If such a place exists, a bonus would be an active LW community.
I'm not sure if I will or won't like moving, so moving multiple times is something I am not really considering at the moment, and since I do eventually (far far down the road) plan on having children, and those children would require a really *really* good education, I would want someplace that has a good education system. It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, since my educational experience was so awful, so I am dedicated to making sure that does *not* happen to my (far far in the future) family. (Yes, I do know that a lot of educational issues stem from a whole combination of things, and I know a good school system is not a fix-all, but it would help.)
I've never moved before, so I wouldn't even know where to begin. My family doesn't even go on vacations. I've never been on a plane, nor do I know any protocol for moving between states, or moving in general. The most moving I've ever experienced was the move to college, and that is only 20 minutes from home. Thinking about it makes it seem stressful, so the more information I have, the better I can plan, and the less stressful this will eventually be for me.
Thanks for the help!
You don't mention where you are based but trying to transcend small town attitudes is very familiar to me - I grew up in a very small town and though I had lots of family vacation travelling experience, I felt very much the same as you describe in your post and was seriously overwhelmed with my first move (big city 4 hours from home town, when starting college). Travelling as a family (at least in my experience) gave little preparation for moving and living elsewhere as the demands are almost entirely different. So your lack of travel experience may not be as much of a handicap as you are worried it may be.
Depending on how long you have before finishing university, one thing you could consider is whether it's possible or feasible to transfer somewhere else to finish your degree. This not only has the benefit of moving into a university environment which very much serves a transitional role in living independently (many people there will also be moving for the first time) but also gives you the chance to target somewhere offering more opportunities in your desired field. Further, depending just how small scale your current college is, this may create barriers to getting into a good graduate program even if your grades are good.
If this is not a possibility, what about seeking summer research experience in a lab at a university - at least in my field this is a common practice and can get you good recommendations which are crucial for grad school. Additionally it will get you a more realistic picture of what this career path is really like (in an academic environment anyway). In my experience email inquiries are perfectly fine (I prefer them to phone or in-person, at least where summer undergraduate places are concerned).
(EDIT: From the webpage linked in your profile, it looks like you are close to a large metropolitan area which has a couple of large universities of the sort I am talking about. You might be able to work on your career/educational development options first, without having to move. In which case the following paragraph can be disregarded. Although I think moving away from the family can have serious benefits, especially if your family is highly religious/restrictive)
If you manage to get a summer research opportunity,, it's usually extremely easy to get short term accommodation in these circumstances. This can be through lab/departmental channels - in the run-up to summer we are always getting email requests from other faculty ("does anyone have a spare room for my summer student"); or subletting a room from someone who has signed a year lease but is not in town for the summer (in my experience this practice is rife in college towns, usually leading to inexpensive opportunities as the supply far exceeds demand). This can provide you with a taste of independence in various ways... although still does not guarantee you will automatically find a like-minded rationalist community.