College towns are dominated by student populations and their schools have several common characteristics that are ideal for the right kind of person(often a family). The towns are typically beautiful(great architecture), have big sports energy during the school year, dynamic cafe/bar/restaurant scenes, outsized cultural offerings via school programs, and often have great public school systems that the education culture drives. Bloomington has all of this and so families tend to love it. 

While there is stuff to do in Bloomington it is remote and small and if you're not into the campus life it can get very quiet. A lot of professors commute from outside the city or even Indianapolis(a little over an hour) so they get a bigger social/cultural scene at home. If you don’t want a nightlife built for college kids you’re going to find it snoozy. For families, it works great. For young professionals ready to move past the college pub scene it may not be your best choice. 

Small Town College Life

LookyLOO Review of Bloomington?

Bloomington is generally considered a cool, liberal town. There are pretty diverse eats here that serve the college kids all sorts of pretty cheap interesting fare. As noted there are some cultural opportunities with downtown housing theaters, live music, and other performing arts. Those are also available to locals at I.U. The town though is pretty divided between those at school and families who take advantage of the relatively affordable real estate, great family amenities, and excellent public schools. This is Main Street America, in a more rural sense in all its glory and so expect that kind of lifestyle. 

To see what locals get up to for fun in Bloomington check out the [calendar of events](https://www.visitbloomington.com/events/). 

We highly recommend visiting Bloomington and staying in the community in a [VRBO](https://vrbo.com/affiliate/p4JS4ZC) rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our [partnership with Expedia](expedia.com/affiliate/9NZ8LBQ) as well.


Lifestyle 

Move to Bloomington if you have a job at IU or you’re going to work remotely. You can commute to Indianapolis where the job market is significantly better but it’s a long one and far better to live in Indy if you work there. The school hasn’t driven much local startup industry so unlike other college towns that have tech incubators or venture opportunities that’s not really happening here. 


Worklife 

If you can work remote and have a family Bloomington is an ideal place to live. Assuming of course you don’t feel the need to live in a big metropolis, or live within a very short driving distance from one. Bloomington, like many college towns, is a bit pricier than other towns its size in the area but is far far cheaper than bigger city options that aren’t as cool or have as good a school system. 


Pound for Pound a Great Option

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**Yankeehoosier**
8mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

My wife and I went to school and met and later retired here after living in Chicago. Bloomington offered us an enjoyable place to live, with much lower taxes and a more tolerable climate. Its plusses and minuses:

(+) - Beautiful natural surroundings

Friendly, helpful people, great neighbors

Higher costs than elsewhere in Indiana but lower than US average

IU's cultural activities, concerts, sports events (Big Ten)

Highly rated schools (public, private, charter).

(-) - Very limited job opportunities

Housing costs affected by student rental rates, higher county property and income taxes

Per capita median income much lower than national average

Health care access with IU Health.

For more reviews of what living in Bloomington is like from locals, check out [The Reviews](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/bloomington/reviews).

It’s pretty quiet

Reviews of Bloomington from Locals

Downtown is the most obvious choice for Young Professionals. The city has done a fair bit of development in the area and there are plenty of bars, restaurants and galleries all within walking distance of the apartment/condo options in the new and converted buildings. 

Plenty of students live in Old Northeast Downtown, which is the part of downtown closest to campus. Also check out Garden Hill and Maple Heights. They're a shorter walk to campus, tons of rental apartment buildings and just a hop to nightlife. 
- Downtown / Old Northeast Downtown
- Maple Heights
- Garden Hill 


Young Professionals/Students

Downtown/Old Northeast

Bryan Park is a nice neighborhood about 10 blocks from downtown. Plenty of newer and historic homes, a great park, elementary and high school all within walking distance and a very active neighborhood association creating family activities year round. 

If you’re hankering for something a bit fancier check out the areas west and east of College Mall and around the country club. Bigger homes and yards and also excellent schools. 

Finally if a historic district is more your thing then look at Elm Heights. Beautiful older homes, and stunning streets just south of campus. Great public schools (as is often the case near a campus) and great open spaces both on and off-campus to run and bike and hike. 
- Bryan Park
- College Mall
- Elm Heights


Families

Bryan Park 

Bloomington

**Anonymous**
Pros and Cons of moving to Bloomington?
8 months ago
🦉🦉🦉

I would probably be bringing my job with me (I just need internet). What's good and bad about it?

Things I like: It's a college town. It's green and leafy (at least in summer). Compared to Texas, the summer temperatures are great. It seems tolerant. (I'm not gay, but I don't really like the vibes of intolerant places.) And it seems like housing is more affordable here.

Causes of some concern. It's kind of small. That has charm, but it could be an issue for some things. I've heard doctors are in short supply -- not great, as I'm not young anymore. It's in Indiana, which is about as conservative as Texas. That was my least favorite thing about Texas.

**Anonymous**
8mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

I've been living in Bloomington for a little over a year (moved here for my partner). I generally like it, but I think living close enough to downtown that I can walk to a lot of stuff, but far enough away that I don't have to listen to college kids, is a big part of why I've been enjoying living here.

Here are some of my observations/things I've heard from other people:

Definitely a blue city in a red state, and the state government has sometimes passed laws that undercut the local government. Locally, politics are liberal/progressive, but there's a lot of NIMBYism. (I'm originally from Connecticut, though, so that's nothing new to me.) Very queer friendly, though.

While it's hard to make friends as an adult anywhere, it can be especially difficult here, because, at least from what I've seen, a lot of things are geared towards college kids. If you know where to look, though, you can find cool stuff going on!

Housing, especially affordable housing, can be difficult to find. Because it's a college town, a lot of the new housing is built for students, and generally leases are going to run August 1ish-July 31ish. (Also be prepared to re-up your lease in September, since apartment hunting for the next school year starts practically as soon as the new school year starts up.)

**Yankeehoosier**
8mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

My wife and I went to school and met and later retired here after living in Chicago. Bloomington offered us an enjoyable place to live, with much lower taxes and a more tolerable climate. Its plusses and minuses:

(+) - Beautiful natural surroundings

Friendly, helpful people, great neighbors

Higher costs than elsewhere in Indiana but lower than US average

IU's cultural activities, concerts, sports events (Big Ten)

Highly rated schools (public, private, charter).

(-) - Very limited job opportunities

Housing costs affected by student rental rates, higher county property and income taxes

Per capita median income much lower than national average

Health care access with IU Health.

**heavyope**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

There are a few locations that are distinctly student-oriented, such as Kilroys, Sports, and obviously on-campus facilities. But overall, a lot of bars, restaurants, and events/activities are overwhelmingly community-based. I have enjoyed living here as someone in my late 20’s and feel there’s still a large presence of people in my age group here.

That being said, there are times when the college scene gets a bit tiring. It’s the worst from August-November I’d say. Bad traffic, busy restaurants, terrible parking options, construction, and really monolithic street fashion might deter you slightly from the downtown area. Otherwise, it’s a pretty solid town to live in.

Bloomington, Indiana

B-town

Looklyloo Score: 87