My travel to Illinois

Last week I made arrangements for a quick trip over the Aug 23rd weekend to Bloomington, Illinois to visit an aunt who is visiting her son from India. Every time she has visited US in the last 7-8 yrs, I thought about making plans to meet, but somehow that never materialized. Other than seeing her briefly during my wedding in India about 1.5 yrs ago, the last time I spent some time with her was when she had come down with her family to Kharagpur more than 25yrs ago. I am glad I made the trip as it is always good to connect with family even if you have not been in touch.

Bloomington is small town(population 75,000) about 150 miles South West of Chicago in the heartland of Illinois and is home to StateFarm, the largest and oldest insurance company in the US – noone insures more cars and automobile in the US than them. The only direct flight to the city is from Chicago, for which you have to pay a premium unless you decide to fly into Chicago and drive down.

Everything looked familiar from the moment I landed in Bloomington on Saturday August 23rd afternoon. Bloomington is very much like Fargo, North Dakota – small town, easy commute, low population, cold winters and not a whole lot to do. Incidentally, 13 yrs ago exactly on the same day i.e. Aug 23rd in 1995, I had landed in the US (Fargo, North Dakota) for the very first time around the same time in the afternoon. Of course, 13 yrs later I was no longer that wide eyed early twenty something girl just fresh off the boat in a fresh pair of jeans and T-shirt . Back then even a small town like Fargo was a novelty for me – I mean I had never seen streets with such neatly lined trees, houses that seemed like perfect boxes, neatly mowed lawns and lush green trees.

As my plane was flying low to make a touch down at the Bloomington Airport, I noticed huge corn fields and a land that was as flat as it can be. The airport was small with 3-4 gates, although sparkling new. Airport parking is free and parking lot is right across the exit from Airport, and the drive to my cousin’s home from Airport took under 5 minutes and that too because there was one traffic light. That’s a luxury in Bay Area unless you live in one of the cities close to Airport.

For the next two days, my Aunt, cousin and his wife made sure I was pampered to the fullest – and I obliged by hogging everything served in front of me – kachoris, bhaturas, pani puri…. Even after all that food my Aunt was still upset that she couldn’t make more stuff due to my short visit. True to the tradition of my Aunt’s generation, they feed the guests till they are stuffed to their neck. I don’t know why they don’t allow us to self serve because most of us are certainly not the shy types, but I guess for some people that’s part of the hospitality and way of showering their affection. My cousin gave me a quick whirlwind tour of Bloomington. There isn’t much to see or do in Bloomington really. Statefarm is the largest employer in the city and employees close to 65,000 people- about 85% of Bloomington population!!! The company has done a lot of work towards development of the city and has contributed towards most parks and city attractions. Most Statefarm employees never leave the town and the economy is fairly stable. The Bloomington Indian community is pretty big (around 8000) and quite active, and we managed to get a glimpse of some Indian community function in downtown one late evening.

After two quick but relaxing days with my Aunt and her family, it was time to head back. I have often thought about what it would be like to go back to a small town and settle there and enjoy all the benefits of a small town – cost of living, work life balance and very laid back lifestyle – all of which I got a glimpse of this weekend. In Bloomington you can buy a palatial home with a backyard the size of half a football field for under $250K in one of the best school districts. Many Statefarm employees work from 8-4 . Quite a few work longer hrs during week to be able to take Fridays off on a regular basis. The city has plenty of parks & libraries and even a couple of theaters. Crime is almost non-existent. All of that sounds great to me except that after having lived in Bay Area for 3 years now, I don’t think I could settle in Bloomington or a similar town. I certainly appreciate all the benefits and think that it might be great for people with families/kids, but it is much too quiet for me. More importantly, you are in deep trouble if the only company in town that hires you shuts down one day and you find out that you have stayed in one company for so long that your skills are no longer current. Also, having been through cold winters in Fargo, I think that small quiet towns with nothing to do that get too cold in winters are definitely not on the list of experiences that I want to repeat in life.