It's not for everyone.
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3/13/2018
To write this review kind of makes me sad because I am attached to my city but I'm finally planning to leave because I just can't wait a lifetime for it to catch up to reality: Evansville is a large "small town" that thinks it's a big city.
I've lived in Evansville since 1994. Before this I was in a small town in southern Alabama and I must say: it's very different to be from nowhere and expect "nowhere-ness" than to be in a place that thinks it's more than it is. It's disheartening. That is Evansville.
It is very stagnant and, not to get too petty, the old money here just gets in the way of organic growth. It's a city of chain restaurants and jewelry stores. It doesn't give enough love to the local businesses that make Evansville truly unique. Also it chokes out new ventures. It's nothing to see a new chain restaurant open up and then close within the same year. It's got a few popular bars, like 8 of them, and most weekends you'll still feel a bored in general.
Environment: More often than not those who move here experience allergies. Not all but many. They are usually more surprised than we are. The city sits in a valley and it seems crap particle and pollen just get stuck here. To add to that, the air quality is poor. It's among the top 30 worst in the nation at #28 because there are 7 coal powered plants near the city. Besides poor air quality, the humidity here makes it challenging for those with mediocre health. It sits right on the very dirty Ohio River. That's the third strike against breathing in general. I will mention that there are some plans to shut down at least one of the coal plants by 2025 (I think). I hope they do more than that and I'm also glad to see plans for two large solar farms. Better air quality would make this place significantly better.
The smell of the river is off putting when combined with that of the wastewater plant. the stinky parts should have been put underground by now but other "interests" stopped that from happening too. Still, it can be relaxing and tolerable IF you haven't seen better. Owensboro, KY is a smaller city and it has a river front that puts ours to shame.Our downtown is boring although they have really tried to spruce it up. There are plans to redevelop the river front with the new medical school coming so hopefully they deliver.
Ultimately they are trying to get kids to stick around. The thinking is that putting an Indiana University medical school here will attract more youth and simultaneously the downtown upgrades will stop the city from hemorrhaging it's youth. In the same breath, they jacked up the price of ALL of the rental properties downtown and the school hasn't even been completed. Giving the inflated costs of education, they're not propping the kids up to stay and succeed but rather pinching them.
It's like they city hasn't realized that all of their money doesn't give the city soul. It has a lot of money and no soul. That part is just extremely sad.
In summary:
1.) If you're conservative, Christian, and laid back then you won't mind it. You'll love it actually. Decent jobs. It's not congested. It's ok. The church communities around here are very inviting and without them you'd find the city to be something similar to a desert. They provide activities and networking opportunities. With them, a good job, a family, and a career that is all you need to settle in. Similarly if you're a stay at home parent (male or female), wanting to settle down, retired, and not looking for a city with a "happening" pulse then you will find Evansville to be perfect.
2.) If you're young and adventurous however, Evansville is nothing better than a launch pad. It's a great place to graduate from and stay long enough to build experience before leaving for better. If you like to travel, you'll find yourself paying extra to fly out of the city's "meh" airport or you'll be traveling to one of three cities. For a great time you'd generally end up travelling to Louisville KY, St. Louis, Nashville (all within a 2 hour reach) or up to Indianapolis about 3 hours away.
To its credit, the city has been trying to come alive for a long time. Sadly it wants to be bigger than it is. It wants to skip the growth and go straight for the big city status. Which causes a series of big excitements and bigger let downs.
That's just something that I can't put up with anymore and rather than stay and complain another 20 years I want to try my luck elsewhere.
DeMario | Evansville, IN