On The Road

My wife is coming to the end of her medical school training, and it is time she starts looking for a residency, so we have been on the road... sky? we only drove one place... I don't know the expression... anyway we have been out and about this great country of mine, she lives here but it is not her country, and, as these are potentially places we could move and live in, I have done a little review on all of the places with all of the the important stuff that bangs around in my tiny brain.
Everything is in relation to Omaha, as that is where I am living now.
Cost of living is estimated on a $50,000 income from salary.com
Job market was derived from number of jobs similar to mine on a search from Monster.com
In order of travel:

Kansas City

Housing Market:
Similar to Omaha

Cost of Living:
Slightly more expensive 6.1%

Job Market:
Meh. Not very many SharePoint positions, lots of developer spots, a few Web Master spots.

CCW:
Shall Issue State (KS and MO)
Recognises Nebraska CCW (both states)

MMA/Muay Thai:
KC is kind of short on places to train. There are a few guys who fight out of there, Brian Gassaway, but not many.

Weather:
Same

Aviation:
KC is a Class B airspace, but it has lots of little, uncontrolled airports surrounding it for general aviation use.

Sushi:
Hard to find...

Comments:
KC is a nice city, similar people to Omaha, and it is close to what I know. It has good shopping for the wife.
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Cincinnati

Housing Market:
Similar to Omaha.

Cost of Living:
Better than Omaha! -0.5%

Job Market:
Bad... Not many jobs listed.

CCW:
Shall Issue!
Ohio does not recognize Nebraska CCW.

MMA/Muay Thai:
Meat Truck Inc., Jorge Gurgel, Rich Franklin, they all train around this area. Lots of good stuff.

Weather:
Similar to Omaha, but slightly warmer

Aviation:
Cincinnati is a class "B" airspace. There are a couple of smaller airports around, but not a lot.

Sushi:
We found a nice sushi restaurant with out too much trouble, and saw that there was a good Japanese population, so lots of good sushi.

Comments:
I did not get to really walk around Cincinnati very much, what I did see, I was not impressed with. However, across the river in to Kentucky there was lots of good shopping, restaurants, and an overall better place.
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Chicago

Housing Market:
EXPENSIVE!!

Cost of Living:
Much more expensive than Omaha, 24.3%

Job Market:
Lots and lots of SharePoint jobs!

CCW:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! CCW??? In Barack Obama's adopted home state? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

MMA/Muay Thai:
A few gyms here and there in the city. Several fighters work out around the Chicago area, Stephan Bonar, and Andrei Arlovski to name a couple.

Weather:
Colder, more wind off of the lake.

Aviation:
Big and busy Class B airspace. There is some general aviation in the surrounding airports, but rumor is that ATC hates us.

Sushi:
Lots and lots of good places, and a strong Japanese population.

Comments:
I found Chicago to be a lot of fun to walk around in. Lots and lots of shops, cool places to hang out in and such.
I was surprised to see how friendly people were, especially to those obviously lost. We got help from all sides on the bus, El, and on the street. Everyone seemed busy, but if you looked like you needed help, the busy people were there to help you out. I dare say that the same help would NOT be given on Omaha streets.
Sales Tax was oppressively high, 13%, and the city oppressively liberal.
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Hartford

Housing Market:
EXPENSIVE

Cost of Living:
Expensive. 9.4%

Job Market:
Crap. Very few jobs.

CCW:
Responsible May Issue. This means that you have to apply to your local Sheriff and tell them why you need to carry a concealed weapon. If you have an unsympathetic Sheriff, like in Hartford, it is unlikely to be issued.
Nebraska CCW is not recognized.

MMA/Muay Thai:
A few gyms are around.


Weather:
Harsh winters, OK summers.

Aviation:
Very little to speak of.

Sushi:
There are a few Sushi places around, but we did not get a chance to eat at any.

Comments:
I found the people of Hartford to be very very stuffy. They seemed to want to find a reason to think they were better than you. Simply being from a state east of New York was enough for most.
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Oklahoma City

Housing Market:
Good!

Cost of Living:
Much Lower! -11.7%

Job Market:
Not very good...

CCW:
Shall Issue! Oklahoma recognizes Nebraska's CCW!

MMA/Muay Thai:
There are a couple of BJJ black belts in the OKC area, the most decorated being Rafael Lovato. There is even a guy who claims to be an ATT black belt.

Weather:
Much warmer than Omaha, but more severe thunderstorms, and unstable air than in Omaha.

Aviation:
Lots of little airports and FBOs around.

Sushi:
We went to a couple of Sushi restaurants in OKC... One we walked out of as soon as we walked in. The other we stayed in, but we were not able to get the kind of sushi we are used to... That being authentic sushi, not the rolled together crap that Americans pass off as Sushi... This was such a place.

Comments:
Oklahoma City was a very interesting place. In the middle of the day, when most downtown areas would be bustling with people, OKC was a virtual ghost town. I am sure people work downtown, but it just seemed empty.
The people of Oklahoma City have invested a huge amount of money in their downtown area, building a canal system and a very nice restaurant/shopping area called Bricktown. Sonic's headquarters is there, as well as a massive Bass Pro Shops store.
I found the people of Oklahoma City very nice, but it was almost as if culture or something demanded niceness out of them, so they did it as a cultural experience not necessarily because they wanted to. There was something disingenuous about it.
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Indianapolis

Housing Market:
The housing market is depressed in the Indianapolis area, so houses are cheap and plentiful. I was surprised to learn that most of the residents not making more than $40K a year, with massive $100K+ student loan payments, were able to afford very nice homes.

Cost of Living:
Very similar to Omaha, just a bit cheaper -1.0%

Job Market:
Very nice. Lots of SharePoint positions.

CCW:
Shall Issue! Indiana recognizes Nebraska CCW!

MMA/Muay Thai:
There are a couple of MMA, and a couple of Muay Thai gyms. It does not look like Indy is really a MMA town, but there are some places to train.

Weather:
Very similar to Omaha.

Avaition:
Lots of little airports and FBOs around.

Sushi:
A nice sized Japanese population makes for some very nice Sushi restaurants. I found a couple restaurants just walking around downtown Indy, but I did not eat anywhere.

Comments:
Indianapolis seemed to be a very nice small city with a big city feel. The downtown area was busy with lots of shops, and felt a lot like Chicago as I walked around, but not as big.
We were there during a home Colts game, and it was good to see the whole city really supported the team. During the day after the game, and the next day, I saw lots of people wearing their Colts gear with pride. It was good to see, coming from a state that worships its Huskers.
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Overall if I have to move, I found Indianapolis the place I would choose. Similar cost of living, a good amount of jobs, a very nice downtown area, and pro sports.