I'm moving. Where should I move?
(Warning: cross-posted!)
Like I said... I'm moving. A long string of things has resulted in the most sensible course of action being moving away this summer, transferring to a 4-year college or university in the Fall, and, you know, generally starting over. I mentioned this briefly in my previous blog, but it's actually been the plan since before Thanksgiving, and I just feel better and better about it as time goes on.
EXCEPT!
I don't know where to go.
I'm up to my eyeballs in research, on several fronts, but there's just too much out there. So I'm tossing this into the stratosphere - where do YOU think I should move? Any suggestions, notions, resources you have to offer will be welcomed.
I have quite a lot of factors to consider and weigh. In short, I need to find
1. A four-year college or university with a good history program, and it needs to be the right kind of history program. Either public history-oriented (the study of historians for historians who intend to work in areas other than academia, e.g. in museums, archives, national parks), or otherwise amenable to that, and with social and cultural history courses/professors/slant. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be ANY way of investigating this, even though there are certainly some schools that fit the bill better than others. Public history programs at the undergraduate level are rare, and honestly I'm much more worried about being able to fill my need for social and cultural stuff more than find the obscure degree/concentration.
2. On the East Coast, preferably New England or maybe a Mid-Atlantic State. The South is just too hot, and as to why the East Coast, well, I've always loved it there when I've visited, I love the history of the region, and if I'm going to pick up and leave everything behind, I might as well go whole hog.
3. In an urban center or at least a large college town - I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere, especially because I intend to sell my truck and be car-free once I move. So finding a place with excellent local public transit is of paramount importance, also with train connections to other cities. Walkable neighborhoods are another thing to think about, but that's smaller scale. I don't even know what state(s) I'm looking at yet!
4. It needs history! As you may have noticed, I love history. Obviously, it's easier to find on the East Coast, as it's been around longer, but it's better preserved and better loved in some places than others. I would particularly like to be able to find the right school, in the right area, near a living history town/farm/fort/house with ongoing programs at which I could hopefully get a job (I have four years work experience and ten years volunteer, including time as a state park docent, doing living history). Things like an old movie theater showing old movies would count in a location's favor!
5. Unfortunately, it needs to be in the US, because as much as I love Montreal, and Concordia's history program sounds like the bee's knees (overlapping sociology and history classes? yum!), in Canada I would need a student visa, and one cannot legally work while on a student visa in Canada, so that's not an option. But being able to easily take the train to Montreal could be points in favor of upstate New York or Vermont.
So. I am UP TO MY EYEBALLS in research, and I'm still feeling totally lost. HELP!
Like I said... I'm moving. A long string of things has resulted in the most sensible course of action being moving away this summer, transferring to a 4-year college or university in the Fall, and, you know, generally starting over. I mentioned this briefly in my previous blog, but it's actually been the plan since before Thanksgiving, and I just feel better and better about it as time goes on.
EXCEPT!
I don't know where to go.
I'm up to my eyeballs in research, on several fronts, but there's just too much out there. So I'm tossing this into the stratosphere - where do YOU think I should move? Any suggestions, notions, resources you have to offer will be welcomed.
I have quite a lot of factors to consider and weigh. In short, I need to find
1. A four-year college or university with a good history program, and it needs to be the right kind of history program. Either public history-oriented (the study of historians for historians who intend to work in areas other than academia, e.g. in museums, archives, national parks), or otherwise amenable to that, and with social and cultural history courses/professors/slant. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be ANY way of investigating this, even though there are certainly some schools that fit the bill better than others. Public history programs at the undergraduate level are rare, and honestly I'm much more worried about being able to fill my need for social and cultural stuff more than find the obscure degree/concentration.
2. On the East Coast, preferably New England or maybe a Mid-Atlantic State. The South is just too hot, and as to why the East Coast, well, I've always loved it there when I've visited, I love the history of the region, and if I'm going to pick up and leave everything behind, I might as well go whole hog.
3. In an urban center or at least a large college town - I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere, especially because I intend to sell my truck and be car-free once I move. So finding a place with excellent local public transit is of paramount importance, also with train connections to other cities. Walkable neighborhoods are another thing to think about, but that's smaller scale. I don't even know what state(s) I'm looking at yet!
4. It needs history! As you may have noticed, I love history. Obviously, it's easier to find on the East Coast, as it's been around longer, but it's better preserved and better loved in some places than others. I would particularly like to be able to find the right school, in the right area, near a living history town/farm/fort/house with ongoing programs at which I could hopefully get a job (I have four years work experience and ten years volunteer, including time as a state park docent, doing living history). Things like an old movie theater showing old movies would count in a location's favor!
5. Unfortunately, it needs to be in the US, because as much as I love Montreal, and Concordia's history program sounds like the bee's knees (overlapping sociology and history classes? yum!), in Canada I would need a student visa, and one cannot legally work while on a student visa in Canada, so that's not an option. But being able to easily take the train to Montreal could be points in favor of upstate New York or Vermont.
So. I am UP TO MY EYEBALLS in research, and I'm still feeling totally lost. HELP!