10 reasons to land (and stay!) in Flyover Country

 

Greetings from the flight deck. Your crew at Flyover Future is here to celebrate and promote the joys of living and working in “flyover country,” that spectacular expanse of land between the Appalachians and Rockies containing America’s fastest growing mid-sized cities.

In our free daily email newsletter, Flyover Future, we will take you on a tour of flyover country and tell stories along the way about innovations that are making flyover country the best place in the world to live. If you have a stake in flyover country, we encourage you to subscribe!

Let’s get the conversation started in classic “click-bait” style (though we promise this won’t be the norm) with this list of ten things we all love about living and working in flyover country:

1) Lower costs means more money in your pocket

 

It’s a fact. A lower cost of living doesn’t mean cheap–it means having additional financial resources to do things like pay off student loans and save for the future. Flyover country’s low cost of living can mean much less financial stress.

 

2) Great Universities. Amazing value.

World class Universities at half the cost. The Land Grant Universities of the Big Ten are some of the finest in the world. The all-in cost per year for an in-state resident to attend Purdue University where you can get a world-class engineering education, is ~$20,000/year.

Compare that to top engineering schools on the coasts.

 

3) You can’t buy time

 

Flyover country residents’ value their time. We like the fact that we don’t have to plan our day around traffic. Sure, we get the occasional backup, but it’s nothing like the coasts!

If you saved even an hour a day on your commute, you’d add more than ten days a year to do something you really like to do! It’s no surprise that Flyover Cities cities like Des Moines, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Raleigh, Carmel, Indiana and Champagne, Illinois are consistently ranked among America’s most livable cities.

 

4) You can volunteer!

 

You can be on the orchestra or the zoo board without writing a six- (or seven-) figure check. Or you can choose to become a volunteer for one of the myriad non-profits that thrive in flyover country.

Whatever your interest, there’s an organization in flyover country that needs and wants you to become engaged. You can quickly make an impact in flyover country.

 

 

5) Flyover country is beautiful

What’s your fancy–endless plains stretching to the horizon, inland seas (without sharks or jellyfish) or heavily wooded hills?  Do you prefer snowy winters, a temperate climate or something in-between?  Flyover country has something for everyone.

 

6) Flyover country loves and supports the arts

In Kansas City you can visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art or the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art for free–every day. Or visit the Penrod Arts Fair every September in Indianapolis. It’s the largest one-day arts fair in the country.

If you’re a visual or performing artist, you might want to check out Omaha’s Artist Grant programs–they’re extensive. Every city in Flyover country has a thriving and accessible arts scene just waiting for you.

 

7) You want authentic? We’ve got authentic.

 

Flyover country is the land of pioneers, from Daniel Boone to Lewis and Clark. It was the west for Americans in the 18^th and 19^th. And the pioneering spirit lives on in dozens of small towns and cities in Flyover country.

For example, Kentucky has a history of distilling bourbon that goes back almost two hundred years. Today, Louisville and the surrounding area are home to a new, modern type of distillery, built for visitors. Kansas City while founded in the 18^th century, is probably most famous today for its destination for cattle drives in the 1870s on. Kansas City beef remains world renown. And who can resist folk music in Asheville or a visit to the Ryman auditorium in Nashville?

 

8) Business is great!

Technology is alive and well in Flyover Country.  As we increasingly feed the world, tech is driving huge changes in agriculture while manufacturing is also coming back, albeit in the 21st century variety. While these industries remain important factors for growth, big technology companies like Amazon, Salesforce and Microsoft are expanding in Flyover Country and creating a wide variety of employment opportunities.

Better still, organic tech startups are booming in every city in Flyover. Just a quick Google search on the startup environment in cities such as Indianapolis, Nashville or Kansas city will show you that.

 

9) Cities of the future are being built now

 

In flyover country, we have the space to responsibly plan and grow our cities. Cities in Flyover Country are committed to maintaining their original vibe and preserving historically important structures, while making 21st century upgrades in infrastructure, housing, zoning and amenities that make flyover country cities some of the most livable and vibrant in the country.

 

10) Jobs Jobs Jobs

 

If you’re looking for a great tech job, executive management, bio engineering, robotics, bleeding edge web marketing or any other 21^st century career, you should check out Flyover country. From Ann Arbor to Nashville, Minneapolis to Pittsburgh and everywhere in between, fast growing companies and start-ups are looking for the best and brightest to help them grow. And salaries can be quite competitive with the coasts.