Study in Bloomington , The United States

Study in Bloomington , The United States

Bloomington, Indiana is in many ways typical of midsized cities in the American Midwest. It's 80,000 inhabitants lead relatively quiet lives and shock and scandal are rare. Located near the center of the sparsely populated state of Indiana, it is an island of urban life amidst seemingly endless cornfields. Progressive politics, an emphasis on education, and superbly landscaped parks and gardens are the distinguishing characteristics of the city of Bloomington, along with its charming residents–natives of the Midwest are famous in America for being warm and hospitable, and the urban lifestyle of Bloomington has generally not affected its atmosphere as a small, friendly community.
 
Founded in 1818 by a group of enterprising settlers from nearby Kentucky, Bloomington developed 2 major industries almost overnight: iron and education. The confoundingly-named Virginia Ironworks of Indiana, founded in the early 1900s along with an attached blacksmith shop, made a variety of manufactured goods for export to other small towns in the Midwest. After rich limestone deposits were discovered nearby, quarrying replaced iron as the main industry in Bloomington, and by the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, much of the limestone used in construction throughout the Union was coming from the Bloomington area.
 
Through its early years, Bloomington was distinguished by the presence of a single institution that made it a city unlike any other in the region: Indiana University. Founded only 2 years after the establishment of the city, Indiana University has been Bloomington's intellectual heart for nearly 2 centuries, and has been profoundly influential on the city's history, culture, and layout. It's scenic campus, recently named among the top 5 most beautiful in the US, has been a wellspring of knowledge and learning ever since its earliest days, and today it serves as the flagship campus of the Indiana University system.
 
Having developed a reputation as Indiana's foremost educational city, Bloomington soon attracted a number of ambitious scholars who hope to found their own institutions in the orbit of Indiana University. Over the years, the city accumulated a wealth of institutions of higher learning, including the Indiana University Center for Public and Environmental Affairs and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. The burgeoning of higher education in the city has also attracted high-tech employers who have transformed the economic landscape of the Bloomington area. Biomedical research is now one of the main sectors of Bloomington’s economy, and top employers include research centers, pharmaceutical laboratories, and a large research hospital associated with IU.
 
Naturally, the presence of large numbers of professors, educational administrators, and well-educated research professionals has had an impact on the towns identity, culture, and priorities. As a result, Bloomington has built up an impressive system of primary and secondary education that ranks among the best in the Midwest. Public schools in Bloomington have superb facilities, hire excellent faculty, and prepare their students for success in college and beyond–usually following in the footsteps of their parents.