[nabs-l] Looking for information on transportation in cities around the U.S

Sun Sep 18 16:51:13 UTC 2016

Hello Kaiti,

I applaud you for being proactive in your internship placement. However, I think narrowing down your internship selection based solely on transportation is a lot like selecting a college or university based solely on the level of accommodations offered by a disabilities office. I do not believe either one of these approaches work well as there are usually a number of different factors that go into these types of decisions.

I noticed some of your selections in your list of possibilities include places that are known for being places of manufacturing that are now in decline. As manufacturing jobs decline, the population of these places decline, and the rates of crime increases. This may be something worth considering that is just as important as transportation.

Also, Chicago might be good in terms of transportation, but it has a high homicide rate due to gun violence. However, this is not to say that all parts of Chicago are like this though. But I would imagine that the nicer parts of the city may also be a lot more expensive than your current way of living. I think these are also important things to consider for your internship placement.

In terms of providing future opportunities for your career, I would suggest either Minneapolis or Indianapolis. I have heard a lot about how these two cities have grown over the past several years in terms of attracting and retaining young professionals. I do not know anything about Indianapolis beyond what I have heard about it. However, I know Minneapolis has a good transportation system provided you can withstand the frigid cold winters there.

In terms of working in a smaller city, especially if it is anywhere in the Midwest, you would most likely need to give up living in a place that has good public transportation. I do not know of any small towns or cities that have much in terms of providing public transportation. However, I do not see why hiring your own driver would not be an option if you are interested in working in a smaller city.

I have never been to Greenville before as I do not know of a way to get there using public transportation. However, transportation is not all that great here in Michigan given the reliance and culture of automotive manufacturing. I would imagine this would be the same in other places where automotive manufacturing has been a predominant part of the culture.

While I completely understand the need for reliable and affordable transportation, I would focus more on what the internship itself has to offer in terms of providing future possibilities for a career. So I would say that you should narrow down your internship possibilities down to where you could picture yourself living and working five years from now. If you cannot picture yourself working and living there within five years, then it might not necessarily be the best internship placement for you. This is the criteria I would use in determining an internship placement where I have some sort of say in the decision process.

Anyway, I hope this helps you in selecting the best place for your internship. I am confident that regardless of where your internship takes place that you will make the best of the circumstances, and gain the most out of your internship.

Warm regards,
Elizabeth

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton via NABS-L
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2016 10:47 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
Subject: [nabs-l] Looking for information on transportation in cities around the U.S

Hi all,

I'm beginning to delve into the pre-application process for my required post-graduation internship, and I could end up anywhere around the country.  My professors thankfully are conscious of my needs and have remarked a few months ago before I even said something, "We'll have to get you something with a bus line."

Naturally, a ton of factors are going into my decision-making process.
I know I want to work with children and adolescents and the types of settings I would be interested in working in.  I am also considering who the supervisor is and what their background is, the theoretical orientation of the facility (humanistic or behavioral for example), and if they have a stipent or housing available.  However, transportation will play a major role in my decision as well as I will need a way to get to work and to places like the store from wherever I end up living.  Unfortunately this means some really good sites might need to be cut from my list simply because they're in rural areas or request students with cars who can drive to multiple locations for sessions during a given day, but such is life.

I'm wondering if anyone else has been in this position and has found a way to research what public transportation options are available in various cities and states.  I do have paratransit where I go to school now, but as the internship is 6 months there I might also need to look into gaining long-term access to those services if they are offered.
Naturally, I'm leaning more towards cities that are larger and that I know have well-established public transportation systems like Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul, but I'd like to find more information to see if the ones I'm looking at in smaller towns are also doable.  Any strategies or web sites with information would be helpful.

In case anyone has experience with transportation in the areas I'm checking out at least for now, here is my list of possible locales.  I still have yet to meet with my professors and get their views on where I should go so the list will dwindle for sure, but I'm trying to be as proactive as possible.
Illinois:
Oaklawn, Park Ridge, Chicago (I'm assuming downtown based on the information I have), Lisle, Countryside, Evanston.
Texas:
Dallas.
Ohio:
Cincinnati (don't need info on that one as that's my hometown).
Columbus, Cleveland.
Michigan:
Greenville.
Indiana:
Indianapolis, Fishers.
Minnesota:
Minneapolis.
Iowa:
Dubuque.
New York:
Yonkers, Rodchester, Harris.
 New Jersey:
Peapack.
Tennessee:
Jackson.

--
Kaiti Shelton

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