Indianapolis vs Atlanta vs Minneapolis vs Nashville vs Houston vs Orlando (place, people)

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by W & C

I was looking for something more descriptive.

Like how would one describe Indy's vibe to someone who's never visited ?

I would describe it exactly as I did.

[W & C]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

I would describe it exactly as I did.

LOL !!!

"Hey, I've never been to Indianapolis before. Could you tell me a bit about the vibe of the city?"

"Well, uh, the vibe of Indianapolis is uh...suitable for a city the size of Indianapolis."


How incredibly insightful

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by W & C

LOL !!!

"Hey, I've never been to Indianapolis before. Could you tell me a bit about the vibe of the city?"

"Well, uh, the vibe of Indianapolis is uh...suitable for a city the size of Indianapolis."


How incredibly insightful

While making generalizations about a city makes for nice internet fodder, I am not a salesman and going back and forth with Seattle guy about cities is just not interesting to me. I'm sure you'll get some bites and you'll be able to feed that school the hayseeds fetish you have.

[W & C]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

While making generalizations about a city makes for nice internet fodder, I am not a salesman and going back and forth with Seattle guy about cities is just not interesting to me. I'm sure you'll get some bites and you'll be able to feed that school the hayseeds fetish you have.

Well, let's hope.

The problem with describing a city vibe as "suitable" is the word "suitable" is entirely subjective.

We'd get a lot further if we can articulate exactly to whom a particular city is suitable for. F.e. Nashville is likely to be suitable for country aficionados, Miami - for those fond of nightlife and beaches, Denver - for outdoor enthusiasts, etc.. it's a start, anyway.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by W & C

Well, how would you describe Indy's vibe ?

Here's my shortcoming and disclosure; I don't recall ever having been there long enough (if at all; we took a family vacation driving to Michigan which included crossing Indiana so we probably crossed through Indy but I was only six years old so not remembering much about that part of the trip) to be able to say definitively but given all the discussion on this forum about the place and with others that have lived there I am getting the sense of a definite vibe/vibes.

I think the question is not "does it have a vibe?" but "do I like its vibe?" That can be said of any place.

I grew up in a small city not far from Los Angeles that has its 1) lovers; 2) haters; 3) people that have no idea where or what it is, though they live within an hour's drive from it. But it has a vibe for sure; actually, several, depending on what neighborhood you're in. So if this is true for a "middle of the metro middle of nowhere kind of place" with 60,000 or so people in it, how much more is it true for the anchor city of a WHOLE STATE? Which is what Indy is, of course.

[W & C]

Originally Posted by mrsltd

Here's my shortcoming and disclosure; I don't recall ever having been there long enough (if at all; we took a family vacation driving to Michigan which included crossing Indiana so we probably crossed through Indy but I was only six years old so not remembering much about that part of the trip) to be able to say definitively but given all the discussion on this forum about the place and with others that have lived there I am getting the sense of a definite vibe/vibes.

I think the question is not "does it have a vibe?" but "do I like its vibe?" That can be said of any place.

I grew up in a small city not far from Los Angeles that has its 1) lovers; 2) haters; 3) people that have no idea where or what it is, though they live within an hour's drive from it. But it has a vibe for sure; actually, several, depending on what neighborhood you're in. So if this is true for a "middle of the metro middle of nowhere kind of place" with 60,000 or so people in it, how much more is it true for the anchor city of a WHOLE STATE? Which is what Indy is, of course.

I think the confusion stems from the fact that different people have different definitions of what vibe is.

For some, it must be something entirely unique, i.e. something that differentiates a particular place from every other.

But that isn't always the case. Vibe can be unique but many places feel similar enough to where you don't feel that much of a difference. Therefore, in eyes of some, it can be easily dismissed and tossed in the "meh, been there done that" bucket. That doesn't mean that the vibe doesn't exist, however.

That's why places like NYC, San Francisco or New Orleans get so much attention. They're definitively unique and ergo, attract interest. I think you hit the nail on the head with your second paragraph. Many times the question is simply "do I like its vibe?" and with average human's attention span, places that aren't distinct enough can be easily considered uninteresting and ignored.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by W & C

Well, how would you describe Indy's vibe ?

Indy has big city amenities with a small town feel. That's exactly how I describe it and that's exactly what always attracted me to it growing up. My wife, who is from Trenton, NJ, also loves the same thing about Indy and one of the reasons she moved here. For the record, we met each other after we had both moved here. So that's how I describe it. Not sure if that's a vibe or not and it obviously isn't for everyone. But it's perfect for me. I love visiting Chicago, but I couldn't live in a city that large with that many people.

[bilgewater]

Can we be more specific with this language of vibes, please? Even if some cities have a dominant "vibe," that obviously doesn't mean that everyone there actually lives and moves within that "vibe," since a vibe is a kind of bubble, and a permeable one at that.

While NYC (like, say, Paris and London) is famous for high energy hustle and bustle, most residents find their own smaller, cozier "villages" and quieter spheres of action within the metropolis. This is especially if you count the boroughs and upper Manhattan, but it's also true within central neighborhoods. The luckiest folks get to dip in and out of the vortex of downtown energy at will.

Unless they're former residents or staying with friends or family, tourists and visitors don't usually experience the complexity of a city's set of vibrations. Instead they usually go right straight into the buzziest busiest vortex that "defines" a city to outsiders. Think of tourists and visitors in midtown Manhattan going to MOMA and then up and down Fifth Avenue or up and down Broadway in Soho. Or tourists and visitors in Chicago going to the Art Institute or MOCA and then marching up and down the Magnificent Mile TM. This is part of makes visiting radically de-centered, anti-pedestrian places like Los Angeles and surrounding areas so disorienting to many of us. All the bubbles burst and vibes dissipate when one spends so much time getting from here to there following the curving white lines of the freeway.

I'm new to Indy but my sense of the downtown vibe is that things there are indeed MUCH MUCH less rushed than Chicago or NYC (especially). It's also much more walker-friendly than the mega-cities of the South and Southwest, and you don't need to race walk. The relatively low-key energy for a city its size is a drag for some residents and visitors just as it's a comfort to others. Having lived in NYC, Pittsburgh, and fancy college towns in New York and Michigan, my experience is that downtown Indy folks are warmer to strangers than any place I've lived. But, again, some folks are less interested in warmth and easy conviviality than in white-hot excitement and stimulation. Some dream again of having both ready at hand.

I don't know about Carmel and the other suburbs because I try not to go up there unless necessary. I went to a fancy furniture store in Carmel (John Kirk?) and the salesperson was frosty and probably assumed that I couldn't afford the furniture and didn't belong there. Whoops. A little bit of Chicago right here in Indy?

[W & C]

Originally Posted by ischyros

Indy has big city amenities with a small town feel. That's exactly how I describe it and that's exactly what always attracted me to it growing up. My wife, who is from Trenton, NJ, also loves the same thing about Indy and one of the reasons she moved here. For the record, we met each other after we had both moved here. So that's how I describe it. Not sure if that's a vibe or not and it obviously isn't for everyone. But it's perfect for me. I love visiting Chicago, but I couldn't live in a city that large with that many people.

That's good.

Myself, I'd describe Indy's vibe is down-to-earth, midwestern, blue collar, suburban, family-friendly, also friendly to auto-racing and basketball.

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by W & C

That's good.

Myself, I'd describe Indy's vibe is down-to-earth, midwestern, blue collar, suburban, family-friendly, also friendly to auto-racing and basketball.

I think that part of the problem with figuring out Indy's vibe is that it's way too big. Unlike most cities, Indianapolis takes up an entire county and includes many suburbs in its city limits. The vibes in Nora, Broad Ripple, Downtown, Speedway, Irvington, Beach Grove, and Southport are all very different IMO. Downtown, I feel like I'm in a fast changing, busy, and vibrant place. Downtown is also still a relatively young residential area that's forming its own identity. Fountain Square is definitely developing a hipster vibe, while Broad Ripple has the feel of a college town (some hipsters there too). You mentioned blue collar as a description of Indy's vibe. I have never lived or spent any significant amount of time in a part of Indianapolis that I'd describe as blue collar.

I could keep going on, but I think the bottom line is that Indy is just too geographically large and disconnected to have one vibe. Obviously every city has neighborhoods with different vibes, but many of Indy's neighborhoods are so drastically different that you wouldn't necessarily know each neighborhood is in the same city.