Louisville vs. Indianapolis vs. Cincinnati (population, Atlanta, Los Angeles, people)
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Indianapolis usually comes in last place or near the bottom in these city vs city threads on City-Data Forums. I think most people overlook and under estimate Indianapolis. Indianapolis is like the Rodney Dangerfield of American cities - it gets no respect. At least not the respect it deserves.
In one way, that's a good thing. It keeps the prices lower than most cities and in another way it's not so good because it loses smart people to areas of the country that are more attractive, better weather, and more exotic and exciting places to live. Indy needs to get creative and think "outside the box" in order to attract desireable educated transplants to the Indianapolis region.
Yeah...we've got the 5th highest growth rate of STEM jobs in the US, behind competition like SF, Austin and San Jose. We may not be where all the cool kids want to be, but we're doing just fine.
While I think Louisville is the best of the three, I'd take Indy over Cincinnati. Cincinnati beats Indy in terms of natural scenery and skyline, but by all other metrics, I think Indy does quite well for itself. I was very impressed by all of the big monuments all over Indianapolis that are lit up beautifully at night. I loved the bike trails that cross the city. I found the residents rather friendly and open. I thought Fountain Square was a fun neighborhood with a lot of character.
I also disagree that Indy is the redheaded stepchild of city-data. That prize, from what I've read, probably belongs to Phoenix or San Jose.
Phoenix gets a fair bit of crap, there's no doubt about it. I'd honestly call Indy and Cincy a draw for me, with Louisville being a distant 3rd. And I think Indy has only caught up to Cincy very recently.
Indianapolis usually comes in last place or near the bottom in these city vs city threads on City-Data Forums. I think most people overlook and under estimate Indianapolis. Indianapolis is like the Rodney Dangerfield of American cities - it gets no respect. At least not the respect it deserves.
In one way, that's a good thing. It keeps the prices lower than most cities and in another way it's not so good because it loses smart people to areas of the country that are more attractive, better weather, and more exotic and exciting places to live. Indy needs to get creative and think "outside the box" in order to attract desireable educated transplants to the Indianapolis region.
I voted for Indianapolis because it's the one of the 3 that I know best and it's close proximity to Muncie.
At the metro area level, Indianapolis has similar educational attainment to Cincinnati, and higher than Louisville. It's doing just fine relative to almost anywhere else in the Midwest in terms of attracting transplants. The combination of a solid and diverse economy with a low cost of living works to their advantage.
Muncie isn't one of Indiana's more prosperous small metro areas, but at least they have a state university and good access to Indianapolis. Columbus and Bloomington are about the same distance and are much better off places.
Indy better educated? Not for long...Louisville growing faster there and they are already only 0.4% different in bachelors degrees ...Indy at 27.4% and Louisville at 26.9%. Lets not act like Indy is Raleigh
Where Louisville clearly wins (according to national publications notme) is food, millennial vibe, and especially per capita commercial real estate growth. If you disagree, write the publications.
Objectively, Louisville has the fastest growing tech in the region (percentage wise) as Indy lead in overall tech growth
But I'm surprised Indianapolis isn't getting more love. From a job market standpoint, it's night&day better. The tech market is on the rise majorly and is bringing in ALOT of money making tech companies & employees . Plus it's still a very affordable area overall.
That being said, I'll take Louisville anyway, over Indianapolis & Cincinnati
Indy always does horribly on CD polls. It has a lot going against it in terms of CD respect. Personally I'd chose Cincy then Indy then Louisville.
And this is precisely why it's pointless to engage in conversation with you on any comparison with Louisville. Your jingoistic, blind homerism reeks worse than the Ohio River on a swealtering hot, humid Louisville day. KCMO used to be the most insufferable homer on City-Data, but congratulations...you've taken the crown.
Enjoy Louisville. I certainly do. But for what I need out of a city, Louisville simply doesn't compare to Indianapolis. Cincinnati, on the other hand...I could make that work. But in all honesty, as midwestern river cities go, both Cincy and Louisville are poor competition compared to Pittsburgh and Saint Louis.
Cincinnati has a great mix of the old and new. OTR is amazing and I love MLB cities (I believe the Cincinnati Reds are the oldest existing team?) It has a decent music and arts scene with a hilly terrain and a great skyline. The large corporate presence doesn't seem to affect the vibe in Cincy as much as some others with a large # of F500 companies.
Indianapolis is doing great. It has a lot of new construction and rehabs which is gentrifying center township. Its food scene isn't nearly as recognized on the national/regional that Louisville is, but it's lightyears ahead of where it was even just 5 years ago and getting better. It has a diverse economy and a diverse population (compared to Cincinnati and Louisville anyway) and keeps attracting foreign-born. It's a little sterile and corporate but that is changing fast and will continue if the COL stays reasonable.
Louisville is a great city with awesome neighborhoods and a wonderful foodie scene. It's still quite a bit smaller than the other two and that isn't bad, but it's due to explode and i hope that doesn't kill the small indie vibe it has going on. I think the "keep Louisville weird" campaign is pretty ridiculous seeing as how Louisvillians are some of the most down to earth and ordinary people I've ever met.
I am surprised Cincinnati is getting so love much, I like it but it has a lot of short comings as well, good place to raise a family thou(Cincinnati Metro).
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