Cool Areas in Fort Wayne (Indianapolis, Evansville: to rent, crime, home)

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by OpenD

But the OP is not in Fort Wayne, and wouldn't know what that meant. That was my point.

OP referenced "the college" in response to IPFW being brought up. If you want to prove to everyone how smart you are by splitting hairs over IPFW and other smaller colleges in FW, fine. Otherwise, leave this thread to those with something of value to offer.

[Mr. Wilson C.]

Piere's Entertainment Center - Bars - Nightclubs - Canterbury Market Place



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgMRRNoB5Ws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOdyo7PSF0M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C25iI29goU#t=18

[ViaSwiss]

Do not go to Pieres, do not ever go to Pieres.

Downtown is your best bet by far....West Central perhaps as well (which is actually also downtown).

Otherwise suburbia SW and NE/Dupont are nice areas, but not as walkable.

[OpenD]

I'm sorry my question and suggestion about "IPFW" was not clear to everyone... it wasn't about splitting hairs at all. It was about communicating clearly to people who are unfamiliar with the area... which is most of the people who post questions here as well as most of the people who read these threads seeking relocation advice. It is, as the saying goes, the point of the forum.

The best rule of thumb when using acronyms or nicknames for places or institutions is to clearly spell out the full name or the official name at the first use. It's all about looking from the strangers' viewpoint to consider if what you're saying will be clear and make sense to them.

And btw (by the way) it wasn't academic. I have lived in that area, but I didn't recognize the acronym. Nor did I mean anything personal by bringing it up. I figured that if I didn't get it, then neither would others.

Here's to better understanding... assume the best, be kind, and stay calm.

[tcmtcm]

[quote=McdonaldIndy;37685635][quote=OpenD;37684322]Not really. The state is quite conservative, agreed, but there are lots of cities scattered around the state that are more conservative than FW. I was surprised the last time I was there, for a family funeral in a nearby town, to see there was an exotic dancing bar downtown on Calhoun, and it had been there for some time.

Liberals and Progressives are few and far between.

Take a trip to San Francisco or the University of Berkeley.

McDonalIndy, you made yourself sound like a hick.

I wonder if the OP ever moved here. What a shock to the system if they did. As a CA native myself, I tolerate the conservative/close-mindedness, but it's wearing on me, which is why I'll move back to CA. It's a nice enough town truly, but coming from CA, it's never going to be enough.

I'm astonished that anyone who lived here at all didn't know IPFW. How does a person miss that?

[AliceandTheRabbit]

Haven't moved yet. Pending the job offer. Thanks for the info. I've done a lot of research online.

I have a question about real estate for non real estate people. Should I start a new thread?

[New2Fort.wayne]

Hello there, there is a very strong chance that my family will be moving to Fort Wayne from Berkeley, CA for a job and I'm wondering what are the cool/trendy/up and coming areas? I'd love to be able to wake up on a Saturday morning and walk with the family to a local diner, do some window shopping, maybe visit a park. Are there areas where people know some of their neighbors? Is it a tight knit community? Are there any liberal or progressive areas? Do areas like that exist in FW? Thanks!
=================
Downtown Fort Wayne is pretty cool in my opinion. I moved here from a very large city in the Southwest, and I live in downtown. Fort Wayne is a smaller to medium sized city with plenty to do and the cost of living is very good. If you plan to rent you will find the cost of living much lower than California. Downtown does have a lot to do, with clubs, bars, over 50 restaurants, an ice skating rink, museums, an amazing downtown library. There is even a minor league baseball stadium called the Parkview Field and the baseball team called the Fort Wayne Tin Caps. Fort Wayne also has a hockey team, a basketball team, and a roller derby team. There are lots of parks and biking trails and I understand there are lots of events and festivals in summer.

The main things I DO NOT like in Fort Wayne are:
1. Shopping. The shopping here is not very good. Since you are from the Bay area you will miss the nicer upscale stores. Fort Wayne has no IKEA, WHOLE FOODS, SPROUTS FARNMERS MARKET, ROSS, ETC. For better shopping you have to go to Detroit, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois and Indianapolis.
2. Public transportation. VERY POOR. Local bus service is not good and no trains. Not even Amtrack service. Amtrak is about 1 hour north of Fort Wayne. You MUST have a car in Fort Wayne.
3. Homeless population. I live in downtown Fort Wayne and see a LOT of homeless people. I understand Fort Wayne has over 3,0000 homeless people and they are EVERYWHERE begging for money. Most are in downtown Fort Wayne walking the streets, and are easy to spot because they carry backpacks. They congregate at the library and I had one person get all crazy and he was yelling and using profanity at me simply when I walked by him at they library. The downtown library in Fort Wayne is nice, but criminal activity seems to occur there. One night I was in the computer area and saw a guy get arrested by a bunch of police. I also know other criminal stuff has happened there as well.
4. Crime/safe area. ABSOLUTELY STAY AWAY FROM SOUTHEAST FORT WAYNE. Most crime and gang, drug activity happens there. Southeast Fort Wayne is THE GHETTO. Downtown is okay, but use caution at night. When I first moved here the police told me to me careful at night in the downtown area. North Fort Wayne seems nicer and Southwest, out past Jefferson Point Mall is nice. The east side of Fort Wayne is not great looking. It has LOTS of pockets of dead retail areas [out of business stores and strip malls]. Be careful on State Boulevard, north of downtown Fort Wayne. There seem to be a lot of armed robberies in that area. On east State Boulevard, one day I was going to get some bloodwork done at Parkview Hospital-Randallia Campus, and I saw "ladies of the night" walking down the street, LOL! [and the "lady" looked like a man in drag].
5. Local diner. Fort Wayne has several of those, and the most famous one is called Coney Island. It is a hot dog diner and is 100 years old. It is famous here and many times you will see 50 or more people in line there. There are lots of places to eat in downtown Fort Wayne, and over 50 restaurants here.
6. Window shopping? Nope. Not in downtown Fort Wayne. If you want to do that, go to Indianapolis/Chicago or maybe Detroit. Downtown Fort Wayne really has NO retail stores to shop at.
7. Parks. Yes, Fort Wayne has LOTS of nice parks, especially in downtown Fort Wayne. One park is called Freimann Square and another is called Headwaters park. Both are in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne and you can see the downtown skyline. Pretty cool! BUT, AND THIS IS A WARNING !!! FORT WAYNE HAS OVER 3,000 HOMELESS PEOPLE, and MOST LIVE IN and SLEEP in these parks. The police do go and kick out the homeless people early in the morning, but AT NIGHT, DO NOT GO TO OR WALK IN THESE PARKS, IT IS NOT SAFE.
8. As for knowing your neighbors, I assume so, but having come from a very large city, I tend to keep to myself. I really do not want to know my neighbors too well, LOL!
9. Tight knit community? Probably so. I've noticed most people here tend to be blue collar types. Fort Wayne is pretty "churchy" and it calls itself the "City of Churches" and for the most part people here are mostly Catholic.
10. Liberal/progressive areas? Nope, I don't think so. What is funny about Indiana is this: GAY MARRIAGE is now legal in Indiana! But yet I have heard Fort Wayne has no "GAY DISTRICT" which other large cities have. That includes Dallas, Texas' "Oak Lawn" and Denver, Colorado's "Capitol Hill" which both have large gay populations. And in these big cities gay and straight people shop and eat in these districts. I lived in Denver, Colorado before and the "Capitol Hill" area was really neat. It even had a King Soopers [Kroger] which was called "Queen Soopers" and it really funny to go there and yu would see drag queens buying groceries, haaaaaaaa. And if you live in the Bay area, I am sure you have been to the "Castro District." I have never been to San Francisco, but I have heard the Castro is a big tourist attraction for all people, gay or straight. Last year I saw MILK and it showed Harvey Milk and how CaSTRO in San Francisco developed. It was amazing, and looks like a cool place to visit. SO AS FOR LIBERAL AREAS OF FORT WAYNE. NOPE!

My summary about Fort Wayne. I was born in Indiana and went to college here as an undergraduate. Then I moved away and I lived in VERY LARGE, prosperous and progressive cities. Recently I retired and chose to move back to Indiana because the cost of living is VERY low here. You say your family may move to Indiana for a JOB. For that, I CAUTION YOU! Indiana is NO LONGER a UNION STATE. Indiana is now a RIGHT TO WORK STATE [google that. google right to work state and non right to work states map]. Personally, is I were still working, I WOULD NOT move to Indiana for a job. As a worker you have no rights in a RIGHT TO WORK STATE. If I were still working I would only live in a state that still has unions, such as COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, ETC ... THESE ARE MORE LIBERAL AND PROGRESSIVE STATES. Just my opinion ...

I hope this helps you. Also, I have lived in other places and now I am retired, and thaT is the only reason I moved back to Indiana. If you are able to send me a privaTe message [I think you can, but I just joined city-data] feel free to message me. I can give you my opinion of other places I have lived at in the past including Dallas, Texas Metroplex, Phoenix, Arizona, Denver, Colorado, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Raleigh, North Carolina, Greater New York City [Connecticut], and other places as well.

Cheers!

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

It's not a fair comparison Dallas, San Francisco and Ft Wayne. In fact it's actually bizzarre to think Ft Wayne would have as large of any demographic group as Dallas and San Francisco.

A fairer comparison for Ft Wayne would be cities like Shreveport, Spokane, Evansville, Lexington, South Bend, Peoria, Des Moines, Grand Rapids.

To be honest, comparing Ft Wayne to cities the size of Muncie and Terre Haute is a fairer comparison than comparing Ft Wayne to Dallas and San Francisco.

Hoosiers who consider certain Indiana towns as liberal, those towns would be cosidered moderate to conservative by California standards.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Hoosiers who consider certain Indiana towns as liberal, those towns would be cosidered moderate to conservative by California standards.

This is also an unfair, perhaps bizarre, comparison. Whether places like Bloomington are considered liberal or not by people in California is of no consequence. Bloomington and Fort Wayne and Indianapolis and Terre Haute are all in Indiana.

[tcmtcm]

Originally Posted by AliceandTheRabbit

Haven't moved yet. Pending the job offer. Thanks for the info. I've done a lot of research online.

I hope you don't have to move. Moving from one of the most liberal cities in the countries to FW will be an adventure, and give you stories to tell at parties (after you move back to CA), but I just don't recommend it unless they are going to pay you a LOT and it's temporary.

Moving back to CA is a problem because of the COL difference. Selling my pleasant paid-for home here will barely cover the down payment on a marginal home in CA.