Does anyone else not like living in Indiana? (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne: rental, condos)

[WildWestDude]

I would rate NW Indiana and Indy higher than the rest of the state.

I would rate the whole state of IN a 6 out of 10 (10 being highest).

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by mbuszu

I don't know where you guys live or lived in Indiana that you would talk about nasty women, cutthroats, unreasonable bosses, rude cashiers without eye contact, looking different being a problem, a blackhole, "salem witch trials?"!...etc... I'd like it if you mention the town or towns you're referring to when you provide such critism because I'll stay away from them LOL! Not to mention that you could have similar generic-sounding experiences, anywhere!

Here in Fort Wayne I haven't seen problems like which you describe... sure the people working at Wal-mart seem pretty unhappy most of the time (but that is all over the country and nearly any Wal-mart - LOL, I wish Wal-mart would treat their employees better to help change this problem) but most of my customer service experiences have been way above average in Indiana. Even the really tiny small towns I've been to with my family when out exploring new areas had friendly people who wanted to chat with us. For poor customer service or rude people, or perhaps just to set a benchmark for reasonable expectations... visit Westchester NY... or Miami FL. You'll be lucky to get someone who can communicate in English and even if they can you will certainly not get smiles nor casual conversation from most workers. Perhaps other areas of Indiana really have problems as you've described... I thankfully haven't seen anything like what you've described around here.

Part of me hates to read so much negativity about my home state on a sub-forum like this geared towards people looking to potentially relocate to Indiana. Another part of me acknowledges that if it was true for me I might have been the first to say this place sucks and tell the world about it and then I would definitely leave (Fort Wayne is not close to other family of myself nor my wife --- there, that's my serious critism for Indiana)... but I've simply not seen what everyone has been describing. The friends and family who have visited us typically compare Fort Wayne to where they are from quite favorably and indeed I know in just a year a few of them will relocate out here.

I hope readers of a thread like this realize there is a natural human tendency to complain more loudly than to praise.. I think it is a ignorant thread started by someone who was leaving Indiana and who just had a lot of angst to vent. There was no altruistic reason for starting up a thread like this and the vast majority of the issues repeatedly expressed have been from people who haven't explained their points of view, background, nor even the specific area applicable.

Indiana is a huge state... you cannot even describe the weather in general terms since Southbend's weather vs that of Southern Indiana's is completely different! You certainly cannot describe the state's economics and culture in general terms either... rural to urban you get quite different job situations and people. I'm looking outside right now and it is bright and sunny and it's NE Indiana on November 7!... now I think that's not depressing folks... if you do then well good luck finding happiness wherever your travels lead you.

Oh, come on down to Indy, the welcome matt is out, and you can see some of that Hoosier hospitality (siccccccc)

[nebulous1]

And they tark fenny heer tooo

[nebulous1]

It's cheap to live here, as my teenage son says, because there are not many good jobs here.
And it's flatter than a pancake, which doesn't really bother me.
I think anywhere there are good paying jobs makes it worth living. But the mean women and the lack of jobs is more than one can tolerate. One poster on another thread said there aren't many single men in Indiana. Maybe the mean women ran them out.

[Ronzou]

haha. Yeah it's hilarious how much difference there is in terms of an accent between Northern Indiana and Southern Indiana.

But not everyone here in Indiana is a complete arrogant waste of space. I'm a single dude in Indiana, but I'm young enough that I don't want to live here my entire life. I may move back who knows when, but right now, I just want to live anywhere but here. I'm no longer a winter person. So I'll probably move south. There are actually many jobs here. The problem though. They are pretty much limited to manufacturing from what I've noticed. Other than that, there really isn't much going on here. I'm probably the last person who would defend a place where they've grown up, but unfortunately, somethings I see people say, I have actually never noticed. And I've been all around in this state. I have noticed however, how shallow the gals my age here are. Which is why I'm still single... And which is *cough* why I'm moving *cough*. Yeah... Anyways, as miserable as I am here, the Fort Wayne area is a much better place to live than many other places I have been.

[WyattE]

Ronzou, you sound like a man with his head on straight. The whole world awaits you. Take it and ride with it. I wish you the best.
As for me, I know where I want to go but I gotta take my baby steps to get there. And when I'm there, I'm never looking back and I'm never coming back. That's what keeps me going, even through the dead of winter and the rainy depressing gloomy days.

[Jakehorror]

Originally Posted by WyattE

Ronzou, you sound like a man with his head on straight. The whole world awaits you. Take it and ride with it. I wish you the best.
As for me, I know where I want to go but I gotta take my baby steps to get there. And when I'm there, I'm never looking back and I'm never coming back. That's what keeps me going, even through the dead of winter and the rainy depressing gloomy days.

And there's never a lack of rainy, gloomy, depressing, grey-sky days. Baby steps my friend, baby steps. It's worth it though. Do you mind telling where your going? PM me if you want.

Ronzou- You say you might head south, I don't really know what your in to, but I found the southern mentality even worse than ours here in Northern Indiana. You want warm? Good paying jobs? Have you looked in to Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California? It cost more to live in those states but it's almost always warm and the jobs pay more, not to mention the woman are waaaaaay I repeat waaaaaaaaaaay nicer out west. The girls are more liberated and outgoing I noticed, not so uptight and tense like here. I'm very happily married, but I did notice the girls there are much friendlier and outspoken. Just a thought.

[domergurl]

Come on guys, don't paint all Hoosier women with such a negative broad brush. Makes this outspoken and friendly gal feel like a oddball

[WyattE]

There are few exceptions Domergirl. I agree with Jakehorror though, the women here are nasty. I am happily married also though. Seems I snagged an exception. Jake, I'm headed West young man. Tasted it back in 2000 and it's where I want to be. No humidity, more sun, more adventure, more opportunities. I want my family in that type of atmosphere. Utah, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona. Not sure where I'll end up but I know which direction I want to go.

[Purdue1906]

Originally Posted by Then&Now

In reference to the bolded part - because Portage, Valpo, etc. are considered a suburb of Chicago. Portage, Valpo, Gary, Munster, Hammond, etc. are often referred to as The Region. It may sound odd because it's Indiana and not Illinois, but a good majority of the people in this area (The Region) are dependant on Chicago for jobs and such. Thus, making our own economy dependant on Chicago. Plus, many of the cities in our area of Northwest Indiana are actually closer than many of the Illinois suburbs.

Valpo is a good 30 miles east and 10 miles south of Chicago.....and IMO, is not a suburb compared to the other cities you listed. I'd be interested, however, to see number on how many Valpo residents work in Chicago. That's a LONG trip everyday either driving to and from Chicago, or driving to Chesterton or Ogden Dunes, catching the train to Chicago, then reserving course to go home.

BTW, I'm from Gary, love Gary (other than the high car insurance) despite it's issues. Can be at U.S. Cellular in 25 minutes (Go Sox), Solider Field in 35 (Go Bears), and the Unted Center in 45 (Go Bulls, win a game this season, please?). Can be in downtown in 35 minutes. All of course, is traffic dependent, and on if you are smart and know backroads (12 and 20 to US 41 puts you on Lake Shore Drive in 25 mins or less and avoids the Skyway and 80/94). I think the region is a gem, but I agree, an outsider will HATE IT for the most part, until you find a few people who are about something to hang out with.

Other than that, Indianapolis, Bloomington and West Lafayette/Lafayette are the only other places worth living in in Indiana (though the landscape of Lafayette is changing with all the displaced Chicago public housing folks moving there).