From California to Indiana? (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne: cheap house, transfer, neighborhoods)

[FedUpInFtMyers]

Born and raised in NW Indiana very near the Indiana Illinois border. Close to Chicago so there was plenty of culture, good food, and great jobs to be found in The Loop or downtown Chicago. I miss the people, strong work ethic, and strong moral codes that can be so easily found in that part of the area. Growing up there, these are all things I came to take for granted that are very sorely missed after being gone from there for 8 years now. And to think that I was tired of shoveling snow . . .tough weather belt there but greatest people you will ever know.

[sallybell]

One of my major complaints about central Indiana was the lack of diversity. I enjoy different foods, and people. Central Indiana is very homogeneous. If you are into dining out at all, you will be limited by mostly chain restaurants. In Carmel I think there was only one black family in my neighborhood,which I found very sad. I am also not religious and I was preached to on a daily basis, even in my workplace. I found this shocking. But if you are conservative and or/religious, you may be very happy here. Also is weather a factor to you at all? Winters are looong and grey. Invest in a good down parka. It was a lifesaver for me.

[jamnkats]

We recently spent quite a bit of time in northern Indiana; the Shipshewana area. We got to know Syracuse (lots of summer homes on the lake and more rich than other towns), Shipshewana (the seat of Amish culture and very touristy - opposite ends of the same spectrum; very interesting to watch), Middlebury La Grange and Howe. We liked Middlebury the best. Wonderful library (though the Syracuse library was also fabulous) and all the towns are quite small but have services. Shipshe has great food prices (Amish bulk food stores and flea markets) but you can get food direct from the grower pretty much everywhere. There is reported to be a great meth problem from the RV industry; the workers use it to stay awake and work longer hours. I'm not sure how true this is as many to most of hte RV industry relies on Amish for their labor force and I don't think the Amish are huge meth users.

Coming from CA, Elkhart will have you drooling and hurt your teeth with the absolute abundance of incredible homes at dirt cheap prices. The crime (stats I checked online and people I talked to) looks pretty bad though. But man, oh, man. The houses there (especially coming from CA) will make you cry.

If we could handle the winters, the lack of mountains and the lack of university, we'd definitely consider Middlebury.

But none of our kids go to school; they are all homeschooled.

[domergurl]

Guess you've never heard of the University of Notre Dame??? IU also has a campus close.

[amesser]

Originally Posted by digdug

Conservative doesn't bother me in the least bit. My wife and I are both pretty conservative. We're living in a pretty liberal area now.

I've heard good things about Avon, Indiana. Can anyone vouch for this town? One thing I am worried about is being too close to a major, sprawling city. I don't want to be close in enough that I am right under a flight path for a major airport.

Another question I would ask is in the newer developments, how close are the houses built to each other? We moved out of our last neighborhood because the houses ( as is typical in California now) were about 10 feet from each other. Our back yard was a joke. The side yards were so small that two people could not stand shoulder to shoulder.

Ideally I would love to find a newer development that has lots which are oversized, do they do half-acre lots in Indiana? That would be very very nice.

My sister is a teacher in Southport Indiana. Its a suburban area that is pretty nice- southside of Indianapolis. But, most of the subdivisions are homes that are built close together. You might have to move further outsided of Indianapolis to find a big chunk of ground.

[FINSLAW]

After living in Northern California where the grass grows brown, the trees were scrub oak (ugly), and the weather is constant rain or sun, we settled in Whiteland IN. We liked having a big city for jobs (Indy) but being a seperate entity unlike Greenwood, having the cozy small town of Franklin close at hand and being less than 50 miles from cultural center Bloomington and the hills and forests of Brown County (as well as the touristy Nashville IN.) I think if I lived north of Downtown Indy then I would feel trapped in its flat terrain and congestion. You should know that the top half of Indiana is perfectly flat and mostly treeless due to a glacier long ago and the lower half south of Martinsville is quite hilly, forested and gorgeous. The only thing I have yet to find is good swimming lake in the area.

Whiteland itself is flat but the crime rate is nill and the older subrurbs have a safe Norman Rockwell type feel. When my wife and I set off to buy a home due to rising expenses in Redding we had very little to work with and the little money we had bought a better home in Indiana than in Illinois or Ohio. I should note that Indiana is the Crossroads of America for more than one reason, if you go any further south you hear the hicksville accent, Ohio is midwestern but also begins to show signs of East Coast influence, anything west is flat and boring in my opinion and anything north is freezing. Also, there are seasons in mid-Indiana. The temperature is constantly changing and you rarely get an onslaught of one weather pattern for weeks like in Redding. I love the fluctuation, the snow falls hard but melts a week later, the heat isn't nearly as humid as southern parts, the passing rain showers and even the storms are quite fun when they occur.

Also, homes are great for the price. Our home was only 75,000 and includes a nice size backyard and a well kept home. There are also many opportunities to pick up a foreclosed property under its value, we tried twice and barely missed the winning bid. Basically, I have been through every large city in the US (except Minneapolis and Phoenix) and if I had to live anywhere in the midwest regardless of price then this would be a real contender, but then again I am not a big fan of living in fashionable big cities, I just want to be next to one.

[dennismpat]

I'm curious to know if there are any transplanted Californians who have successfully relocated to Indiana AND have adapted to the weather, especially the winters. I've been investigating the Indianapolis area (particularly the northeastern suburban areas like Fishers and Carmel), and so far have found that the cost of living is definitely less. I was also curious to find out how the job situation is; I currently do administrative support work, and am sure that my skills are transferable to any industry, and could sign up with temp agencies at the beginning.

[Spartanacus]

Originally Posted by dennismpat

I'm curious to know if there are any transplanted Californians who have successfully relocated to Indiana AND have adapted to the weather, especially the winters. I've been investigating the Indianapolis area (particularly the northeastern suburban areas like Fishers and Carmel), and so far have found that the cost of living is definitely less. I was also curious to find out how the job situation is; I currently do administrative support work, and am sure that my skills are transferable to any industry, and could sign up with temp agencies at the beginning.

My wife (was my fiance at the time) relocated from Orlando, FL to Fishers, IN and loved it. I am originally from MI and lived in Manhattan Beach and Hollywood for 5 months as well, and Indiana has been my favorite non MI place to live yet. We moved here without jobs, temped for a while, then quickly got salaried gigs in insurance, and ended up doing pretty good. We're moving to the NE IL / SE WI area soon for a work change, but we hate to leave Central Indiana. I think you definitely wan to stick to Hamilton County. PM me if you're interested in seeing pics of our Fishers house (with a great community pool) that we'll put up for sale next week. Good luck.

[Baskets4stacy]

We moved to Franklin from Vacaville, California 4 1/2 years ago. We lived in Vacaville for over 9 years. I love Franklin and the area around it. We are close to many different things to do, but not right in the middle of everything. Although the area is growing quite a bit. I grew up about two hours south of here. I wouldn't live anywhere else in Indiana. Everytime I go north of Indianapolis (Carmel, Noblesville, Fishers) it feels like California to me. Just the atmosphere. When I go to visit my family down south, I can't wait to get back here. Southern Indiana is, well, not the same as the Indy area at all. I like Franklin because it is still relatively small and has really good schools. I just graduated with a degree in elementary education and don't expect too much trouble finding a job. The area is growing and new homes are constantly being built. More schools are going to have to be built over the next few years. The schools here compared to California are SOOOO much better. At least from what I saw in Fairfield and Vacaville. The housing is the big, noticeable difference in cost of living. I laugh when I hear people complaining about the price of housing here. They have no idea. We sold our 1970 one bath house for more than we built a brand new house here that is three times the size. One thing we were not prepared to pay more for is heathcare. Health insurance is pitiful here. We pay much more out of pocket for medical copays and prescription, and everything like that here. I am so glad all three of my children were born in California and not here. I do miss Vacaville at times, but I know this is a much better place to raise my kids. Good luck to you!

[dennismpat]

Both of you have given me something to think about IF and WHEN I decide to relocate, which may not happen for a long time yet.

Spartanacus, thanks for offering to show me pics of your Fishers house, but I'm not ready to move just yet. I wish you and your wife all the best in your new home in Wisconsin.

Baskets4stacy, good to know that someone from California has successfully made the transition to life in Indiana. I'm sure that you do miss living in California, but long term, I think your new life in Indiana will be worth it, especially for your kids.

Happy New Year!