The State of Indiana? (Indianapolis, Bloomington: house, school, living in)

[ChickeyDuck]

Originally Posted by KokomoIndiana

Wow ! Seems as if there is a new breed of bigots surfacing !

Quote"I have heard comments saying IN is full of smoking, overweight and not active people"

So what you say is that you would prefer to pass up a great neighborhood because it might have fat people that smoke ? And move into a snobby , uppity neighborhood just because there aren't any smokers and or FATTO's ?

As you can tell I live in Kokomo Indiana and have for oh let's say 35 years. Yep , you guessed it I can be classified as FAT and a SMOKER. But you see here is the difference between you and I. You sit out to segregate me , but I accomodate you. By that I mean , I do not blow smoke into anyones face that is not ok with it. I do not go to public restaurants and smoke during dinner. As I know other patrons that are there could have asthma , COPD , allergies and so on. Plus , my dinner doesn't last no more than a half hour to hour and I can go that long without a cigarette.

If a person around me doesn't like or wish to be around smoke , I do not smoke in their presence. It is a respect thing. Ask a best friend of 18 years whom doesn't like smoke. I haven't smoked EVER in his presence as that is his wish that was stated from the start. And I abide by that as it is his wish , and his friendship to me is worthy enough of that sacrifice.

As for the broad generalization of overweight and inactive. How can you not assume that some that are overweight are not overweight due to medical conditions and or medications etc. ? Just to lump them all together is RUDE. As stated I am one that is classified as overweight. BUT I also have diagnosed and documented thyroid issues as well as Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Which both of those issues does what ? Increase weight and makes it nearly to impossible to lose weight.

So if your bigotries and prejudices cannot look beyond the outer person. Why in the world do you feel worthy enough to live in a diverse environment ? There are black persons , white persons , tall persons , short persons , thin persons , not so thin persons , and so on.

So what if I am not out running a marathon? Or hiking or skiing to stay in shape. I have a shape and damn it round is a shape !!

So go ahead and look for a state or city with low overweight populations or non-smokers. You will be cheating yourself and doing yourself a great disservice. All for the sake of appearances and prejudices. I am really surprised that you were not told that we are all Hoobillies (Hoosier hillbillies) and illiterates too ! LOL

No amount of sprigs and twigs or tofu. No amount of mineral waters or aspargus can inject class into one's &%@- well you get this picture right ??

If by smoking , eating Dorito's and drinking Coke , makes me a criminal. Lock me up and throw away the key. Because running , jogging , hiking , and celery sticks are not for me !

Plus , the more pretentious people are about not living around so and so because of physical attributes , just means I know you won't be knocking on my door. Wanting to borrow cups of sugar , eggs and/ or popcorn. Not to mention I know there won't be a run on my twinkies or smokes at the local fat peoples' store.

And to think these people have kids. And if they raise them up to be cautious of neighborhoods with overweight smokers. What kind of disservice did they or will they do these children ? It's a shame , but as they say. "Prejudices start at home and the parents' are their teacher" !

On the outside of sarcastic attitude. Indiana is an alright state , I have seen fat people and smokers in other states too. There is not a way one to avoid us or them. Indiana has it's faults , it has it's good points. I personally would not live in Indianapolis or it's suburbs. But that is just me though. I love to visit Indy and the many things it has to offer. But I am not a major fan of traffic issues and or being around tons of people. I also wouldn't suggest Kokomo , if you're having issues with backwards ways and or obese persons and smokers.

Not to mention that aren't many attractions here IE: Zoo , Museums of culture etc. I mean we do have an automotive museum , Elwood Haynes Museum , etc. As well as a few historical landmarks , ie: Big Ben , Sycamore Tree Stump , The Vermont Covered Bridge etc. We're home to many car lots , fast food restaurants , not many fine dining establishments , but hey we have Chrysler plants here !!

In closing , yes I did take offense to the comments of overweight and smokers. But shouldn't you be more interested in a state or city for their crime rate , murder rate , school ratings , job market , housing market , attractions , parks and or entertainment ? Versus just the number of overweight and or smokers ?

And remember no matter how obese one person is , or how many cigarettes they smoke. Or how many marathons a person runs , or how many sticks of celery or carrots one eats. We all are individuals with needs , wants , desires
and feelings. That all deserved to be treated well in any and all neighborhoods. When you set out to separate yourself from one group or another. You really are a part of the problem and not that of a solution.

When we die , it doesn't matter how much you ran , hiked , counted calories etc. Doesn't matter how many smokes you smoked , calories you've eaten. You still die and or are dead. Nothing matters then , the only thing we cannot change is that eventually we all die. And until that day I plan to enjoy it the best way I can. Not to mention Indiana is usually extremely hot in the summer , most times around a 100 degrees with humidity and heat index. And in the winter it is bone chilling cold with temps that sometimes reach 30-40 below with the windchill factor. So it is not advisable to be out running for the fun of it in either climate. If you're out running in the summer heat you could die trying to live healthy ! And in the winter , same thing. Frostbit , hypothermia and so on. I would much rather sit here in a climate controlled environment and not suffer heat stroke or freeze to death !

WELL SAID!!!!!!!!!
I need not say anymore

[CrunchyMom]

I grew up in Texas and moved to Indiana in 2000 and was a junior in high school. We lived in Mooresville, which is south of Indy. And I have to say that I'm not very fond of the state. I am married with two small children now, living in Camby (big mistake on our part, wish we had explored Fishers or Zionsville). But we can't wait to move. We're looking at Arizona, Texas or Colorado. I find that our area is not progressive at all, and I really loathe the landscape here (not everyone does, but growing up in TX it's just not for me). Hate the winters and humidity as well. Our neighbors are not friendly, don't even make eye contact with us, and the crime rate in our neighborhood is high (lots of juvenile problems). And yes, lots of people smoke. I'd prefer to live in a state where smoking is banned in public places. I can't go out to clubs or bars at all here because the smoke completely suffocates me and makes me ill.

I think you would be okay moving to Carmel, but definitely don't venture south of Indy!

[mbuszu]

Originally Posted by CrunchyMom

And yes, lots of people smoke. I'd prefer to live in a state where smoking is banned in public places. I can't go out to clubs or bars at all here because the smoke completely suffocates me and makes me ill.

With the smoking bans happening across Indiana - I suspect things are already much better in this regard.
List of smoking bans in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I live in Fort Wayne, and I applaud the recent changes for our vicinity (Allen County) - now my wife and I can enjoy our date nights away from the kids without suffocating from bar or club smoke.... we love it. Now we can also bring our kids out bowling without someone lighting up next to us. A definite step in the right direction.

[CrunchyMom]

Hopefully the ban will extend to bars and bowling alleys in this area some day. It looks like Ft. Wayne is one of the only Indiana cities that does that!

[domergurl]

I used to take my kids bowing at Woodland Bowl on Keystone and 96th in Indianapolis solely because it is a smoke free bowling alley!

[carp46120]

I can't believe how fortunate we are here in Indiana to be gaining a perfect family from Boulder. Is the problem that they have too many intelligent, slim, sporty non-smokers there and need to get rid of some? For the last 40 years here in Cloverdale I thought I was happy with friends and neighbors who act genuinely happy to know me and are always there when I need help, as I am for them. While I personally am height/weight proportionate, active and don't smoke, some of my friends are not. I still like them just fine as they have other qualities that attract me. I suspect that you would be much happier if you stayed there where looks, money and education are the main factors by which one is judged. If they won't let you stay, you might try Orange County, California. I suspect that you would fit right in.

[DarknessbUnnie]

Sorry for the forum-rising but I had to answere this;

You want my opinion? My REAL opinion.

If I had to live here one more day I would gladly shot myself in the head.

Honestly, if you're more of an active person and by that I mean someone who is tired of seeing nothing but Targets, Wal-Marts, and other retail giant box-stores everywhere, Indiana is NOT your place. Of course, we do have things like Broadripple and other places but sometimes, that's just not enough, especially when you can't enjoy them because you can't find a decent JOB. We have a terrible job market, even in the lower retail sections like...Wal-Mart. If you want something other than concervitism, broken-promises, and other SURPRISE things such as income taxes, closing plants and stores, or other unneeded revenue, then Indiana is not your place. Someone stated aobe this that they were from California....I would gladly sever my right foot for someone to take me to San Fransico on a one-way trip. Indiana, I may have grown up here, but this is NOT the place I want to spend the rest of my life.

[Seaharbour]

What is wrong with people who are overweight anyhow? I dress well, read books, have a big heart too why do people hate us who are a bit heavier anyhow? Geez

Smoking however, is something that can hender or even take my life, I am very asthamic and even when people light up outside, I have to run for cover, I am always covering my mouth in hopes that I have my inhaler on hand and that this will not the episode that takes my life, cause someone smokes next to me.

[WittyBrunette]

I've lived in Indiana(polis) the grand majority of my life. Five of my twenty-eight years were spent overseas in France (long story). There were aspects of living in Europe I loved and those I hated. But God help you if you hate smoking. Don't even visit France.

It is true that we have our share of overweight people (Indianapolis is one of the fattest cities in the US). Yes, there are ungodly amounts of smokers, but you pretty much can't smoke anywhere public now so I don't see the big deal. I would be more concerned with the traffic pollution, since we are the so-called Crossroads of America.

I find it humorous that liberals and anti-religious folk feel it's acceptable to bash on Christians and throw tantrums if anyone criticizes them. My husband and I are both Christians, we go to a young church where the pastor wears flip-flops and plays bass in our band. There are plenty of Bible-thumpers here, but then again, we don't have many protest walks and rallies like I experienced in France. There are all sorts of churches and beliefs here. And non-belief too.

We have racial diversity too. Venture to the small towns and that diversity shrinks, but not always. If you want a liberal atmosphere, I'm sure you can find it. I don't know what you're after.

But we do have nice museums, a great symphony (visit Symphony on the Prairie for a real treat!), festivals, a pretty zoo, gardens, a historic downtown with the canal, theater, opera and concert venues.

Our sports horizon isn't as "big name" as other states, but we have our bases covered (pun intended). The Colts are the new heroes of our state, having won the Super Bowl last season. It seems they're faring well again.

As far as activity goes and health? That depends on the family. My husband and I belong to Cardinal Fitness and even at 5am, our particular branch is always busy. If you want a fancier experience, we have that too. There are plenty of runners here and if I recall, we're enormous on amateur sports. Doesn't sound lazy, does it? Sure, if you go to a run-down suburb where junked-out cars reign, you'll find a lot of miserable people, but I don't think that's your plan.

We have our upscale side and our "down home" side.

Are we the scintillating star of progress, health, and topographic beauty? No. We are a kids-friendly state (and not wanting kids, it can be aggravating ), so you have that going for you.

I can tell you, Indianapolis is somewhat of a nerd's paradise. Plenty of game stores of all sorts, conventions, book stores, and folks running around in glasses and WoW t-shirts. That's good for us, because my husband and I are big geeks.

I am a home cooker, incidentally. Perhaps not of the caliber to please a gourmand, but we try to shun fast food. When we eat out, it's a fun occasion. I do all of my shopping at Target, because I love that store. Yes, I love the "big box" Target, a store that sympathizes with we "poor, backwards sods" who want to have cool-looking stuff at reasonable prices. So feh. Take pride and joy in what you can have, not what someone else thinks you should have. Go to Carmel or Fishers and you'll see the high-end stores.

And no, we aren't environmentally progressive, but we are an industrial state, so you'll have to forgive us. You can find "green" alternatives here. My company just started tauting our line of green products. It's coming, just slowly.

I would definitely visit. And come with a truly open mind with the positive thought that you could bring your Coloradan perfection and inspire people to put down the Big Mac and get outdoors.

[clloyd]

I, too, am from Boulder, CO- I couldn't wait to get away from there! I am an athlete, but I didn't have the right bike or car or shop at whole foods everyday so I had a hard time fitting in. (I loved it anyway- the town and the mountains, not the people.)

To get back to the point- I am now in Delaware finishing grad school, and my boyfriend and I are considering moving to Bloomington for a job he's been offered. I agreed to make the move with him, but am getting mixed messages reading these threads. It seems like the kids hate it and can't wait to leave, while the older folks love it and say it's what you make of it that counts. I think it seems like a nice place- to be fair, most kids that grow up in Colorado hate it and can't wait to leave.

From what I can gather:
IN is probably better than DE but not as good as CO for outdoorsy stuff, doesn't quite have the East coast's culture and diversity, but is probably just right as far as the people and community are concerned. Does that about sum it up?

Just trying to get an idea of what I'm in for