Good places to Live in Evansville? (Newburgh, Darmstadt: apartments, loft, houses)

[windywhipper]

Could someone guide me in the right direction to some nice places in Evansville, IN ?
I am currently looking at a home near Parkers settlement, Does anyone know anything good or bad about this place?
Thanks.

[paptofour]

Parkers Settlement is a small community just west of Evansville. It is a rural area with farm land. I think it's a nice area. It is not close to shopping, grocery, malls etc. There is gas and convenience type stores a bit further west in Blairsville and Wadesville, which is closer than Evansville. However it is a short drive in to Evansville where there is about anything you may need.

[javahoe]

It's a nice area out there and we have some friends that live in that area.

Like the other poster said, the biggest drawback is there isn't much near there. What is your family situation? If you have kids, you are looking at about a 10 mile drive to the high school at North Posey and at least that far for any sizeable groceries, restaurants, etc..

The bulk of the growth in the area is on the north/northeast sides or the far east side into the Newburgh area.

[freckles888]

good neighborhoods: east side evansville near U of E, mccutcheonville (not the new developments) in the north, not sure about west side.

[rdrunnersc2059005sac]

If you are relocating to the Evansville area and are looking for a home to buy, a great website for your search is BuyHomesNow.com -This site pulls together all the listings from the Evansville area realtors together into one place. My most highly recommended zip codes to live in are ordered as follows (These are strictly my opinion after 25 years in Evansville):

1. 47725 (McCutchanville area - Far north side of the city east of Highway 41. This area is my favorite area due to it being more out in the country and scenic. However, this is a higher income area of Evansville to live in. Nice 3 bed/2 bath homes start around 150k with some mansions in the area for as much as 2-3 million. There are also several public golf courses as well as country clubs in this area). Voters in the city just passed a referendum in November of 2008 to build a brand new top of the line middle school/high school in the area in the coming years. This is being done to keep up with growth of the area, as people have moved to the McCutchanville area in recent years. McCutchanville is located directly north of the Evansville Regional Airport.

2. 47710 (Mostly the Darmstadt area - Another very nice scenic country area on the far north side of the city west of Highway 41. The 47710 zip code does go somewhat south of the actual Darmstadt lines, so there are less expensive homes in that zip code. Darmstadt, like McCutchanville, is also a higher income area, albeit, not as high as McCutchanville).

3. 47720 (This zip code is the far northwest side of Evansville. It is also a beautiful scenic area with farmland. I have never actually lived in this area, but I ride it often with my local cycling club.)

4. 47714 (This zip code is the east side of Evansville south of the Lloyd Expressway. This is the area where the University of Evansville is located (a private liberal arts university with about 2,500 students). There are some very nice, quiet streets in this area with some large houses, but for the most part, this is not nearly as high of an income area as McCutchanville or Darmstadt. This area is definitely city living, as it's set up like a grid and is close to all the east side shopping, including Eastland Mall. There are some older parts to this area that are very prone to flooding when Evansville gets a bunch of rain dumped on it in a short period of time. Do your research and make sure you're not buying on a flood prone street).

5. 47711 (This zip code area is more of a central location in Evansville. This is a large area with many nice parts and not as nice parts. If looking in this area, you'll just have to do your research.)

6. 47715 (This area is the far east side of Evansville very close to all of the east side shopping. If you live in this zip code, you'll be minutes away from Eastland Mall, many restaurants, Best Buy, Super Wal-Mart, Target, Circuit City, Home Depot, Lowes, movie theater, etc. I've never lived in this zip code either, but there are nice quiet streets in this area and busier streets. Do your research and check with your realtor.)

7. 47712 (This zip code is located smack dab on west side - The west side of Evansville has a reputation of having hard-working blue collar workers. It's also an area of very high German Catholic heritage. Those that have grown up in this area of town would disagree with me and say that this is the best area of town to live in and swear by it. Westsiders have a lot of pride in their area and definitely think it's the best side of town and wouldn't dare live anywhere else. There is a rivalry between eastsiders and westsiders, with each thinking their side is better. I'm from the north side of Evansville and have never really understood it. This area is close to the University of Southern Indiana (USI) - the largest public university in southwest Indiana with approximately 15,000 students. USI has grown very rapidly over the last 10 years or so, and with its growth, the west side of Evansville has grown as well. There are many chain restaurants on the west side, along with a very nice movie theater, and a Super Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Home Depot. The main shopping area of Evansville is the east side, but the west side has grown in recent years as well. The roads in this area are very confusing to me - they're not set up in a grid like the east side, and it's easy to get lost if you don't know where you're going. Like McCutchanville, the west side is very hilly as well.

8. 47708 (This zip code is downtown Evansville. The mayor is currently trying to revitalize the downtown area and make it an attractive area for people to gather on the weekends and live. This is the area with the office buildings that is right along the Ohio River. As it stands right now, the main draws to the downtown area are Casino Aztar as well as a couple of bars. Downtown Evansville is more of a business district, due to many people working downtown during the week. However, on the weekends, the streets in downtown Evansville are like a ghost town. There is hardly anyone to be found. The city is currently remodeling loft apartments along Main Street in downtown Evansville which are becomming quite popular with the younger crowd. As of today (January 1, 2009) the city is currently looking to build a brand new sports arena in downtown Evansville in the coming years as a way to spark the revitalization. Only time will tell if this happens though)

9. 47713 (This is the last Evansville zip code I can think of off the top of my head. This area is the far southeast part of Evansville and I would not live in it. This is the least safe part of town. I don't know that Evansville really has what you would call ghettos, but this area is by far the closest to the ghetto you can get in Evansville. I would NOT raise my family in this area - I'll leave it at that).

Finally, if you're looking for a high income area like McCutchanville or Darmstadt that is not in Evansville or the Vanderburgh county area, I would recommend Newburgh, Indiana. Newburgh is located in the neighboring county due east of Evansville (Warrick County). For the most part, Newburgh is a very high income area as well that is known for good public schools. While Newburgh and McCutchanville are both high income areas outside of Evansville, the two can't really be compared. McCutchanville is mostly a residential area where the people that live there have to drive 10-12 minutes to get to grocery stores such as Super Wal-Mart or Schnucks. Newburgh is kind of its own city with residential and commercial shopping areas. People that live in Newburgh wouldn't have to come to Evansville for anything really unless they worked in Evansville or wanted to go to the mall. Newburgh has a more city-like feel to it than McCutchanville does. McCutchaville is much more wooded with curvy roads and has a more scenic feel to it. It all depends on what you're in to as they are both nice areas.

I hope this post was helpful for anyone that is needing to relocate to the Evansville area and doesn't know anything about the area. Thanks for reading.