Relocating to central IN, betw. Bloomington and Columbus (Indianapolis, Greenwood: apartment complexes, rent)

[WilliamM]

I'm from Atlanta and am interested in relocating possibly to Bloomington. My sister's family last year moved up to Columbus and she's recently learned she's facing some health issues. So I'd like to be closer, plus I've been getting an itch to make a move in this general direction (and bonus: I like the Midwest and actually like cold weather! ).

What are the apts like in and around Bloomington, esp. to the East towards Columbus? Is it pretty easy to find a nice 1-BR that's not necessarily going to be mainly students in say the $700-800 range? I'm a freelancer and would be setting up an office in the apartment to do most of my work.

Other factors would include good free-WiFi cafes (which I like to frequent to get out of the house to work) nearby, an indoor pool to swim laps, and a good liberal Episcopal Church nearby wouldn't hurt either.

Thanks for any tips.

[domergurl]

Apartments in Bloomington, with IU there, are mainly college student central.

Just so you know, even though it's only 35 miles between Bloomington and Columbus, it takes about an hour to drive between the places. If I were you, I would look to see if there are any nice apartments in maybe, Franklin, which is 20-30 minutes away ... still has a small college (Franklin College). You'd be that much closer. You could also check into Greenwood. It's a smooth shot down I-65.

But again, if Bloomington is the place, I love it there! Wish I could get over there more, but the drive time is a pain ... am I right rrah <---- our resident bloomingtonian.

[rrah]

There are a couple of apartment complexes on the far eastside that tend to be less student oriented. One is right off of 446 and 46. 46 is the road you take to Columbus. I'm sorry I don't know the name or price ranges there. Another is The Fields, which is close to College Mall. Much less student oriented, but I suspect the cost is more than 800/month.

Lots of Starbucks and coffee shops. I don't know about if the independent shops have free wifi, but of course Starbucks does.

The local YMCA has an indoor pool open for members. The CBAC at the IU student rec center is also indoors and can be used by the public for a fee during certain hours I believe. Royer Pool on the IU campus in the HPER building is also open to the public for limited hours. The Y pool has better hours though as CBAC is used by the IU swim team twice a day, also for classes, and for a couple of local swim clubs. Classes and swim clubs also use Royer quite a bit.

I know there is an Episcopalian church, but don't know how it is as far as liberal/conservative goes. Being Bloomington my guess is more liberal.

Dgurl is correct though that the drive from Columbus to B-ton is LONG.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Just so you know, even though it's only 35 miles between Bloomington and Columbus, it takes about an hour to drive between the places. If I were you, I would look to see if there are any nice apartments in maybe, Franklin, which is 20-30 minutes away ... still has a small college (Franklin College). You'd be that much closer. You could also check into Greenwood. It's a smooth shot down I-65.

But again, if Bloomington is the place, I love it there! Wish I could get over there more, but the drive time is a pain ... am I right rrah <---- our resident bloomingtonian.

Thanks so much for the suggestions! It's interesting you mention Greenwood. I heard from my brother-in-law that a lot of the younger folks working in Columbus live up that way. Looks like an Indy suburb. Seems that's a place to give a good look. Would Greenwood apartments likely be any pricier do you think?

But you mention liking Bloomington. If you had the choice, would you live there over where you currently live? I'm curious why you like it so much. I'm a former academic who's spent lots of time on college campuses. Even though I never studied in Bloomington I feel like it would be a bit like going 'home'.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by rrah

There are a couple of apartment complexes on the far eastside that tend to be less student oriented. One is right off of 446 and 46. 46 is the road you take to Columbus. I'm sorry I don't know the name or price ranges there. Another is The Fields, which is close to College Mall. Much less student oriented, but I suspect the cost is more than 800/month.

Lots of Starbucks and coffee shops. I don't know about if the independent shops have free wifi, but of course Starbucks does.

The local YMCA has an indoor pool open for members. The CBAC at the IU student rec center is also indoors and can be used by the public for a fee during certain hours I believe. Royer Pool on the IU campus in the HPER building is also open to the public for limited hours. The Y pool has better hours though as CBAC is used by the IU swim team twice a day, also for classes, and for a couple of local swim clubs. Classes and swim clubs also use Royer quite a bit.

I know there is an Episcopalian church, but don't know how it is as far as liberal/conservative goes. Being Bloomington my guess is more liberal.

Dgurl is correct though that the drive from Columbus to B-ton is LONG.

Wow, thanks for the suggestions on the specific apartments. I'll look into those. And for the swimming facility info, too. Sounds like Bloomington has lots to choose from. It looks as though for physical activities being inside Bloomington might be hard to beat in the general area, incl. Indy.

Btw, I was half-joking about the 'liberal' church thing. (Really almost any Episcopal church will tend to be progressive, regardless of their actual political leanings. Thought I'd throw it out there for the heck of it in case anyone knows a specific church well.)

Thanks for the ideas!

[Uplander]

You might consider some of the older appartments on the eastside of Bloomington. I know a faculty member who has lived in the Meadowpark Complex for quite a few years. I don't know the prices, but I suspect it might be in your range.

I'm a confirmed couch potato, but I know there are age group team sports in Bloomington like soccer and softball if you are interested in that sort of thing.

If you had to make the drive from Bloomington to Columbus everyday I suspect it would get old very quick, but you mentioned you are a freelancing. Make your trip on off hours, buy an annual Indiana State Park Pass and stop at Brown County Park for lunch, a picnic, and or a hike half-way through the trip. Other places between Bloomington and Columbus would include Yellowwood State Forest, T. C. Steele State Memorial, and Nashville.


Maybe the Columbus folks would like to meet you in between some of the time.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by WilliamM

Thanks so much for the suggestions! It's interesting you mention Greenwood. I heard from my brother-in-law that a lot of the younger folks working in Columbus live up that way. Looks like an Indy suburb. Seems that's a place to give a good look. Would Greenwood apartments likely be any pricier do you think?

But you mention liking Bloomington. If you had the choice, would you live there over where you currently live? I'm curious why you like it so much. I'm a former academic who's spent lots of time on college campuses. Even though I never studied in Bloomington I feel like it would be a bit like going 'home'.

I went to school at IU and we seriously considered living in Bloomington when we were moving down here, but we did the drive a couple times before we bought a house and immediately knocked it off the list for the commute time alone, but that's because hubby would have to do that commute on a daily basis. Now, as a freelancer, you wouldn't have to deal with it on a daily basis. If you want the classic college town feel (at least during the schoolyear), Bloomington is the place for you! Greenwood is a burb of Indy and a lot of single people working in Columbus do live up there because Columbus is very family oriented ... which is why we love it so much. If we didn't have kids ... we'd probably live in Greenwood. But then again, if we didn't have kids, we'd still be living in our highrise in downtown Chicago, sigh ... I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids ...

[rrah]

Nice catch on the freelancing Uplander

It might seem odd, but housing prices, including rent, tend to be more expensive in Bloomington than Indianapolis or Greenwood. I'm guessing rent is far less in Greenwood than Bloomington.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by rrah

Nice catch on the freelancing Uplander

It might seem odd, but housing prices, including rent, tend to be more expensive in Bloomington than Indianapolis or Greenwood. I'm guessing rent is far less in Greenwood than Bloomington.

We noticed that housing in Bloomington was a lot more expensive! Greenwood would probably be cheaper because of it's suburban status.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by rrah

Nice catch on the freelancing Uplander

It might seem odd, but housing prices, including rent, tend to be more expensive in Bloomington than Indianapolis or Greenwood. I'm guessing rent is far less in Greenwood than Bloomington.

Interesting. That would make Indiana unique in my experience. Usually the college towns are way lower rent than around the major city. At least it used to be that way, back when I kept up with it in the 80s.

By the way, I was looking at the website for The Fields in Bloomington and they seem to have one bedrooms at around $800-850. So that's roughly comparable to Atlanta.