desperately seeking a home (Indianapolis, Bloomington: to rent, houses, construction)

[marymom]

I have been reading this forum for awile now..Maybe someone can pt me in the right direction.My family and I want to move from MD, we have been looking everywhere,he is on his way back from Tn as I write this, we have been to the Carolinas,Missouri,Idaho,New England,Kentucky. A days drive from Maryland would be ideal, IN is 11hours or so (to Madison). We are looking for a nice small town 20minutes or so from a larger area for shopping etc. We have 3 small children so good schools are imp.and really want to rent a farm house.I like IN, it is a state I am drawn to..can't really tell you why. We would love to have some water(lake,river) around and some national parks, mildish winters. Can this be found in IN?Also not to pricey,as I am a stay at home mom right now..Sorry to go on but we are feeling desperate, we are losing our home in about a month...So any help would be great. Also my husband is in construction, not the best career at this time so anywhere near a possible job, he can do lots of things.
Any suggestions?

[bluidmc]

Hi,
There are many places that you could look at. I live in Jasper, not originally from here. You might read that it's very expensive to live here and that everyone has money. As with all towns everyone has an opinion. I lived here once before and moved back again due to the schools and housing costs. I used to live in the Chicago area. There is a huge variety of incomes in my area, there are also a variety of prices for your housing choices. We live near a few large lakes, National and State forests. You might also look near Bloomington, Bedford, Greencastle. There are so many places to choose from that it might actually make it difficult. It also depends on what part of Indiana you want to live in or near.
Good luck in your search.

[domergurl]

Have you looked into Columbus, Indiana? We're not far from Madison and equidistant between Indy, Cincinnati and Louisville. Columbus itself is a large town ...

[Future Trooper]

Putnam,Morgan,Monroe and Bartholomew Counties would be great candidates.

Southern Putnam County has lots of farms that are near rivers/lakes but, It isnt that close to great shopping. Morgan and Monroe counties also have lots of farms near bodies of water with close access to big cities and shopping. Bartholomew-Brown Counties I would imagine would have similiar but I dont know because it's been awhile since I was around the Columbus area.

[marymom]

Thanks for the advise I am going to investigate... Not Madison I hear it is very nice? My husband applied for a job with Pepsi Americas in Austin, anyone know anything about the company or the area? Any other possible job possibilities we can research?

[marymom]

Oh one other thing...What about Nashville area outside Bloomington that is in the MOnroe/Bartholomew counties?...Thx again you have alll been so helpful we are really in a desperate situation.

[Future Trooper]

Nashville is in Brown County. Very beautiful area of the state. Not exactly sure if you will find farm houses down in that part of the state but their is tons of properties that are on bodies of water. plus you are almost equidistant from Columbus and Bloomington and all the shopping and recreation amenities that they both offer.

[locean]

If I'm not mistaken, Austin is a very small town in the southern part of the state. The closest big city is probably Louisville, just across the bridge.

I have never been there, but I'm assuming it's probably like most small towns in this state, with plenty of people living in trailers on nice plots of land out in the country.

One possibility you should consider is Martinsville. It's a rural area with a lot of older farm type, or victorian homes out in the country as will as in the middle of town. It's close enough to drive to shopping areas in Bloomington, Greenwood, or Indianapolis. That location would also give your husband more options when it comes to finding work since it is near those major areas.

As for the mildish winters in Indiana--you'll have to travel down to Tennessee to get one.

[marymom]

I never thought of Martinsville I will look into it, I am not worried about the winters, I do like snow. We hope to be visiting in a week or so! We are very excited! Still nothing on Madison? NOt a good place or what? Thanks for all the advise,pls keep it coming.