Fort Wayne or Indianapolis??

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by krock1dk

Correction: Indy is the 13th largest city in the country. Not 14th, unless San Francisco has become slightly larger for some reason.

Ya I think it did, all I know is Indy is 14th now.

[jodyrose]

I lived in Fort Wayne for 5 years. I loved it and I miss it. Its just big enough and yet not too big. It has nice cultural things, great shopping and is not far from Indy, if you want more big city things. I absolutely adored the library system, the botanical gardens and the art museum. Lots of pretty old architecture. I lived on SW side of town, close to Lutheran Hospital. If you have a family, I highly recommend it.

[javahoe]

What brings you to Indiana?

Why just Indy and Ft. Wayne? I could understand Indy if you are looking for a large city, but honestly, the differences in the two would warrant other locations as well.

I am a native Missourian who has lived in Indy (Greenwood), Ft. Wayne and Evansville (Newburgh). They each have their pluses and minuses. Indy is a nice city and the suburbs are similar to living elsewhere in the state. But you still have the Indy traffic, housing prices and such. There really isn't a comparison elsewhere in the state with the possible exception of Lake County.

Ft. Wayne, Evansville and even South Bend are more similar to each other. Like I said, I have lived in Ft. Wayne and Evansville. While Ft. Wayne has a larger city population, Evansville has more of a metro feel. Once you factor the suburban areas of Newburgh in Warrick County and Henderson, directly across the river, the populations and amneties are very similar. Same goes for South Bend with Mishawauka and Elkhart.

Housing, crime, city amneties are very similar. For some reason, I like the Ft. Wayne school districts better than the Evansville city one, but I can't say enough good things about Warrick County.

Weather, the summers are hot and humid in Evansville, but the winters are twice as bad and long in Ft. Wayne. Evansville goes some winters without any measurable snowfalls, while you will see continuous snow in the Fort from December into March. But there are days in Evansville in July that you will break into a sweat as soon as you walk out the door.

Sports, if you like minor league hockey, go Ft. Wayne, if you prefer college basketball, take Evansville. Both towns have minor league baseball. Ft. Wayne has a brand new stadium while Evansville has a really cool historic place. Kind of like Wrigley or Fenway. With the renovation of the Coliseum, I think FW has a better arena, but Evansville has started construction on a new one downtown.

The nightlife in Evansville seems a little more lively, especially downtown. A lot of this is probably due to a casino boat and two sizeable universities.

Again, like I said, I have lived in both, and think you will enjoy either of them. From what I know about Maine, seems to me you would be interested in the Bloomington, Brown County, Columbus area. Bloomington is a typical quirky college town, while Columbus is nice little city with some fabulous architecture. In between is some of the prettiest country in the state.

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by javahoe

Sports, if you like minor league hockey, go Ft. Wayne, if you prefer college basketball, take Evansville. Both towns have minor league baseball. Ft. Wayne has a brand new stadium while Evansville has a really cool historic place. Kind of like Wrigley or Fenway. With the renovation of the Coliseum, I think FW has a better arena, but Evansville has started construction on a new one downtown.

The only thing about college basketball is that IPFW is division one now, but they are awful. Fort Wayne also has AF2 Arena Football (Minor League), an NBA D-League team, a single A minor league baseball team with a new stadium downtown, and, of course, the Komets (hockey). Does Evansville have a division one school, I can't remember?

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Does Evansville have a division one school, I can't remember?

University of Evansville Purple Aces, which play in the Missouri Valley Conference.

[newguy101]

pretty hard to go wrong in your fields in the fort. a lot of hospital growth in the area. i would stay away from the south end. a lot of towns and areas to live in and to be real about it everything is a easy drive..ever during the 30 minute "rush hour" if you can call it that..we have spent 22yrs.here, now retiring to our place in florida. overall a nice town ..and a whole book full of places to eat out..good luck.

[Keith Roe]

Originally Posted by Keith n Beth :-)

Thanks for the replies everyone well we've decided on ...(((((drumroll))))) Ft Wayne because we currently live in a city of about 3k and Beth doesn't want to get lost everyday going to work hehe .
We both had a few laughs reading CDCDGUY's post .
Thanks again Keith & Beth

I have family in both. Ft Wayne main sectors are auto parts and military. The three rivers festival during the summer is a blast. Don't forget Johnny Appleseed!!!!!!!

Enjoy!

[krock1dk]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Ya I think it did, all I know is Indy is 14th now.

I did some research on that yesterday and this is the result: last year the city of San Francisco challenged its 2000 Census totals, claiming some 10% of the people were left out for some reason 9 years ago. The Census agreed, making the new UNOFFICIAL figure at about 815,000 vs Indy's 800,000. Though these figures are NOT official, we will see what the 2010 Census says this time. Although I know Indy has been passed by Jacksonville since 2000, from 12th 13th.

[javahoe]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

University of Evansville Purple Aces, which play in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Yes, The "Valley" as it is called locally, is considered by many as the top non-BCS basketball conference in the country. The Aces have struggled the last few years, but can still hit 10K+ in attendance and will average that during winning seasons. In addition, USI has one of the most successful D-2 programs nationally and will draw about 3K at it's facility. Across the river in nearby Owensboro, Kentucky Wesleyan has the most successful D-2 program of all time with I think 8 NCAA Championships.

You're right about IPFW. They are bottom rung in D-1. This isn't a knock on them at all, but why did they move D-1? I don't recall them ever even being very good at the D-2 level. Certainly not able to compete year in and out with USI or KWC.

Like I said, Evansville draws big crowds for NCAA basketball, while Ft. Wayne draws them for minor league hockey. I think the Komets atmosphere is better on many nights than that of my old hometown NHL team. Evansville does have a minor league hockey team, Evansville Icemen, but they are more of a development team. The Icemen have already been granted an IHL franchise (same league as Komets) and will play there once the new downtown arena is completed.