Thinking of moving to Indiana (Fort Wayne, Evansville: transplants, crime rates, house)

[4shell]

Hi! New to this forum and need honest answers from both locals and transplants. My husband and I have lived all over the country and are thinking of retiring (young and active) to Indiana where he is from. Our discussions have gone from Granger/SB area to Bloomington/Brown County and now it seems Madison is thrown into the mix. Family is in Granger, however, we would like a warmer climate. I would love to find a town with culture, great restaurants other than the national chains and quaint upscale boutiques. Aesthetics are important to us as well. My husband is a die-hard golfer. Not my deal! Housing also very important. Need some land (not tons) have rescue dogs. Vinyl sided developments with postage stamp lots are not for us. Would love our future home to have character. I have just read some of the posts about Indiana having no appreciation, that scares me! I find that hard to believe if you buy right and in a good location. Anyway, my question is where IS the town that will fill the majority of our needs and wants?
4shell

[domergurl]

My vote would be Madison. You have easy access to Indy, Louisville & Cincinnati. It's beautiful and close to state parks and rec areas. You should be able to find some land out there ... best of luck!

[4shell]

I will go to realtor.com and look at housing in the area. Do you have any idea of what a nice 3/2 house w/ 1 or more acres would run?

[domergurl]

No idea at all ... I will be moving closer to Madison than where I am now on Friday. I'm hoping that I'll be checking out the area during the summer!

[4shell]

Good luck with your move! Where are you moving from and where are you moving to? Can you tell me why you prefer Madison over Bloomington? Does Madison have a historic district? Shops, antiques, boutiques? How about a good selection of restaurants?

[harry t]

Good luck with your move. My wife and I are about to do the same. We are looking at Bloomington first. We are concerned about weather conditions, crime rates,etc. Any info we get we'll pass on. harry t

[domergurl]

Madison is an old river town that strives to maintain it's quaint heritage. There have been several pictures posted of the town (thanks plaidmom!). We are moving to Columbus, northwest of Madison (we are in the burbs of Indy now). I actually know of people who retire to Bloomington. As an IU alumni, I can't say anything bad. Retiring there would give you all the cultural benefits of IU and it really is a beautiful part of the state. But you'd also have to deal with the IU students, which, if I were a retiree ... no thanks. But I could be wrong. I guess for me, having 3 major cities (L-ville, Cincy and Indy) close enough, but still having your own piece of the country would be reason enough for me to move to Madison. In Bloomington, you'd have easy access to Indy, but until they get the I-69 extension built to Evansville, that's about it.

[4shell]

I would appreciate any and all information you can pass on to me. I guess we were leaning towards Bloomington because of the University. I really need the mix of people, all ages and ethnic diversity; to me it is what gives a town its beat. Big box stores and vinly sided cookie cutter developements can be found in anywhere, usa. On the other hand, a river town rich in history also has its appeal. I imagine we will have to check both out thoroughly before a decision is made. I hope we can gather more info on this forum. Later, 4shell

[StriderMatic]

Bloomington is good and plenty safe. Basically because of the university there are a lot of big events or shows that come through the campus (mostly to IU Auditorium), and of course there's Hoosier basketball and other sports to watch. There's also a whole lot of restaurants from various countries right off the campus if you're into that.

On the other hand, there is a lot of turnover from people who are there as students as people usually leave after they finish their degrees.

Indy is good if you like the city though.

Bigger areas include Evansville and Fort Wayne, while there's also places with universities like South Bend, Terre Haute, Lafayette, Muncie, etc. There are various small towns throughout the state. I've found only Indy and maybe Bloomington are the non-boring places to be.

Just stay away from Gary and East Chicago.

[4shell]

Does anyone know anything about Bartholomew (sp?) County? I found this wonderful house on line with 5 acres. It intrigues me but I am clueless as to values there, towns in and around it. Thanks, 4shell