Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
All right, I'm feeling like I'm getting a good of idea of where to spend some time looking when we're out in August. Between Zionsville, New Palestine, and Carmel, is there one area that seems to attract more families with young kids?
Zionsville and Carmel will feel more like a nice city/urban area. Most of the farm fields have been turned into housing and retail developments. New Palestine will feel partially rural/partially urban since you are so close to the city. New Palestine will likely be the next big growth area, but not until the economy rebounds and it likely maybe a decade or longer.
Zionsville and Carmel schools are likely better (*) than New Pal schools, but it is all relative. Sure they have higher test scores, and likely fewer poor kids (New Pal doesn't have many at all). All schools are mostly white, you will find more "diversity" in Carmel and Zionsville, but not necessarily black and Hispanic. Carmel is huge, it is almost too big and they have some serious issues with that district. The powers that be in Carmel feel that they have to be the best, since the residents have money, so tax hikes could be constant. Read the thread on here about the Carmel High School Basketball incident...a similar incident happened ten years ago, and calls of political cover-ups and such are very loud. Carmel refuses to build a second high school, as that would divide their student body, and they are too focused on sports titles and want the large pool of students to pick athletes from.
New Palestine schools are nice though. They are finishing the building of a new intermediate school. They recently finished their third elementary school. It is a growing system. They have a nice drama/stage center, a newer pool, two gyms at the high school, newer tennis courts. Their football field lacks compared to others, but New Pal watches their spending better than most. I am sure they would love a $2,000,000 football stadium, but the people in this area don't want to be sacked with high property taxes. They have a nice field, they have nice bleachers, they seem content. There are plenty of kids from New Pal that go on to be successful people:Small business owners, doctors, lawyers, etc..
You just need to decide if you want to live in a city type urban area, with higher costs of living and taxes, or a more suburban area that still has a little rural feel?
Beech Grove is fine. Don't let the snobs convince you otherwise. It ranges from working class up to upper middle class (in the corridor along 9th Avenue and the south side). It is quite safe, has schools that rate better than many of the township schools in academic performance, and much of it is quite walkable. It isn't posh, but the small-town feel and the good schools could make it an increasingly desirable place for people looking for a smaller fixer-upper. The main street has room to improve, but it has gotten better in recent years. One potential negative is that in 2000, it was extremely homogeneous--not sure whether or not it has changed. I've been to the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Emerson and it seems to draw a pretty diverse clientele, including a lot of foreign-born.
It's no Zionsville, which is Indy's best area and the only thing we have that is comparable to the nice neighborhoods of other cities. Carmel is getting better.
At least both of them are better than places like Dublin, OH. Anyway I guess New Pal would be considered a suburb, but it feels like it is completly separated from the city IMO.
As far as Beech Grove, I would take a pass. They have some nice areas, but some white trash areas as well. They also are close to some Section 8 complexes, but technically they are outside the city limits. As far as their parks, I would seriously spend some time in them. There is one park, just south of Main St./St. Francis Hospital (the big building in the city). I have went to different functions there over many years. Beech Grove is having some financial issues, as are most cities and towns. They have neglected this park. Sure, there is a newer play thing for kids, but you would find a better play set at most elementary schools. For the last two years, they had one entrance closed due to a bridge issue, they are now fixing that bridge. The bridge walkway over the drainage ditch/creek is in need of repair.
New Palestine is a nice area. It is the only area in Hancock Co. that is trying to keep the cheaper vinyl village homes from being built. So far they have been successful, and most of the vinyl homes are a little more upscale than what they have in other parts of the county. However, unless you live in town, or close by (there are some very nice neighborhoods just north of the train tracks), forget about bicycling. Right now, the area is very nice, and should likely stay so. Some of the nicer housing additions are a little over a mile from the town, another higher end subdivision is a little over two miles down US 52 (two miles closer to Indy). There are many older housing additions, with solid built homes on decent sized lots. They may or may not need updating, but with your price limit, you have a lot to choose from.
The only downside is shopping/eating out. The east side of Indy has a lot to offer with eating, most chains, a few good mom and pop places. However, the upper level chain restaurants will either be in Greenwood (south of Indy), Hamilton County/Northern Indy-Marion County, or downtown Indy. Retail shopping is bad for clothing, good for everything else. You have a Best Buy, a Dick's Sporting Goods, HH Gregg (an electronics store), Sears, K-Mart, Wal-mart, Meijer, Sam's Club, and Kroger. For more upper end shopping, you will want to go to the places mentioned above. It is somewhat of a wash: You pay less for housing, upwards of $30-$50K less, for a home, but if you need to buy a new wardrobe every season, you are going to be driving. If you want things to do outside of going to a park/school playground/eating at your typical food places, you are going to have to drive. It isn't bad at all. I grew up in the area and still live in the area. I am a homebody and I don't have any desire to spend thousands a year on fancy eating and shopping.
Thank you so much for all the insights on Beech Grove and New Pal. New Pal appeals to us because of the larger lots and affordable houses (by Colorado standards ) but after living in a very bike-friendly city, it would be an adjustment to be car dependent. However, compared to the sprawling Denver/Boulder area, Indy and it's suburbs seem very compact so the drive from New Pal to Indy may feel pretty easy.
It sounds like New Pal has plenty of shopping but now for the important part -- does it have it's own community swimming pool, fountain park, or sprayground? Those spraygrounds are starting to pop up all over here and the kids were hoping one would be close.
Greenwood isn't too bad.
Lebanon is a little far but still doable.
So is Noblesville.
There are a number of outlying areas from Indy that are good places to live.
Make sure that you have employment lined up BEFORE you move back to Indiana,though.
Things are very tough here.
Beech Grove is fine. Don't let the snobs convince you otherwise. It ranges from working class up to upper middle class (in the corridor along 9th Avenue and the south side). It is quite safe, has schools that rate better than many of the township schools in academic performance, and much of it is quite walkable. It isn't posh, but the small-town feel and the good schools could make it an increasingly desirable place for people looking for a smaller fixer-upper. The main street has room to improve, but it has gotten better in recent years. One potential negative is that in 2000, it was extremely homogeneous--not sure whether or not it has changed. I've been to the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Emerson and it seems to draw a pretty diverse clientele, including a lot of foreign-born.
It's interesting that Beech Grove is so different than the other areas we're looking at: Zionsville, Carmel, and New Pal. But, the description you give of Beech Grove is exactly the reason I like it -- a small-town feel and it's walkable. And, it reminds me a lot of my hometown in northern Michigan -- maybe even a bit fancier . I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.
Thank you so much for all the insights on Beech Grove and New Pal. New Pal appeals to us because of the larger lots and affordable houses (by Colorado standards ) but after living in a very bike-friendly city, it would be an adjustment to be car dependent. However, compared to the sprawling Denver/Boulder area, Indy and it's suburbs seem very compact so the drive from New Pal to Indy may feel pretty easy.
It sounds like New Pal has plenty of shopping but now for the important part -- does it have it's own community swimming pool, fountain park, or sprayground? Those spraygrounds are starting to pop up all over here and the kids were hoping one would be close.
New Pal isn't bike unfriendly, it is just that you have to ride your bike on the street. When I was pre-16 years old, and able to drive, me, my brother, and friends would ride three miles one-way to various places. Since the area has seen growth recently, car traffic is much heavier, but really only during certain times (rush hours, kids driving to school, etc). I would not ride on US 52, but if you are a rider, then riding an additional 1.5 miles to use less traveled county roads shouldn't be an issue.
Put it this way, if you look on a map of New Palestine, the growth near that area (basically Sugar Creek Township) has been the following:
Directly north of town, on the north side of the railroad tracks.
NW of town, from 500 West (aka Gem Rd.) to 600 West (a/k/a Mt. Comfort Rd.). Also two miles west of town down US 52 where the upper end houses are.
In addition to this, if you locate Brandywine Elementary School, that is the "rural" elementary school. I don't get out that way much, but there are newer housing additions, some with very nice average sized all brick homes, out that way. Don't let the Greenfield address throw you, Brandywine Elementary is in the New Pal school district.
New Palestine area is located in Sugar Creek Township. The township has built a park, but it just started with this sort of thing. The park is small right now, but they have plans to grow. There is no community swimming pool. As kids, we paid to use the Greenfield pool. We also paid to use the YMCA pool. In Marion County, New Pal area is located near Warren Township. Indy Parks, in combination with Warren Township Schools, run an aquatics center at Raymond Park Middle School. That is about five miles away. I have never been there, but I know folks who take their kids/grand kids there. You might have to play slightly higher admission being an out-of-county resident. New Palestine High School has a pool, but I don't know if it is open to the community. I know that after hours, their second gym and weight room were open to the community when they built it about seven years ago.
Due to budget constraints, I wouldn't cross my fingers for any local swimming pool or spray park anytime soon. The economy sucks. Indy Parks offers many pools, and they actually have plans to close a lot of money sucking pools and turn them into spray parks. With my nieces, we have just purchased them a tiny swimming pool and spray them with the hose/sprinklers. My folks have taken them to various water parks all over the city. Outside of rush hour, using the interstate, you can be almost anywhere in the metro area in 50 mins. Not too bad really.
It's interesting that Beech Grove is so different than the other areas we're looking at: Zionsville, Carmel, and New Pal. But, the description you give of Beech Grove is exactly the reason I like it -- a small-town feel and it's walkable. And, it reminds me a lot of my hometown in northern Michigan -- maybe even a bit fancier . I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.
Beech Grove, by and large, is much older than the development in the aforementioned three cities. It also is on the near south side, which tends to be much more blue-collar than the north side of Indy. There are plenty of white-collar folks on the southside, but it's not like the northside, which is almost completely white-collar. Beech Grove is in much better economic shape than most of the Indianapolis area that surrounds it, particularly on the north side of BG's limits. Have no illusions: Beech Grove is not fancy and does not have a huge number of professionals living there. But there are some who appreciate its character, the stable school system, and proximity to DT Indy. I suspect that both Beech Grove and Speedway are going to become more popular in the future; Speedway is getting a ton of investment right now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) but after living in a very bike-friendly city, it would be an adjustment to be car dependent. However, compared to the sprawling Denver/Boulder area, Indy and it's suburbs seem very compact so the drive from New Pal to Indy may feel pretty easy. 
. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.
