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Gosh! Based on this assessment, Louisville's Highlands area is a blend of Haight-Asbury and The French Quarter, only better than both...put together!
And I guess Indy is just J.C. Penney, Colts games watched from the deck outside our vinyl homes, and Applebee's.
Little did I know it was all that simple, and boy did I pick the wrong place. But what if I'm a hipster who shops at J.C. Penney (ironically, of course)?
From a hyperbole standpoint, well, yes. Louisville has much more in common with New Orleans than Indianapolis. Indy is very generic....I do think it has some pluses, but it's not a very independent city. It is very corporate dominated with not as many walkable urban districts as many cities that are smaller.
Even with all the chains in downtown Indy, I do have to give props to its downtown, which I believe to be the most vibrant in the Midwest (by far) outside Chicago and Minneapolis. One could also say it beats out every southern city besides New Orleans from a downtown perspective. I think that says alot. But the core neighborhoods leave much to be desired. Indy is gridded, so it is much easier to explore. In Louisville for example, I could list a dozen hispster style places in each of a half dozen neighborhoods that are not on main "thouroughfares" like Bardstown Rd.
Also, to a person from the urban Midwest, Bardstown Rd. is visually underhelming....the telephone poles, some buildings set back from the street, and even some of the fast food congregations ( I am talking Arby's, Wendy's etc) take away from its urban aesthetic, especially if explored by car. Coming there from Chicago at first glance, I remember thinking this is their urban nabe? This seems like the "dirty south." But then I "got it".... that is a neighborhood that thrives in its combination of cross density, parks, and walkability at all hours. This simply does not exist in Indy.
For the poster who laughed at New Albany, come check out how the place has changed in even the last year and see if you laugh.
I'd agree that Louisville is more, much more than Bardstown Road. But that poster, Styx, proceeds to short-change Indianapolis like it will "never have the vitality" of Highlands...ahem. Comparing Fountain Square to DT New Albany is more than a bit of a stretch, or for that matter comparing Bloomington to Louisville.
Indy has made leaps and bounds in improving its urban neighborhoods and is catching up to Louisville, which I'll admit is ahead in that regard, since the east side of Louisville never really declined. And time will tell if Louisville can breathe the same life in its downtown--it definitely has a better architectural fabric than Indy. But man is that west side of Louisville rough, and it sure seems to spill into downtown.
And Broad Ripple still has eclecticism north of Broad Ripple Avenue, even if the main drag is pretty run-of-the-mill. Time for a truce?
No ill will intended folks. I only call it like I see it. I said many positives about Indy but IMO it is not a place for foodies, thrifters, antiquers, artists, hipsters and its urban nabes are a reflection of that. It certainly is not devoid of that scene, but it is definitely a more corporate environment (which makes more money for the city and is what most working Americans want so not really a bad thing).
I only call it like I see it. I said many positives about Indy but IMO it is not a place for foodies, thrifters, antiquers, artists, hipsters and its urban nabes are a reflection of that.
You forgot "white people who don't like living close to black people." Just calling it how I see it.
Yes, West Louisville is ghetto, but then again, most all of the old city of Indy outside of downtown is a shell of its former self with sparse housing and very ghetto areas.
Well, this is what happens when a city doesn't confine a huge % of its lower income population into just one area of the city.
No ill will intended folks. I only call it like I see it. I said many positives about Indy but IMO it is not a place for foodies, thrifters, antiquers, artists, hipsters and its urban nabes are a reflection of that. It certainly is not devoid of that scene, but it is definitely a more corporate environment (which makes more money for the city and is what most working Americans want so not really a bad thing).
In terms of downtown attributes, indy blows Louisville out the water, Where bigger with much more to do (downtown wise). But we could go tit for tat all day on how alike/unalike our two cities are, but all i know is Indianapolis, like Louisville is changing (if it wernt for this recession indy would be a boom town) When's the last time you visited because in the past 2-3 years things have changed. There's alot going on in our city that the average passer by wouldn't notice(i'm sure ppl do the same with lousiville). We have artist colonies building up, art schools, side cafes, new condos and urban apartments,ect,ect.
we have our fair share of hipster, artist, and thrifters, and even and up and coming film scene, i guess you just have to be from the city to be in the know.
Who the hell cares about hipsters? I personally could live without their boring ironic humor and style which just annoys the crap out of me, they're worthless and to judge a neighborhood on the amount of them is just as ridiculous as them.
Who the hell cares about hipsters? I personally could live without their boring ironic humor and style which just annoys the crap out of me, they're worthless and to judge a neighborhood on the amount of them is just as ridiculous as them.
Who the hell cares about hipsters? I personally could live without their boring ironic humor and style which just annoys the crap out of me, they're worthless and to judge a neighborhood on the amount of them is just as ridiculous as them.
Sorry but if you have that attitude toward hipsters, then you get the exact stereotypical (and inaccurate) portrayal of Indy that Stx12499 is creating---as though Indy is nothing but chains. B/S as everyone else says... there's plenty of antiquing and art gallery hopping. Louisville may win for restaurants but Indy has moved leaps and bounds in the past couple years and I'd imagine has a far more diverse ethnic cuisine close to my nabe in Lafayette Square, whereas Louisville has more of that eclectic American thing going in the Highlands. Indy's big museums outshine Louisville's, which may make Indy seem more "corporate", but museums tend to be good stewards of their respective cities. Indy's museums are fantastic stewards!
And Louisville is hardly the all-out 100% hipster enclave he likes to think it is. It's fine, it has some great neighborhoods and some serious segregation problems--and then, in the newer parts of town, is just as chain dominated as Indy. Because Indy did that city-county merger thing awhile ago, much of what people think of as Indy is still very suburban, like 86th street. And yet, don't quote me on this, I think Louisville did the exact same merger deal just a couple years ago!
As for hipsters, sure, they're pretentious, but they're the stuff that good urban neighborhoods are made of. They're hardly worthless, when they usually pioneer the areas that were really rough a few years ago, like Fletcher Place and Fountain Square. Besides, they WANT you to mock them--it reinforces their sense of smug superiority!
I have lived in both Louisville and Indianapolis and feel I know both places pretty well. I like both cities a lot. But you read some of the pro-Louisville posts here and you'd think it's San Francisco Jr. or something. Bardstown Rd is cool and definitely has Broad Ripple's number, but let's not act like Indy is just some bland chain city. There are great unique restaurants ALL OVER THE CITY. Just do some googling or look at an Indianapolis Monthly. Safron Cafe, the Bosphorus...those are some of the nicest ethnic restaurants you'll find in any city.
Louisville easily wins in natural aesthetics with the river and Floyds Knobs backdrop. Indy is never going to win an award for natural beauty, that's for sure.
Indy, though being bigger, EASILY wins in navigability. Louisville is a PAIN IN THE NECK to get around in spaghetti junction/crossing the river. Louisville has just TWO functioning bridges now that the Sherman Minton is out of commission for at least 6 months ago. The fact that a large metro area like that only has 3 bridges is absolutely pathetic. I don't think there's another area in the country that has fumbled an important infrastructure issue as badly as the Louisville area has with the bridges.
Indy easily wins in museums. The IMA is a true world class museum and can rival anything in the country. Not to mention it's free. The Children's Museum consistently ranked as the nicest in the world. The Eiteljord, the Indiana State History Museum, etc.
Indy has more going on downtown. I don't see how that can be argued. Though the new stadium in Louisville helps TREMENDOUSLY.
If you like mega American suburbs then Indy wins. Louisville has no Hamilton County. There is no Carmel or Fishers there. New Albany is probably the biggest suburb of Louisville and it's not really even a suburb. It's an independent city that just happens to be located right by Louisville. But there is no "big" suburb to Louisville in Kentucky. Certainly nothing like Carmel or Fishers.
Louisville has the very charming Victorian Neighborhoods in South Louisville.
As mentioned, Bardstown Rd definitely beats Broad Ripple. Though Broad Ripple is still extremely fun.
Louisville doesn't have near as much crime/murders as Indy. And most of Louisville's crime takes place on the west side of town where in Indy there are nasty areas spread over all four sides.
Both have some of the most famous sporting events in the entire world with the Derby and 500. And for a fun fact, both have a US President buried in them (Louisville - Zachary Taylor, Indy- Benjamin Harrison).
Overall, I probably chose Indy. But admittedly, I'm a huge pro sports fan who loves the Colts and Pacers. Since that is a big source of entertainment for me, it elevates Indy significantly in my eyes.
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