Downtown Indy living question (Indianapolis, Lafayette: sales, Home Depot, neighborhood)

[EricSteph]

My husband and I are moving to Indianapolis area. I am going to school at IUPUI and my husband will be working. My only concern with living downtown is normal errands like grocery shopping, Target/Walmart, etc. I know that Plainfield and Avon both have a lot of shopping centers that are clean and well-maintained, but I am wondering if there are any places in downtown that are also clean and stuff. My husband is just concerned with safety and wants to make sure we are gonna be able to shop nearby in a decent area. Any help anyone could give would be much appreciated!

[sweetana3]

i live downtown. Omailas and the hardware store next to it give us a lovely area for quick grocery and hardware shopping. They are right next to Lockerbie and Mass Ave. Circle Center mall for mall shopping is sharp and clean but is not my thing.

We find it easier to drive to I65 and Southport for the Super Target/Home Depot/Meier and one exit farther for the new Walmart when we want to do some stock up shopping. I like driving to 86th at either end for the Trader joes and the new Paradise Bakery. We rarely go to Avon or Plainfield preferring either downtown or the south side. Just a personal preference.

We often go to Broad Ripple which is north of downtown for doctor, farmers market (downtown on Wed), great organic and natural grocery stores, bakeries, etc.

The Greenwood park Mall is undergoing a renovation and adding Barnes and Nobel, Cheesecake Factory, etc.

A personal preference is to avoid Lafayette Sq. Mall except for the restaurants and ethnic groceries in the area. It is unfortunate that it is the closest to downtown.

[benjaminooo]

I haven't found a need to go to other malls considering there is this mall downtown called Circle Centre.. It's pretty nice.

The Southport Super Target is the easiest access, but the Beech Grove Walmart isn't too bad either if you're into feeling better about yourself.

Right now O'malia's is in the middle of a renovation and we are looking to have a Target @ Alabama & Market by next year (fingers crossed).. hopefully joining it will be some sort of Whole Foods or Wild Oats.

Do yourself a favor and AVOID CASTLETON AT ALL COSTS if you can get away with it.. It's just a headache and there really isn't anything extra special up there. Just a lot of traffic. I pretty much abhor 82nd/86th street. However, I find myself going to the Keystone Fashion mall(Nora) for Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and the Apple Store.

Also, isn't there a Paradise Bakery on the corner of Ohio and Penn downtown? No need to get in your car for that.

Barnes & Noble is downtown at Wash & Meridian.

[sweetana3]

Not a big point but isnt it a Borders downtown? They are so similiar however.

We end up at 86th street a lot because my hubby haunts half price books. There are two on 86th and one in Greenwood and they are all very different in the things he picks up. Heck, we have even stopped in Columbus OH to visit Half price while traveling.

I agree that Castleton doesnt really have anything that cannot be bought elsewhere. I do not visit any malls for whatever reason. Just a personal hangup. Shop very little and use specialty stores if at all possible or run in an anchor store, buy and run out.

Living downtown does not mean that you will travel downtown. After walking to work and home, I rarely want to walk back downtown (especially at night alone).

[RxMarcus]

Originally Posted by EricSteph

My husband and I are moving to Indianapolis area. I am going to school at IUPUI and my husband will be working. My only concern with living downtown is normal errands like grocery shopping, Target/Walmart, etc. I know that Plainfield and Avon both have a lot of shopping centers that are clean and well-maintained, but I am wondering if there are any places in downtown that are also clean and stuff. My husband is just concerned with safety and wants to make sure we are gonna be able to shop nearby in a decent area. Any help anyone could give would be much appreciated!

I live downtown as well and have little trouble with normal erronds. This a grocery store downtown, O'Malias. It is not huge, but has everything you need, plus a little more (and they are expanding the Natural/Organic section with the aforementioned renovation). Also, the Southport SuperTarget is about 8 miles away from downtown, and takes less than 10 minutes to reach by highway. There is also a Home Depot, Kohl's, Pier 1, and other smaller retailers in the same shopping complex as the Target.

The shopping downtown is all in more bright, vibrant areas of the city, so you will have no trouble. The more "shady" parts of downtown are farther north, north of 16th st, and even then they are sporadic.

For me, downtown (including the Southport shopping) has most everything I need. Usually once or twice a week I will go to the northside, Broad Ripple and Keystone area to get some things.

[benjaminooo]

Originally Posted by sweetana3

Not a big point but isnt it a Borders downtown? They are so similiar however.

We end up at 86th street a lot because my hubby haunts half price books. There are two on 86th and one in Greenwood and they are all very different in the things he picks up. Heck, we have even stopped in Columbus OH to visit Half price while traveling.

I agree that Castleton doesnt really have anything that cannot be bought elsewhere. I do not visit any malls for whatever reason. Just a personal hangup. Shop very little and use specialty stores if at all possible or run in an anchor store, buy and run out.

Living downtown does not mean that you will travel downtown. After walking to work and home, I rarely want to walk back downtown (especially at night alone).

oh yeah, it is borders... I think the building is called barnes and thornburg or something like that.

I'm confused by your last statement though... while i sympathize with the being a woman alone thing. i would never say its unsafe to walk the streets downtown after dusk. especially if youre just running errands.

[sweetana3]

Then you have not been stopped by 6 foot plus aggressive panhandlers or others. Or have not had to consider the of 5 homeless men sleeping on a picnic table next to the sidewalk, or walking past dark alleys known for drug sales or paraphenalia lying about. We have regular meetings with the police and keep up to date on all local happeningsv and while I would walk down certain streets(Alabama), the lack of constant traffic and other people doing the same thing (to add addtional eyes) makes me less secure than say walking around Times Square in NYC.

It is not a "never" do it, but it is always wise for a woman to be totally aware of the surroundings and to be careful. If we did not have abandoned buildings creating hiding places and had more activity, it would be easier to walk at night. The purpose of the trip does not make it any safer or less safe, it is the darkness and lack of people.

It is actually quite scary to walk alone in the absolute darkness of an Indiana night from Pennsylvania to my house. Not a soul on the streets, little street light, lots of alleys, etc. We always traveled in a group to our neighborhood meetings.

[benjaminooo]

Ive been approached countless times. usually im walking my dog though. I just refuse to live in fear. the majority of homeless people are harmless and random assaults are almost unheard of downtown. I've lived in the old northside and found it be very safe. the bums never bothered me. I now live in fountain square which is a whole new world. sure I've been aprehensive, but I was raised with a lot of street smarts.

bad people smell fear and avoid confidence...

downtown is easily one of the safest city settings Ive ever been in.