Need advice on South Indy (Indianapolis, Bloomington: lofts, credit, how much)

[findy]

I live in Whiteland which is a very small, safe and quiet town between Franklin and Greenwood. Although Whiteland is somewhat faceless I enjoy having small town charm and a wonderful park and bike trail system with Franklin on the south and Greenwood for everything else north. Our family hardly ever goes to Indy. I agree with others here that Center Grove area is a very nice area with its own quirky park (Freedom or Independence Park, I forget which) and some of those rolling hills and trees outsiders don't think exist around Indianapolis, and being on the south side I feel like escape from corn fields to forests and hills is at my fingertips. For shopping you have a very good mall in Greenwood, Circle Center in downtown of course and an outlet mall 15 miles south of Franklin if you feel so inclined. Also if you are a movie fan you have a dollar theater in Greenwood, a classic revival theater (Wizard of Oz, Rocky etc.) in Franklin and a killer rural drive-in in Center Brook amongst the other more standard options. Also, I don't know how it is in other counties but the Library system in Johnson county is very good. I certainly wouldn't recommend a commute from the north side, when it comes to rush hour traffic, Indy is no Baltimore but that just seems so far, not to mention the north side has the bigger traffic problems. As far as exact areas it is hard to decide what other people like so I'm not of much help there, although it seems to me anything north of 465 wouldn't interest me.

[sweetana3]

I do not understand why someone would choose a huge commute with the associated commute time loss, gas cost and wear and tear on car because they "like" a far away place better. Buy/rent close to work and then the few times you need something from a far away place simply drive there. Franklin is a major drive from the far north side.

I consider family time most important. Good suburban houses on big lots with good school districts can be found on all four sides of Indianapolis.

I would suggest a good agent to help you see the neighborhoods available on the south side all the way to Franklin.

They used to say that Center Grove was so highly valued on the south side that the same house went for $10,000 more if in Center Grove. this was before the housing down but is some indication of desirability.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by sweetana3

I do not understand why someone would choose a huge commute with the associated commute time loss, gas cost and wear and tear on car because they "like" a far away place better. Buy/rent close to work and then the few times you need something from a far away place simply drive there. Franklin is a major drive from the far north side.

I consider family time most important. Good suburban houses on big lots with good school districts can be found on all four sides of Indianapolis.

I would suggest a good agent to help you see the neighborhoods available on the south side all the way to Franklin.

They used to say that Center Grove was so highly valued on the south side that the same house went for $10,000 more if in Center Grove. this was before the housing down but is some indication of desirability.

I know everyone doesn't agree, but my opinion is that I prefer the northside. I know other Northsiders who would agree with me that it is worth a little extra commute, and I am sure there are Southsiders who prefer the southside. For my family, we love living on the northside.

My real estate agent had taken me extensively all over the south side, and I didn't find anything that I liked as well as the northside. I really tried to find something I liked, because the homes were less expensive. But I didn't find any area that felt like I would enjoy coming hone to.

Franklin is far from the north side, and if I worked in Franklin I might choose to live in Columbus, which I really like, rather than the south side of Indy, which I really don't like. Again, just my opinion.

[Colts]

Originally Posted by sweetana3

I do not understand why someone would choose a huge commute with the associated commute time loss, gas cost and wear and tear on car because they "like" a far away place better. Buy/rent close to work and then the few times you need something from a far away place simply drive there. Franklin is a major drive from the far north side.

I consider family time most important. Good suburban houses on big lots with good school districts can be found on all four sides of Indianapolis.

I would suggest a good agent to help you see the neighborhoods available on the south side all the way to Franklin.

They used to say that Center Grove was so highly valued on the south side that the same house went for $10,000 more if in Center Grove. this was before the housing down but is some indication of desirability.

Well, it's all a matter of preference. I personally prefer the aesthetics of the North Side, and I don't think that the south side would appeal to someone who prefers to live north.

If the OP is willing to pay a premium in the form of a longer commute, what's wrong with that?

[X-Greensboro Resident]

I'd definitely give Columbus a look... Domergirl lives there and may be able to shed some light on it. From what I've seen, it's very nice and compares very well with Indy's suburbs.

[indy_317]

One can find many walkable areas: Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, Broad Ripple, Irvington, Fountain Square, Linwood Square, Carmel Downtown arts area, many areas in the outer towns/cities. By walkable, I mean the ability to walk to a decent place for food, maybe a handful of restaurants. Some areas are costly, such as MK, BT, downtown Carmel, the Olio Rd. area of Geist/Fishers, some are more affordable, like areas in Greenfield, Greenwood, etc..

Outside of these areas, most everything else requires driving, and the housing stock is the same on all sides of towns. Plenty of all brick, all stone, all plastic houses...pick what you want, the only difference is the price you will pay. The higher priced areas will usually mean local shopping options with more variety, and definitely more upscale offerings if one wants that.

If you want bragging rights and be thought of as wealthy, or at least one who has some money, then you will want to live in areas like Carmel, Zionsville, Geist (and you have to say Geist, not Fishers or Indianapolis!), Center Grove, MK, or BT. Personally, I think such an image is laughable, but there are many people who want that image and are willing to pay for it, whatever reason.

Just remember, gas could do anything. $7/gallon gas could easily be here in two years. Governments are broke, so road building/reconstruction could seriously take a backseat except for politically connected projects like US 31, I-69. So traffic could only get worse on I-465, I-65 unless politics demands some sort of fix.

Almost everything the north side offers can be found somewhere on the south side.

[X-Greensboro Resident]

Originally Posted by indy_317

If you want bragging rights and be thought of as wealthy, or at least one who has some money, then you will want to live in areas like Carmel, Zionsville, Geist (and you have to say Geist, not Fishers or Indianapolis!), Center Grove, MK, or BT. Personally, I think such an image is laughable, but there are many people who want that image and are willing to pay for it, whatever reason.

Or maybe some folks happen to like those areas more with no regard to "image" or "bragging rights". But hey, don't let other people's taste and preference get in the way of you calling everyone that lives up there shallow.

[Colts]

It's not about "bragging rights," as you so eloquently put it. Certainly you would not recommend the area around 38th and Keystone to someone wanting to live in that general area.

I don't know why people try to act like this is some massively monolithic city; it isn't and you won't find any large city that is. The North Side always has been and probably always will be the most cosmopolitan part of Indianapolis, perhaps the entire state...why bother lying or BSing about it?

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by X-Greensboro Resident

Or maybe some folks happen to like those areas more with no regard to "image" or "bragging rights". But hey, don't let other people's taste and preference get in the way of you calling everyone that lives up there shallow.

Where did I say "everyone?" There are many, many people in this country who pick the "rich area" or "upper income" area solely because they want their image to be one of "they are rich" or "they are wealthy." There are many others who, for some reason, view people as such. I grew up in a middle income area, that is considered the "wealthy" area of that county now. I told some younger person where I grew up and he said "You must be rich." So long as people are going to hold those beliefs, there are those who will want to obtain that image...for many reasons.

Originally Posted by Colts

It's not about "bragging rights," as you so eloquently put it. Certainly you would not recommend the area around 38th and Keystone to someone wanting to live in that general area.

If they asked to live in a predominately African-American area, with lower income neighbors, and more serious crime, then of course I would recommend that area. If someone ask me, "I want folks to think I'm rich, regardless if I am rich, where should I live?" I would tell them on the water over at Geist, followed by Zionsville, and then followed by Carmel.

[msamhunter]

If the OP wants to live north and have hubby drive all the way south taking up 2 hours of his day just commuting, that's on her and him to work it out.

As far as the keeping up with the joneses perception, from someone who has literally lived on every side of town, it is definitely more prevalent on the north side. Are there some areas on the south side that fit the model, yep, Center Grove is one of them and certain neighborhoods in Franklin Township but pound for pound, NS has that beat and people go flat broke trying to live it due to that perception. At the end of the day though, it's what fits your personality. Since I'm uber laid back and can care less about keeping up appearances the south side suits me perfectly as well as people that tend to think the way I do. We'd kick back have a couple of cold ones, bbq almost daily and just have a good time.

If you're all about nordstrom's, being seen in the fancy cars and fashion mall, south side probably isn't for you. South side is safer though.