Moving to Indianapolis this summer (Carmel, Greenwood: crime, new home, neighborhoods)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 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.
My family and I will be relocating to Indianapolis this summer from Florida and we are clueless to what areas are safe, diverse and offer good schools ( Although anything is probably better than Florida). We are a bi-racial family, I am African-American, my wife is Caucasian and we have a 10 yr old son who is African-American (from my previous relationship). We are looking into working in the downtown area, seeking a nice diverse neighbor close to the downtown yet a little in the country that offers parks, running trails, etc. We visit Indiana for Christmas every year! I must say that I was nervous at first being a colored boy due to the stories I’ve heard about Indiana and being the birth place of the KKK Lol. But I must say that the folks there in Indiana are the nicest people you can ever meet and I mean that form the bottom of my heart! So if anyone else reads this and have ever questioned the citizens of Indiana, I hope that I have set the record straight! So……Any suggestion and advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank You for your time!
Well Tennessee is the birthplace of the KKK. Working downtown, you can literally live on any side and be within the same travel time from any other side since downtown literally sits right in the middle of Marion County. Parks and trails are about the same within all 9 townships but Pike is slightly larger due to Eagle Creek which is city's flagship park and 7k ha in size give or take. Each township has a regional park along with several neighborhood parks to compliment and bark parks.
As far as where to live, north side has more money, south side has less crime. You will get your country feeling living south in Decatur Township (probably would not be tops on your list) and Franklin Township (busing issue resolved so could be a very good fit). Far Western Edge of Wayne township you can also get that country living feel but unless you are a stones throw away from I70, that commute wouldn't be very pretty coming down Rockville. East side statistically has the most crime in the city followed by the West side but like most cities, crime isn't just rampant throughout any particular part of the city. You have small pockets where its more prevalent but the majority of neighborhoods are pretty safe in the city. Keep in mind at 360 sq miles, every part of the city covers a LOT of land. It's not Jax but it's a large city geographically.
Personally, the schools within MC aren't as bad as someone in Hamilton county will portray. IPS is the worse school district in the state but at the same time has some of the best schools in the state. I really liked Franklin Township schools before the whole busing fiasco. My oldest is in Perry Schools and it's not bad although Perry Meridian is better than Southport as far as HS's go but that's just my personal opinion. Ben Davis, North Central and a few of the other Indianapolis schools (8 school districts in Indianapolis) are IB schools just like Carmel and the majority of Indiana online HS actually goes through Wayne Township schools although a few others have since joined in the online game like Carmel. If you are looking the private route, my first choice would probably be the International School which is on the North Side down the street from Butler University. As far as immediate access for children, no district has more access to things than IPS, it's what you do with that access. Wayne Township, Washington Township and Carmel all have a bevy to access as far as additional resources than the other schools like Southport or Decatur Central.
Very informative! Thank you for taking the time to share that information with me. PS…..hope I didn’t offend anyone with the KKK comment, I think my wife (who is white) told me that to spook me! J
Last edited by Smith81; 03-23-2012 at 02:45 PM..
Reason: Spelling
I personally wouldn't put my children in any Indianapolis city schools. I'm from Georgia, but moved to Indy 2 years ago so I know how you feel. I would think you would feel more "nervous" in the south than up north. They are completely different worlds. To me, the south (GA, FL) is still very segregated and has a lot of racial undertones (for both races) and both races do double takes at interracial couples and are very judgmental. This is just my opinion and I'm white if it matters. Indiana seems to have way more inter-racial couples, it almost seems the norm. Of course you have the white/white couples (mainly bc that's the majority) but (again in my opinion) when you do see an African American he/she is usually with a Caucasian partner. It's just more the norm, there are no double takes or judgmental stares, everyone is a lot more accepting. Moving was a breath of fresh air. I absolutely LOVE Indy and will NEVER live in the south again and you are correct that ANY Indy school will still be way better than a FL school. My family lives on the NW side of Indy in Brownsburg. After all our research we knew we wanted to live in Hendricks County (Brownsburg, Avon). Avon is a lot of shopping but you can find some good areas on the outskirts. We loved Bburg bc it's more country, yet not too far away. Zionsville (Boone County) is growing a lot and you can kind of get that smaller town feel and still be close to all the great things Carmel has to offer and schools are great and then there is Carmel (Hamilton County) which is more money but the city is beautiful and you can tell there is money. Although the southside of Greenwood is very nice as well (lots of shopping).
Again, thank you for you advise and information! I concur with you, it is a different world up there and we are so ready to make Indy our new home. I'm sure we will have more questions int he near future and look forward to hearing from you momtoax2!!!
My family and I will be relocating to Indianapolis this summer from Florida and we are clueless to what areas are safe, diverse and offer good schools ( Although anything is probably better than Florida). We are a bi-racial family, I am African-American, my wife is Caucasian and we have a 10 yr old son who is African-American (from my previous relationship). We are looking into working in the downtown area, seeking a nice diverse neighbor close to the downtown yet a little in the country that offers parks, running trails, etc. We visit Indiana for Christmas every year! I must say that I was nervous at first being a colored boy due to the stories I’ve heard about Indiana and being the birth place of the KKK Lol. But I must say that the folks there in Indiana are the nicest people you can ever meet and I mean that form the bottom of my heart! So if anyone else reads this and have ever questioned the citizens of Indiana, I hope that I have set the record straight! So……Any suggestion and advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank You for your time!
Given what's going on in Sanford, I'd say you may need to be much more concerned about being a "colored boy" in Florida.
I moved from Boston to Carmel last summer and really like living here. I'm originally from TN. The culture in Indy isnt really southern, but really isnt northern either - somewhere in between which works for me. I really can't answer your questions, but wanted to welcome you to Indy.
Status:
"Building a World Class City"
(set 3 days ago)
Location: Indianapolis
3,908 posts, read 1,617,865 times
Reputation: 957
Quote:
Originally Posted by KimmieP
I moved from Boston to Carmel last summer and really like living here. I'm originally from TN. The culture in Indy isnt really southern, but really isnt northern either - somewhere in between which works for me. I really can't answer your questions, but wanted to welcome you to Indy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 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 1.5 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 I must say that the folks there in Indiana are the nicest people you can ever meet and I mean that form the bottom of my heart! So if anyone else reads this and have ever questioned the citizens of Indiana, I hope that I have set the record straight! So……Any suggestion and advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank You for your time!
