Physician moving to Indy this summer (Lafayette, Fishers: for sale, 2013, rent)

[vzx]

I'm a physician and married to a beautiful wife. We don't have kids but plan to have a large dog soon (once we move). I'm graduating from medical residency and joining IUPUI as a physician. Living in Champaign, IL we have made a few trips to Indy over the last couple of weekends and have looked at some of the areas with our realtor. We are still in a fix about which neighborhood we should be going to. My wife may be planning to go to Purdue in fall 2013 so have to take that into consideration

Our budget is about 220-250K. Some of the things that I have noticed are as follows:

1. Carmel area
- nice school district (but we don't have kids)
- Far from IUPUI (about 45 min). I work from 7 AM to 7 PM so will be avoiding rush hour for at least one trip.
- a little closer to purdue (approx 1 hr 15 min)
- not really sure if there are any other pro's of living in this area

2. Fishers
- good schools
- love the Geist reservoir area and the houses surrounding it
- again a little far from IUPUI

3. Washington township
- schools are OK. Not too great from what I read on the forums
- Mature neighborhood, nice large trees, feels like home
- very close to all the major shopping areas

My only problem with Carmel/Fishers is that most houses in these burbs look like boxes. They are brand new and have good interiors but on the outside, most (not all, but most) houses just look like a modern trailer park (for lack of a better analogy). There is just no character to many neighborhoods. Of course, if I start looking closely, I might find a few homes which really shine out from the rest (that is what we are doing right now).

I also don't plan to stay in Indy beyond 3-5 years. So resale likelihood also factors into my decision. With all this info, can anyone weigh into these 3 neighborhoods and give me their opinion?

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by vzx

I'm a physician and married to a beautiful wife. We don't have kids but plan to have a large dog soon (once we move). I'm graduating from medical residency and joining IUPUI as a physician. Living in Champaign, IL we have made a few trips to Indy over the last couple of weekends and have looked at some of the areas with our realtor. We are still in a fix about which neighborhood we should be going to. My wife may be planning to go to Purdue in fall 2013 so have to take that into consideration

Our budget is about 220-250K. Some of the things that I have noticed are as follows:

1. Carmel area
- nice school district (but we don't have kids)
- Far from IUPUI (about 45 min). I work from 7 AM to 7 PM so will be avoiding rush hour for at least one trip.
- a little closer to purdue (approx 1 hr 15 min)
- not really sure if there are any other pro's of living in this area

2. Fishers
- good schools
- love the Geist reservoir area and the houses surrounding it
- again a little far from IUPUI

3. Washington township
- schools are OK. Not too great from what I read on the forums
- Mature neighborhood, nice large trees, feels like home
- very close to all the major shopping areas

My only problem with Carmel/Fishers is that most houses in these burbs look like boxes. They are brand new and have good interiors but on the outside, most (not all, but most) houses just look like a modern trailer park (for lack of a better analogy). There is just no character to many neighborhoods. Of course, if I start looking closely, I might find a few homes which really shine out from the rest (that is what we are doing right now).

I also don't plan to stay in Indy beyond 3-5 years. So resale likelihood also factors into my decision. With all this info, can anyone weigh into these 3 neighborhoods and give me their opinion?

Out of the three, I would say Washington Twp, but that again depends on whether or not your're East or West of Meridian as your travel times can be diminished by about 10-15 minutes depending on which side of the township you're on. Northern Wash Twp (Butler-Tarkington and Meridian-Kessler) would offer the best commute for you in an established neighborhood and about a 45-50 min commute for the wife up to West Lafayette. From that location, can jump on the bus and save money in the process. You'll either get off at 16th street or Michigan and walk west or wait for the IUPUI shuttle or hop the people mover at Methodist.

In all honesty, your realtor should have prepped better. 3-5 years to own a home in Central Indiana, the most you can hope for is recoup your buying price. Other than that, wife commuting up to West Lafayette, you downtown, Carmel, Fishers and Washington Township probably isn't the best locations. Your're probably more along the lines of Zionsville or NW Pike Township over by Eagle Creek. From NW Pike even getting on at the 71st & Lafayette Rd entrance to 65, you're downtown in 20 minutes, wife is in West Lafayette, 35-40 minutes. Even moving further north toward the hamilton county line, would only add 2 minutes for you but take a few minutes off of the wife's time by getting on 465S to 65S for you or 465N to 865N which empties out onto 65N for her.

I will tell you though, Zionsville has some very nice executive homes but for your price range, you may be looking at cookie cutters. Pike is more established, older home, mature trees, larger lots and you should be able to find some steals in the far NW portion of Pike but the pricing can get pretty steep esp. North of 71st and West of Zionsville Rd. There will be those that will tout the growing crime issue in Pike but all of the Townships are pretty large geographically and southern Pike Township is experiencing a growth in crime mainly due to the disenfranchised being forced out of their previous neighborhoods due to gentrification. North Pike is more exclusive and higher incomes

[Southside Shrek]

What a dilemma. One having to commute all the way downtown and the other up to West Lafayette. Z'ville may be the best choice but the prices of new homes there can be pretty salty. I know a couple (one is a physician) who has been looking for a nice home in Z'Ville but they have been somewhat floored by the high prices. Maybe you should consider Lebanon where the prices won't be as steep as Z'Ville. Lebanon would be about a 40 to 45 minute drive up to Lafayette.

[vzx]

Thanks for the tip. We will certainly expand our search into the Zionsville area as well.

I'm not looking to make any money on the house. Just don't feel like paying $1200 rent when I can probably pay a similar amount in mortgage and save on my taxes Even if I loose a few grand while selling the house, I'd be fine.

Most houses that we had seen so far are b/w meridian and keystone, b/w 82nd and 96th st. We figured that area is quite close to shopping and much more activity

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by vzx

Thanks for the tip. We will certainly expand our search into the Zionsville area as well.

I'm not looking to make any money on the house. Just don't feel like paying $1200 rent when I can probably pay a similar amount in mortgage and save on my taxes Even if I loose a few grand while selling the house, I'd be fine.

Most houses that we had seen so far are b/w meridian and keystone, b/w 82nd and 96th st. We figured that area is quite close to shopping and much more activity

If you have been looking at that area, you should check out the Admirals subdivisions in the Geist. I have seen several nice homes for sale in Admirals Bay and Admirals Sound. You may be able to find a deal on one.

[domergurl]

What is your on call situation??? Will you have patients admitted to hospitals other than Methodist or IU downtown? Are your office hours going to be downtown only?

As for resale, Fishers and Carmel .... if you need to be closer to work, Washington Twp. But if you are only going to be here 3-5 years, then schools shouldn't be as big a deal right? I'd live as close to work as possible then.

[X-Greensboro Resident]

Originally Posted by vzx

.... and married to a beautiful wife.

How beautiful are we talkin? Any pics?

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by X-Greensboro Resident

How beautiful are we talkin? Any pics?

lol... Stalker! :P

[vzx]

Originally Posted by domergurl

What is your on call situation??? Will you have patients admitted to hospitals other than Methodist or IU downtown? Are your office hours going to be downtown only?

As for resale, Fishers and Carmel .... if you need to be closer to work, Washington Twp. But if you are only going to be here 3-5 years, then schools shouldn't be as big a deal right? I'd live as close to work as possible then.

Hours are going to be really flexible. I'd basically work only at IU downtown and one week on one week off. So need to be in a neighborhood/suburb where there's plenty of things to do (to kill time during my week off)

We don't plan to have kids anytime soon, so yeah, school districts really don't matter that much. It's just that I thought It'd be easier to sell homes in a good district cause parents would be looking at homes. On the flipside, Carmel and Fishers both have plenty of available land for new construction that most people would likely go for new construction than buy an old house. In fact, one of my colleague who is also joining IUPUI is building a new house in Carmel.

[JMMH]

Sounds like you're going to be a hospitalist? I have a family member with the same 7 on 7 off schedule. Good luck with the move.

I lived in the Pike area for three years and it was an easy commute downtown, either on I-65 or locally if the highways were moving slow. 20 minutes at the most. We rented as it wasn't worth it to us to buy just for three years and then try to sell while living out of town.

In your situation I would look at NW Pike or Zionsville as others have stated as it's a good geographic fit. School systems may not matter to you, but it will definitely help with resale value.