yet another "moving to indianapolis suburbs" (Fishers, Carmel: sales, crime)

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by X-Greensboro Resident

We live in Westfield and love it... The schools (Westfield Washington Township schools) are great. I work just south/SW of downtown and takes me 35-40 minutes door to door... But to be fair, I go to work early in the morning to avoid the traffic.

Thanks i will expand my search to westfield

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by nhkev

Thanks i will expand my search to westfield

Once the US 31 project is complete in 3 years, you'll be able to go from Westfield to I-465 without hurting a traffic light so tgat might help traffic a bit. Unfortunately, there will be a lot if construction until then. The next 2 years i believe it will be focused on US 31 through Westfield. The 32 will be closed in 2015 from Keystone to 465 so they can rebuild tgat whole sectuon quickly. But Keystone provides a good traffic light free route through Carmel.

[rrah]

Originally Posted by nhkev

just what i was looking for , thanks. So if someone lives in the district and has an elementary student. how do they decide which school to go to? is it whatever is closest or do parents have a choice?

The majority of districts in IN don't allow parents to choose a school except in certain circumstances. For your purposes, assume the home you purchase will be assigned to a specific elementary school. The same holds true for middle and high schools.

The page tells you about Center Grove assignments.

Boundary Maps / Overview

One caveat, ALWAYS confirm schools with the school district office. One never knows how frequently websites are updated and/or if changes to school assignments are in the near future. If I want my child to be in a particular school, I would ask the district office if any rschool eassignments were being discussed.

Some districts have students go to the closest school, but in many districts, with changing and moving populations, this isn't always possible. Don't assume and, although I hate to say it, don't assume that any real estate agent is correct in stating a school. Make the call.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by nhkev

just what i was looking for , thanks. So if someone lives in the district and has an elementary student. how do they decide which school to go to? is it whatever is closest or do parents have a choice?

Schools are based by neighborhood you live in. Outside of being away from everything you should be pretty content. Commuting can be anuwhere from 10 in far northern wrtwp to 35-40 deeper into johnson. Schools and drugs go together nowadays. They are in all districts.

[missik999]

The traffic situation in Carmel and Westfield is being greatly improved with the Keystone and 31 projects. Keyztone is a pleasure to drive now, and 31 will soon be as well.

I live on the border of Westfield and Carmel. I have lived in other suburbs and travel through and work all of the Indy and donut county area. Carmel, Westfield and Zionsville are the best places to live. Best for family life, best for recreation, shopping, restaurants, parks and bike trails.

[MortonR]

You're describing Avon almost to a "T".

It meets all of your criteria, and with $400k to spend on a house you'll have some very nice properties, both old and new, with and without lots of land to consider.

Avon has a very modern school district and has just begun a "learning community" approach to their highly-rated high school.

It's an easy commute to downtown and either north or south sides, depending on where your spouse's office will be. All of the big box stores and retailers are readily available, and in a matter of a few minutes you can be in either downtown or west of the area in a very rural setting.

I was seriously considering a relocation to the Boston area some years back, and continue travel there regularly. I can understand your concept of small town and how they may or may not relate to Indianapolis.

You could get the small town vibe if you wanted to move farther out into rural areas surrounding the city, but that would put you at a disadvantage with schools and commuting. I would discourage you from considering Carmel/Westfield/Fishers due to the massive amount of development in that general area. Yes, you can find rural pockets, but believe me, they're not going to stay that way forever. Home prices are inflated as well, at least compared to other parts of the area. There is a "cachet" to Carmel/Fishers and sometimes Westfield, and you pay for that in property values and taxes.

Center Grove is actually a township, not a town or village, and leaves a lot to be desired due to the lack of municipal services. Commuting can be an issue as well, depending on where your spouse has to go. There is really no direct route to the downtown area from this side of town short of using surface roads - driving east to I-65 would add considerably to their commute time.

Brownsburg would be another possibility, and also meets the majority of your requirements with the exception of access to big box retailers. However, they aren't that far away to the south on Rockville Road (Avon) or in a less desirable area on West 38th St.

I would encourage you to look closely at Avon and/or Brownsburg. Both of these communities will address your requirements and give you the best value for your housing dollar along with quality of schools and commute times.

Please ask if you have additional questions.

RM

[sweetana3]

Just talked to a resident of Franklin. She is a neighborhood activist that previously lived in downtown Indy before gentrification to give you an idea of her background. She advises staying OUT of Franklin. More drugs than even she is comfortable around, rolling meth lab issues, kids not in school, etc. She is used to dealing with drunks and the homeless but the kids and drugs are getting her down.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by sweetana3

Just talked to a resident of Franklin. She is a neighborhood activist that previously lived in downtown Indy before gentrification to give you an idea of her background. She advises staying OUT of Franklin. More drugs than even she is comfortable around, rolling meth lab issues, kids not in school, etc. She is used to dealing with drunks and the homeless but the kids and drugs are getting her down.

WOW! That's horrible to hear!

[nhkev]

thanks for the replies this is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for. keep em coming.

[MortonR]

We looked at Franklin some years back when shopping for our first home. Believe it or not, I wanted to buy the old library, as the city had it for sale for some time but had no takers. I think the asking price was around $60k as-is (it was in pretty good shape at the time.) The spouse wouldn't go for it, unfortunately. Now I see it was purchased by a developer and made into condos or something of the sort.

Anyway, even 20-25 years ago a good part of Franklin was dicey at best. The older neighborhoods immediately north of the square weren't' bad, but I have no idea what they are like now. To the south and east were definitely questionable for a lot of reasons.

Add to that the distance from Indy and you'r eloping at a good 45 minute commute, not considering what it might be in the winter time with bad weather.

For that matter, why did Franklin come up in the first place? It's not even remotely close to what the OP was looking for...

RM