Indianapolis Advice (Greenfield, Washington: house, established neighborhood, schools)

[araina]

My husband and I will be moving to the Indianapolis area next year. He'll be working mostly in Greenfield, IN - but I don't think we want to live there. I work from home, so my commute's not an issue - but his is. He really hates driving and doesn't want to commute more than 20 minutes daily. We've no children right now, but we'll (hopefully) have one in the next few years. But schools are not currently a problem. What we do want is a lot of restaurants as we love eating out. We also really like going to cultural events. The biggest problem is his commute. We would much rather live in a place in the city where we've access to lots of things. So I guess we're looking for a place that would be 20 or so minutes from Greenfield and 20 or so minutes from the more "cultural" parts of Indianapolis. Restaurants, comedy clubs, local concert joints etc.

Any suggestions? House wise, it doesn't have to be big - but we prefer a somewhat established neighborhood where I can run outside or bike. I also play tennis, but I can drive for that.

[thefallensrvnge]

Indianapolis is a very compact city with a lot of its amenities in the downtown core. The closer you can get to the Circle, the better. If your husband could tough it out and take a 30 minute commute, you could live in one of the nice urban areas around the downtown which would put you in walking distance of bike trails, the canal, museums, stadiums, the mall, and lots of local restaurants. Look into places like Lockerbie, or the old Northside. If he won't take the 30 minute commute, the trick here becomes finding a nice area on the Eastside (I'm sure there is), but I'll leave a more experienced Hoosier to give you some suggestions (I'm new to Indy, and know mostly about the South and West side). You should be able to find what you are looking for which could be someplace in the middle (about 15 minutes from downtown Indy and 15-20 minutes from Greenfield).

Good Luck! And please ask away!

[sweetana3]

Really your only choices are closer to downtown Indy or Greenfield itself. Since you both work, time together is important and I would suggest one of the better subdivisions around Greenfield (they do exist) where there are others who work at places like Covance (former Lilly plant) or such.

very limited commute
Quiet and safe
Beautiful if you pick the right spot
Close enough to go to downtown, north indy, south indy on interstate


If you are asking for a more urban lifestyle, the only way to really get a commute is to live close to downtown Indy and then your husband has the commute of at least half an hour. However, it will be generally contra traffic since almost everyone is coming into Indy in the morning not leaving and it is all interstate driving on a pretty straight road. There is not much I would recommend on the eastern side of Indy. There are pockets, like Irvington, but it would be spotty and I would not yet recommend the schools.

We live right downtown and walk downtown. Lots of young runners and walkers. The historic neighborhoods are close to several easy interstate access points and again a straight shot to Greenfield. So a lot depends on what your husband wants to do with his time.

We moved downtown because when we were in North Carolina, husband had a 30 minute stressful commute to work. He asked for as short a commute as possible. We really love downtown and have lived north about a 15 minute commute. I dont recommend the north side due to the added time to get to the interstate which would add to the 30 minute commute.

[Coogles]

I'd take a look at Irvington. Beautiful old homes, tree-lined streets, a revitalizing Washington Street corridor, and seemingly stable home values. The Irvington charter schools seem to be doing well too when the two of you do decide to start a family.

There's the Pleasant Run Trail, Ellenberger Park for tennis, some nice restaurants and shoppes right in the neighborhood, plus it's a short drive downtown for more entertainment options.

Your husband's commute wouldn't be too awful; 15ish miles one way, maybe 25-30 minutes.