Is it safe to live alone in Indy as a 25 year old woman? (Indianapolis: apartment complex)

[bell589]

I'm trying to find a relatively cheap studio or one bedroom apartment to move to in a town that isn't in Georgia, basically. I've been here for 14 years, never liked it, and think I've finally built up the courage to just leave. I want to move somewhere inexpensive since my financial situation is kind of uncertain at the moment. I live in a town with basically no jobs, so I freelance, which is by nature a very unstable way to earn a living. Right now, I'm earning about $400-$600 a week doing it, and it's fine, but that income could disappear tomorrow for all I know. So I don't want to sign a lease on a $800+/month apartment until I know that my income is more stable. I of course plan to job hunt once I move, but who knows how long it might take me to find something decent; living where I do now has just made me extremely cautious because of how difficult it is to find a job that pays more than $150 a week here.

I found several complexes that advertise rates of about $360-$500 for studio and one bedroom apartments in Indianapolis, but I'm wondering if it's safe to live there on my own if I can get approved for a place.

Also, are the colleges there nice enough? I started taking pre-med classes here about 6 months ago as a post-graduate student and still have a year of organic chemistry and physics left to be eligible to apply to med schools. I haven't decided whether I still want to pursue med school since the process has been such a headache laden with hoop after hoop to jump through, but I may still want to continue with school in a few months.

[sweetana3]

Before I would live in a cheap place, I would spend time as a roommate. Many of these can be found in houses in really nice locations. Save your money and go to school/work until you have a more stable lifetstyle.

It gives you flexibility which is what your life needs.

Note: No one can tell you if a complex is safe unless you are specific.

[Serious Conversation]

In my short time here, I've noticed that safety and property values almost seem to be a block by block thing.

Go down Meridian, for example, and you'll have lots of nice houses followed by a hard transition to ghetto, with little in between. You could have a good neighborhood with a drug infested apartment complex, or vice versa.

The best rule of thumb is to either post the exact address or neighborhood, and someone on here may know it, or contact the Indy PD and try to get info from them.

As a general rule, you should probably be safe, but I would at least carry a knife, mace, or maybe even get a CC permit. This is a rough city within the city limits.

[ischyros]

Indianapolis as a whole is pretty safe but as mentioned previously, we need more specifics to know if the area you're talking about is safe. Like every city there are bad pockets.

Indy has some good colleges. IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) is where you should look if you are planning to go through pre-med or med school. Other good colleges in Indianapolis are Butler University, the University of Indianapolis, and Marian University. Marian has a pre-med program and good nursing school but I'm not sure about connections to med schools. IUPUI is right downtown and is a public university. Butler is on the north side, Marian is on the northwest side, and U of I is on the south side. Those three are all private universities so they will be much more expensive. My recommendation for med school would be IUPUI.

[shayloure]

Marian University has a medical school too. Their first class began last fall at the Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine. I'd say look into either of them because LCME and AOA schools give you a very good chance at a residency match. If your goal is medical school, going to a school with a medical school I'd say would be a better choice. Not sure if you're worried about the stigma of MD versus DO but from what I've seen here, no one cares. As long as your wearing a white coat no patient's going to be leery of the initials behind your name.

Regarding safe places to live: I'd say there are some neighborhoods that are rougher than others, as with any city. Just do your research. You can google neighborhood crime indexes or search via zip code to see how safe an area is. Living near IUPUI would be good if that's where you're going to school. It is basically downtown so a lot of nearby housing will be expensive, however if you search on rent.com you'll find some properties by zender or spink realtors that have studios in the $400 - $575 range. I don't go to the west side that much so I can't speak on apartments near Marian University. However, I have been on campus and the area nearby looks nice. At the least, I'd say get renters insurance. Most but not all apartments require it. Keep your wits about you and do your research and should be fine.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by shayloure

Marian University has a medical school too. Their first class began last fall at the Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine. I'd say look into either of them because LCME and AOA schools give you a very good chance at a residency match. If your goal is medical school, going to a school with a medical school I'd say would be a better choice. Not sure if you're worried about the stigma of MD versus DO but from what I've seen here, no one cares. As long as your wearing a white coat no patient's going to be leery of the initials behind your name.

Regarding safe places to live: I'd say there are some neighborhoods that are rougher than others, as with any city. Just do your research. You can google neighborhood crime indexes or search via zip code to see how safe an area is. Living near IUPUI would be good if that's where you're going to school. It is basically downtown so a lot of nearby housing will be expensive, however if you search on rent.com you'll find some properties by zender or spink realtors that have studios in the $400 - $575 range. I don't go to the west side that much so I can't speak on apartments near Marian University. However, I have been on campus and the area nearby looks nice. At the least, I'd say get renters insurance. Most but not all apartments require it. Keep your wits about you and do your research and should be fine.

Good to know about Marian. I looked at their website and saw pre-med and nursing but nothing about medical school. I didn't look too hard, though.

[BU191433]

any apartment that is 336-500 per month is either going to be in a bad area or the apartment is a piece of junk, old and rundown. And most likely both

[shayloure]

Originally Posted by ischyros

Good to know about Marian. I looked at their website and saw pre-med and nursing but nothing about medical school. I didn't look too hard, though.

College of Osteopathic Medicine | Marian University

[Jada_yel]

I would say anything less than $600 wouldn't give you the best neighbors and that is more important than the area. I live in Sobro and I pay $560 being the most expensive 1BR and I see all kinds of weird activity in my complex...

[MaxLMG]

I agree. Rent has went up since I first lived in Indy. Anything less than 650 for a single should give you pause. The immediate area of downtown is fine. Outside of that look outside of 465.

I was paying 670 which included utilities and a rented garage for a single 1 bedroom 750 Sq ft. That was AFTER strong arming them lol