Indianapolis vs. Cincinnati (Cost of living, weather, cultural atmosphere, etc) (compare, America)

[Humboldt1]

I get Chicago but do not know that many who have relocated from Indy to Cincy.

I know several people from both areas who relocated to Chicago for jobs. I am one of those

The whole north side of Indy is pretty decent, not just the periphery of Marion County. Meridian Hills and Broad Ripple are several miles within Marion County. Some parts near downtown are pretty decent as well (ie mass ave).

I actually prefer the topography of Cincy but prefer the traffic of Indy. Cincy is also better for higher end shopping as well as restaurants but both have a lot of restaurant chains as well.

Murder rate per capital in Indy is less than Cincy as we have already noted.

Cincy does have slightly warmer weather, especially in winter as Cincy will often get rain when Indy gets ice/snow during the same period.

[sheerbliss]

Originally Posted by Isleofpalms85

After having lived in the Indianapolis area the past 23 years, I would say that Cincinnati wins this battle in many respects, including having a warmer winter climate. I know that Indianapolis has seen record crime rates in recent years and that there are very few people who actually stay in Indianapolis; many people end up relocating to either Chicago or Cincinnati; with this being said, most of the nice areas of Indianapolis are either located outside of Marion county or are near the periphery of Marion county.

In 2010 (latest year I could find data for), around 25,000 people out of 830,000 left Marion County--about 3% of the population. 150 of them moved to Cincinnati (Hamilton County). 177 people moved from Hamilton County (Cincinnati) to Indy. Likewise, more people moved from Cook County (Chicago) to Marion County than vice versa.

American Migration [Interactive Map] - Forbes

Again...it's the number of homicides that has made headlines, not crime rates. if you look at per capita crime rates, meaning you look at crimes in terms of population instead of click-bait headlines, most of them haven't changed much over several years. Unlike Chicago and Cincinnati, Indy's population has grown since 2010. With more people, you get more of everything, including crime.

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...s-Indiana.html

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by sheerbliss

Parts of Indianapolis see quite a bit of crime, but a lot of the violent crime happens around 2 in the morning and involves a victim who doesn't want to cooperate with the police. I've talked to people who've lived in Irvington for decades who say they've never had a problem.

Being a victim of a violent crime usually means you are involved in the black market or hanging around others who are. Most of the home invasions are usually people with something to hide, or people who are known to have stuff and/or have a handicap. Usually those are older folks who are known to have money and due to their physical and mental states are at a disadvantage (easy to over power, easy to fool, still think the neighborhood is as safe as it was 'back in the day'--ie: they haven't installed security doors and windows). The cheaper housing cost of living near say 10th and Emerson makes it easier to increase security and afford an alarm system. That right there will likely keep most of your "stuff" safe. The downside though is that many of the homes are older, with small or no attached garage. Plus the basements are of an older design and might be flood prone depending on the area.

[Humboldt1]

In Chicago they have compiled list of young men at risk of crime, mostly gang members, 1046 names.

Of those killed over last weekend, 90 percent were on this list.

This same scenario plays out across the country where minority gang members (mostly black young men) are most often targets and perpetuators of violent crime.

[ServoMiff]

Back on topic: I lived in Indy 8 years from 1999-2007 and spent a lot of time in Cincy as well. There are aspects of both cities that I like. I grew up and moved back to Louisville this past January after living in San Francisco for 2 years and prefer it here over Indy or Cincy despite it feeling a little less cosmopolitan than either of them. People in Louisville are 10x nicer than either city. My wife (originally from Miami) noticed this from the outset when we visited all 3 cities (and Columbus and St Louis as well) recently.

Indy downtown does have a bit nicer of a feel these days than when I went to school at IUPUI. I walked from the Hyatt to the Crowne Plaza for a conference in November and thought it seemed improved. I've noticed that Broad Ripple has slowly started heading in the opposite direction - lots of petty crime (car breakins - my buddy had his jeep broken into twice in 4 months at the Monon Coffee Co). I've always liked the Indy Art Museum, but was disappointed to hear that it went from being free to $18 pretty abruptly. I like Victory Field quite a bit too.

Indy doesn't have as good of a food scene as either Louisville or Cincy, but they do have some local gems like St Elmos.

The discussion of violent crime seems a bit irrelevant since it's incredibly rare for random people to be involved directly or indirectly in violent crime incidents anywhere in the country. It happened once in SF last year and it made national news. It's the petty crime stats that people should care about.

I like the landscape of Cincy much better, I like the climate of Cincy better, it's a little closer and on a better interstate coming from Louisville than Indy (I-65 is always under construction or full of traffic compared to I-71). CVG has lost its luster, but still is closer than IND and has some direct flight options that SDF doesn't. IND is a nice airport, but tough to judge it as being great when nobody else in the country has built an airport post 9/11.

Suffice it to say that both cities are somewhat similar in makeup, and it comes down to your personal preferences. Would you rather be 3 hours from Chicago, or 5? Do you like flat land or rolling hills? Cincy wins for me if choosing between the two, but not in blowout fashion.

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Indy doesn't have as good of a food scene as either Louisville or Cincy, but they do have some local gems like St Elmos.

I like the landscape of Cincy much better, I like the climate of Cincy better, it's a little closer and on a better interstate coming from Louisville than Indy (I-65 is always under construction or full of traffic compared to I-71). CVG has lost its luster, but still is closer than IND and has some direct flight options that SDF doesn't. IND is a nice airport, but tough to judge it as being great when nobody else in the country has built an airport post 9/11.

I think that the Indy food scene has grown at a rapid pace in just the recent years. I'm likely one of the most picky eaters in the state, so I will never go to all these fancy places to eat. That being said, the amount of ads and news stories on these newer restaurants tells me that Indy is definitely at another level in terms of food offerings. I don't know if we are now even with Cincy or other similar sized cities, but we definitely are getting closer. What is left to be seen is if we have enough people willing to support these mom/pop operations.

I also think the landscape of Cincy is better, as well as the climate, but those are things people, through their government, have no control over, so they end up completely being a personal preference. It seems to me that any discussion of such differences being "better" doesn't really count. A food scene can be determined by the citizens (willing to support) and government (taxes, zoning, etc.), but they can't really change the landscape and climate all that much. That concept about making a "beach" near downtown Indy is just silly.

[censusdata]

On balance there's not much difference between Indy and Cincy in terms of things to do. The big difference is the feel and topography of each. Cincinnati has some of the most scenic urban topographic of any US city, Indy has some of the least interesting. But that also makes Indy's traffic situation a whole lot better. Indy quite a bit more population growth due to being in a more business friendly state, being a state capital, and having better foresight, like building a domed stadium to host Super Bowls and NCAA events.

[Shakeesha]

Indianapolis feels more rural and blue collar, while Cincinnati feels more white collar and urban. Both cities offer things for families, but Cincinnati is more clean and less blighted. Cincinnati could use some major infrastructure upgrades, however.

[Zachj7]

I'd say Cincinnati, however both have their pluses and minuses. Indianapolis is flat, has less traffic, more chain restaurants, newer suburbs, has a better downtown, and has the better airport (nowadays). Cincinnati has a much better local restaurant scene, more urban areas, much more walkable, has nice rolling hills, and has really improved many areas such as over the Rhine. Indy has a huge crime problem though. Cincinnati has pretty bad traffic.Both have the positives and negatives, however both are improving.

[wh15395]

Can someone actually explain how Cincinnati has better shopping? If we're comparing downtowns, Indianapolis' shopping scene is far ahead of Cincinnati's. If we are comparing high-end shopping malls, the Fashion Mall is much nicer IMO than whatever the mall with Nordstrom is called on the Northside of Cincinnati. The only reason the Fashion Mall is smaller is because Indy's 2nd nicest mall, Castleton, is 1.5 miles down 82nd street.

Also, I'd argue each city has blue collar and white collar areas. Neither feels more blue or white collar overall. Zionsville, Carmel, and Fishers are all nicer suburbs than any suburb I've been to in Cincinnati, but I haven't spent much time in the burbs there.