Blindly Moving to Indy, Advice? (Indianapolis, Muncie: renting, new house, transfer)

[Chadro77]

As the title says, the family and I are blindly moving to Indy. My employer had transfer opportunities to multiple cities and Indy is the one we decided on. We moved to metro Atlanta from St. Louis about 4 years ago and we've had just about enough of this area so it's time for a change.

Indy keeps us within nine hours of all of our family in Missouri, Georgia, Ohio and Maryland plus I haven't heard a bad thing about Indy whenever I happen to run into a native. Home prices look great and most of the schools seem good.

So to the questions. My work will be right at I70 and 465 on the East side so I'd like to be within 30 mins of that if possible. Since we are unfamiliar with the area, we will be renting our first year. My oldest son won't be starting school until 2018 so that gives us time to find a place to buy. So really we're looking for all the typical things a family looks for, good schools, safe, affordable housing etc.

We have no desires to live in the city, looking for suburbs only. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

[MortonR]

New Palestine.

RM

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

I vote for Greenfield. It's probably about 20 to 25 miles to i465 and i70 east. My cousin lives out there. I hear it's real nice and safe, affordable and has very good schools.

[SWOH]

With no set budget, etc. I'd go with somewhere around Meridian Hills or Carmel, Fishers as a second choice.

Those are very, very nice suburbs.

If the budget isn't quite there, I'd look around Franklin township within city limits (Indianapolis is Marion County essentially since the city/county are Unigov, being in city limits doesn't really mean you're in city limits like is the case for Cincy, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.... think Columbus OH).

It's due south on Post Rd, lots of new houses going up there, decent schools.
Don't expect it to hold its value though.


Good luck!

[mkat321]

Depends on what you're looking for. Greenfield has all the needs of day to day life, is a super easy commute across 70 or even surface streets if needed, has a solid hospital and good schools. It's largely original/grew up there people with a good mix of new arrivals.

Fishers on the other hand is far more people per square mile, tons of shopping/dining/retail, far higher cost of living and so on. The commute into and out of the city can be a real *joy* especially at rush hours and during weekend bar time.

[masters1]

Fishers or Carmel are nice suburbs with good schools, lots to do and will probably be affordable although you didn't give us a budget. You can get to work from both on 465.

[ServoMiff]

Greenfield would be a bit rural - I'd call that a bedroom community or exurb. Fishers/Carmel would be the best bet for the best schools. My ex-wife is from Greenfield and there's zero diversity there. If that's what you're looking for, then great - but if you want your kids to have experience with some diversity, then Carmel and Fishers are going to be your ideal spots. 30 minute commute is kinda tight for that area of employment, because I-70 and 465 area just isn't ideal for making a home - Fishers and Carmel are going to have big traffic problems during rush hour so the commute is going to be a trade-off for the good schools and diversity - Greenfield is just distance based and would be less of a traffic headache, and might be closer to that 30 minute commute more consistently, but your shopping choices are much more limited out there and it's not what I'd consider upscale at all.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Greenfield would be a bit rural - I'd call that a bedroom community or exurb. Fishers/Carmel would be the best bet for the best schools. My ex-wife is from Greenfield and there's zero diversity there. If that's what you're looking for, then great - but if you want your kids to have experience with some diversity, then Carmel and Fishers are going to be your ideal spots. 30 minute commute is kinda tight for that area of employment, because I-70 and 465 area just isn't ideal for making a home - Fishers and Carmel are going to have big traffic problems during rush hour so the commute is going to be a trade-off for the good schools and diversity - Greenfield is just distance based and would be less of a traffic headache, and might be closer to that 30 minute commute more consistently, but your shopping choices are much more limited out there and it's not what I'd consider upscale at all.

I would think the daily drive from Carmel or Fishers to i465 and i70 east and back during rush hour can be a nightmare. I don't live there but I bet there are several days during the year that the traffic backs up to a slow crawl or a complete stop. To be sure you won't be late for work, i bet you'd have to leave the house about 45 minutes earlier than normal for not knowing what the traffic situation will be like.

The stress level for the daily rush hour drive from Greenfield to i70 east and i465 and back would be a breeze compared to Carmel of Fishers commute.

Far as diversity is concerned, Carmel and Fishers are about 85% white. Greenfield is about 96% white. It's not like Carmel and Fishers are all about diversity. I bet if you stay in Carmel all day, there's a good chance you won't see anything but white people. Muncie is about 85% white. Last time I was in Muncie, I think I seen 4 people in three days that were not white.

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Greenfield would be a bit rural - I'd call that a bedroom community or exurb. Fishers/Carmel would be the best bet for the best schools. Fishers and Carmel are going to have big traffic problems during rush hour so the commute is going to be a trade-off for the good schools and diversity - Greenfield is just distance based and would be less of a traffic headache, and might be closer to that 30 minute commute more consistently, but your shopping choices are much more limited out there and it's not what I'd consider upscale at all.

Sure you might get good schools and diversity with Fishers and Carmel, but you'll also be paying for that. Similar homes in Greenfield and Carmel/Fishers are going to be drastically different in price. Greenfield is a bit of a drive for someone working downtown Indy, or from the north/south sides and further west. However, it is a very easy and quick drive to make to get to I-70/I-465. The drive from the northern burbs might be horrible depending on when OP has to be at work.

The other possibilities are McCordsville/Fortville or New Palestine. New Palestine is going to be more higher end housing, but you will be driving farther to get to better malls. There is OK grocery shopping on the far east side of Indy (Sam's Club, Walmart, and Meijer). McCordsville/Fortville has benefited from the far eastern section of Hamilton County growing over the years (far east Fishers and southeast Noblesville). Hamilton Town Square mall/retail area is only about 4-10 miles from the McCordsville/Fortville area, depending on where one lives in the townships (this area is basically considered 'Mt. Vernon Schools' which goes almost as far south as US 40.

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by Chadro77

As the title says, the family and I are blindly moving to Indy. My employer had transfer opportunities to multiple cities and Indy is the one we decided on. We moved to metro Atlanta from St. Louis about 4 years ago and we've had just about enough of this area so it's time for a change.

Indy keeps us within nine hours of all of our family in Missouri, Georgia, Ohio and Maryland plus I haven't heard a bad thing about Indy whenever I happen to run into a native. Home prices look great and most of the schools seem good.

So to the questions. My work will be right at I70 and 465 on the East side so I'd like to be within 30 mins of that if possible. Since we are unfamiliar with the area, we will be renting our first year. My oldest son won't be starting school until 2018 so that gives us time to find a place to buy. So really we're looking for all the typical things a family looks for, good schools, safe, affordable housing etc.

We have no desires to live in the city, looking for suburbs only. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

For suburban perspective, here are some comparisons to St. Louis and Atlanta suburbs (which I am somewhat familiar with having family and friends in both areas)

The order of these is INDIANAPOLIS = ST. LOUIS = ATLANTA

Northern Indy suburbs = West St. Louis County/St. Charles County = Northern Atlanta Suburbs (& also Peachtree City)
Southern Indy suburbs = South St. Louis County = Less affluent Forsythe County/less diverse DeKalb County
Western Indy suburbs = St. Charles County (like Wentzville)/outskirts of southwest St. Louis County (like Eureka) = less affluent and less diverse Cobb County
Eastern Indy suburbs = far south St. Louis county or far the area of St. Charles County just north of North County across the river = less diverse eastern DeKalb or western Cobb County

These are not perfect comparisons but the closest I could think of to help you out. As far as North St. Louis County goes, the best comparison to Indy would be the eastern side of Marion County (Warren Township) or parts of the Northwest side of Marion County (Pike Township). Also similar to southern Fulton County or southern DeKalb County.