Info on "Decatur Woods" complex or other nearby rentals (Indianapolis: estate, house hunting)

[RedManInBlueState]

Howdy,

I expect to be moving to Indy at the start of April, but my living arrangments have fallen through! (BTW, I'm writing this from Brooklyn, NYC, NY.) I wish to be very close to my place of employment (i.e., within easy jogging/biking distance). I can't afford (in any sense) to take a leasury sojourn to Indy and hunt for somewhere to live. I will be working near "Tempelhof Dr" & "S Decatur Blvd".

a. Would anyone care to point me towards a rental (house, apartment, townhouse, loft, disused aircraft hanger, etc. ;-) within a 2.5 mile radius of the above?

b. Might anyone have any experience with the Decatur Woods (complex), 5838 W Mooresville Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46221-3731 (View Decatur Woods Apartments For Rent in Indianapolis, Indiana - ForRent.com

c. (Bonus question) Would anyone care to tell me anything about either of the above neighboorhoods? In the immediate vicinity, is there shopping/food/noise/gunfire/other?


Thanks in advance!


Cordially,
RedManInBlueState

[stephle2255]

Okay, that area is just about 5 minutes south of the airport, and here are a few things to know:
A) its pretty close to downtown, which is good. Its also unfortunately pretty close to the south side landfill, which means that side of town has a tendency to smell funny. And its also very close to Eli Lilly, and the southside animal shelter, so if the smell of burning dead animals is okay with you, kudos. Nah I'm kidding, sort of, those things are right near there, and yes it smells pretty wicked on that side of town occasionally, but its alright. Its only every once in awhile you get a whiff of something and think "What the hell..."

The Kroger grocery store nearest to where The Decatur Woods is did have an employee that got shot last year in parking lot. Very random, its an otherwise safe area, I lived there for 3 years, and I worked at that Kroger Pharmacy for all 3, so I was shocked when I heard about the shooting. They said they guys who did it were from out of town and it was a random crime, the man shot didn't know the people.

I can also tell you if you go just north of there to the Washington/Lynhurst area, it is heavily populated with Mexicans and not the best part of town. However if you go just South of there, about 10 minutes South on Kentucky Ave you have Heartland Crossing, which is a very nice community, and if you go 10 minutes down 465 from there you'll run into East Street/US 31. Tons of shopping, movies, food, stuff to do, nice area.

On the plus side at Decatur Woods you're a stones throw from the interstate. On the downside its not the greatest apartment complex over there, go just a bit up the road to the Camby area, its much nicer, still affordable and really only a few extra miles up the road, you're talking 4 more miles. And then think too about the Beech Grove area, which is about 15 minutes further south and not in biking distance, but you might like it more.

[stephle2255]

Just looked at a map as well, go for Camby! Its close and its nicer, still convenient for biking and the interstate but not so close to the yucky part of Kentucky Ave...which is on the other side of 465.

Check the Bristol, which is pretty nice
Search Results - ForRent.com

Here just look at that, Bristol and Aberdeen are preferable to Decatur Woods, and I almost moved to Camby Crossing, they have really fair prices on apartments and they are nice. Honestly there's more trashy people around Decatur Woods, and the last friend that I had that lived there, which has been some time ago, was none too happy with it. But they do pay your gas bill...which draws a lot of section 8 people in

[RedManInBlueState]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply!

While the "Decatur Woods" sounds great -- just think of all those cute puppies I could play with (before they're euthanized ;-) -- they had no suitable 2br apartments available.

"The path of my life is strewn with cow pats from the devil's own satanic herd!" (From Black Adder)

My recently acquired "realtor" (don't ask ;-) has since directed me to the "Stone Ridge" apartment complex (View Stone Ridge Apartments For Rent in Indianapolis, Indiana - ForRent.com). Not only do they actually seem to have suitable apartments available, but they also *seem* equally nice (according to their ad), they're having some sort of move-in special, and, most importantly, they're only 0.6 miles from my job. (The Stone Ridge didn't appear on my original apartment searches as their online address contains a typographical error -- they're at 7111 Vedder Place not "Drive.")

Their proximity to my job means that they are THE one, regardless of how many cute furry animals -- or people -- are killed in the vicinity. Still, if you have any thoughts about them/their location/etc. that you'd care to share, share'em!

Thanks again!


Cordially,
RedManInBlueState
Weeks away from becoming an Indian!


P.S. It seems from your second post that you are an apartment renter in the neighborhood, too. Are you? Are you my first neighbor (that I actually know of)? If it's okay with Stone Ridge, will you and the rest of my neighbors help me raise a barn? (I want to enjoy the whole mid-west experience. ;-)

[stephle2255]

Alas no, I am not up by that area anymore. Well, at least for right now; I moved further south to be closer to my work a couple years ago, but am currently on the hunt for my first house. It's been quite the task finding something both to my standards and price range where I want it, and it turns out I may end up closer to there than I want. But that's cool, I did like the area for what it's worth. Euthanized pups and all...

I guess as far as the neighborhood is concerned, what you'll like/dislike probably depends on your age and interests. It quieter over there than in other parts of the city, of course, and as a New Yorker coming from the Bronx (right?) that might be pretty weird for you.

There's all kinds of stuff to do around here, but help me out a little, what age group are you in? Are you an intellect or the life of the party guy or a mix (like me!)? Misfit, loner, goth, tortured artist, lead singer of the band...give me something to work with!

[stephle2255]

Brooklyn...I stand corrected

[stephle2255]

PS...you're weeks away from becoming a Hoosier, not an Indian. No one will know what the hell you're talking about other than possibly being of Cherokee roots.

And if by "raise a barn" you really mean "churn some goat milk into cheese"...why certainly. We can go to Taco Bell on Kentucky & Mann and I'll introduce you to Punchy, the Taco Bell cashier. I don't know what her name really is, my brother nicknamed her that, and we don't actually say it to her face, but she's worked there for ever and is almost criminally hard on her register.

[RedManInBlueState]

Howdy,

When I asked about raising a barn, I meant a real one, silly. While it's just possible that I joke around a bit, I'd never joke about visiting a Taco Bell. That isn't funny; that's just sick. <g>

No offense to Punchy, of course!

As far as doing stuff, I really hadn't thought about it. I'm a semi-elderly (43) man. As for what type of man, let's just say that I was thrilled when I read Stone Ridge had both laundry facilities and a 1.2mi running track, and that I paid extra for a garage to store my books in. Are there any areas that I should be aware of? To visit or to run away from? Why?

And good luck with the house hunting! Lucky you, your in a buyer's market that's becoming even more of a buyer's market! If you get a two family house, perhaps I'll rent an apartment from you? Just make sure you have a running track, laundry facilities, and a large pool that at least possibly might be stocked with stewardesses (Stone Ridge is near the airport, and I'm hoping ;-).

Cordially,
[Whoever I am here]

P.S. Feel free to reply via e-mail if you'd prefer to do so.

[stephle2255]

Okay sue me, I'm a typical midwesterner. Taco Bell is awesome, though it always seems like a very bad idea afterwards. Oh well, blessed am I for being skinny and able...

There isn't much to do around there, a smaller golf course is near the area, its seems pretty nice though I have only driven by and don't personally golf a whole lot (only for work charity events and at that its more of a drinking festivity than real golf).

I would for sure try to score some tickets to a Colts game, I'm sure you're a Giants fan if any, but we DO have the other (and quite frankly, better) Manning brother. They are a blast, we have season tickets at work and I never miss a home game.

IMA (Indianapolis Museum of Art) is downtown and get this, FREE! Well except when they have big exhibits set up like the Roman Art from the Louvre Exhibit they had this winter, and then its a $10 charge usually. But it also has very pretty gardens you can walk, its gorgeous. Eiteljorg is downtown as well, that is at a fee, its a history museum and has a lot of very nifty Native American Art you can check out plus an IMAX theater (which is outrageously expensive and not as good of quality as the equally outrageously expensive IMAX at Showplace 16, at I465& US31 north exit, about 10 minutes from where you will be living).

And then of course you have the Canal Walk, downtown as well, you can bike, run, walk, or even take a gondola ride down the canal. It runs right through Indy, all kinds of spots downtown marked off where you can park and then enter onto the canal by foot, and also a very beautiful spot in Indy to check out, fun in the summer, there are a few restaurants there and some Cafe's. You might even be arriving right around Black Expo time if I'm not mistaken, so if your roots are of African American origin it'd be a great way to meet some people. Might not be til summer though...

Our mass transportation around here is lacking at best, you are going from the "city that never sleeps" to the "city of the obese", not a lot of bike trails especially in that area you'll be at (only one I can think of is by Lily which is about 8 miles from your new diggs) , so a car is going to be a necessity if you don't already have one. Which is okay around here because Indiana happens to have more cars per capita than any other state, plenty of dealerships around to pick from. Old statistic, not sure if its still true, but it could be.

A million great places to eat, oh and you are maybe 15 minutes from the Chateau Thomas in Plainfield, they do lots of wine tasting and of course sell a bunch of good wine as well, check that out.

So welcome to Indy, newly found Hoosier guy, enjoy some of what this great city has to offer, I personally really like it here!