possible move to Zionsville (Indianapolis, Fishers: appointed, crime, house)

[ca.nurse]

I am a born and raised Californian whose husband got a job in Zionsville. So far the company is letting him telecommute. We're having a tough time deciding whether to stay here or move to Zionsville. (We live in Clayton, which is a nice, safe, small town in the east bay area.) We have two school aged children. Any info on the schools, the climate, the people, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

[X-Greensboro Resident]

Zionsville is a very nice suburb of Indianapolis on the Northwest side of town. It's nice, safe and definitely feels small and rural until you get close to the beltway. It has some ritzy and expensive areas but considering you're coming from CA, you'll find it very affordable!! You can purchase a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood at a bargain compared to CA. Also there are neighboring towns very close by which are very nice, like Carmel and Westfield. School system is very good in Hamilton County which is where Zionsville is. The weather is probably the worse thing to get used to coming from CA. It's similar to Chicago, it's gray, cloudy, cold and windy in the winter. Summers and falls are beautiful. You'll hate the weather at first but eventually you'll get used to it. The people are nice, but different than Californians. Generally speaking, they're way more conservative, more religious and there is much less diversity than CA. You just can't compare it to CA, it's different. You should take a trip and check it out for yourself. I lived in Carmel for 3 1/2 years and liked it. I don't miss the winters but overall it's a nice city.

Just keep in mind that Indiana in general is no California, especially East Bay area. It's like trading in your BMW for a Honda. The Honda is very nice, gets great gas mileage but it ain't no BMW! So, it'll take a little while to adjust especially for the kids but you won't regret your decision at the end, northern suburbs of Indy are very nice, safe and clean for a family. Singles may get bored there. I hope this helps. Good luck!!

[chbartel]

Ca.nurse,

Zionsville is a great area. I have lived in Zionsville for 7 years myself. We have 3 children with one on the way, one reason we are here is because there is hardly any crime and also because the school system is top rated. In fact, Zionsville and Plainfield are the two top rated school districts in Indiana. Only two to win 4 stars for several years in a row.

You can get in on the ground floor for about 200k in Zionsville in a cookie cutter subdivision, but can get a very nice home for 500k in an exclusive area. It's about a $2million home around where you live. 500k will get you around 4,500sq.ft. - 6,000 sq.ft.

Please send me an email here: craig at sellindiana.com
I have a lot more information related to Zionsville, including some good websites for additional information that includes photos of different subdivisions here, etc(something I have been putting together over the past 4-5 months). We aren't allowed to post websites here or I would just put it here.

[ca.nurse]

Thanks for your input and helpful comments. I have looked into Zionsville High School on GreatSchools.com. I am concerned about comments made about drug use by students and rudeness by school staff towards out-of-state parents looking into relocating into the school district. What is your opinion about these comments? Zionsville, being more affluent relative to the greater Indy area, are the people there snobby?

As a family we enjoy boating / water skiiing. We made a short visit to the area this past summer and were disappointed with Geist and Morse reservoirs from boating / water skiing standpoint. Are there any more "water ski-able" lakes within one to two hours drive from Zionsville?

[X-Greensboro Resident]

I wouldn't worry about those comments. It's how you as a person act that directly controls how people respond back, that's true anywhere. You just can't judge the whole area based on someone's comment, because you never know how that individual deals with people, if you are rude, ofcourse people will be rude back. It's a little bit snobby in Carmel, but nothing to worry about if you're secure about yourself. As I said, I lived there for 3 1/2 years and never had any problems. I strongly suggest you go and visit and see for youself. As far as water skiing, I'm not sure about that. As I said before, keep in mind that Indiana is not California.

[tlaw]

Moved from Phx, AZ to Zionsville in 2006. We looked at Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, etc. Zionsville seemed to be the most quaint non-cookie cutter out of all the areas we looked. Home prices are very affordable compared to Arizona and California. Weather is a bit gray. School system is excellent. People are very friendly and welcoming and curious about why you moved, wehre you came from, etc. Have been very happy so far. Carmel, Fishers, etc is nice but a bit of a chore to get to the Airport, Downtown, etc. Less traffic in Zionsville.

[mhoff19938]

You would really like Zionsville and even Carmel (which is the city to the east of it. It's a thriving, growing, young community that is becoming very poplular...especially Carmel.

Moderator cut: realtor advertising If you don't mind the cold winter weather at times, Central Indiana is a great place.

[ca.nurse]

I really don't need a realtor just yet to those of you looking for business... I am really just trying to gather info on the Zionsville area. Thank you.

[ashlii2946]

ca.nurse--

Lake Monroe is the largest lake in Indiana. I personally have not skiied on it but I've generally heard good things about it. That lake is about 60 miles south of Indianapolis so would be maybe 70 from Zionsville.

[chbartel]

ca.nurse.

I wouldn't worry about what people say about snobby, etc. Those type of people are everywhere. I am a happy going guy and have never had people treat me different in Zionsville then where I grew up in Lebanon! Much different place though! Like others have said, it's all about how you feel about yourself. When someone treats me bad, I don't consider it because of the area I live, it's just the person individually.

ca.nurse, did you get my private message with the websites for Zionsville with photos of subdivisions, etc.?

Thanks!

Craig Bartels