a little info about different areas?? (Indianapolis, Fishers: how much, buying a house, neighborhood)

[CravenClan]

Can anyone break down the areas of Indiana for me?? What is considered N, S, E, W?? The cities or towns?? Which are GREAT and which are OK. Also by housing prices (if anyone knows??) and by schools, being that i have 3 little kids that i want a GREAT education for!! Also by weather, as far as which areas get the most/least snow, and an average??

I have read about Fishers/Carmel is that North?? Then what??

Thanks!

[MikiJayne]

I can tell you all about the west side. Hendricks County has Avon, Brownsburg, Plainfield, and a little further out are Danville, Clayton and other small outlying comminities. We have great schools an easy commute to downtown if you need it, and very reasonable home prices. You can get almost any range of home here. You can get a great 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home with over 2000 square feet easily for under $150,000.

I live in Avon and am very impressed with the area. I have spent a lot of time in the schools and they are GREAT.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by CravenClan

Can anyone break down the areas of Indiana for me?? What is considered N, S, E, W?? The cities or towns?? Which are GREAT and which are OK. Also by housing prices (if anyone knows??) and by schools, being that i have 3 little kids that i want a GREAT education for!! Also by weather, as far as which areas get the most/least snow, and an average??

I have read about Fishers/Carmel is that North?? Then what??

Thanks!

Do you want a breakdown of the areas of Indiana or Indianapolis metro?

[MikiJayne]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

Do you want a breakdown of the areas of Indiana or Indianapolis metro?

Oh yeah, good question! I didn't even think about that!

[domergurl]

Anything south of US 30 is Southern Indiana

[CravenClan]

I am not sure, i think Indianapolis metro?? I do not want to live in the Big City, so i am looking for outer lying parts.

We are self employed so we would not be commuting.

I just do not know the cities and counties in which they are in..... That is my problem. Plus i am hearing the weather is different in different parts?? Like isn't Carmel NORTH and Greenwood South??

Also how receptive to californians??? I read some threads for different staes and there are alot of haters. And no i will not be bringing a california attitude!!
Thanks
Christina

[MikiJayne]

Yes, Carmel is on the North side of Indianapolis, and Greenwood is on the South side of Indy, but we're not talking a hundred miles here. The weather is not different on each side of the city.

Here's a map of Indianapolis Indianapolis Map - Map of Indianapolis, IN--

[domergurl]

No kidding ... you can traverse the entire metro area in less than an hour.

Californians are allowed and welcomed in our fair state

If commute isn't an issue, live anywhere! If schools are an issue, that will narrow down choices.

Weather, we have weather, we have all kinds of weather. And yes, it can be snowing up a storm in Hamilton County (Carmel, Fishers), and have nothing on the ground in Greenwood ... and it can be reversed. Narrowing your choice of where to live in the Indy metro area via weather .. not a good way to choose.

What are your housing requirements
How much do you want to pay

I guess I'd start there.

[CravenClan]

Thanks

I need at least 3700 sq ft, no more than 4100 sq.ft, only because we have 4 kids!!! and family that will stay with us, if we move....

Cost that is hard, no we are not millionares, we have a nice house here, but california prices are different than other places. I guess too it would depend on taxes??/ Here ours are like 1.9% (high for our area) Also my having NO IDEA of housing prices there, or what you can get for the $$ in the BEST school areas, i will say around $300-$400k.......Less is nice too, as we will be rebuilding our business there.

Regarding our business, we have to be close to areas that maybe are more expensive and likely to spend money on Landsape and concrete work, that is what we do. We would also possibly start a maintenance service, to start out. We have not had to do the maintenance part in a long time, becaus ethe economy was better here, we were able to focus on decorative and stamped concrete only. Times a changin'!!!

Thanks again

[Zoo Animals On Wheels]

How receptive to Californians? I'd be extremely surprised if you met anyone who said something along the lines of, "You're from California? That state SUCKS." In fact, expect to hear (all the time!) Hoosiers saying, "You're from California? Why in God's name did you move HERE???" You will probably get very tired of defending your choice to people you've barely met. You will also probably want to ask them if they hate Indiana so much, why don't they move. Don't...I can pretty much guarantee that tack will be a waste of time. Get in the habit of simply smiling mysteriously when people ask who on earth would ever leave the paradise of CA for IN. (many Hoosiers seem to consider ANYPLACE on earth that is not IN to be paradise.)

Do expect culture shock. Not because people "don't like outsiders," but because Indiana is one of those states in which most of the population was born and raised here (as were their parents, grandparents, etc.), and don't tend to do a lot of globe-trotting beyond the yearly week-long trip to Disney World, Myrtle Beach, etc. The resulting atmosphere is a bit provincial.

For instance, we were in the habit of having fresh kosher turkey for Thanksgiving, because it tastes much better than those frozen Butterball things. You should've seen the looks we got when we asked for it - even in those fancy "boutique" markets like O'Malia's. It was like we were asking for pickled quail's eyeballs.

Speaking of midwestern food...when you go to a Hoosier's house for dinner, expect Campbell's cream soup-based casseroles and canned vegetables. Also expect after dinner to learn a strange card game called "euchre." (pronounced "you-ker") Try not to let the whole left bower, right bower thing throw you.

Expect people to be polite and helpful, but not to go out of their way to become your new best friend. For example, you can probably forget about a "welcome wagon" upon your arrival in your new neighborhood. However, if you go for walks around the neighborhood, wave and smile, and ask friendly questions (about nearby grocery stores, schools, etc.), people will always be polite and will gradually warm up to you. Instant warmth and glad-handing is not the Hoosier way, but once you have made a real friend, expect them to be a friend for life.

About the whole "which side of town do YOU live" thing...northsiders are "snobby rich people." Southsiders are "hicks and farmers." Eastsiders and near westsiders (no, not including Avon, Micki Jayne) are "poor people and criminals."

Now, I'm not the one who originated this view...but everyone who lives here knows that this is the attitude. Which side of town you live on or are from is TERRIBLY important here. And the stereotyping is not without some winking and elbowing of the ribs; in other words, everybody's aware that this is broad stereotyping. But even as people call you a "hick" or a "snob" based solely on your address, all the while a big smile on their face indicating it's "just a joke," they are also just a tad serious. People hear "Greenwood" and think overalls; they hear "Carmel" and expect Volvos. It's an unpleasant fact, but one I think is important to know before moving here and certainly before buying a house.

I'm from Indiana originally, lived elsewhere for 15 years, then came back. So that's where my perspective comes from.