Indianapolis: downhill or uphill? (Bloomington, Anderson: crime, hotel, lawyer)

[krock1dk]

I'm a native of Indy. Dont live there anymore, but miss it TERRIBLY.

pros: excellent cost of living, lower crime than many cities, short commute time, more decent job prospects than like Detroit and other points in the Rust Belt, downtown redevelopment, eclectic neighborhoods, generally good place to raise a family, 2 pro sports teams.

cons: a general lack of vision, lack of architectural creativity, HORRID inner-city schools (IPS),
lack of good public transportation, many narrow and pothole-filled roads.

One a scale of 1-10, I would give Indianapolis a 6.5. Growing up as a kid in the 80s, I would have given it a 4. It has generally improved.

[krock1dk]

Originally Posted by MattDen

What was the last time they had a decent mayor or city council in Indianapolis?

Bland, crime-ridden, unoriginal and topgraphically and architecturally unappealing overall is how I would describe Indianapolis. I guess the only thing about Indianapolis thats nice is its fairly clean downtown.

Im sorry but I have been to Indianapolis many times and Indianapolis is one of the worst cities that has squandered so much potential. From the moment one enters Marion County one can just see the backwards leadership of the people who run the city and it just keeps getting worse and worse as one approaches the city of Indianapolis!

The downtown is clean, but its very boring. Most of the neighborhoods look like what one would see in a small town on the great plains that has seen better days.

Indianapolis also has a very, very high crime rate. I guess with the amount of poverty I saw going through Indianapolis its pretty natural that the amount of violence would be high.

Overall, Indianapolis is a very backwards city that has squandered so much oppurtunity because of its location and population size.

I like Indiana but I would rather live in Richmond, Bloomington, Lafayette or even New Albany over Indianapolis anyday.

I dont know why you formed the opinion you did, but it sounds like you havent seen much of the city nor ventured into the nice areas (most of the city). First EVERY City has crime-ridden neighborhoods and blight. Yes, Indy has a lot of potential it squandered during the Bart Peterson years, but much of it has been used in general. You cant do everything overnight. The honest truth is that Indy was set back about 20 years thanks to the HORRID 'leadership' of its last Mayor, Bart Peterson. He only cared about his personal influences and let the city deteriorate. The city police hated his guts. Indy cant help its flat topography; blame the glaciers. I grew up in an upper middle-class neighborhood on the far southside and it was much different for me. Everyone I went to school with drove mom and dad's Beamer or Jaguar to school. Most of Indianapolis is NOT backwards. I dont know where your'e from either, but you need to see the city more.

[BUSHDOG14]

The thing I love about Indianapolis is it has so many family friendly spots. I mean you have the Childrens Museum, Indianapolis Zoo, Victory Field, Indiana State Museum and my favorite the Indianapolis Arts Museum which is a hidden treasure in the city. Also it has the best sports facilities that I have seen out of any other major city its size. You have Lucas Oil Stadium which is awesome and also you have Conseco Fieldhouse which was just recently voted best basketball arena in the world. I mean who would of thought. I couldn't visit everything the first time I went there and I keep coming back because its a badass city. It keeps growing too and the downtown is better than ever. Broad Ripple is awesome with its bars and fun and what other city do you know hosts 4 Races a year? I can't name any! Congrats Indy on your recent accomplishment of being the most affordable city in the United States and people from Indy complain about this! You should be proud!

[BUSHDOG14]

First of all Indianapolis is the only city in the Midwest that has been acknowledged as moving out of the rust belt. Also it has a higher foreign born population than Chicago! I couldn't believe it either until I read it. Also it boasts the one of the highest population boosts in the country and it still maintains its small town feel and good price of living index. I agree with you, I miss the city and now live down by Louisville. I am in the military but when I get out I plan on moving back here because this city does nothing but impress when you have lived everywhere in this country.

[BUSHDOG14]

Originally Posted by patrickmich

dude, mattden, you're freaking me out. If Indy really looks like you describe,
then I'm going to Lafayette. Most people in the forum try to highlight Indy's
positive aspects, but you brought out the ugliness about the town, which I appreciate.

I don't know why you have a few negative people on here. First of all downtown is not boring you just have to know where things are at. If you go to downtown towards the weekend it is hopping. This city is not that bad as people describe it. Believe me I am in the Army and have been all around this country. I can tell you that the crime rate and the dirtyness is definately in the east coast and Indy is in between great and it is only getting better. It hosts the Final four every four years and in 2012 is hosting the Super Bowl. And over the years the city is boosting its downtown with everything from new restaurants, clubs and hotels. They just finished building a new stadium, are expanding the convention center and building a 1500 room hotel near Victory Field. I don't think its a boring city at all and don't believe that post. That guy probably hasn't been out of the state of Indiana! See for yourself before you choose and Lafayette is very boring I lived there for a couple years. No nightlife except near Purdue!

[Future Trooper]

BushDog I love your descriptions of Indianapolis. You couldnt have said that any better!

[JAPP]

Originally Posted by krock1dk

pros: excellent cost of living, lower crime than many cities, short commute time, more decent job prospects than like Detroit and other points in the Rust Belt, downtown redevelopment, eclectic neighborhoods, generally good place to raise a family, 2 pro sports teams.

cons: a general lack of vision, lack of architectural creativity, HORRID inner-city schools (IPS),
lack of good public transportation, many narrow and pothole-filled roads.

I've been here only 2 months and I tend to agree with almost all of this. I don't have kids, so I'm not very concerned with the school system as others are.

The rural roads are narrow and filled with potholes. Lots of erosion here dude to the snow and rain. They fill potholes when they get around to it.

I've spent some time in many cities across the US and believe me... the crime in Indy is nothing compared to Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Philly.

For me, the pros far outweigh the cons.

[restorationconsultant]

Indianapolis is a clean safe city that is only improving. It is going through some major changes however. The downtown is booming with lots of restorations, new infill and condos. That has driven the poor out of the downtown neighborhoods, and with it the crime which seems to be moving out to the far East and far West sides. Look at the change in demographics and crime stats in Warren township and Speedway and you see what I mean. There is section 8 everywhere. The "near burbs' are declining and thats why once nice middle class areas like Lafayette and Washington Square are in decline. Areas North and South of town seem to be doing better. Indy is following a Pattern that many cities are in right now. The once deteriorated and neglected downtown is booming and suburbia is starting to show the early stages of decline.

If gas prices go up the downtown and near downtown will even thrive more. The way things are trending, its only a matter of time untill the McMansions in the burbs are cobbled up into section 8 apartments, and someday people will be saying on this board to stay away from 'crime infested' Carmel and Greenwood, because downtown is the "safe' pace to be. It is just another phase in the 'life cycle' of cities. People 'fled' to suburbia in the 60's and 70's and now they are leaving the congestion,and long commutes of the burbs to come back downtown. Almost all of my neighbors that have moved to my near downtown neighborhood are from Carmel, Fishers or some other burb and work downtown.

Its really interesting watching the Indianapolis downtown come back into its own.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by restorationconsultant

Indianapolis is a clean safe city that is only improving. It is going through some major changes however. The downtown is booming with lots of restorations, new infill and condos. That has driven the poor out of the downtown neighborhoods, and with it the crime which seems to be moving out to the far East and far West sides. Look at the change in demographics and crime stats in Warren township and Speedway and you see what I mean. There is section 8 everywhere. The "near burbs' are declining and thats why once nice middle class areas like Lafayette and Washington Square are in decline. Areas North and South of town seem to be doing better. Indy is following a Pattern that many cities are in right now. The once deteriorated and neglected downtown is booming and suburbia is starting to show the early stages of decline.

If gas prices go up the downtown and near downtown will even thrive more. The way things are trending, its only a matter of time untill the McMansions in the burbs are cobbled up into section 8 apartments, and someday people will be saying on this board to stay away from 'crime infested' Carmel and Greenwood, because downtown is the "safe' pace to be. It is just another phase in the 'life cycle' of cities. People 'fled' to suburbia in the 60's and 70's and now they are leaving the congestion,and long commutes of the burbs to come back downtown. Almost all of my neighbors that have moved to my near downtown neighborhood are from Carmel, Fishers or some other burb and work downtown.

Its really interesting watching the Indianapolis downtown come back into its own.

Families are not moving downtown. Single professionals and DINKs are moving downtown. Families will continue to reside in the suburban areas of Marion and the donut counties. These crazy predictions of the suburbs turning into Section 8 ghettos is just that.....crazy.

[Naptowner]

It's not that crazy. Look what's happened to the far east side over the last 20 years or so. I agree Carmel isn't going to fall apart anytime soon, and probably never will, but some suburbs have declined over the years.

Still, downtown has a long way to come before it gets back. Center Township has half the population it had 50 years ago. People with children aren't moving into the IPS district.