Moving to Indianapolis Suburb from Maine?? (Bloomington, Fishers: renting, how much, house prices)

[MainetoMidwest]

Hi all,

I have the strong potential for a job offer in Indianapolis and I'm trying to weigh up the pros and cons of moving with my two young sons (ages 4 and 6) from Maine. We currently live in Kennebunkport. I've done some research on this website and the towns of Carmel/Zionsville/Noblesville sound great with good schools and lots of facilities for families with young kids. House prices seem reasonable. But...I am just concerned about whether we would like living in the midwest compared to Maine. Would we miss the beach too much? (We live 1.5 miles from the ocean). It sounds like there are plenty of pools and water opportunities available - is that right? What about hiking/skiing opportunities? Also, I wouldn't mind a shorter winter and a warmer spring, but I do love four distinct seasons, especially the crisp New England fall weather. Are there four seasons in Indiana? What will the heating/coooling costs be for an average size home? Currently we have no a/c (no one in Maine does) but heating costs are a killer. Are there any small town New Englanders who have made the move to the area who could give me some insight? Thank you so much for your thoughts!

[analog_kid86]

Weather-wise Indiana has four distinct seasons but two of them are quite a bit longer than the other. We have rather short springs and falls. Some years are better than others. In Indiana you'll definitely have a/c because we get some pretty miserably warm summers with high humidity.

For hiking, Brown County State Park is within a 30-45 minute drive. Not much skiing that I know of. Someone else could tell you more about that.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by MainetoMidwest

Hi all,

I have the strong potential for a job offer in Indianapolis and I'm trying to weigh up the pros and cons of moving with my two young sons (ages 4 and 6) from Maine. We currently live in Kennebunkport. I've done some research on this website and the towns of Carmel/Zionsville/Noblesville sound great with good schools and lots of facilities for families with young kids. House prices seem reasonable. But...I am just concerned about whether we would like living in the midwest compared to Maine. Would we miss the beach too much? (We live 1.5 miles from the ocean). It sounds like there are plenty of pools and water opportunities available - is that right? What about hiking/skiing opportunities? Also, I wouldn't mind a shorter winter and a warmer spring, but I do love four distinct seasons, especially the crisp New England fall weather. Are there four seasons in Indiana? What will the heating/coooling costs be for an average size home? Currently we have no a/c (no one in Maine does) but heating costs are a killer. Are there any small town New Englanders who have made the move to the area who could give me some insight? Thank you so much for your thoughts!

You WILL miss the beach. Sorry to be blunt. Indianapolis is about as landlocked as it gets. You have man made reservoirs with beaches, but you won't hear the roll of the waves ... but to put a positive spin on it ... no hurricanes!

You WILL need AC. It gets humid here.

Yes, home prices are much cheaper. I'm not sure what your property taxes are in Maine, but we found, moving here from Chicago, we were amazed at how much easier it is to actually save money in Indiana.

Seasons, yes we have seasons and I'm not kidding when I say there are some days where all 4 happen in one day. Well, maybe I am kidding a little, but there are days when there are at least 2 seasons in one day.

I highly highly highly recommend you take a trip out here before committing.

As for schools, for your kid's ages, I'd look at Zionsville first. It's a nice CONTROLLED GROWTH community with reasonably sized schools that are nationally ranked. Carmel is a huge school system ... still very very highly rated. Another option I'd recommend is looking at homes in the Hamilton Southeastern School district on Geist Reservoir in Fishers. Again, very good school system, but it's a decent size body of water. I am assuming you are concentrating on public schools? If not, Indy has some very good private schools as well.

Best of luck and welcome to the forum.

[MikiJayne]

I think that once you live near the ocean, you will always miss it if you leave. I only lived in VA Beach about a year and a half, and I miss it anyway!

We have 4 seasons, air conditioner in the summer, short mild spring and fall, and get some snow. Last year we had a full foot of snow and it was a big deal. When I think of Maine, i think of Stephen King and "Storm of the Century" we don't have anything like that here!!

Schools are good, home prices are amazing. Come visit, i think you'll like it!

[IndyMac]

My college roommate was from Southern Maine also and the two things he missed the most were the ocean and the mountains. We don't have those in Indiana so you'll have to decide how important it is to live near them. There are places to ski in Indiana, but they won't be as good as your used too. On the plus side the cost of living here is drastically below what it is in New England.

[MainetoMidwest]

Hi everyone - thanks so much for your thoughts, I greatly appreciate the input so far! I told my soon-to-be-ex husband last night about this potential job opportunity and, to put it mildly, he was not enthusiastic. I think his exact words were, "it comes down to whether we want to raise our kids to be Mainers or to be....whatever you call people from Indiana." (Sorry, he is British and his knowledge of the midwest is even sketchier than mine). However, I have to admit that the point he raised is exactly what is worrying me - I am a lifelong Mainer and, apart from about 10 years living in London and in Seattle, I suspect I'll always feel like a fish out of water living in the midwest. I did try to explain to him the reality that, as divorced parents, it would be a lot easier for us to manage separate residences somewhere like Indiana than in Maine, which is outrageously expensive in nearly every way. (We're very amicably coparenting, so he would follow me out there to stay near the kids).

Sigh. The unfortunate truth is that, if you're from Maine, it's hard to get it out of your system. I wish I were from somewhere cheaper like the midwest! Plus I know I would desperately miss the mountains and the beach, and the long humid summers of the midwest would be tough to get used to. My sister lives in a suburb of St. Louis so I have a pretty decent idea of what summers are like out there. In Maine we get humidity, but it is for about two weeks in the middle of August - and then it's fall...

Anyway, I guess I'll wait and see if I actually get the job and then figure it out. I would certainly do a couple of visits to check out housing, neighborhoods, etc. and try to get a feel for what day-to-day life would actually be like. I greatly appreciate the advice on towns and areas to focus in on. In the meantime, thanks again for all of your thoughts and if anyone has more insight please keep it coming!!

(By the way, I never saw "Storm of the Century" but is it one of those movies where everyone has terrible Maine accents?? Like the Cabot Cove folks in "Murder She Wrote??" Too funny. But we do get a lot of snow. Last winter we had an average of around three feet, which stayed on the ground from December to April. And I live in southern Maine. If you ever get to Maine, you can drive by Stephen King's house in Bangor, by the way. He has a wrought iron fence all around his house, with spiders and bat shapes formed in the iron).

[IndyMac]

Mainer? I thought you were called Mainiacs.

[MikiJayne]

Wow, spiders and bats in the iron?! That is too cool! Well, just SouthWest of Indy in Bloomington you can drive past John Mellencamp's house. I think it has a white fence. He is often spotted around Bloomington hanging out with his family.

[plaidmom]

Originally Posted by MainetoMidwest

I think his exact words were, "it comes down to whether we want to raise our kids to be Mainers or to be....whatever you call people from Indiana." .

Hoosiers.

Aren't people from Maine Downeasterners?


Good luck with the job hunt.

If there would be any way you could swing it (depending on the location of the job and if and how often you could telecommute) you might be happiest in Brown County. No ocean. No mountains. But many lovely hills, a gorgeous fall season, and some nice lakes.

[sweetana3]

I moved here from Alaska in the mid 70s. I was born and lived my whole life in Alaska and left my whole family there. It was quite an adjustment and I still remember Alaska fondly.

However, the advantages of living in the Midwest outweighed Alaska and its smaller population and lack of advancement opportunities.

Much cheaper cost of living, great colleges, close to other places to visit (which we did often), warm friendly midwesterners, great medical care, now lots of cultural attractions, etc. Sports of all kinds are big if your kids are interested.

It will never match the beauty of Alaska or Maine but your life may possibly be more simple and and as a result even more family oriented and easier.

It can be cold and damp in the winter with occasional snow. Nothing like the Northeast. We find good all weather tires are all that is needed. Gardens are big in the summer with terrific tomatoes and most years AC is really really required due to 90+ temps and humidity at the same time. Great spring and fall when we leave our windows open all day.

Wait on trying to figure out where to live until you have the job.