Looking at moving to Indy from Philly, advice appreciated (Indianapolis: real estate, apartment)

[Shino306]

My husband has a job opportunity in Indianapolis that we're seriously considering. We're not originally from Philadelphia and can not wait to leave. We like the idea of Indianapolis based on cost of living, distance to my family (3.5 hours away), from what I've read on here, a good place to raise a family, and we're looking for a smaller town.
We're a professional couple in our late 20's/early 30's with a baby on the way.
Any advice to someone considering moving here?

Let me see if I can get rid of some criticisms I've read from other posters to start...
1) It's flat: I grew up where the topography was flat, I don't care

2)There's no mass transit: Great! I'm over having to walk everywhere all the time, carrying groceries in the dead of winter down wind tunnels, which makes it THAT much colder or in the middle of summer when it's hot and humid. I can not wait to be able to drive. Plus, I feel mass transit is over-rated a lot of the times...saying this after sitting next to a woman yesterday, who probably hadn't bathed in the past couple weeks.

3) There's not a lot to do, it's not as vibrant, especially moving from a bigger city: All we do now is go out to eat, how many times can one person see the Liberty Bell or go to a museum? Plus, we're not into going to clubs/bars, etc. Also, I'm pregnant, so we would be moving with a newborn, how much are we really going to go out with a new baby regardless of where we live?

4) It's Redneck: My family is from northern KY, rural KY at that. I doubt it can be more "redneck" than that.

5) It's "vanilla": I grew up in a "vanilla" suburb, lived in Nashville for 6 years, which is pretty homogenous, and now live in a huge diverse city. First, I'm sure Indianapolis has other ethnicities than caucasian people and if the comment is not about the ethnicities, rather way of dress/being, personally I don't care if people walk around with full arm "sleeves" (tattoos from shoulder to wrist) or rings in their nose, dressed in skinny jeans, or studded black leather jackets with mohawks. Having that in a city doesn't add any "value" for me.

6) The weather is bad: The weather is bad in Philadelphia too, it even feels worse when you walk around outside all the time vs. being able to drive.

Thanks in advance!

[BU191433]

You'll love the area then - as you have already addressed some of the downsides.

If I were you I would at least let the commute influence where you want to live. How long of a commute is your husband willing to put up with - are schools really important to you at this stage as it will be a few years before that is necessary - although maybe it is good to get into a good school area now. A big question is how much are you willing to spend and if you plan on buying or renting when you first get here. I would suggest probably renting maybe for 6 months to learn the different areas or if you need to buy because you are selling your house in Philly then you need to do a lot of research

We need more info from you I think to better advise you.

[Shino306]

We won't need to sell a house, we currently rent as the real estate is very expensive in downtown Philadelphia. We spend ~$1700 now a month for a 900 sq ft apartment.
Our budget for a house is up to $500k, schools are important, at the very least for re-sale value.
He'd be at two hospitals (he's a physician) so Community Hospital East or at the Community Hospital North campus.

Thanks

[Colts]

I would recommend Fishers. It's on the northeast side of town, so you'd be close to CHN and not too far from CHE. Great schools, too.

You did your research beforehand, your husband already has a job lined up, AND you're moving to a great city. That makes you a rare species on these forums!!

[BU191433]

Yeah, sounds like you can pick where you want to live. $500K will buy you a very nice house. I would look in Fishers/Geist area and maybe Carmel area.

Depending on how soon your husband starts, I would still probably receomemnd maybe that you rent an apartment for 6 months if you can stand it so you can really get to know the different areas before buying (I know most people don't do that, and it isn't necessary, but that is the way I would do it because I always like to get the feel of things as opposed to just what others say about it) .

But you'll find some very nice upscale neighborhoods in the Fishers area in your price range

[MikiJayne]

You are ahead of the game, sounds like you don't need us because you've already considered the big issues. I second the Fishers or Carmel areas.

[domergurl]

we had a poster on here a year or so ago in your shoes ... goes by the name of PhillyIndy ... look up his posts ... he was pretty thorough in his searches.

Best of luck! I lived in Fishers for 4 years ... it's about a suburban as you can get!

[WildWestDude]

You have to be ready to be called a Hoosier!

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by WildWestDude

You have to be ready to be called a Hoosier!

Can't be any worse than a F.I.B.

[chalcedony]

In regard to your points:

1) Yes, though other Midwest cities (Chicago, Columbus, most of Detroit, perhaps Milwaukee?) are flatter. If you want hills, Cincinnati has got them in spades. Kansas City, Louisville, and St. Paul have some as well. Omaha is surprisingly hilly.

2) Yes, it's quite lousy. See an accompanying thread. They're working on improving it. But if you plan to move to a small town in the region it'll probably never enter your radar.

3) Not really true any more. Probably was the case 30 or even 20 years ago (India-no-place) but the city has come a long way. It doesn't have as many cultural offerings as Philly, but it's a significantly smaller region. I think metro Philadelphia is almost the same population as the state of Indiana as a whole. Cultural offerings in terms of museums/symphony/sports are probably considerably above the average for cities of its size. Not so good in terms of non-chain restaurants (Indy is a big test market for national chains), but this scenario, too, is improving. Ethnic eatery options, particularly on the west side, are quite good.

4) Never been a big fan of this term, though it's probably more accurately applied to rural Indiana, which isn't so different in many regards from rural Pennsylvania. If the term can be applied to mean "poorly educated whites" I'd say I saw plenty of that in parts of Philly as well when I lived there (NE Philly, Delaware County, Kensington). However, the southern influence in Indiana really begins strongly on the south side of Indy--which may be why it's easier to use this term here than the poor whites of Philly. There are still plenty of white collar professionals in metro Indy (including on the south side), and the college towns of Indiana are also well represented in that regard. The rest of the state? Mostly just high school graduates and very blue-collar.

5) Demographically on par with Nashville, which could mean "vanilla" by your measurements, compared to Philly. But the city's immigrant and minority population has grown rapidly in recent years (as has Nashville's). The "alternative" scene you are referring do can be found mostly in the urban parts of the city (Center Township), with little representation elsewhere in Marion County, and negative forty representation in suburbs like Carmel.

6) This completely depends on your perspective of what bad is. Compared to Philadelphia, Indy gets less precipitation, is minimally cooler in the summer, and quite a bit colder (but drier) in the winter. Humidity and cloudy days are about the same.