Commuting to Bloomington from Indy, where to live? (Indianapolis, Greenwood: house, elementary school)

[buchsbrb]

Hi all. We are moving to Indianapolis from FL. My husband will be commuting down to Bloomington at least 4 days a week. Where can we live that will allow us to have a nice house and good schools for the kids but minimize the drive time to Bloomington as much as possible?

[rrah]

Greenwood-the part with Center Grove schools and as far south and as close to 37 as possible. He's still going to be spending 45-60 minutes in the car each way. If he's doing that 4 days a week, why not live in Bloomington?

[Southside Shrek]

I'd move to Bloomington. 8 to 10 hours a week commuting is a day wasted each week.

[buchsbrb]

The main issue is that we're Jewish and are worried that the Jewish community in Bloomington is too small. Your thoughts?

[domergurl]

it's not that big in Indy either and the congregations tend to be on the north side of Indy ... I'd live in Bloomington. have you looked into Beth Shalom?
Beth Shalom -- Bloomington Jewish Community, Bloomington, IN - Home

[rrah]

I'm not of the Jewish faith, but my feeling is that there is a very strong, although perhaps not large, Jewish community in Bloomington. This is just what I've taken away from my interactions with several members of Beth Shalom. You also need to remember that IU has one of the oldest and largest Jewish Studies departments in the country. That bleeds over into the town as a whole. There is also a very active Hillel center on campus which adds to the overall community.

[iudiehard]

If you have the chance to live in Bloomington...you should jump on it. Going to be better to commute to Jewish Service on Sunday then commute 4 days a week. The IU student body has a somewhat decent size Jewish Community....so you will have an option. Bloomington in he summers...when the students leave....is almost heaven.

Good luck

[chalcedony]

The Jewish community on the north side of Indy is strong, but it's so concentrated there that the metro population as a whole seems fairly small. The South Side of Indy has little to no Jewish presence that I'm aware of--suburbs included. I believe Perry Meridian High School had one Jewish Family when I attended there in the 90s. I don't see there ever being a population base on the south side of Indy to support a synagogue or a JCC.

[rojomojo]

My daughter went to a Greenwood elementary school for half a year. Her teacher had a sign behind her desk that read "J.O.Y. - Jesus first, Others next, Yourself last." My wife's job was in Bloomington and we decided to move there and get out of Greenwood. Bloomington is a great town, we are much happier here than in Indy.

[buchsbrb]

Thanks all for your comments. We are going to seriously consider Bloomington and make an educated decision.