Relocating to Indianapolis for school in 2012 (Lafayette, Lawrence: 2013, transfer to, construction)

[DaaangGirl]

So I'm in need of some advice/answers to my concerns.

About me: I'm 21, female, Asian from Houston, TX. I'm wanting to go to graduate school at Purdue University in West Lafayette around Fall 2013.

Now, I'm relocating to Indianapolis in order to become a resident in Indiana in exchange for cheaper tuition. From what I've read, I think Broad Ripple would most likely fit with my personality because I like the whole nightlife deal along with the fact that I'm heavily tattooed. In addition, I love the city life and don't think I could tolerate living in a small town.

I'm hoping I can find housing near Broad Ripple while also finding a job around there since my current employer has no stores out in Indiana for me to transfer to. I looked up the traveling time from Broad Ripple to Purdue and see that it's about a 1.25 hour drive. I will be a full-time student (12 hours or more) since I'm hoping to finish within two years.

I'm concern with the housing and job availability in Lafayette as well as the kind of personalities there since it's such a small city compared to Indianapolis.

Would this be smart/efficient for me to live in Broad Ripple while also traveling for school (so that I'm not having to look for a new place to live and a new employer) or should I just move to Lafayette when my graduate program begins in Fall 2013?

Note: I am about 55% willing to travel for school on the daily basis.

[domergurl]

Purdue has a campus in Indy ... are any of your classes offered on the IUPUI campus??

[sweetana3]

Travel = NO. Mostly due to winter driving conditions on I65 which is mostly the only road. It has a lot of issues with snow/drifting and the issues can be severe.

Domergurl has a good idea. What is your major and can the classes be acquired in Indianapolis? Otherwise, live in Lafayette and live like a student. Jobs in any college town are hard to get as they are in Indianapolis due to the economy. Can you qualify for a graduate student assistant fellowship?

[DaaangGirl]

I just checked. IUPUI doesn't offer the Consumer Science and Retailing graduate degree. I think I will be able to qualify for some of those financial aids.


Thanks!

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by DaaangGirl

I just checked. IUPUI doesn't offer the Consumer Science and Retailing graduate degree. I think I will be able to qualify for some of those financial aids.


Thanks!

If you could tolerate the suburbs the N.W. side of Indianapolis and Zionsville could cut down your commute a lot. If you look on the Northwest side of Indy though be careful because some of the housing could be bad.

[Toxic Toast]

While Lafayette is no big city; you won't automatically stick out as a tattooed collegian. Purdue is a very big school and attracts all types, and West Lafayette is very much a college town. If you hate it, you can always leave after you graduate.

[MissingIndiana]

While Broad Ripple is great, it's not worth trying to drive all the way from there to West Lafayette on a daily basis, especially if you are only "55% willing to travel". The commute time you checked may say 1.25 hours, but that's assuming you don't get stuck in road construction, behind a traffic accident, plain old heavy traffic, or bad weather. There can be a lot of snow, ice, and strong winds during the winter time that would make that commute take hours.

There are probably close to 100,000 people in Lafayette and West Lafayette combined. Between that and the size of the university you can find things to do and interesting people to hang out with there just as well as you could in Broad Ripple. And if you get bored some weekend, it's only a little over 2 hours to downtown Chicago and 1 hour 15 minutes to downtown Indy. I recommend you just stay in W Lafayette.

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by DaaangGirl

Would this be smart/efficient for me to live in Broad Ripple while also traveling for school (so that I'm not having to look for a new place to live and a new employer) or should I just move to Lafayette when my graduate program begins in Fall 2013?

Note: I am about 55% willing to travel for school on the daily basis.

DO NOT COMMUTE FROM INDIANAPOLIS TO PURDUE UNIVERSITY IN WEST LAFAYETTE! Period. End of story.

[NewToNoMi]

What these people said.

65 is bad any time of the year when it comes to commuting. So is 465. I swear, the central area of Indiana is always under road construction, so if that doesn't slow you down, the winters will. Unless you know how to drive on that stuff (and trust me, even the most seasoned Hoosiers don't), and the counties aren't closed for emergency, then you really don't want to be traveling.

Also, like it's already been mentioned, you won't stick out like that much of a sore thumb at Lafayette. Seriously, it's Indiana -- you'd still stick out even in Broad Ripple with all of it's progressiveness and open-mindedness, so if you may as well live on campus.

One more thing...why the knock at NW Indy, people? I know it's not the best place in the world to live, but most of Indy isn't, these days. Have you seen all of the crap happening on the far east side and up in Lawrence? You're better off living in the far west side, one of the small towns surrounding Indy, or up in Fishers. :P

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by NewToNoMi

What these people said.

65 is bad any time of the year when it comes to commuting. So is 465. I swear, the central area of Indiana is always under road construction, so if that doesn't slow you down, the winters will. Unless you know how to drive on that stuff (and trust me, even the most seasoned Hoosiers don't), and the counties aren't closed for emergency, then you really don't want to be traveling.

The sad thing is that, on average, driving around the area is worse in the Summer (thanks to construction) than in the winter. I'd rather be driving around on a winter day without snow/ice concerns than during the summer when the construction will always get you.