Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
These cities are pretty much the same. I picked Indy because of the smaller college presence (the older you get, the more annoying 18-22 year olds are), the lower growth rate (high growth puts upward pressure on COL, and I don't like cities that are heavily populated by transplants), and because Indy's central business district has more character.
On the downside, Indy has more crime and decay.
Can’t tell the difference. Both cities have equal urban decay.
Indy is Detroit level hood, but with more prosperous areas scattered throughout the county.
Huh? You mean Cleveland, not Indy. There are not many neighborhoods in Indianapolis that are super scary like Cleveland. I drove to a neighborhood in Cleveland near downtown a few years ago, I was literally praying I would make it out alive lol.
Huh? You mean Cleveland, not Indy. There are not many neighborhoods in Indianapolis that are super scary like Cleveland. I drove to a neighborhood in Cleveland near downtown a few years ago, I was literally praying I would make it out alive lol.
Indianapolis doesn’t really have Detroit levels of decay. Detroit (or Gary or North Saint Louis) have a very bombed out abandoned look in their worst parts. Indy doesn’t really have anywhere like that. Indy has horrible crime areas, and some very affluent areas, but the bulk of the city is just kind of meh. Huge swaths of the south side, west side, and northwest are just like blah working class areas that aren’t ghetto but aren’t that nice either.
Indianapolis doesn’t really have Detroit levels of decay. Detroit (or Gary or North Saint Louis) have a very bombed out abandoned look in their worst parts. Indy doesn’t really have anywhere like that. Indy has horrible crime areas, and some very affluent areas, but the bulk of the city is just kind of meh. Huge swaths of the south side, west side, and northwest are just like blah working class areas that aren’t ghetto but aren’t that nice either.
The biggest problem is that Indy does a horrible job at replanting and maintaining street trees on the tree lawn areas. Without adequate trees and shade most of those mediocre to average neighborhoods look far worse on the surface.
These 2 have always been twins, but today Columbus has Indy's number. Columbus still has it's run down areas, but Marion County all over is in bad shape. The mid 20th century blight looks worse than blight from the 19th century that you find in Cincy, Saint Louis etc.... There are soooo many homes that are half torn down, collapsed roofs and whatnot scattered throughout that county. The roads there are horrible, and I'm talking near the nice neighborhood of Butler Tarkington at that!
Indy's main thoroughfares could use some work, as they mainly consisting of gas stations and half abandoned strip malls. Indy HAS done a good job rejuvenating the few walkable areas they have, and the core city is looking rather good; however the areas immediately surrounding downtown feel forgotten. They have nothing comparable to Short North, which has grown to be one of the Midwest's premier neighborhoods.
Sad to say, but of all of the midwestern metro's, I'd say Indy is among the most hood, sans Detroit. North Saint Louis is bad, but the rest of the city makes up for it. Chicago has it's issues, but it's pluses are nearly unmatched. Cleveland is pretty rough, but they have Lakewood, U Circle, Shaker Hts. etc... Indy is Detroit level hood, but with more prosperous areas scattered throughout the county.
I don't think Indy is as bad, as you're exaggerating it to be like. I don't deny some parts of Indy have seen better days(parts of its northwest side, and parts of its east side), but a lot of other Midwest metros have this issue.
And I think people underrate, how very bad some parts of Milwaukee's north side are like. Same with parts of Cleveland. Indy still is nowhere as bad as other Midwest cities that heavily relied on industry are, i.e. Gary, Flint, etc.
As for Indy's northwest side, a project was recently undertaken to renovate the long ailing Lafayette Square Mall. Which I think, really will help that area. And seems very promising, considering that mall had struggled for many years.
I will say I've street viewed a lot of parts of Indy and Columbus, and they both have good and bad areas. Maybe Columbus might be growing a little faster, but I don't think Indy is bad either.
One thing both Columbus and Indy have in common is having a much more physically attractive city 1.5-2 hours south. For Columbus, that’s Cincy. For Indy, that’s Louisville.
Indy For me. Interesting history and downtown with a decent size airport. Closer to Chicago, Sand Dunes and its metro is growing like crazy. I'm no longer in college and could care less about following up with Ohio State sports or keeping up with that scene. I also don't really like the idea of being a city without a major sports team. Indy has the Pacers and Colts while Columbus has no answer for this...just sayin.
Columbus has 2 major sports teams. You may not favor those particular sports, but it has professional sports.
Both cities are pretty similar but I feel like Columbus has a lot more interesting/cool neighborhoods while Indianapolis doesn’t have much besides like Fountain Square. For a non-sunbelt City, it’s really lacking in nice, quasi-urban neighborhoods. That being said there have been massive improvements, especially to neighborhoods directly to the north of downtown, so maybe in a few years there could be a couple of more solid options for city neighborhoods. At least Downtown Indianapolis is better than downtown Columbus though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
