Jeffersonville or New Albany, Indiana (Indianapolis, South Bend: real estate, violent crime, how much)

[Bart Burk]

Which community do you like best and why?

[MissingIndiana]

I personally prefer new albany, but it depends what you're looking for. Or is this just a generalized question?

[Bart Burk]

You like New Albany better? That's where I think I would like to move, but people I've talked to tell me Jeffersonville is a much nicer and safer community than New Albany is.

[MissingIndiana]

I wouldn't say that. Jeffersonville has had a shady pain clinic near downtown and a seedy feel in places. That said, there are also some nice neighborhoods in parts of town and some interesting stores near downtown. There are improvements happening in the downtown area as well and along the riverfront with the pedestrian bridge getting closer to completion.

Downtown New Albany though has more to offer in my opinion and has had lots of revitalization. There are several different options for dining in a tight walkable area, a nice YMCA, several unique stores, etc. There are run down parts as well but many nice places as well. Downtown, the Silver Hills (Silver Hills Online), midtown (The Homes of New Albany's Midtown Neighborhood - Home), most all the areas up State St and Green Valley Rd plus the Blackiston Mill area are fine. There are several quiet nice neighborhoods wedged between Silver Creek and Slate Run Rd as well. Rougher/poorer looking areas are behind the hospital and near the country club as well as the part of town just west of I-64 and downtown, as well as along Corydon Pike. Silver Hills is just up above this though, and as you go farther up W 7th St and get onto Old Vincennes Rd or Valley View Rd though it gets nicer again.

Personally, I believe New Albany feels like more of it's own small town though it is not really that far from downtown Louisville and is most certainly an integrated part of the metro. With the exception of the riverfront area of Jeffersonville, which has a great view of Louisville and more restaurants and that sort of thing, I would prefer New Albany for most other aspects. You just need to come down and visit both. They're only 10 minutes apart. Where are you coming from? What about New Albany was making you think you wanted to move there in the first place?

[Bart Burk]

Originally Posted by MissingIndiana

I wouldn't say that. Jeffersonville has had a shady pain clinic near downtown and a seedy feel in places. That said, there are also some nice neighborhoods in parts of town and some interesting stores near downtown. There are improvements happening in the downtown area as well and along the riverfront with the pedestrian bridge getting closer to completion.

Downtown New Albany though has more to offer in my opinion and has had lots of revitalization. There are several different options for dining in a tight walkable area, a nice YMCA, several unique stores, etc. There are run down parts as well but many nice places as well. Downtown, the Silver Hills (Silver Hills Online), midtown (The Homes of New Albany's Midtown Neighborhood - Home), most all the areas up State St and Green Valley Rd plus the Blackiston Mill area are fine. There are several quiet nice neighborhoods wedged between Silver Creek and Slate Run Rd as well. Rougher/poorer looking areas are behind the hospital and near the country club as well as the part of town just west of I-64 and downtown, as well as along Corydon Pike. Silver Hills is just up above this though, and as you go farther up W 7th St and get onto Old Vincennes Rd or Valley View Rd though it gets nicer again.

Personally, I believe New Albany feels like more of it's own small town though it is not really that far from downtown Louisville and is most certainly an integrated part of the metro. With the exception of the riverfront area of Jeffersonville, which has a great view of Louisville and more restaurants and that sort of thing, I would prefer New Albany for most other aspects. You just need to come down and visit both. They're only 10 minutes apart. Where are you coming from? What about New Albany was making you think you wanted to move there in the first place?

I'm looking for a place in Southern Indiana closer to where my children in Knoxville, Tn., Indianapolis and Vincennes live. I'm from the South Bend area and will be retiring in a few years. I've looked at the area around Charlestown Road and Slate Run Road and it seemed like a nice area close to churches and shopping. My wife's LDS and I'm Catholic and the two churches are only a couple of blocks apart, and there is an LDS Temple in Louisville. I haven't looked as closely at Jeffersonville, but I've looked at real estate listings and Jeffersonville seems to have some nice neighborhoods on the east side of town. I've been told to avoid Clarksville, but that could be incorrect as well. The climate in the Louisville area seems a lot more moderate than the climate in South Bend.

[MissingIndiana]

Well, you can't get much more centralized to the three areas where your kids are than here. It's about 2 hours to Vincennes, 2 hours to most parts of Indianapolis, and a little under 4 to Knoxville. You're correct that the east side of Jeffersonville does have some nice neighborhoods. There are also some really nice little developments along Route 403 between Sellersburg and Charlestown if you're looking for something a little more rural/suburban. Clarksville has some decent homes as well, but it falls 3rd for me in terms of how nice it is overall between Clarksville/Jeff/NA. For someone with no young kids that isn't considering schools though you could find a smaller sized reasonably priced home there. It's not all bad though if that's what you've heard. There seems to be a somewhat considerable Hispanic population in that area these days if that appeals to you at all.

As to the religion, I can't speak much for the LDS, but there are several Catholics in the Floyds Knobs area as well just up the hill from New Albany. It's a very nice area with several well-to-do homes, but also a good mix of middle and lower income households as well.

If you could be a bit more specific on the type of neighborhood (rural, suburban, quiet, historic, urban, or whatever) and perhaps the price range you're looking at, I might be able to offer better suggestions. Do you want to be able to walk or bike to restaurants or stores? Have a view of the river? Be close to anything specific besides the churches?

Regarding the climate, heavens yes. Louisville gets a little chilly but it's much better than South Bend. Columbus, IN up to Indy is usually the dividing line for the bigger differences in temperature and snowfall amounts. I just looked and saw that the forecast for South Bend today is for 21 degrees with snow showers. It's spitting a little snow/rain here right now, but our high is supposed to be around 34. That's downright tropical to me compared with 21 degrees

[Bart Burk]

I would be looking for 3 BR, 2 bath at least and somewhere between 100-130,000. There seem to be a lot of houses in that price range in the area. I'd probably rather be in the city. I've also thought that Sellersburg-Charlestown looks interesting

[censusdata]

Honestly the urban areas of New Albany, Clarksville, and Jeffersonville all seem pretty run down to me. Property values are in a free fall in those cities too. Areas further out are better though - Hamburg, Sellersburg, Charlestown, Harrison Co, etc are very nice. Access to Louisville will be a pain for the next couple of years as a new I-265 beltline and I-65 downtown bridges are being built, the big freeway interchange in downtown Louisville is being completely rebuilt as well. There will be tolls once the work is done but it'll be worth it given quicker commute times.

[Bart Burk]

Looking at housing prices for New Albany at the Trulia web site, New Albany looks like a pretty good place to live. It is possible to do a crime search at Trulia and it doesn't look as if there is any crime in New Albany compared to Louisville. Housing prices look decent all over town, but especially just south of I-265. The bridge they are building on the east side of Louisville looks like it will make going east pretty easy compared to the way it is now. It looks to me like there is a lot to like about the area. I keep looking at other places in the Southeastern United States, but it looks like going to southern Indiana is far enough to escape a lot of the cold of northern Indiana while continuing with the benefits of living in Indiana.

[SherryLee76]

There is crime in New Albany. My neighbor is an officer for the NAPD and it is getting worse. I guess it's really dependent on how much you are willing to tolerate. We live about 15 minutes away from New Albany. It's a decent commute to Louisville of about 30 minutes.

I personally do not like city life, so I'm not too sure if I will be able to be of any help with you in that perspective. Just because Louisville has a lot of crime going on does not mean that it does not trickle across the bridge over here to southern Indiana. Don't forget, the west end of Louisville (Portland neighborhood) is directly across the river from New Albany. I am not saying this to try and drive fear, but I have a tendency to be a person that looks at what the future may hold for a place. No, New Albany is not gang ridden and full of violent crimes. But, it could be well on it's way if nothing is done to stop it.

If I had to choose an area to live and it had to be in a city setting, I would go with your idea of Charlestown. My husband was raised there and it has a great atmosphere about it. It is a small town, so you would have to travel into Jeffersonville or Clarksville for more retail shopping. They do have a Jay C food store there as well as a Family Dollar. There are also a few gas stations, a nice park, McDonalds and other fast food places.

Also, consider taking a look at the Corydon area. It is a little further out from Louisville (30-45 minutes) but it is a BIGGER small town. It has a nice hospital, WalMart, Jay C, shopping centers, food places and only minutes away from parks and outdoor activities. It really has all that you need. You wouldn't really need to venture into a bigger place like Clarksville unless you wanted to shop the mall or was just looking for a wider variety of dining choices!