Considering Indiana for a potential relocation (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne: lofts, homes, neighborhood)

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by MillennialMaverick

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like Boone County is still relatively small with some areas, notably Zionsville, that fit the description of what's most attractive to me. While Carmel and Fishers most closely represent what I like at this moment, they may not in a decade's time. A place like Zionsville may withstand the test of time.

Zionsville is a lot smaller. It has basically a one street downtown. It's still very affluent. Boone County is doing pretty well overall and still has a small town feel.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

Zionsville is a lot smaller. It has basically a one street downtown. It's still very affluent. Boone County is doing pretty well overall and still has a small town feel.

Boone County is the fastest growing county in Indiana in percentage terms this decade, but Hamilton County is the fastest growing county in Indiana in total numbers.

[MillennialMaverick]

Originally Posted by popcorn247

You may want to check out Lafayette/West Lafayette area. Purdue University is in W. Lafayette.
Home of Purdue, Welcome to Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana

Ah, I am aware. I am impressed by the quality universities throughout the state. University of Indiana Bloomington, Purdue, And Notre Dame would be GREAT employment opportunities.

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

Zionsville is a lot smaller. It has basically a one street downtown. It's still very affluent. Boone County is doing pretty well overall and still has a small town feel.

Excellent

[MillennialMaverick]

Hi everyone, happy Easter/Passover weekend. Hope you're all doing well!

So I wanted to express how grateful I am for the discussions we've on this thread so far. It's been extremely helpful in my decision making process, and I like what I've heard! Regardless of what happens in the near future, Indiana is a serious contender for me, even more so thanks to your informative contributions. I also wanted to let you guys know that this is undoubtedly the most cordial attempt of mine on these forums. The other forums, from my experience, were rather fraught with hostility. So, congrats on being really decent folks!

I was hoping you guys could help me with some additional research. I've taken some flack for revealing my long term housing goal--being that some of you find it unrealistic, which I think is fair considering I haven't expressed any ideas on a "starter's place" when relocating. I've found very affordable suburbs around Indianapolis which would serve very well until I am financially capable of moving to more affluent areas like Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, or Noblesville. So far they are: Westfield (Hamilton County), Avon, and Brownsburg (both Hendricks County). The houses for sale in these areas are considerably cheaper while imitating upper crust suburbia. Any opinions on these areas?

Sheerbliss mentioned there are areas within southern Indianapolis itself that would suit my tastes and resonate well with my goals. Can someone comment on that and give me some places to start researching?

Also, for some reason I am having difficulty finding suburbs near the following cities: Fort Wayne, South Bend, Bloomington, and Lafayette. Would anyone care to make some recommendations?

As always, your help is immensely appreciated.

[Serious Conversation]

Westfield is probably the most "prestigious" of these, being in Hamilton County. Westfield abuts Carmel, and many times, you won't know when you've entered one and exited the other until you get familiar with the street boundaries. Westfield is newer, with often less expensive and more basic housing than Carmel. Westfield is OK, but there isn't anything unique there. Not much in the way of a downtown, etc. Westfield is a lot like Fishers in the sense that is generic suburban sprawl without being "broken up" by anything else. Brownsburg and Avon are more economical and perfectly fine to live in. Hamilton County has kind of a "prestige" tax. Unless you can swing Carmel, there's not going to be a lot of difference between the other Hamilton County communities and somewhere like Avon or Brownsburg. Avon and Brownsburg will be notably less congested.

A manager's wife at a former employer in Indianapolis was a principal in West Lafayette. As an educator, you may be required to live within the city limits of the district you work in. I know that was the case for her, and he drove to north Indy from West Lafayette daily.

Bloomington, like West Lafayette, is a college town. I like Bloomington better. It feels smaller and more urban. Bloomington and Westfield are polar opposite experiences. Both Bloomington and West Lafayette are good places to live - you wouldn't need to live in some outlying suburban area. At least for Bloomington, it's not going to have suburbs like Indy.

Fort Wayne is more industrial. I've only been through it and stopped to eat, but I haven't seen much appeal there. I'm not a fan of South Bend and the Michiana area at all.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by MillennialMaverick

Hi everyone, happy Easter/Passover weekend. Hope you're all doing well!

So I wanted to express how grateful I am for the discussions we've on this thread so far. It's been extremely helpful in my decision making process, and I like what I've heard! Regardless of what happens in the near future, Indiana is a serious contender for me, even more so thanks to your informative contributions. I also wanted to let you guys know that this is undoubtedly the most cordial attempt of mine on these forums. The other forums, from my experience, were rather fraught with hostility. So, congrats on being really decent folks!

I was hoping you guys could help me with some additional research. I've taken some flack for revealing my long term housing goal--being that some of you find it unrealistic, which I think is fair considering I haven't expressed any ideas on a "starter's place" when relocating. I've found very affordable suburbs around Indianapolis which would serve very well until I am financially capable of moving to more affluent areas like Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, or Noblesville. So far they are: Westfield (Hamilton County), Avon, and Brownsburg (both Hendricks County). The houses for sale in these areas are considerably cheaper while imitating upper crust suburbia. Any opinions on these areas?

Sheerbliss mentioned there are areas within southern Indianapolis itself that would suit my tastes and resonate well with my goals. Can someone comment on that and give me some places to start researching?

Also, for some reason I am having difficulty finding suburbs near the following cities: Fort Wayne, South Bend, Bloomington, and Lafayette. Would anyone care to make some recommendations?

As always, your help is immensely appreciated.

Fort Wayne, South Bend, Bloomington, and Lafayette aren't really going to have suburbs. They aren't that big. Fort Wayne has around 250,000 people, South Bend a tad over 100,000, and the other two are less than that. I don't know much about Bloomington and Lafayette.

South Bend runs right into Mishawaka, which is smaller in population but has the regional shopping district of northern Indiana. Granger, Osceola, Niles, MI, and to a lesser extent Edwardsburg, MI are all easily accessible to South Bend. I lived a couple years in Mishawaka and loved it being so close to everything to do there. On the right roads, you can go from Niles, Michigan, through South Bend, Mishawaka, Osceola, Elkhart, and Goshen without ever getting into a rural area. It'll take about an hour but those cities all butt up against each other.

I also lived two years in Fort Wayne. It really doesn't have any suburbs. It does share a border with New Haven and it is growing quickly north toward Huntertown and northeast toward Leo-Cedarville. Those last two are pretty small towns while New Haven is a bit larger.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by MillennialMaverick

Ah, I am aware. I am impressed by the quality universities throughout the state. University of Indiana Bloomington:

Just an fyi, it's called Indiana University, or IU, or simply Indiana.
Nobody from Indiana calls it the University of Indiana or U of I. If you do, everybody will know right off the bat you're not from Indiana.

[cdr18]

Fort Wayne doesn't have suburbs but many outlying subdivisions that surround the city. I actually think this benefits Fort Wayne better because it can eventually be annexed into the city, boosting their population which in turn gives them a better chance for economic sustainability. Retailers and employers love locating in cities that are growing in population for obvious reasons.

[cdr18]

The Michiana area is making a lot of gains into improving the quality of life. Lord knows they have the good jobs, but that alone isn't going to make an area prosper. You have to make the area a place that people want to live, and right now, they have some work to do on that front. However, I think every large city in the Michiana region is making gains toward that and realizing that, even if it was a little late in the game.

[sheerbliss]

I don't get to the south side very often. Mostly, I see from Emerson or the odd trip along 465. It looks open and rural, even though the map shows lots of neighborhoods. However, some houses comparable to ones you like are being built there, and there are some nice-looking neighborhoods that look like they date from around the 70s or 80s. You'd save about $100,000 on a house.

However, it isn't the fashionable side of town--but to me, that means opportunity. The Marion County map here on C-D shows a lot fewer people with college degrees, and probably, a lot less competition for the kinds of work you'd like to do at a local level. You'd be fairly close to downtown Indianapolis and the airport. You'd meet a wider mix of people than you'd meet living in Carmel. As mentioned, there's a lot that needs to be done in Indy. Carmel, not so much. Get a subscription to the Indianapolis Star (they cover Carmel, too) or sign up for Google alerts for Indianapolis.