What's Evansville like? (Indianapolis, South Bend, Muncie: high crime, construction, school)

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by RMESMH

Responses in this thread also prompted me to look up how far Evansville is from both Cincinnati and Louisville. While looking at the map, I noticed that Evansville is only about 14 miles south of I-64…..so I did come within 14 miles of Evansville (without realizing it). I’ve driven on I-64, and once that was while driving from St. Louis to Louisville. I wonder if Evansville draws in many travelers who are headed to Louisville but, depending on where they are coming from, may be too tired to make it to Louisville, so they spend the night in Evansville, and head to Louisville sometime the next day.

Evansville is less than 90 minutes from Louisville. You'd have to be pretty tired to stop in Evansville, and it wouldn't likely actually be in Evansville but the cluster of hotels well north of Evansville along 64.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Evansville is located in a nice centralized location within 200 miles of Indianapolis, Louisville, St Louis,, Nashville and Cincinnati, and less than 300 to Memphis and Chicago. I always thought of Evansville as the Ft Wayne of Southern Indiana, a major regional hub in an isolated part of Indiana. I think Ft Wayne and Evansville are very similar cities with very few differences. I doubt Ft Wayne and Allen County has all that much more to offer than Evansville and Vanderburgh County, (and South Bend and St Joseph County for that matter). I would guess the winter weather to be the biggest difference.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Evansville is located in a nice centralized location within 200 miles of Indianapolis, Louisville, St Louis,, Nashville and Cincinnati, and less than 300 to Memphis and Chicago. I always thought of Evansville as the Ft Wayne of Southern Indiana, a major regional hub in an isolated part of Indiana. I think Ft Wayne and Evansville are very similar cities with very few differences. I doubt Ft Wayne and Allen County has all that much more to offer than Evansville and Vanderburgh County, (and South Bend and St Joseph County for that matter). I would guess the winter weather to be the biggest difference.

I feel like every city in Indiana has those same bragging rights, central with a lot of other major cities only a few hours away. So far it seems like only Indianapolis has truly capitalized on this. I feel like Evansville shares the same fate as the rest of the state. Things aren't looking bad, but they aren't going to experience an economic boom anytime soon either.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Evansville is located in a nice centralized location within 200 miles of Indianapolis, Louisville, St Louis,, Nashville and Cincinnati, and less than 300 to Memphis and Chicago. I always thought of Evansville as the Ft Wayne of Southern Indiana, a major regional hub in an isolated part of Indiana.

Most every city in Indiana is close to those places. If you ask someone from Evansville what their favorite thing about living there is, one of the most popular responses is that it is close to other places. Which while true, is not a unique characteristic or one that I think of as a reason to live anywhere. Louisville is close Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Nashville too while itself being an awesome city. Evansville fell behind the times in the last 30 years. Evansville is playing catch up, and maybe they've stopped some of the bleeding, it isn't growing significantly if at all and probably won't anytime soon.

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

I think Ft Wayne and Evansville are very similar cities with very few differences. I doubt Ft Wayne and Allen County has all that much more to offer than Evansville and Vanderburgh County, (and South Bend and St Joseph County for that matter). I would guess the winter weather to be the biggest difference.

That may have been true 20 years ago, but Fort Wayne has long since left Evansville in the dust. Fort Wayne has Parkview Field and associated development on that land, Headwaters Park, The Riverfront at Promenade Park, The Landing, Electric Works, and the Ashberry Building among other development. There is also a proposal to build a new soccer stadium for a USL 2 team. Evansville is tearing down its tallest building and replacing it with a small apartment building. There are a couple of developments in center Evansville, NoCo comes to mind. Fort Wayne has a lot more going on.

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

Evansville is tearing down its tallest building and replacing it with a small apartment building. There are a couple of developments in center Evansville, NoCo comes to mind. Fort Wayne has a lot more going on.

That really says it all. At a time when every big city is building new high rises downtown, Evansville is tearing its down. That building has been vacant for so long too.

[GraniteStater]

In reality, Evansville is only larger by a smaller extent compared to Terre Haute or Muncie. It actually has a lower educational attainment than either of the two cities, and has a somewhat lower poverty rate. Fort Wayne is more than double the population of Evansville with a city limit that is twice as large.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...iana/PST045219

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Evansville is located in a nice centralized location within 200 miles of Indianapolis, Louisville, St Louis,, Nashville and Cincinnati, and less than 300 to Memphis and Chicago. I always thought of Evansville as the Ft Wayne of Southern Indiana, a major regional hub in an isolated part of Indiana. I think Ft Wayne and Evansville are very similar cities with very few differences. I doubt Ft Wayne and Allen County has all that much more to offer than Evansville and Vanderburgh County, (and South Bend and St Joseph County for that matter). I would guess the winter weather to be the biggest difference.

I love how people like to say it’s a positive to “only be 200 miles from” all these better cities. How is it a positive to be 200+ miles from better cities you don’t live in? And it’s not like the cities mentioned are anything to brag about either. Outside of the Midwest Indy, Cincy, Louisville,and st Louis are not looked at as great cities.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by Berteau

I love how people like to say it’s a positive to “only be 200 miles from” all these better cities. How is it a positive to be 200+ miles from better cities you don’t live in? And it’s not like the cities mentioned are anything to brag about either. Outside of the Midwest Indy, Cincy, Louisville,and st Louis are not looked at as great cities.

It probably depends on the person/ family. To some people it don't mean squat. Other people, especially those in smal and smaller towns like being a few hours drive from a large metro. Being 200 miles from a big city, makes it easy for day trips and overnight trips. Imagine living in Denver and the nearest million plus metro is over 500 miles away. When I was living in Muncie, we rarely took day trips, but a couple of times we went to Cincinatti to the zoo, and a baseball game. Once we went an Emmylou Harris concrert. Also went St Louis a couple of times for a baseball game. I have an aunt who still lives in Muncie and she takes a a chartered bus to Chicago a couple times a year to shop on their Miracle Mile, or Gold Coast, or whatever their big high dollar shopping district is called.

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

It probably depends on the person/ family. To some people it don't mean squat. Other people, especially those in smal and smaller towns like being a few hours drive from a large metro. Being 200 miles from a big city, makes it easy for day trips and overnight trips. Imagine living in Denver and the nearest million plus metro is over 500 miles away. When I was living in Muncie, we rarely took day trips, but a couple of times we went to Cincinatti to the zoo, and a baseball game. Once we went an Emmylou Harris concrert. Also went St Louis a couple of times for a baseball game. I have an aunt who still lives in Muncie and she takes a a chartered bus to Chicago a couple times a year to shop on their Miracle Mile, or Gold Coast, or whatever their big high dollar shopping district is called.

Again. How is it a good thing to be 200+ miles from The cities mentioned that are admittedly better and you like to travel to? You can have the same lifestyle and cost of living 30 miles from said cities. The answer is few people which is why cities like evansville are stagnant and declining. I also wouldn’t call evansville a small town, so you’re changing the comparison.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by Berteau

Again. How is it a good thing to be 200+ miles from The cities mentioned that are admittedly better and you like to travel to? You can have the same lifestyle and cost of living 30 miles from said cities. The answer is few people which is why cities like evansville are stagnant and declining. I also wouldn’t call evansville a small town, so you’re changing the comparison.

Well, I don't know what to tell ya. There's all kinds of reasons somebody might think it's a good thing to live within 200 miles of several 2 million plus metros. It's a good thing to have a choice of several metros to choose from if you wanna get away on a spur of the moment for a few hours, or an overnight or weekend trip. To have several metros to choose from is an advantage. I don't understand why anybody would think it's not a good thing. Most places 30 miles from most 2 million plus metros are suburbs.

Evansville is a big city by Indiana standards, but a small city or a big town by national standards.