Visit prior to possible move: list includes new castle, ft wayne (Indianapolis: apartments, for rent)

[LovinLifeNC]

Looking to move to Midwest specifically indiana for several reasons after narrowing down states then towns, I'm planning a visit to the area. I'm looking for pros/cons and if one area is better (new castle/ft wayne).
Desire 55+ singles population with good area for renting, desirable culture and natural settings but not extremely far from conveniences. Also, not prone to major flooding.
Am I looking in the right area?

[Serious Conversation]

New Castle would have more access to natural areas. I lived in the Indy suburbs for a few years, and was never a fan of Fort Wayne.

It really depends on what you’re looking for. Where are you coming from in NC? If you’re coming from metro Raleigh, the north side of Indianapolis is going to be pretty comparable. Charlotte and Indy are pretty comparable.

I’m very familiar with western NC, and there simply isn’t anything in Indiana even remotely comparable. I

[LovinLifeNC]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

New Castle would have more access to natural areas. I lived in the Indy suburbs for a few years, and was never a fan of Fort Wayne.

It really depends on what you’re looking for. Where are you coming from in NC? If you’re coming from metro Raleigh, the north side of Indianapolis is going to be pretty comparable. Charlotte and Indy are pretty comparable.

I’m very familiar with western NC, and there simply isn’t anything in Indiana even remotely comparable. I

I'm no longer in NC actually though I liked it there. Just not my cup of tea. Am currently in Pa and want to leave.

[ischyros]

It's almost impossible to compare New Castle and Fort Wayne given that New Castle has about 17,000 people while Fort Wayne is over 260,000. Fort Wayne is a stand alone city. It's got a very nice botanical conservatory, art museum, and the zoo is often ranked as one of the nicest. There's minor league baseball and hockey. Touring Broadway shows often stop at the Embassy Theatre. Major concerts sometimes perform at the Coliseum. There's an independent art house theater downtown though it did close at the beginning of the pandemic and as far as I know hasn't reopened yet. Hopefully they do at some point. And of course all the shopping and dining you could want. There are a lot of festivals in the summer, from the hugely popular Three Rivers Festival to GermanFest and GreekFest. The Cathedral downtown is beautiful and for some events they have the catacombs open which is a unique treat.

For renting, you may want to look at places further away from PFW (Purdue University Fort Wayne). However, since they actually added student housing, perhaps the apartments near campus aren't filled with as many college kids as they used to be. Areas of Fort Wayne are definitely prone to flooding. The whole reason Headwaters Park on the north side of downtown exists is to help control flooding. As long as you stay far enough away from the rivers, you shouldn't have to worry about flooding. Much of the flooding I remember, outside the Headwaters Park area, usually occurred around Spy Run Creek in the State Street area. Hopefully they've changed things in the years since I lived in the Fort.

As far as natural areas, northern Indiana doesn't have a whole lot. Fort Wayne does have Fox Island County Park which is a nice wooded area with trails. But it's close to the airport and some train tracks run along the edge of it. Lindenwood Nature Preserve just west of downtown offers a nice break from the city as well with trails through a thick, though small, wooded area. Nearby within 30 minutes are Chain O Lakes State Park, Pokagon State Park, and Ouabache State Park. All offer plenty of hiking opportunities through the woods. I personally prefer Ouabache State Park (pronounced Wabash) but that's just personal preference.

New Castle can't really compete with that but if you don't like city life, New Castle would certainly fit that bill. It's close enough to Indy to easily come into the city for anything you might need, though Muncie is closer, about 30 minutes away, with Richmond and Anderson each being about 40 minutes or less. I-465 is about 40-45 minutes with downtown Indianapolis being close to an hour. Castleton, the major shopping/dining district on the north side of Indy, is also 50 minutes to an hour. New Castle is home to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, which as you may know, basketball is quite popular in Indiana. Summit Lake State Park is close by and New Castle would be closer to the forested hills of southern Indiana than Fort Wayne. Mounds State Park near Anderson offers hiking through the woods along with up close looks at some ancient earthworks.

Hopefully this helps some.

[LovinLifeNC]

This does help me narrow down. Thx.

[WestsideMac]

Fort Wayne over New Castle for sure.

Better access to hospitals. Even if you are in good health now long term Fort Wayne will give you much more options.

Also you mentioned conveniences. Fort Wayne will have many more options and diversity of options than New Castle, though they have a fair amount.

Finally I'd look at the fact that Ft Wayne is located directly on 69, has it's own airport and is 2 hours from Detroit, Indianapolis and Toledo if you ever need a larger airport.

New Castle you'll drive almost 1.5 hours for nearest airport in Indy. 70 is only about 10-15 from New Castle though.

Finally as mentioned previously park and entertainment wise Ft Wayne will offer much more to do. There will be more access to people in your age range in Ft Wayne compared to New Castle.

[BabyBear1234]

I've never been to New Castle but I've lived in FW for 40+ years. It's a family city for sure but there are lots of things to do for every age. It's not a big city and I hope it never becomes one! It is growing though and the housing market is on fire here right now. Flooding can be a problem but the city has done a lot to combat it over the years. I've lived near the rivers for the past 17 years and have never once had an issue with it though.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by ischyros

It's almost impossible to compare New Castle and Fort Wayne given that New Castle has about 17,000 people while Fort Wayne is over 260,000. Fort Wayne is a stand alone city. It's got a very nice botanical conservatory, art museum, and the zoo is often ranked as one of the nicest. There's minor league baseball and hockey. Touring Broadway shows often stop at the Embassy Theatre. Major concerts sometimes perform at the Coliseum. There's an independent art house theater downtown though it did close at the beginning of the pandemic and as far as I know hasn't reopened yet. Hopefully they do at some point. And of course all the shopping and dining you could want. There are a lot of festivals in the summer, from the hugely popular Three Rivers Festival to GermanFest and GreekFest. The Cathedral downtown is beautiful and for some events they have the catacombs open which is a unique treat.

For renting, you may want to look at places further away from PFW (Purdue University Fort Wayne). However, since they actually added student housing, perhaps the apartments near campus aren't filled with as many college kids as they used to be. Areas of Fort Wayne are definitely prone to flooding. The whole reason Headwaters Park on the north side of downtown exists is to help control flooding. As long as you stay far enough away from the rivers, you shouldn't have to worry about flooding. Much of the flooding I remember, outside the Headwaters Park area, usually occurred around Spy Run Creek in the State Street area. Hopefully they've changed things in the years since I lived in the Fort.

As far as natural areas, northern Indiana doesn't have a whole lot. Fort Wayne does have Fox Island County Park which is a nice wooded area with trails. But it's close to the airport and some train tracks run along the edge of it. Lindenwood Nature Preserve just west of downtown offers a nice break from the city as well with trails through a thick, though small, wooded area. Nearby within 30 minutes are Chain O Lakes State Park, Pokagon State Park, and Ouabache State Park. All offer plenty of hiking opportunities through the woods. I personally prefer Ouabache State Park (pronounced Wabash) but that's just personal preference.

New Castle can't really compete with that but if you don't like city life, New Castle would certainly fit that bill. It's close enough to Indy to easily come into the city for anything you might need, though Muncie is closer, about 30 minutes away, with Richmond and Anderson each being about 40 minutes or less. I-465 is about 40-45 minutes with downtown Indianapolis being close to an hour. Castleton, the major shopping/dining district on the north side of Indy, is also 50 minutes to an hour. New Castle is home to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, which as you may know, basketball is quite popular in Indiana. Summit Lake State Park is close by and New Castle would be closer to the forested hills of southern Indiana than Fort Wayne. Mounds State Park near Anderson offers hiking through the woods along with up close looks at some ancient earthworks.

Hopefully this helps some.

The OP didn't specify much about NC or even PA, but Summit Lake, Mounds, and anything in that part of IN are peanuts outdoors wise compared to pretty much anything in western PA (probably central or even eastern PA), much less anything west of the Piedmont in NC.

If someone is seriously outdoorsy, Indiana lacks a ton. There are good things - low housing prices, generally low traffic (outside of Indy), etc., but the lack of outdoors stuff basically mandates out of state travel for anything more than the most casual outdoors stuff.

Indiana Dunes is more scenic than pretty much anything in central IN IMO.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

The OP didn't specify much about NC or even PA, but Summit Lake, Mounds, and anything in that part of IN are peanuts outdoors wise compared to pretty much anything in western PA (probably central or even eastern PA), much less anything west of the Piedmont in NC.

If someone is seriously outdoorsy, Indiana lacks a ton. There are good things - low housing prices, generally low traffic (outside of Indy), etc., but the lack of outdoors stuff basically mandates out of state travel for anything more than the most casual outdoors stuff.

Indiana Dunes is more scenic than pretty much anything in central IN IMO.

Maybe my post came across wrong? I didn't say anything about natural scenery in Indiana being better than North Carolina or Pennsylvania. It was stated that the OP liked access to natural settings so I mentioned a few things close the cities that were brought up. Never said they were better than anywhere else or even the best in Indiana.

[LovinLifeNC]

So as the OP i have reasons I'm not in Pa or NC anymore that range from boredom, nurse wage/opportunities and tyrannical governor.
That said I'm visiting IN now and finding housing quite difficult.
As for my OP re nature, yes I crave earthly, cultural and artistic things.
I've explored many states to go and chose IN for opportunities and distance back to Pa to elderly parents.
Also I crave a support system. I don't have a friend in the world I consider close. Hopefully with the combo of city, country, career...I'll find home.