Southern Indiana, not sure where to start (Indianapolis, Evansville: crime, hotel)

[drinkthekoolaid]

Hi guys, I'm a total noob about Indiana. Literally know almost nothing about it.

I'm looking for something ideally 2-5+ acres for a small homestead near a quintessential small town America. I'm looking for a better climate than where I live now (suburb of buffalo) but I'm not looking for sub tropical. If palm trees can live there I'm too far south and I loathe fire ants. I'm looking for a more mild warmer 4 season climate than I have today.

I've posted similar threads in other forums and someone PMd me to look into southern Indiana. Never once considered it but the climate seems like it would work, seems to be low enough population density and "relatively" affordable property compared to many places with lower-ish taxes and cost of living. It has a ton of what I'm looking for. I just peeked around on Google Street view at some of the small towns and they all look like literal normal Rockwell towns with the town courthouse in the middle square surrounded by nice looking shops and.reataurants. It looks perfect.

What are some nice areas to look into? What might be a fit for what I'm looking for? Are there any peculiarities to be mindful of? How is the petty crime , drugs and poverty? (I want rural but trying to avoid this and many of the places I'm interested in are experiencing some challenges)

Any feedback would be welcome. Thanks guys in advance

[Toxic Toast]

Personally speaking, my favorite small town in Southern Indiana is Jasper. I don't really know what you mean by "quintessential small town America" but Jasper has a riverwalk, nice courthouse square, a famous (by Indiana standards anyway) German Restaurant, and is not far from Holiday World.

Madison gets high marks, but I've not spent much time there aside from Clifty Falls State Park.

If you want to be closer to a larger place like Louisville or Evansville, you might look at Boonville or Corydon.

[EscAlaMike]

Vincennes is a really cool and historic town.

[gemstone1]

All towns mentioned so far are at least an hour from major retail establishments, if that's important to you.
I second Madison. Lots of older homes with character, it's an old river town with a vibrant down town. Rural properties abound, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding a suitable spot, the main issue will be finding a smaller 2-5 acre place. Scottsburg, and Scott county just to the west of Madison, is served by a community based wireless broadband service...great for work from home. Madison will be a tad more costly than surrounding towns...and there is a small college there.

[drinkthekoolaid]

Great feedback so far guys love it!

How is the weather and climate in this area?

How is the job Market And economy?

Are there areas to avoid that have drug/crime/poverty problems?

It looks like southern INDIANA is in a tornado risk area. Is it desirable to look for a house with a basement or storm shelter?

[Karl Lagos]

-Madison In. It's really nice right off off of 71 halfway between Ville and Cincy.
-French Lick. Really cool small town with a great resort French Lick Resort and West Badin.

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by drinkthekoolaid

What are some nice areas to look into? What might be a fit for what I'm looking for? Are there any peculiarities to be mindful of? How is the petty crime , drugs and poverty? (I want rural but trying to avoid this and many of the places I'm interested in are experiencing some challenges)

My first question is are you needing employment? When the automotive, and other parts of the industrial industry, started to die-off in the lower Midwest area, it changed the small towns and rural areas significantly. Indiana is seeing people flock to the larger metro areas for sure. Many are flocking to the largest metro areas of the state: Indianapolis, NW Indiana (Chicago suburbs), S. Indiana across the river from Louisville, and SE Indiana (Cincinatti suburbs). Area like Ft. Wayne, Evansville, and South Bend are what I would call second tier options or destinations.

I've spoken with a lot of college aged kids over the last decade or so. Many come from these smaller cities and towns. Many say they don't want to go back, and really can't go back. Employment is usually either the local K-12 school district, the local hospital, and one, maybe two, factories that are left in the area. Sure there might be some retail, but retail never pays much outside of management and management of these places can end up being a 60-80 hour week job due to high turnover of the lower paying entry level jobs.

If you want small town and rural, finding an area that isn't economically depressed will be hard. Some smaller cities and towns might still be more middle level economy wise. Jasper was mentioned and the handful of times I've visited or driven through, it seemed to be doing OK. Poverty is connected to crime drug addiction, so usually if a place has a high level of one, it means a high level of all three.

The next issue is medical care. A small city/town in east central Indiana just had their ER close down. It wasn't a level one trauma center or anything, but still a blow to that county and town. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of this over the next decade.

So if you want and/or need employment, stability, places to eat, things to do, and a mid to higher level of healthcare, you'll want to look at areas near the Evansville area or Louisville. If you can deal with maybe one level higher winter weather, the area around Cincinatti might also work for you.

If you are willing to drive for what you need, Madison and Corydon might be worth checking out. Also, any smaller towns right off an interstate close to Louisville or Cincinatti might be worth looking into. Also consider Scottsburg and Seymour if you are OK commuting. If you are OK with both a possible long commute for work and a winter season one tier higher in terms of snow, temps, (no where near what Buffalo likely sees) look at Greensburg and Oldenburg off I-74 between Indy and Cincinatti.

Originally Posted by drinkthekoolaid

It looks like southern INDIANA is in a tornado risk area. Is it desirable to look for a house with a basement or storm shelter?

Tornadoes are rare here, but yes, a shelter of some sort would be something to consider. For the most part, our tornadoes are usually on the weaker side. A basement might work, but you'd still need helmets or protection from flying glass (windows in the basement) and in rare situations, if the house does get a direct hit, it is possible of collapse within the basement. This is likely based on how the house was built. There are three types of shelters. First is the one where you have to go outside and is a buried vault of some sort. I wouldn't recommend these anymore as there are internal shelters that are likely better today. The internal shelters can be a fully formed metal cabinet, or one that is panels that are screwed together. Some people place these inside basements, or in the garage. It is highly recommend to anchor them down to the floor. Likely the best concept are the ones that are metal rectangle boxes. A rectangle is drilled into the garage floor. The dirt under that area is excavated and the metal box is dropped in. This provides the best protection for the strongest tornadoes as it puts you underground. However, you have to take precautions such as keeping all chemicals in an outdoor shed/barn. Having a means to communicate in case of garage collapse and you can get out, etc..

Examples of above ground shelter types: https://survive-a-storm.com/resident.../above-ground/

Examples of below ground shelter types: https://survive-a-storm.com/resident.../below-ground/

[Peter1948]

The answer here is easy. The Louisville suburbs of Indiana are the nicest in the south of the state. madison is charming but has too high drugs, horrible hospital, and quite literally zero jobs.

I'd look at Floyds Knobs, Sellersburg, or Charlestown. All are suburbs of suburbs. The Knobs are burbs of New ALbany, which is a burb of Louisville. New Albany dt is BEAUTIFUL and improving fast:

Take this for example:

https://www.wlky.com/article/dollar2...lbany/43819420

This type of historic urbanity exists nowhere in Indiana but Indy and the Louisville suburbs.

To the east side of the Indiana side of Louisville, DT Jeffersonville is just as booming with a historic bridge to Louisville, weekly free music festivals in Jeff attended by tens of thousands and more. It feels almost like a New England resort town on the water on a warm Friday. Sellersburg and Charlestown are burbs of Jeffersonville, a burb of Louisville.

https://www.gosoin.com/restaurants/downtown-dining/

Compare these dining options even to Evansville and Louisville's Indy suburbs alone beat Evansville....add in Louisville ten mins away and there is no comparison. Few in Central and Northern Indiana know what a grand renaissance have taken place here.

[GWoodle]

It looks like southern INDIANA is in a tornado risk area. Is it desirable to look for a house with a basement or storm shelter?[/quote]

Just had tornadoes in southern Indiana near Madison. Yes, this early continuing into summer,

So yes, be sure you have a safe area. You may not have time to get to a basement. In the basement would need a battery sump pump to stay dry in a storm. Storm shelter means an interior room with no windows. Could be bathroom, laundry room.

These days probably need some kind of battery backup in case the power goes out. There are many tornado watch sites so you know when it is time to seek shelter. Then you may know when you can relax.

[heysoimadethisforamessage]

Originally Posted by EscAlaMike

Vincennes is a really cool and historic town.

it isnt really that small town tho, its like big city mixed with small town