Tell me what you LOVE about Indy? (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne: house, neighborhoods)

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by DR1665

Actually, the business I would be bringing with me when moving there is an international automotive/motorsport publication. I would be interested in learning more about the regional motorsport industry, as I'm afraid I'm only familiar with the Brickyard/500. (Caveat: I despise NASCAR.)

Honestly I feel like most people in Indy would agree with you. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that most of us like NASCAR. I just wish there was a way for them to bring Formula 1 racing back.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Honestly I feel like most people in Indy would agree with you. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that most of us like NASCAR. I just wish there was a way for them to bring Formula 1 racing back.

I only know one person who watches NASCAR, and he lives in Evansville.

[grmasterb]

I think both of you would be surprised (and probably disappointed) by the number of folks in Indy who like NASCAR. Having been to the Brickyard and Michigan, I found the racing to be fun enough to watch. It was the other fans that were tough to take. I was also surprised by the number of Canadian fans who were at Michigan. I'm more of an IndyCar guy myself, but when your 12-year-old son likes NASCAR, you have to play along sometimes.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

I think both of you would be surprised (and probably disappointed) by the number of folks in Indy who like NASCAR.

Not sure why that would disappoint me. I don't really care; I just don't know any of them.

[RoadRunner72]

Things that I love about Indy:
The Canal/Downtown is people friendly
Jazz Fest
IMA
A good place for sport lovers
The Children's Museum
Affordable housing and childcare
Indiana State Fair is located in Indy

[urbanologist]

I've been to all cities and states except for Nevada, Maine and North Dakota. After all of the constant traveling I can say that in the last 12 years Indy has made a lot of progress since I moved there for the first time in 1998.

Honestly, I'm going to give credit where credit is due. As a reminder, Indy is "not" Chicago because it is a much smaller city so that wouldn't be a fair comparison. If you're looking for a San Francisco or New Orleans French Quarter you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a city that doesn't have a dead downtown and is pretty reasonable then Indy would be a middle of the road choice. It's not as bad as some make it out to be. This is coming from someone who has lived in other cities around the country. You just have to get out more (ie other cities) with an open mind. Last year I was in midtown Manhattan...now that city screams energy. However, Indy isn't always quiet...not really.

What do I love about Indy? It's about the new changes actually.

Downtown - I currently live in Baton Rouge and have lived in Birmingham. I often joke with my dad imagine if they had a Circle Centre Mall with a lot of people downtown. In those cities you don't get hardly anything like that. Why should I be stuck with the only option of going to the suburbs for entertainment? In Indy, I can go downtown on days or nights when the sidewalks are packed on the weekend. You feel like you're part of the city not just a neighborhood or one part of the city. Downtown Indy has done a great job of building a strong central urban core that pulls a lot of people from around the city. Monument Circle is like Indy's version of London's Picadilly Circus or New York's Times Square or Tokyo's Ginza or Philly's City Center but with smaller pedestrian traffic. Here you can "truly" be in the center of the city. There aren't very many cities out there that can say this.

Airport - I have been to a lot of terminals from around the world I will say this new 1 billion dollar state of the art terminal is in the top 5 favorites of mine. I'm a huge fan of airport architecture. Very beautiful terminal. The old terminal was total embarrassment.

Stadium - The new retractable dome roof stadium is awesome with a great team like colts to play in it. It reminds me of Houston

Shopping - Ever since they opened Metropolis in Plainfield I became attracted to the area to consider moving in there which is not far from the new airport entrance. It's within walking distance if I lived near by with lots of sidewalks. This was non existent when I first moved here. This type of development get people out of the cars and finally congregate as a community which is what I like about this place. I love watching my daughter playing with the other kids near the water fountain after going for ice cream and a movie.

Canal Walk - While it's not quite on the scale of San Antonio's River Walk I love walking along it. It's great to see other people walking and having a nice view of downtown at the same time. I use to go there for my walks and jogs.

[pjstroh]

As someone who moved to Indy from Chicago I can tell you what I love about Indianapolis compared to a city with many ammenities.

1) Accessibility. Yes, Chicago had more to do but it was always a traffic jam getting to the city, and then $20 to park, and then get in line for an hour for everything....restaurants, clubs, museums,etc...and then traffic jam on the way home. I go from suburbs to downtown Indy in just a few minutes, park for free, and walk right into whatever is going on. Maybe festivals in Indy aren't as big as the ones in Chicago - but they are still really nice and infinitely more accessible.

2) Bike friendly. Indianapolis has lots of bike paths and many more under construction. Scooting around downtown is very easy.

3) Cheap. 2000 sq/ft houses in nice neighborhoods go for under 175,000 and with low taxes. My house was 150,000...in Chicago in a comparable neighborhood it would be well over 250,000

4) Good home base for traveling. Indianapolis doesn't have many tourist attractions - but many cities close by do. Lousiville, Cincinatti, Chicago, Lexington, and Columbus make for easy weekend getaways.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by pjstroh

4) Good home base for traveling. Indianapolis doesn't have many tourist attractions - but many cities close by do. Lousiville, Cincinatti, Chicago, Lexington, and Columbus make for easy weekend getaways.

With the obvious excecption of Chicago, I don't think there is much difference between the cities as far as tourist attractions.

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

With the obvious excecption of Chicago, I don't think there is much difference between the cities as far as tourist attractions.

Yeah, maybe other than Six Flags in Louisville (I think) and Kings Island in Cincinnati. Columbus and Lexington really have little that Indianapolis does not.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Yeah, maybe other than Six Flags in Louisville (I think)

That place closed; which is to be expected, that place was terrible!!