Relocating to Indianapolis (Fishers, Carmel, Greenwood: for sale, apartment complexes, rentals) - (IN) - City-Data Forum

Katisu · 08-13-2010, 05:03 PM

My husband and I are relocating to Indy in the next few months- once our baby is born. Though we are from Indiana and have been to Indy several times, we only know good places to shop/eat, not live. We could live in a nice area downtown, or farther out. My husband will be attending law school at IU Indy (IUPUI), so we'd like it to be within a decent drive of the school. We agree that we do not want to live out as far as Carmel, Noblesville, Fishers, etc. We would prefer to live in a rented home rather than an apartment, if that helps. We just sold our home, so we are used to being in a freestanding home. We have two large dogs and we'll have a screaming baby- things that I don't expect will go over well in an apartment complex.

Do you have any suggestions on where to live? Are there nice, safe, QUIET areas downtown? We may be young, but we have no desire to go to Broadripple or live in a "young" area. What do you think of areas like Greenwood or Plainfield (places that have been suggested to us by others)? Do you know of any specific rental companies that allow pets?

Thank you!

domergurl · 08-13-2010, 07:19 PM

I was going to suggest Greenwood ...

Toxic Toast · 08-13-2010, 08:29 PM

If you want to be close to downtown, the area by Garfield Park is quiet; nice stable neighborhood. Not sure what the rental market is like, I seem to remember a lot of for sale signs last time I biked through there.

Fountain Square is generally quiet away from the main drag. It certainly is not for everyone, and it definitely is not Broad Ripple.

I would second Greenwood if you are considering it. The commute is generally easy along 65 into downtown; easier than coming down Meridian or Keystone from Carmel anyway. When I want to get my suburban fix, Greenwood is always my choice because of the easy access from downtown.

I have rented from Silver Properties; and briefly from TBH Management. The pet policy has varied based on who owns the house, not necessarily based on the rental company.

Katisu · 08-14-2010, 05:04 PM

We are definitely considering Greenwood as one of our top areas. Those rental companies look good, thanks! That's exactly the type of thing we were looking for.

I've been looking into a few apartment complexes, too. Even though they really would be a last resort option. There's a seemingly very doable one in Irvington. Do you have any opinions on Irvington? The apartment's website makes it seems very quiet and nice, but of course they would want you to think that. Also, I have no idea how long of a drive that would be with traffic in the mornings. Would there be a lot of traffic along the way from Irvington to IUPUI? I have no sense of how populated certain areas are.

sweetana3 · 08-15-2010, 04:50 AM

Most downtown (or inner I465 belt) areas have multiple ways to get to work because Indy is organized on a great grid street system. If there is an accident, there are a lot of routes around the area. Traffic is always somewhat heavy when everyone is driving to work but very doable. Never like WDC where it can be 6 lanes bumper to bumper.

A lot depends on what types of things you would want around you and have easy access too. There is good housing almost everywhere as Indy is very affordable. Friends have living in Irvington for 30 years and it has some beautiful and quiet areas. But I prefer the northern Washington Township area outside of IPS. It has all the "stuff" I find enjoyable and also quiet and beaufiful neighborhoods.

Young professionals find Broad Ripple neighborhoods a nice area to walk and a good drive downtown. It is around 15 minutes and there were a lot of easy routes. We liked the closeness of facilities such as a doctor we could walk to, the farmers market to walk to, etc. There should be homes to rent around this area with yards and fences. We meet a lot of dogs being walked to the farmers market. (dog bakery always sets up :-) )

Questions: What stores to you need on a regular basis? Example: Trader Joes and Whole Foods are only on the North side. Mostly along 86th street. Life is easier when you dont have to make a half hour one way trip to a specialty store that you want to use often.

Southside Shrek · 08-15-2010, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetana3

Life is easier when you dont have to make a half hour one way trip to a specialty store that you want to use often.

Now that indeed is a very true statement. Convenience means a lot to me and also the character of the neighborhood where the store is located. I don't like it when people pound their fist on top of my trunk lid while out in front of a store.

Katisu · 08-15-2010, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetana3

Questions: What stores to you need on a regular basis? Example: Trader Joes and Whole Foods are only on the North side. Mostly along 86th street. Life is easier when you dont have to make a half hour one way trip to a specialty store that you want to use often.

We can be pretty flexible as far as grocery shopping goes, but we would need to be somewhat close to a store that sells good dog food. Unfortunately, where we live now, all of the small businesses that sold good quality dog food have gone out of business, leaving Petsmart as our only choice. And it's not too close.

I'm sure we'll have some new needs with a baby, though we may have to figure that out as we go. It's our first child so we feel very ill-prepared. Hopefully the only item we'll need frequently is diapers, but I'm sure there's much more that we haven't even thought about. As long as we're near some type of grocery store or pharmacy, then we should be ok on diapers.

We will have no time for fun stuff anymore. Baby and law school are going to take up all of our time, so we have no need to be close to anything "fun", I suspect. Maybe a movie theater or a video rental place.

Honestly, since we're just renting we just need a safe and fairly quiet area that is not too awful of a drive from IUPUI. Ideally, we like neighborhoods that have a small community feel. I think that's what attracted me to Irvington, based on the description (though I have no idea how accurate the description really is). It made it sound historic, artsy and that it has lots of festivals and community activities. If we were buying then we would like an older, historic area of a small community. Renting, I just care that it's safe. Though, it would be nice to find a rental in an area like I've described. We would probably never buy in the suburbs, but would be willing to rent there for a year or two.

ashendust · 08-18-2010, 04:54 PM

I would definitely suggest the Irvington area. My aunt has lived there basically all of my life and I'm 26. She's never had a problem and her neighborhood is very quiet and serene. There's a lot rental houses in the area as well as condo rentals that aren't connected to surrounding condos.

I live just east of downtown Indianapolis near Woodruff place. The area I'm in is touch/go with the "ghetto" but right now they're rejuvenating the whole area because the 2012 Superbowl training grounds will be at the local high school. There's ton of rental houses at really reasonable prices. My boyfriend and I have a two story bungalow w/full basement for under 800 a month. I really like my neighborhood cuz I know and interact regularly with my neighbors plus we have a REALLY great neighborhood watch so I never feel worried about crime etc...

Another good neighborhood would be the Butler/Tarkington area. The only issue with that area there is the possibility of living near/around Butler college students. But there are great houses for rent in the area and the neighborhood is very friendly.