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Upfront disclaimer: I don't know anything about Indianapolis (as you'll see below), mainly due to the fact that I don't know anyone /from/ Indianapolis.
What I'm looking for in this thread are impressions from professionals like me who basically knew nothing about Indianapolis and were unenthusiastic about relocating there, but came anyway for professional reasons (I'm thinking about companies like Eli Lilly, IUPUI, etc.).
My wife's job is being transferred to Indianapolis (IUPUI) from Pittsburgh (Pitt/UPMC) and we need to decide if it makes sense for us to move with the job or to stay here. There isn't currently a huge economic incentive for us to make the move, her earning potential will stay the same if she stays or goes, while mine will probably drop by 30-50ish% if we go (new CS Ph.D. graduate)---I have a related post about which parts of Indianapolis make sense for us to look at.
I have an uneducated negative bias towards Indianapolis (this annoys my wife greatly).
1) It's farther away from my family there---we currently fly round-trip direct Pittsburgh to Boston for $100 per person.
2) It doesn't appear to have much in the way of public transportation and it's not obvious that current light-rail based dreams will go anywhere.
3) It doesn't have much in terms of a high-tech industry (I [will] have a PhD in CS)---Pittsburgh isn't great but does have CMU and its sphere of influence, and has larger companies like Intel and Google.
4) It appears to have confusing, expensive, and slowish broadband options---I believe this is indicative of a city's commitment to high tech.
5) Based on a survey of private schools in Indianapolis (Indiana Private/Non-Public Schools) it seems relatively religious---we consider ourselves to be tolerant atheists and are quiet about it but feel awkward and uncomfortable around evangelicals.
6) I can't stand the NBA or NFL teams that play indoors (mostly kidding about the indoor thing . I love the NHL and like MLB. I think the NCAA is ridiculous.
7) I like good food (we lived in Providence, RI for 9 years and the food there is excellent Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, Thai/Vietnamese/Cambodian, BBQ, bistro-style grills, you name it)---Pittsburgh's only downside is that it has terrible food.
So basically, did anyone out there feel the same way before coming? How has it turned out, as/better than/worse than expected? Any advice one way or another? Moving would be a 15-20 year commitment since we really don't feel like it's healthy for kids (2 & 4 year olds) to move around from 1st to 12th grade so we want this to be right.
Upfront disclaimer: I don't know anything about Indianapolis (as you'll see below), mainly due to the fact that I don't know anyone /from/ Indianapolis.
What I'm looking for in this thread are impressions from professionals like me who basically knew nothing about Indianapolis and were unenthusiastic about relocating there, but came anyway for professional reasons (I'm thinking about companies like Eli Lilly, IUPUI, etc.).
My wife's job is being transferred to Indianapolis (IUPUI) from Pittsburgh (Pitt/UPMC) and we need to decide if it makes sense for us to move with the job or to stay here. There isn't currently a huge economic incentive for us to make the move, her earning potential will stay the same if she stays or goes, while mine will probably drop by 30-50ish% if we go (new CS Ph.D. graduate)---I have a related post about which parts of Indianapolis make sense for us to look at.
I have an uneducated negative bias towards Indianapolis (this annoys my wife greatly).
1) It's farther away from my family there---we currently fly round-trip direct Pittsburgh to Boston for $100 per person.
2) It doesn't appear to have much in the way of public transportation and it's not obvious that current light-rail based dreams will go anywhere.
3) It doesn't have much in terms of a high-tech industry (I [will] have a PhD in CS)---Pittsburgh isn't great but does have CMU and its sphere of influence, and has larger companies like Intel and Google.
4) It appears to have confusing, expensive, and slowish broadband options---I believe this is indicative of a city's commitment to high tech.
5) Based on a survey of private schools in Indianapolis (Indiana Private/Non-Public Schools) it seems relatively religious---we consider ourselves to be tolerant atheists and are quiet about it but feel awkward and uncomfortable around evangelicals.
6) I can't stand the NBA or NFL teams that play indoors (mostly kidding about the indoor thing . I love the NHL and like MLB. I think the NCAA is ridiculous.
7) I like good food (we lived in Providence, RI for 9 years and the food there is excellent Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, Thai/Vietnamese/Cambodian, BBQ, bistro-style grills, you name it)---Pittsburgh's only downside is that it has terrible food.
So basically, did anyone out there feel the same way before coming? How has it turned out, as/better than/worse than expected? Any advice one way or another? Moving would be a 15-20 year commitment since we really don't feel like it's healthy for kids (2 & 4 year olds) to move around from 1st to 12th grade so we want this to be right.
1. Nothing can be done about that other than moving closer to family or vice versa.
2. Yes Indy public transportation is horrible, but there will eventually be light rail. You don't build it in a day or even a year. There are things the Indiana General Assembly has to do before it even makes it to referendum.
3. There are high tech positions here in the city, you just have to look for them. I mentioned on your other p ost Roche, Lilly, etc as well as the city being a big player in Life Sciences. Just because what a company does, doesn't automatically jump out at you as having those types of positions, doesn't mean they're not there.
4. Comcast, Bright House and U-Verse offers pretty much the same packages here as they do everywhere else in the nation. I have no idea where you would get that from.
5. Depending on the area you choose, you may or may not even have to think about private schools unless you just feel like dishing out money for no reason.
6. There's minor league Baseball and Hockey with the Indians and Ice. Cincy is the closest city with MLB and a toss up between Chicago and Columbus for NHL depending on what side of town you live.
7. Believe it or not, Indy actually has all of these types of restaurants.
1. Nothing can be done about that other than moving closer to family or vice versa.
2. Yes Indy public transportation is horrible, but there will eventually be light rail. You don't build it in a day or even a year. There are things the Indiana General Assembly has to do before it even makes it to referendum.
3. There are high tech positions here in the city, you just have to look for them. I mentioned on your other p ost Roche, Lilly, etc as well as the city being a big player in Life Sciences. Just because what a company does, doesn't automatically jump out at you as having those types of positions, doesn't mean they're not there.
4. Comcast, Bright House and U-Verse offers pretty much the same packages here as they do everywhere else in the nation. I have no idea where you would get that from.
Ahh. I get that from searching. U-Verse doesn't appear to be available at any of the real estate locations that I'm looking at. It /is/ available in the some of the northern suburbs but is slow (max 18/3)---at least its not that expensive. It's not clear that there's any competition between Comcast and Bright House---I generally only seem able to select one or the other. They seem to have new 40/5 service available, but for an insane price. There doesn't seem to be competitive 4g available from clearwire yet, though it appears to be imminent and should hopefully drive prices down.
This comes from living in a city where FIOS, Comcast, Clearwire, and DSL all compete directly.
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5. Depending on the area you choose, you may or may not even have to think about private schools unless you just feel like dishing out money for no reason.
5 wasn't about schools, it was about culture.
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6. There's minor league Baseball and Hockey with the Indians and Ice. Cincy is the closest city with MLB and a toss up between Chicago and Columbus for NHL depending on what side of town you live.
7. Believe it or not, Indy actually has all of these types of restaurants.
I believe it, but are they good?
Thanks (and for the previous response). Did you move into Indy with a negative bias?
This really isn't meant to be a Indy-bashing thread at all. I'm sure that my preconceptions are ridiculous. I'm just nervous and hoping to get lots of positive responses from like-minded people so that I can make an educated choice.
Ahh. I get that from searching. U-Verse doesn't appear to be available at any of the real estate locations that I'm looking at. It /is/ available in the some of the northern suburbs but is slow (max 18/3)---at least its not that expensive. It's not clear that there's any competition between Comcast and Bright House---I generally only seem able to select one or the other. They seem to have new 40/5 service available, but for an insane price. There doesn't seem to be competitive 4g available from clearwire yet, though it appears to be imminent and should hopefully drive prices down.
This comes from living in a city where FIOS, Comcast, Clearwire, and DSL all compete directly.
5 wasn't about schools, it was about culture.
I believe it, but are they good?
Thanks (and for the previous response). Did you move into Indy with a negative bias?
This really isn't meant to be a Indy-bashing thread at all. I'm sure that my preconceptions are ridiculous. I'm just nervous and hoping to get lots of positive responses from like-minded people so that I can make an educated choice.
It is my understanding that Brighthouse is fighting against the 4G revolution. I could have heard wrong. But for the most part, it either/or with Comcast and Brighthouse. I've had both, find them equally mediocre.
Park Tudor is a non-religious private school. So is the International School. If you are asking if the public schools have a religious culture, I would say probably not anymore or less than schools in Pittsburgh. Not completely sure what you are asking.
I've only been to Pittsburgh once, if you think the food there is terrible; I am guessing you are going to hate the food here.
U-Verse goes as far south as Greenwood for the Indy Metro, not sure if it is available in Bloomington. Comcast and Brighthouse do have designated regions. Comcast residential goes, you can get up to 50/10 in Indianapolis for about 116 a month after the 6 month introductory price even though 18/3 would actually do everything you need to it do without any hiccups, the other stuff is just marketing.
It is my understanding that Brighthouse is fighting against the 4G revolution. I could have heard wrong. But for the most part, it either/or with Comcast and Brighthouse. I've had both, find them equally mediocre.
That's what I've read so far. I wouldn't get 4g, but having it would drive prices down everywhere. I pay $80 (including all taxes) for basic HD TV and private 30/30 internet here. HD TV and shared 40/5 is up in the $120 + tax range for BrghtHouse.
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Park Tudor is a non-religious private school. So is the International School. If you are asking if the public schools have a religious culture, I would say probably not anymore or less than schools in Pittsburgh. Not completely sure what you are asking.
Saw both of those. The question wasn't about schools at all. I was merely noting that there seem to be a lot of private religious schools in Indianapolis, and wondering how pervasive evangelical christianity is in Indy. It's not exactly a bible-belt town (File:BibleBelt.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) but it's close.
Are there daily protests at planned parenthood?
Are pamphleteers out in swarms?
Is religion relevant to Indianapolis (and Indiana) politics?
Is there likely to be a push to teach creationism in Indy-area schools in the next 15 years?
Just trying to get a sense of the overall public religious climate as someone moving successively farther southwest, starting in New England where religion is basically not a public thing.
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I've only been to Pittsburgh once, if you think the food there is terrible; I am guessing you are going to hate the food here.
U-Verse goes as far south as Greenwood for the Indy Metro, not sure if it is available in Bloomington. Comcast and Brighthouse do have designated regions. Comcast residential goes, you can get up to 50/10 in Indianapolis for about 116 a month after the 6 month introductory price even though 18/3 would actually do everything you need to it do without any hiccups, the other stuff is just marketing.
I'm not so much concerned with U-verse because the bandwidth is private (though it does seem to be used by the TV service so if you have a netflix stream running with the TV and the kids are trying to play games you can eat it up pretty quickly). The upstream bandwidth is under-appreciated.
The cable is shared bandwidth and is going to be trouble once everyone on the block starts trying to stream HD video at 8:00pm.
In any case, my main point on this was that, viewed from the outside, Indy appears to have broadband broadband that is somewhat slow and seriously expensive, which contributes to my trepidation.
Still waiting for success stories from transplants that were nervous going in.
We are jewish, moved here last yr with neither a positive or negitive outlook. Moved into carmel and love it here. You want to raise a family in a place we most everyone is nice, then you will like it here.
We are jewish, moved here last yr with neither a positive or negitive outlook. Moved into carmel and love it here. You want to raise a family in a place we most everyone is nice, then you will like it here.
I am not fromindy originally, and moved here about 6 years ago. I was excited about my move though. Anyhow, I would love to weigh in-
1- The Indy airport is brand new and located on the South West side of town, easily accessible from most parts of the city.
2- Public Transportation is one of the biggest complaints in Indy. I recently heard about the possibility of a downtown street car that sounds neat, but I haven't read enough to tell you much about it. There's always the "Chicken Limo"
3/4- I don't know a lot about technology, but I love my UVerse
5- I have found that people around here are religious but not pushy about it. I do not go to a church, but many of my neighbors do. There seem to be many options. I have not had any problems with anybody and the fact that I do not belong to a church. My friends have invited my kids to go to Bible school with their kids once in a while or something, but I don't feel pushed in any way.
6- Sports- eh whatev. The town is very supportive of the Colts, and I think the whole team spirit is pretty cool, but in a support the home team kinda way.
7- Food- Indy has a LOT of variety. Even in the 'burbs, I have plenty of choices, including sushi, thai, Med., BBQ, etcf. You just have to know where to look. Indy also has a great selection of breweries!
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. I love the NHL and like MLB. I think the NCAA is ridiculous. 
