Job offer in Indiana, what can U tell me about Carmel area and state? (Indianapolis: transplants, home)

[JGatti]

I currently live in lower Michigan and was offered a job in Indy. I plan to take the family to Carmel and Indianapolis this weekend. A friend lives in Carmel and I'm thinking of looking to stay in that area so my son can hang out with and go to school with his son. I enjoy the outdoors and own a Sea Doo. I honestly know nothing about Indiana and the recreational aspect of it. I hope my teenager and I can get dirt bikes again when we get settled. I also enjoy hiking and nature photography, ice skating, just about anything outside. Right now we are very close to a metro park and I spend a lot of time there. Are the many parks, nature area's etc around the Carmel area? Also what about lakes? Will I be able to take the Sea Doo and easily drop it in for a day someplace fairly close? Any info is greatly appreciated.

[ischyros]

Carmel has Central Park, which has several paved multi-use trails and also connects to the Monon Greenway, a 14+ mile paved bike/jogging/walking path from Westfield through Carmel to just north of downtown Indy. But Central Park isn't much a nature getaway. For that, Eagle Creek Park on the northwest side of Indy is one of the largest city-owned parks in the country. I don't know if you can have your Sea-Doo in the reservoir but there is a boat ramp and marina on the south side of the park off Dandy Trail. The reservoir has not been built up so it's all very natural with a lot of woodland. Admission to the park is $5 but that's only on the area north or 56th St. There is no admission to the part the boat ramp is in. On the eastside in Lawrence there is Fort Harrison State Park which has a lot of hiking trails back through the woods as well. You may be able to take your Sea-Doo to Giest Reservoir, which is located between Fishers and Indy on the northeast side. I believe the ramp is off Olio Rd, though you will have to pay to use it. Giest can also be extremely busy on the water during the summer. There is also Morse Lake on the north side of Noblesville, but like Giest, I know you have to pay to use the ramp.

[mike0618]

Lots of us michigan transplants here in carmel. You will feel at home. Not alot of lakes. What they call a lake here is man made and is small. Not many real lakes.

[JGatti]

I visited Carmel and Indianapolis this past weekend with my family. I thought Carmel was a really nice area. I can see it growing out of control though, there was home construction everywhere. The very down town Indy was pretty cool. Just drove through on out way to check out the zoo ( which was pretty nice). However I did find your road systems to be very screwy. 465 north south east and west and with so many different numbers and names on the same roads, wow! It confused the hell out of me lol
Not sure if the area is for me though. It was only 5 hours but it was a looooong 5 hours, and to go up to where I vacation from there would be almost 9. We have a lot to think about. We enjoyed our stay very much and the people were very friendly.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by JGatti

I visited Carmel and Indianapolis this past weekend with my family. I thought Carmel was a really nice area. I can see it growing out of control though, there was home construction everywhere. The very down town Indy was pretty cool. Just drove through on out way to check out the zoo ( which was pretty nice). However I did find your road systems to be very screwy. 465 north south east and west and with so many different numbers and names on the same roads, wow! It confused the hell out of me lol
Not sure if the area is for me though. It was only 5 hours but it was a looooong 5 hours, and to go up to where I vacation from there would be almost 9. We have a lot to think about. We enjoyed our stay very much and the people were very friendly.

Glad you enjoyed your visit, even if you don't stay here, and if you thought roads were confusing because of 465, just wait until you hear the traffic report. lol They have to specify if it's 465 north on the eastside or 465 north on the westside, etc. I think at one point they tried doing it similar to Washington DC which has the Beltway, I-495. There they specify Inner Loop and Outer Loop, with the Inner Loop being the side of 495 closest to downtown and the Outer Loop being the side away from downtown. That didn't catch on here. And I agree, since we don't refer to the highways by name, but by number, it can get very confusing. I've never understood why the traffic report never goes by inbound and outbound on the highways other than 465. Seems easier to figure out to me than if you're on I-70 West on the eastside. Just say I-70 inbound on the eastside. Seems less confusing to me. And the many numbered streets just makes it worse. my wife doesn't even bother listening to the traffic report. By the time she figures out what road they're talking about, the report is over. lol

It really isn't that bad once you figure out where the main highways are. I-70 and I-65 are the only ones that go through the city, and really the only ones that come inside the 465 loop. I-69 currently ends at 465. The rest (I-74, US31, US 40, SR 37, SR 67) follow 465 around the city.The numbered roads start downtown and go northward, growing by 10 for every mile you go north from downtown. So 86th Street is 8.6 miles north of downtown, 146th Street is 14.6 miles north of downtown, etc.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by JGatti

I visited Carmel and Indianapolis this past weekend with my family. I thought Carmel was a really nice area. I can see it growing out of control though, there was home construction everywhere. The very down town Indy was pretty cool. Just drove through on out way to check out the zoo ( which was pretty nice). However I did find your road systems to be very screwy. 465 north south east and west and with so many different numbers and names on the same roads, wow! It confused the hell out of me lol
Not sure if the area is for me though. It was only 5 hours but it was a looooong 5 hours, and to go up to where I vacation from there would be almost 9. We have a lot to think about. We enjoyed our stay very much and the people were very friendly.

Carmel is the best kept secret in America.
CNN Money Magazine just ranked it #1 place in America to live.
So if i were you and you decide to relocate to Carmel i would buy a newer home and hold on to it for 10-20 years or so and watch your home value go up. Carmel is one of the most desirable areas to live in Indiana so theres a huge plus when it comes time to sell your home.
Also i think youll like the milder winters in Indiana. our state also has a better economy than Michigan and our taxes are lower. Especially property and income taxes.
I dont see Carmel growing way out of control. compare the Indianapolis metro area's growth rate to places like Atlanta/Austin/Dallas/Houston etc and Carmel/Indy's growth rate is much more managable
Finally if you do decide to relocate to Indy youll probably like the idea of the Super Bowl returning to Indy possibly as soon as 2018.
Mike also made a great point. There are ALOT of Michiganders in the Indianapolis area so youll feel right at home

Also if you were curious about recreational things near Indianapolis there is Brown County and the Hoosier national forest about 45 mins to an hour south and Chicago/Lake Michigan is only 3 hours north.

[mike0618]

I live in carmel and drove to detroit sunday for the lions vs packers game. Its 4 1/2 hrs 280 or so miles one way. The best kept secret way is i69 to 469 (ft wayne) to us24 east to toledo then 75 north. US24 is now a 4 lane (2 each way) expressway level (no lights 65 mph) it saves you a hr and about 40-50 miles.

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by mike0618

I live in carmel and drove to detroit sunday for the lions vs packers game. Its 4 1/2 hrs 280 or so miles one way. The best kept secret way is i69 to 469 (ft wayne) to us24 east to toledo then 75 north. US24 is now a 4 lane (2 each way) expressway level (no lights 65 mph) it saves you a hr and about 40-50 miles.

Haha I thought I was the only one that knew that way!

[mike0618]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Haha I thought I was the only one that knew that way!

I was afraid to post it since there were less than 20 cars on my side of the road the whole way to toledo and back to ft wayne. It was a nice drive! I kinda had the road to myself!

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by ischyros

Glad you enjoyed your visit, even if you don't stay here, and if you thought roads were confusing because of 465, just wait until you hear the traffic report. lol They have to specify if it's 465 north on the eastside or 465 north on the westside, etc. I think at one point they tried doing it similar to Washington DC which has the Beltway, I-495. There they specify Inner Loop and Outer Loop, with the Inner Loop being the side of 495 closest to downtown and the Outer Loop being the side away from downtown. That didn't catch on here. And I agree, since we don't refer to the highways by name, but by number, it can get very confusing. I've never understood why the traffic report never goes by inbound and outbound on the highways other than 465. Seems easier to figure out to me than if you're on I-70 West on the eastside. Just say I-70 inbound on the eastside. Seems less confusing to me. And the many numbered streets just makes it worse. my wife doesn't even bother listening to the traffic report. By the time she figures out what road they're talking about, the report is over. lol

It really isn't that bad once you figure out where the main highways are. I-70 and I-65 are the only ones that go through the city, and really the only ones that come inside the 465 loop. I-69 currently ends at 465. The rest (I-74, US31, US 40, SR 37, SR 67) follow 465 around the city.The numbered roads start downtown and go northward, growing by 10 for every mile you go north from downtown. So 86th Street is 8.6 miles north of downtown, 146th Street is 14.6 miles north of downtown, etc.

The problem with 465 is that it is a "catch all" for the non-major roads/interstates that run into it. The signage is correct, but terrible for letting people out of town know where they are heading. Also it is an uninterrupted circle/square around the city.

Cincinnati to Peoria? You're taking 74 to 465 to 74. You're never technically off of 74, but you are officially on 465, which is still 74 officially the whole time.

Confusing? Sure.

The reason why there is no "Inbound" or "Outbound" directions is because the city has no names for the stretches of interstates (as you mentioned), but most importantly has no physical/geographical boundaries.

Anywhere on 65 can to take you "in" or "out" of the city. The same with 70 and 74. The only current exception is 69. That *could* be considered an in or out bound interstate. Pretty soon Indianapolis would fall into the (in my opinion) ridiculous trap of naming interstates with letters like Minneapolis and Dallas.



It would look like:

465 N (Michigan to Allisonville)
465 E (69 to 74/Arlington)
465 S (Arlington to Kentucky)
465 W (Kentucky to 865)
65 N (from the North Split to anything north)
65 S (from the South Split to anything south
70 E (from the North Split to anything east)
70 W (from the South Split to anything west)
74 E (from 465 to anything east)
74 W (from 465 to anything west)



I don't think that is in any way easier understood than the way it currently is.



But maybe the OP is referring to the actual streets on Indianapolis, not the interstates?