Pros and cons of living in Hamilton County (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne: sales, job market)

[Pabst BR]

I live in Portland, Oregon and want out ASAP. Is Carmel or Noblesville a good place to raise a family? How are the schools, crime, and commute into Indianapolis? What are the property/income/sales tax? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Oh also how bad is the traffic? Are people friendly there? Are schools overcrowded? Thank you.

[Pabst BR]

What are the top schools in the county? What high school has the best boys soccer program? Thank you.

[Pabst BR]

How is the job market there for Financial majors? Thank you.

[domergurl]

Boys soccer ... you can go to Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. and see how the boys fared this year. Not one Hamilton County team made it to the finals. Hamilton Southeastern, Fishers and Carmel are all about the same ... this year anyway. Of course I'm biased since my hometown team won State. They beat a team from Fort Wayne.

Asking for the best is relative. Tops schools? Well, numbers-wise, Carmel and Hamilton Southeastern are at the top. Noblesville and Westfield are also good. You can get the numbers from the state education website. Carmel has one extremely large high school, which Hamilton Southeastern has 2 large high schools. I suppose playing opportunities would be greater at HSE since there are 2 teams rather than 1 at Carmel. There are clubs too. Zionsville schools are smaller over in Boone county and great.

Job market is ... what it is. Have a job before you get here.

Anywhere in Hamilton or Boone County are great places to raise families.

Coming from Chicago, I laugh at people who complain about the traffic. It was a running joke between my husband and I when we lived in Hamilton County that the reason people stop in traffic is because they need to see if their cousin has a flat tire.

I know my experience living in Fishers isn't typical. I didn't like it. Just picked the wrong neighborhood. But I'd say that people, overall are friendly and "get what you give" kind of people.

[ischyros]

I've lived and worked in Hamilton County for 5 years and I enjoy it. Traffic really isn't bad. People here complain about it but there are really only a handful of bottlenecks. Unfortunately, the majority of them are going from Hamilton County into Marion County in the morning and vice versa in the afternoon. But outside an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, traffic flows very smoothly all around the city.

There really isn't a bad place in Hamilton County to raise a family. If your job is in Indianapolis Noblesville we be a longer commute due to the fact that you have to go through Fishers to get there, whereas Carmel borders Indianapolis. Nowhere in Hamilton County has direct interstate access to downtown Indy (unless you count I-69 to 465 to 70 from Fishers to downtown Indy direct). You will pay more for a Carmel address and typically you can get more for your money outside Carmel, especially in Noblesville. But Carmel is a very desirable area.

Schools in Hamilton County are typically rated highest in the state, whether your in Hamilton Southeastern, Carmel, Westfield, or Noblesville. Property tax in Indiana is capped at 1% so it isn't too much of a problem anywhere. Sales tax in Indiana is 7% with an additional 1% restaurant tax in Indy and the surrounding donut counties (except Morgan county, I believe). So eating out will cost you 8% sales tax. Then I know at least Indy and Carmel have an additional 1% restaurant tax on top of that. Fishers does not. I'm really not sure about the other cities in the area. But in Indy and Carmel, at least, sales tax on restaurant food is 9%.

Like any city anywhere, you will encounter rude people, but overall, Indy, and Indiana on the whole, is a pretty friendly area. We are known for our Hoosier hospitality. I don't think schools in HC are really overcrowded on a student to teacher ratio, however, they are known to have 2,000-3,000 students in the high schools. That really just makes getting on a sports team much, much tougher.

The job market for a financial major is probably pretty decent, especially in Carmel, but I'm sure you could find plenty of jobs downtown as well. But it's always a good idea in my opinion to have a job lined up before you move.

[indybail]

I don't know if this is any help but I doubt you are going to find any Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap in Hamilton County drinking establishments.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by indybail

I don't know if this is any help but I doubt you are going to find any Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap in Hamilton County drinking establishments.

Is that supposed to be a pro or a con?

There is plenty of excellent craft beer on tap. Try Boombozz Pizza and Taphouse, they rotate a nice selection of craft beer from brewpubs and microbreweries throughout the Midwest. They rotate the selection every two weeks, and they have good food as well. It is one of my favorite places, especially to watch games. Lots of TVs and a fun atmosphere.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by missik999

Is that supposed to be a pro or a con?

There is plenty of excellent craft beer on tap. Try Boombozz Pizza and Taphouse, they rotate a nice selection of craft beer from brewpubs and microbreweries throughout the Midwest. They rotate the selection every two weeks, and they have good food as well. It is one of my favorite places, especially to watch games. Lots of TVs and a fun atmosphere.

I think is was a bit of a sarcastic jab based on the OP's username.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by missik999

Is that supposed to be a pro or a con?

There is plenty of excellent craft beer on tap. Try Boombozz Pizza and Taphouse, they rotate a nice selection of craft beer from brewpubs and microbreweries throughout the Midwest. They rotate the selection every two weeks, and they have good food as well. It is one of my favorite places, especially to watch games. Lots of TVs and a fun atmosphere.

Where is that? I've never heard of Boombozz Pizza and I'm always up for trying new pizza places, as well as new brews.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by ischyros

Where is that? I've never heard of Boombozz Pizza and I'm always up for trying new pizza places, as well as new brews.

It is on 146th St. in the Cool Creek Commons. You will have to check it out!