Can you live in Indianapolis without a car? (Marion, Franklin: neighborhood, living)

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by ta1064

So, suburban/outlying areas like Carmel and Geist don't offer pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods?

Originally Posted by grmasterb

Geist, not so much. Old Town Carmel, yes, but not much in the way of conveniences. Indy is nothing like D.C.

What does one mean by "pedestrian-friendly?" How close does shopping, dining, etc. have to be? How many shops, restaurants, etc. does one want within that given radius? I would say Geist is becoming very pedestrian friendly in the Hamilton County area along Olio Rd.. Many newer additions with sidewalks. A new bridge with sidewalks. A few restaurants to eat at right near the reservoir. A Kroger grocery store right there, Goodwill, Ace Hardware, etc.. A nice outdoor mall (with sidewalk and bike lane access) just a few miles to the north offering even more.

I don't know if there is a car rental place in the area, and if not, I would say it would still be hard to live in Geist w/o a car, or in most areas for that matter. The problem is that people toss the pedestrian-friendly term around without any sort of conditions attached to it. To me, that means walking and biking if weather is good, and also lacks any connection to vehicles for the most part (outside of renting a car for a vacation, etc.). If one has money and doesn't need to work, or can work at a minimum wage job and still live in Geist, and is mostly a home body, they could easily live there and function. Walk to work at some retail job in the area (numerous options from retail to food/bar sales), walk to Kroger for groceries. If one is open to biking, even opens up more options (though in bad weather, it would suck).

I would say the same applies to Carmel. There are numerous apartment complexes and house additions that have sidewalks near commercial strip mall type areas.

[msamhunter]

People live without a car here everyday so yes it is doable just not from all parts of the city. Franklin and decatur townships forget about it. Center you'll be just fine

[ta1064]

Originally Posted by gabaghoul

I can't live in Indy without a car. Why did she choose Indy in particular? This city is not known to have good public transport, or even options for pedestrians. I see people driving on bicycle lanes all the time. I would talk to her and ask her to either get a car, or consider living in Oregon.

She feels the cost of living is good in Indianapolis. Also, she doesn't want to return to her native Northwest Indiana, yet still wants to be somewhat close to family. Having visited Indianapolis several times, I know it is very spread out and doesn't have a public transit system like Chicago, New York or DC. In my opinion, a car is necessary in order to get around Indianapolis.

[ta1064]

Originally Posted by indy_317

What does one mean by "pedestrian-friendly?" How close does shopping, dining, etc. have to be? How many shops, restaurants, etc. does one want within that given radius? I would say Geist is becoming very pedestrian friendly in the Hamilton County area along Olio Rd.. Many newer additions with sidewalks. A new bridge with sidewalks. A few restaurants to eat at right near the reservoir. A Kroger grocery store right there, Goodwill, Ace Hardware, etc.. A nice outdoor mall (with sidewalk and bike lane access) just a few miles to the north offering even more.

I don't know if there is a car rental place in the area, and if not, I would say it would still be hard to live in Geist w/o a car, or in most areas for that matter. The problem is that people toss the pedestrian-friendly term around without any sort of conditions attached to it. To me, that means walking and biking if weather is good, and also lacks any connection to vehicles for the most part (outside of renting a car for a vacation, etc.). If one has money and doesn't need to work, or can work at a minimum wage job and still live in Geist, and is mostly a home body, they could easily live there and function. Walk to work at some retail job in the area (numerous options from retail to food/bar sales), walk to Kroger for groceries. If one is open to biking, even opens up more options (though in bad weather, it would suck).

I would say the same applies to Carmel. There are numerous apartment complexes and house additions that have sidewalks near commercial strip mall type areas.

Pedestrian-friendly means having close access to grocery and shopping without needing a car.

[ta1064]

This is such great info everyone is sharing. Thanks so much!

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by ta1064

She feels the cost of living is good in Indianapolis. Also, she doesn't want to return to her native Northwest Indiana, yet still wants to be somewhat close to family. Having visited Indianapolis several times, I know it is very spread out and doesn't have a public transit system like Chicago, New York or DC. In my opinion, a car is necessary in order to get around Indianapolis.

A car is necessary to get around Indianapolis, but only if you're needing to get all around the city or the suburbs. If you want to live without a car, the only real options are Broad Ripple and Downtown. Downtown will be easier for a few reasons. One, you can walk everywhere. The mall, grocery store (soon to be stores), hardware store, drug stores, etc. If you need to go out of Downtown, the bus isn't a terrible option. It puts you on a strict time schedule on most routes, but other than that they can get you to most places in the city.

Broad Ripple becomes a bit more complicated. Depending on where you live, you can walk to the grocery store, restaurants, and some other places, but you can't get everything done on foot unless you somehow find one of the few houses with an absolutely amazing location. With that said, you can bike most anywhere in decent time. The bus is also an option, but there's only a couple of routes that serve the area and the service isn't very frequent. Overall, I would say the downtown area is the only good option to live car free, but Broad Ripple can work if she prefers an actual house over a condo or apartment.

[ta1064]

Originally Posted by wh15395

A car is necessary to get around Indianapolis, but only if you're needing to get all around the city or the suburbs. If you want to live without a car, the only real options are Broad Ripple and Downtown. Downtown will be easier for a few reasons. One, you can walk everywhere. The mall, grocery store (soon to be stores), hardware store, drug stores, etc. If you need to go out of Downtown, the bus isn't a terrible option. It puts you on a strict time schedule on most routes, but other than that they can get you to most places in the city.

Broad Ripple becomes a bit more complicated. Depending on where you live, you can walk to the grocery store, restaurants, and some other places, but you can't get everything done on foot unless you somehow find one of the few houses with an absolutely amazing location. With that said, you can bike most anywhere in decent time. The bus is also an option, but there's only a couple of routes that serve the area and the service isn't very frequent. Overall, I would say the downtown area is the only good option to live car free, but Broad Ripple can work if she prefers an actual house over a condo or apartment.

Isn't Broad Ripple just a so-so area?

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by ta1064

Isn't Broad Ripple just a so-so area?

I wouldn't say so. I've never felt threatened in Broad Ripple and don't think there's really much (if any) more crime than Downtown, but I'm not sure about that.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by ta1064

Isn't Broad Ripple just a so-so area?

Broad Ripple isn't bad. Most of the problems I know of is people being mugged on dark streets at 3:30 in the morning as they leave the bars. And that still seems pretty rare.

[indy18]

I live downtown and don't drive very much. That being said, I couldn't imagine living here without a car. I live several blocks from the downtown Marsh. It's a short walk if you're walking for pleasure, but there's no way I'd want to haul a bunch of groceries on foot. I always drive. I would feel stranded if I didn't have a car. I like getting in my car and going to Target, other malls, restaurants, etc. Downtown Indy is nice, but it's not Manhattan or Chicago. You have to drive for certain things. Taking a bus might be an option for some people, but I couldn't imagine living in Indy without a car (if you can afford it of course). Also, I have family that doesn't live in Indy, so having a car is a necessity if I want to go visit them.