Narrowed our relocation choices to DFW area of Texas and INDY suburbs. Need feedback from those of you familiar w/ both.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by goodbye_indy

Indy doesn't have much of a theatre scene. You can drive to Chicago for great theatre or Louisville for several smaller respected theaters.

I'm sure you can find good schools in both DFW and Indy. Cost of living should be cheaper in Indy. But you are really looking to get a feel for the two. I can't give you a feel for Dallas but maybe for Indianapolis.

Indy's good points:
1. your money goes further here
2. people in Indy value family without bringing "family values" baggage along. If religion is important to you, you will find a home here, but there isn't that Mega-Church scene like in some other states, like Texas.
3. stable economy with moderate growth. Indy is strong for example, in big pharma (Lilly), insurance (AUL), still some manufacturing base (Rolls Royce, Cummins), healthcare (IU), medical (Roche), distribution (Fed Ex's 2nd largest hub is in Indy), and only a few software companies (most notably, Interactive Intelligence, being one of the larger startups). Indianapolis also has, I believe, the second or third largest convention center business in the US. There are numerous accounting/programming jobs at entry and intermediate levels, but getting one might not be easy, especially if you are returning to the workforce. There are a lot of qualified applicants chasing fewer jobs, and employers can afford to be picky.
4. a number of cultural opportunities for a city of its size
5. traffic not too bad, nor is pollution
6. people in the midwest are generally friendly
7. you can live 30 minutes from downtown in a place that has a rural feel to it

The not so good:
1. Indy is pretty conservative in politics and in cultural outlook without a lot of ethnic diversity
2. geography stinks -- flat, flat, flat
3. weather -- Indy gets only 88 purely sunny days. We don't get many partly sunny days, so it is overcast quite often. Winters (December ,Jan, Feb, March) can be fairly cold with only moderate amounts of snow. Summer is hot and humid. Fall and spring are very nice, but if you blink you'll miss spring. (lack of sun is why I will relocate some day)
4. kids can get lost in big public schools

Why I like Indy:
I live in suburb, 30 minutes from downtown. Blue herons come to the creek in back of my house and yet in five minutes I can be at one of several big box retailers.

N.B. You can have the benefits of the northside without living in Carmel. Pike and Lawrence townships, and also Washington township have good school systems.

Shows & Tickets » Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre
Upcoming Shows | IndyFringe
Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre
Indiana Repertory Theatre
Old National Centre Schedule & Tickets | Concert & Event Calendar
Calendar of Events - Madame Walker Theatre Center
Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University
THEATRE ON THE SQUARE
Phoenix Theater
The Cabaret :: Shows & Tickets

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by goodbye_indy

Indy's good points:
1. your money goes further here
2. people in Indy value family without bringing "family values" baggage along. If religion is important to you, you will find a home here, but there isn't that Mega-Church scene like in some other states, like Texas.
3. stable economy with moderate growth. Indy is strong for example, in big pharma (Lilly), insurance (AUL), still some manufacturing base (Rolls Royce, Cummins), healthcare (IU), medical (Roche), distribution (Fed Ex's 2nd largest hub is in Indy), and only a few software companies (most notably, Interactive Intelligence, being one of the larger startups). Indianapolis also has, I believe, the second or third largest convention center business in the US. There are numerous accounting/programming jobs at entry and intermediate levels, but getting one might not be easy, especially if you are returning to the workforce. There are a lot of qualified applicants chasing fewer jobs, and employers can afford to be picky.
4. a number of cultural opportunities for a city of its size
5. traffic not too bad, nor is pollution
6. people in the midwest are generally friendly
7. you can live 30 minutes from downtown in a place that has a rural feel to it

The not so good:
1. Indy is pretty conservative in politics and in cultural outlook without a lot of ethnic diversity
2. geography stinks -- flat, flat, flat
3. weather -- Indy gets only 88 purely sunny days. We don't get many partly sunny days, so it is overcast quite often. Winters (December ,Jan, Feb, March) can be fairly cold with only moderate amounts of snow. Summer is hot and humid. Fall and spring are very nice, but if you blink you'll miss spring. (lack of sun is why I will relocate some day)
4. kids can get lost in big public schools

The flat topography is one of my least favorite features of Indianapolis. It is geographically boring.

(yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Eagle Creek, Morse, blah blah blah. These are nice amenities, but sorry, from someone who grew up with the Great Lakes and Ohio River and hills, these Indy things don't cut it.)

[Gunstra]

I live in a town just a few miles south west of Indy called Mooresville. We have great schools, small town attitude with lots of big town business here and just up the road in Camby. You are 15 minutes or less from I-465 (the loop around Indy).

Here you don't have to deal with all the crime going on in Indy, smell the nasty air of Indy and so on. Check out Mooresville and see what you think mooresville.org

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Gunstra

smell the nasty air of Indy and so on.

lol............really?

[Gunstra]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

lol............really?

Yes especially down around Exit 4 on 465 it smells terrible. There is always a shooting on the East side almost daily. It's an ok place to go to a concert or work on the outskirts of but to actually live in Indy, which I have done a few times in the past, is just out of the question for me ever again. Love Mooresville/Camby area, we just bought a house ehre last August. Peaceful and we have everything we need here without going to Indy besides the wife works in Indy at a Hospital and we go to Christian concerts when they come to town.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by Gunstra

Yes especially down around Exit 4 on 465 it smells terrible. There is always a shooting on the East side almost daily. It's an ok place to go to a concert or work on the outskirts of but to actually live in Indy, which I have done a few times in the past, is just out of the question for me ever again. Love Mooresville/Camby area, we just bought a house ehre last August. Peaceful and we have everything we need here without going to Indy besides the wife works in Indy at a Hospital and we go to Christian concerts when they come to town.

Uh you do realize camby is indianapolis right. It's not an excluded.

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by Gunstra

Yes especially down around Exit 4 on 465 it smells terrible. There is always a shooting on the East side almost daily. It's an ok place to go to a concert or work on the outskirts of but to actually live in Indy, which I have done a few times in the past, is just out of the question for me ever again. Love Mooresville/Camby area, we just bought a house ehre last August. Peaceful and we have everything we need here without going to Indy besides the wife works in Indy at a Hospital and we go to Christian concerts when they come to town.

Here's an Indianapolis resident's equivalent to what you posted:

I live in the 12th largest city in the country and it's just perfect. I have over 200 options for dining within 3 miles of my apartment and have all of the shopping options that anyone could ask for. We have multiple high-quality universities and I never have to drive anywhere.

Here you don't have to worry about people burning crosses in your yard if you're a minority like you do in Morgan County. I don't have to smell manurer in the hot summer months or worry about my neighbor's meth lab burning down my house.