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Some quick background information on myself. Mid 30s, Married, Kids. My wife was possibly going to get relocated for work so that is how I stumbled on this site. I was researching where we might move. Out of curiosity I took a look at the Indy page to see what people were saying about our area. There is so much terrible information that I thought I had to post something. So long story short, if you are relocating to the Indy area and you have children and you are looking for the best place to live please read this. If you are older without kids and schools don't matter or younger and more into entertainment options than crime rates and taxes then this may not apply to you.
In terms of crime, taxes, traffic (infrastructure in general) and schools there is no substitute to Hamilton County. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. I am boggled out how many people on here are pointing people to various Indianapolis neighborhoods or the southside or Eagle Creek or Castleton. You can not beat Hamilton County if those items are at the top of your list of importance.
Let's start with crime. The further away you get from Indy the less crime, just like any other city. That being said, Hamilton County is by far the safest community still close enough to commute into the city. Carmel in particular is one of the safest. They have an absurd number of police cars cruising the streets which is a waste of tax payer money but also deters just about anyone scoping out an area to commit a crime. Westfield would probably be the next best bet for crime. Fishers is very safe but is it so close to the Castleton and Lawrence areas that you do get your share of crime creeping in.
Taxes. Hamilton County has very low taxes. Carmel has some of the lowest.
Traffic. Say what you want about the free spending Carmel mayor but he was very forward thinking when it came to traffic. Upgrading 146th before it was really needed was genius. The roundabouts are genius. Keystone is an absolute breeze. When 31 is done Hamilton County and further north will have some of the best access to Indy around. If you are moving from any other decent size metro city you'll think our traffic is a joke.
Schools. IPS schools, with a few exceptions, are atrocious. Unless you have to live in Indy why do it if you have children? Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville and Fishers all have great schools. Carmel has many of the top elementary schools in the state and the top junior high school. They are landlocked so they are done growing (a common misconception about carmel schools is they are big and getting bigger).
Before everyone piles on that I'm just a Hamilton County homer let me give you my background. I was raised in Lawrence. I have lived in Westfield, Carmel, Downtown Indianapolis and Broad Ripple. If you have a family and you are relocating to Indianapolis for work or pleasure I highly recommend you only look in Hamilton County.
Here is the problem with the rest of the areas. Indy has quite a bit of crime. Broad Ripple in particular is a great place and has some neat neighborhoods but if you have children then crime should deter you from that area. Southside (Greenwood, Southport, Etc.) is an absolute mess. Their roads are awful. It is like no one had a plan when designing the southside. Crime isn't terrible but it also isn't as good as the northside. So why live there unless you have to? Westside is turning ghetto. A good friend of mine taught at Pike and quit because of how rough it's getting. Much of the riff raff is now into the Eagle Creek area. Brownsburg is nice but you are very isolated. Avon is nice but the traffic is awful to get to Indy... again terrible infrastructure planning. Greenfield is out a ways in the boons and lacks anything to do. The east side of Indy is the worst part of town. The near northside is ok but again schools aren't great and crime isn't great. Castleton in particular is getting rougher. I've only been to Plainfield a few times but everything is new and seems cheap. All new vinyl cookie cutter homes, strip malls, box stores, nothing authentic.
So when a married couple with children move to Indy and have to work in Indy and are looking at taxes, crime, schools and traffic as deciding factors then Hamilton County is a no brainer. I just had to write something. Our family lives in Carmel and we have friends who moved all around the city after college. With the exception of 1 couple, everyone I know moved back to Hamilton County once they had children. Many of them swore they'd never move back... the whole I'll never live by my parents stage we all go through. But yet they did.
Hamilton County and Carmel in particular often get a bad wrap. My honest opinion is it's jealousy. Many will argue with me on that. They say it's growing too fast or too white or too full of rich people. The richest community around is Zionsville. I used to work there and it has a level of snobbery that I've never seen in Carmel. So that's the first misconception. Sure Carmel has it's share of snobs. But so does Meridian Kessler, Westfield, Fishers and many other communities. As far as growing too fast. First it's growing because it's nice. People want to live up here. We have tons of restaurant and entertainment options, awesome parks, zero traffic, great neighborhoods, very little crime and the best schools in the state. So yeah, we are going to grow. But our city planners have done a good job of handling that growth. Carmel is now landlocked so there shouldn't be any fear about that. Fishers and Westfield could have growth issues here in the near future. Both have a ton of room to grow and are expanding very quick.
Much of what I said above is generalities. Of course there is occasional crime is Carmel and there are good neighborhoods in Indy. You can get a terrible education at Westfield and produce a brain surgeon from an IPS school. But in general, you just can't beat Hamilton County. When I read all these threads pointing people to areas other than Hamilton County I was just so confused. I had to give my 2 cents. And again, if you don't have kids and you don't care about schools or crime then there are other better options. Broad Ripple was a really fun place to live. We lived there for a few years after college. Downtown Indy is really fun too. So this thread is targeted at those working professionals with kids looking to relocate here. I just wanted to give you my opinion on the area. I hope it helps.
Just trying to give an outsider information on the burbs. When we were looking to relocate there was so much information it's hard to sort through it. The honest truth is Hamilton County is the best place for people with kids to move when you take into account crime, taxes, schools and traffic. I'm sure there are some southsiders who love Greenwood and Avon people who love Avon but when you are new to the city and those are your criteria you just can't beat Hamilton County. Just trying to be straight with people. If not for kids we'd probably move to Meridian Kessler. But seems like many people who are relocating have schools, crime and taxes at the top of their list.
I was really going to dig in on all the bad information individually, but instead I'll just make a suggestion to you. Maybe every single person with kids doesn't want to live in the suburbs where the houses look the same. Maybe some families want to live in a city where there are more diverse groups of people. Maybe some families don't want to drive every single place they need to go, and instead want to walk, bike, bus, etc.
The point is that not everyone moving to Indianapolis wants the exact same thing as you. We suggest things for people based on what they want and give them additional information that will be useful for them to know. Not everyone wants to live in a cookie cutter house in Carmel.
We live in a custom built home in a neighborhood where no two houses look the same. And we bought our house for $225k so no we aren't millionaires. Sure, some people with kids don't want the burbs. That's cool. But when I was researching where we were possibly moving almost every thread was the same.. family with kids moving to X city.. where are the best areas with great schools low crime low taxes and commutable into the city. My point is that when you take into account all those factors it's really tough to beat Hamilton County. That's just a fact. Not my opinion. No other part of Indy or any other surrounding county is experience the same kind of growth as Hamilton County. That is a fact. You can argue why it is but it is. To point out of town people with kids who care about crime, taxes, school and traffic to anywhere but Hamilton County is doing them a disservice. If they decide Hamilton County isn't for them after checking it out then good for them. To each their own. Again, I prefer Meridian Kessler over Hamilton County if we didn't have kids. But we moved from Broad Ripple because our neighbors house was robbed, our house was broken into and my father in law (also lives in meridian kessler in a 500k house) car was stolen out of his driveway. If you have kids and you care about crime and schools they should first look at Hamilton County.
I've only been to Plainfield a few times but everything is new and seems cheap. All new vinyl cookie cutter homes, strip malls, box stores, nothing authentic.
I live in Fishers and I love it there, but this describes Fishers to a T. And many parts of Carmel.
I agree ischyros. You get some of that in a lot of the burbs. Actually that sums up Westfield too. But most of those communities have some identity. Fishers has a cool little downtown area. Carmel has done a lot to their downtown area. Lot of cool restaurants and shops that aren't chains. Noblesville too. I have a good friend in Plainfield and everytime I go it's just strip after strip of new houses and chain restaurants. Maybe there is a part of Plainfield I haven't seen. But it's super close to the airport and from what I've heard has great schools. I have no beef with Plainfield. Just giving my 2 cents from what I've seen.
I was really going to dig in on all the bad information individually, but instead I'll just make a suggestion to you. Maybe every single person with kids doesn't want to live in the suburbs where the houses look the same. Maybe some families want to live in a city where there are more diverse groups of people. Maybe some families don't want to drive every single place they need to go, and instead want to walk, bike, bus, etc.
The point is that not everyone moving to Indianapolis wants the exact same thing as you. We suggest things for people based on what they want and give them additional information that will be useful for them to know. Not everyone wants to live in a cookie cutter house in Carmel.
In OP's defense:
a) thread was created with specific purpose of assisting people who are moving here with children. Singles, of course, may wish to live in a more urban environment, but we don't have the same set of concerns that parents do.
b) even within Indianapolis, the distinct urban neighborhoods are few and far between. There's no shortage of cookie cutter subdivisions and neighborhoods, chair fast food places, WalMarts, etc.. within Marion county as well. They're just crappier, overall.
We live in a custom built home in a neighborhood where no two houses look the same. And we bought our house for $225k so no we aren't millionaires. Sure, some people with kids don't want the burbs. That's cool. But when I was researching where we were possibly moving almost every thread was the same.. family with kids moving to X city.. where are the best areas with great schools low crime low taxes and commutable into the city. My point is that when you take into account all those factors it's really tough to beat Hamilton County. That's just a fact. Not my opinion. No other part of Indy or any other surrounding county is experience the same kind of growth as Hamilton County. That is a fact. You can argue why it is but it is. To point out of town people with kids who care about crime, taxes, school and traffic to anywhere but Hamilton County is doing them a disservice. If they decide Hamilton County isn't for them after checking it out then good for them. To each their own. Again, I prefer Meridian Kessler over Hamilton County if we didn't have kids. But we moved from Broad Ripple because our neighbors house was robbed, our house was broken into and my father in law (also lives in meridian kessler in a 500k house) car was stolen out of his driveway. If you have kids and you care about crime and schools they should first look at Hamilton County.
Sound like a commercial. You love hc, ok. All things considered, would recommend center grove for those wanting a suburban lifestyle. Not cheap but not carmel prices. Less crime than carmel, closer to better natural settings and close to the city with much less perceived snobbery but that's just me , someone who has lived on all sides of the metro.
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, someone who has lived on all sides of the metro.
