Indy 9th Best City for Family Vacation (Speedway, Brook: safe area, good schools)

[missik999]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

They're all the same after a while. Never been on the ocean side except for a cruise. Gulf side of fl is ok. Siesta key = overrated and it's ranked the best beach in the us. Treasure island in st pete way to touristy. St. Armonds is cool only because of the shopping and restaurants. Michigan beaches has more scenic beauty with the dunes, just lacks the other stuff young kids like. Waikiki is so packed it's hard to enjoy.

I've never seen dolphins or manatees from a Michigan beach.

Florida beaches are pretty awesome in February when it is cold, grey and snowy in Indiana.

Florida has some unique towns to explore once you get outside Orlando. The Keys are interesting, have you experienced a Key West sunset, or explored the maritime history and Conch Republic? Hemingway?

Orange groves are beautiful and there are miles of trails for biking and inline skating.

Have you explored the Everglades? Alligators, birds and wildlife?

When you start knocking other states you sound like Him of Who We Do Not Speak.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by missik999

I've never seen dolphins or manatees from a Michigan beach.

Florida beaches are pretty awesome in February when it is cold, grey and snowy in Indiana.

Florida has some unique towns to explore once you get outside Orlando. The Keys are interesting, have you experienced a Key West sunset, or explored the maritime history and Conch Republic? Hemingway?

Orange groves are beautiful and there are miles of trails for biking and inline skating.

Have you explored the Everglades? Alligators, birds and wildlife?

When you start knocking other states you sound like Him of Who We Do Not Speak.

Im probably in florida more than you are as im there every month. Have i been in the everglades, yes. Natural beauty on the beach, florida doesn't compare to michigan. See it as a knock all you want, it just doesn't. I didn't even mention indiana but since you broight it up, gary's miller neighborhood is highly protected as its ecosystem is considered one of the most diverse in the us and highly delicate. Did you not think indiana had that. You almost sound as if you Michigan experience is basically detroit. You have any idea how many off the beaten path quaint towns and trails there are on michigans west coast and up into the UP?

[missik999]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

Im probably in florida more than you are as im there every month. Have i been in the everglades, yes. Natural beauty on the beach, florida doesn't compare to michigan. See it as a knock all you want, it just doesn't. I didn't even mention indiana but since you broight it up, gary's miller neighborhood is highly protected as its ecosystem is considered one of the most diverse in the us and highly delicate. Did you not think indiana had that. You almost sound as if you Michigan experience is basically detroit. You have any idea how many off the beaten path quaint towns and trails there are on michigans west coast and up into the UP?

All I said about Michigan was that there are no dolphins or manatees, not a word about Detroit. I spend a lot of time in Michigan and I was actually on a beach there last month. But in February Florida's beaches are more appealing than Michigan's.

Michigan has plenty to offer but so does Florida.....

[jupiler]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

gary's miller neighborhood is highly protected as its ecosystem is considered one of the most diverse in the us and highly delicate. Did you not think indiana had that.

Gary doesn't exactly have a great reputation. Not saying this particular ecosystem isn't worth checking out, it may well be, but the fact Gary is in its name doesn't exactly help.

[Knox Harrington]

I know this thread isn't about Florida, but Florida is probably the most overrated state in the country.

You want truly great beaches?

Go to Hawaii.

Hell, go to the USVI.

Florida is waaayyyyyy overrated.

And yes, I have been up and down the state on both coasts, and spent time in the keys.

For some reason, many Hoosiers just LOVE Florida and can't wait to talk about their last or next trip.

Back to the original topic of the thread: There are some great activities for families in Indianapolis and anyone who disagrees either hasn't been here or has an ax to grind.

[Prost]

Florida is defiantly overrated, but the cost of a plane ticket to Hawaii rivals Europe, so your average family isn't going to pay that. I do enjoy the Keys though, even if the beaches are poor. I've always had a good time in Florida, but it's not world class. Take it for what it is.

I like Indy, but I have a hard time seeing people "vacationing" here, unless they're passing through or have family here. Not a knock against the city, but compared to the other cities on the list, I don't see it as being a final destination.

[Knox Harrington]

Originally Posted by Prost

Florida is defiantly overrated, but the cost of a plane ticket to Hawaii rivals Europe, so your average family isn't going to pay that. I do enjoy the Keys though, even if the beaches are poor. I've always had a good time in Florida, but it's not world class. Take it for what it is.

You are forgetting about millions of Americans west of the Mississippi. I've flown from LAX to HNL for $330 round trip.

I just searched Orbitz and found round trip flights for the same dates in November for $629 from Denver, $397 from Portland, $447 from Seattle, $580 from Las Vegas, and $533 from San Francisco.

You MIGHT be able to get to Europe from those cities for that price on the same dates, but it will take some work.

Anyway, most Hoosiers drive to Florida, so it is obviously cheaper than Hawaii. Also, affordability wasn't a part of the "beaches and weather" discussion, I don't believe.

[wh15395]

There are families here every single week during the summer from places like Cincinnati, Louisville, Columbus, and Chicago to go to the Children's Museum and other venues. As hard as it is for some people to believe, Indy is a regional draw. Really, all of the cities in the Great Lakes region have plenty of visitors from other cities in the area.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by Knox Harrington

You are forgetting about millions of Americans west of the Mississippi. I've flown from LAX to HNL for $330 round trip.

I just searched Orbitz and found round trip flights for the same dates in November for $629 from Denver, $397 from Portland, $447 from Seattle, $580 from Las Vegas, and $533 from San Francisco.

You MIGHT be able to get to Europe from those cities for that price on the same dates, but it will take some work.

Anyway, most Hoosiers drive to Florida, so it is obviously cheaper than Hawaii. Also, affordability wasn't a part of the "beaches and weather" discussion, I don't believe.

Well to be fair, you did say, "For some reason, Hoosiers just love Florida."...not Americans love Florida. It's great that cities further west have relatively cheaper airfare pricing, but Indy is nowhere close to any of them you mentioned.

Prices and logistics are always going to be part of the discussion. If they weren't, we'd all just jump in our Gulfstreams, take on extra fuel in SD, and get over to Tahiti. A well priced one-stop trip to Honolulu is going to run $900 out of Indy. With fees, a family of 4 is looking at 4 grand just to get to Honolulu with hotels and food being more expensive too. For the money, FLA offers a lot of flight options, doable driving if people don't want to spend for airfare, and quality. Personally, I'm not a fan, because I'm not into golf or amusement parks and I can't just sit on a beach all day without going nuts, but the appeal for Hoosiers (and Midwesterners in general) is pretty obvious.

I personally prefer the outdoor recreation you can find in a place like Kauai or Costa Rica or the urban things you can do in a place like Honolulu or Miami to the run of the mill FLA beach vacation most families sign on for in FLA just about anywhere outside of Miami.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by skeedoodle

I have to laugh that Indy is in the top 10 for any vacation spot. We always have to leave here to go do something. Indy has little to do for kids. What? The following?
1) The canal(HOT AND HUMID AND NO SHADE IN THE SUMMER)
2) AAA baseball
3) Eiteljorg museum(boring for most kids)
4) The Indy Zoo (small zoo compared to Brookfield which is only a few hours away)
5) Circle Center mall(big fun eh? all hoosiers do is go eat out and shop. one reason we are a fat state.)
6) Up in Noblesville there is Conner Prairie(hmm...more hot and humid but interesting...go to Nauvoo, IL for
free...while it is a long drive, it could be worth it)

Most Indy folk go other places it seems. Chicago is a big draw. The Smokies are a big draw. We don't even have much in the way of famous food. I read at one time that our state food was the "hot brown". Few Hoosiers even know what that is. It's more borrowed from Kentucky anyway. Then, I heard our famous food is the corn dog...but that's more Texas. Next, I heard we are famous for Hoosier pie, or Sugar Cream pie. Ask most people on the street and they won't know what you are talking about.

Indy is a good sized Midwestern city, with two huge items going for it... 1) cheap housing(which is what brings people here in big numbers) and 2) conservative values. Along with that we have TONS of restaurants...mostly in the form of chains. We have a Trader Joe's, or two. We have a few large employers that are drying up via layoffs. We have the Indy 500 if you are into racing. We are a relatively safe place to live if you steer clear of some areas on the NE side. We have a lot of churches. To me, that is a good thing. We are about 2 hours from Chicago(there are so many ex-Chicagoans here that that makes it a good thing I guess). We love 5K races, too. You'd think we would be a less fat state given that.

We took the kids to Brookfield zoo a couple weeks ago. Mind you we used to live 2 blocks from there in our Chicagoland days. I can tell you that Indy zoo is 100 times better than Brookfield. I don't know what in the world happened, but that zoo is a gigantic ripoff.