Carmel, Zionsville or Westfield like this??? (Indianapolis, Noblesville: low income, real estate, renters)

[macalan]

Thanks! I had not heard of this development.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by macalan

Thanks! I had not heard of this development.

It is very nice and just west of the Monon Trail. An excellent location close to shopping, banking, and a short ride or walk down the trail to downtown Carmel.

The trail is being extended across 31 into Westfield with other spurs already planned. Carmel/Westfield is a very progressive area with excellent plans for the future.

[macalan]

Maybe the streets that I am looking at, but it seems from poking around Google Earth that Zionsville is more treed - downtown and surrounding than Carmel or Noblesville?

[sweetana3]

Remember Indiana is a farm state. Lots of flat land. Trees are in pockets and a subdivision can have an expensive section with lots of topography and trees and the rest of the homes built on totally flat land with newly planted trees. Zionsville Village is older and has had more opportunity to grow trees. Has some older very wooded sections around it. Carmel is hit or miss. There are numerous expensive subdivisions with trees only as old as the house and no topography to the farm land.

[X-Greensboro Resident]

You'll be happy in Carmel around its downtown close to the monon trail... It's suburban but it's been developed big time in the last 10 years for walking, shopping etc around that area. Zionsville, Westfield (where I live), Noblesville and Fishers would all work as well.. but you should pick your neighborhood wisely regarding walkability.

[mike0618]

Originally Posted by macalan

Where do you live (what development)?

Guliford park

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by macalan

My husband will be retiring next May and we are looking to relocate from coastal, MA. We've spent a lot of time looking, all over the country. Unfortunately, our tastes don't fit our budget...

We love where we live, but RE prices are out of sight. We live in a historic "half house" a block from town, and 2 blocks from the water, but it is small - 1,100 sf. We just adopted a dog, and we need a bigger house, and a yard (right now we have a quaint, but small courtyard). A "basic" 3BR/2BA house would set us back @ 600K. And right now we pay $5,400 in RE taxes.

Our town is about 18K pop, but very vibrant. Mostly independent shops other than a Talbots and Marshalls and Starbucks. We have a "real" main street, lots of artists, lots of festivals, farmers markets, etc. Always something going on. We're about 45 min to Boston, though we rarely go in, but like having world class hospitals there if we need them.

There are lots of parks here, and of course the water....

We had looked south - Charleston, SC area - but are concerned with the heat and humidity and housing prices, although substantially lower, are higher than IN. And then there's the crime. Maine is beautiful, but still pricey and more isolated than we want. Same with NH. Cape Cod is too expensive, and the Eastern Shore of MD too expensive and a bit too isolated. Don't care for PA.

We've looked at Madison, IN and thought it was adorable, but it seemed stuck in a time warp of sorts, and even though mile-wise it wasn't far, driving to Louisville was FAR.

Our needs are pretty simple. We're youngish - 63 and 55. We like to walk with our dog, we like once in a while to go out to eat somewhere casual - we have an Irish pub down the street that has live music and we'll often walk down for a beer and to listen. We'd like a library, a good bookstore, a pharmacy, a grocery store, hardware store, and FT fire, police and ambulance. We'd love an area with a Trader Joe's, whole foods. We also want an area with a real downtown. And we would like a place that has some shopping for "basic necessities" - clothes - not all "boutiques". Right now we have Talbots and Marshalls, but it's not enough. There's no place to buy shoes or coats or things like that - we have to drive 1/2 hour to the mall.

Perhaps most importantly, we'd like a place that has a hospital in town, and a vet, and a 24 hour vet no more than 1/2 hour drive. We've unfortunately had to use all three frequently, and proximity to home when you're in an urgent situtation is important to us. We know the reputation of the hospitals in Indianapolis, so that is a big plus.

No kids, so don't care about the schools, but would love a place with a sense of community. What are the winters like? Currently it is not unusual to get 100 inches a year of snow, and winter lasts Nov - March. Summers are generally nice, but we've had a lot of rain, and can get spells of 80-90 days with lots of humidity.

Most importantly, we want safe area where we can find a home under 250K, where we would feel OK walking the dog late at night. We'd love it if we could live in a place that wasn't "cookie cutter" with homes all the same, lined up in a row.

Here's where we live now - not trying to replicate the look and feel, but maybe the "vibe".

About Newburyport

Other favorites of ours have been Sonoma, CA, Carmel, CA, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, Nantucket, MA, St. Helena, CA - just all way out of our budget, especially in retirement. I used to travel a lot with my job, and think people from the midwest are some of the most genuine, nicest people I have met.

Lastly, because I am younger, I want to work, at least PT. I am currently in financial services, but intend to get back into health care. So would want a place that has opportunities for that - preferably a hospital.

We've got Zionsville, Carmel and Westfield on the list. Do any of these fit?

We realize that we will be making trade-offs. We will miss the ocean A LOT, but hoping there are some rivers/lakes we can kayak. Having a bigger home that we can afford and a yard for our dog will be huge to us.

You simply will NOT be happy here, keep looking! It will be too much of a cultural shock coming from the East coast. I'm just being honest here.

[macalan]

How so?

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by macalan

How so?

Our friend Timmy is mad at the world, and assumes everyone else is too.

I know people who are from all over the country. Some of them love it here, and some of them did not and left. In that regard, Indianapolis is just like any other city I've been or known folks in. Such is life.

[macalan]

Well, as I said our needs are pretty simple. We want to be in a place that's attractive and safe and has things to do - farmers markets, festivals, some shops and restaurants.

We would not be happy being out in the "sticks" with nothing around, but we're not people who have to be going to the city, or the symphony, or art gallery openings. that being said, it seems, anyway, that there ARE things going on in the area.

We like to walk our dog, hang out at home, and go to a movie or out to dinner now and again.

I think our biggest adjustment will be being away from the ocean, the lack of trees (compared to where we are), and the humidity in the Summer.