northwest side of indy (Carmel, Zionsville: middle-class, hotels, buying a house)

[lillyandpearls11]

Can anyone give me an idea what the northwest side of Indy is like? I'm looking to take a job in the area in between 79th and 71st, although nothing is set in stone. I'm not looking to live there, but having no idea about that area, is it safe?

[Toxic Toast]

For the most part, it is a fine area to work. Between 71st and 79th on the northwest side is a pretty broad area. Park 100 is almost all warehouses and office space. I guess your safety in that area depends on what your work is.

[lillyandpearls11]

thank you for the response! To be more specific, It's located off on Zionsville Rd.
I'm planning to check the area out this weekend, but I figured a jumpstart would be a good idea.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by lillyandpearls11

thank you for the response! To be more specific, It's located off on Zionsville Rd.
I'm planning to check the area out this weekend, but I figured a jumpstart would be a good idea.

That's the heart of Park 100. Not much to see up there, it is all warehouses and offices with a couple hotels. There is a Steak N Shake at 71st and I-465, restaurants and a Starbucks in Trader's Point area (86th and Zionsville). Outside of the warehouses, it is a pretty quiet area. Pike High School is right at the corner of 71st and Z-ville Rd.

[lillyandpearls11]

Perfect. Thank you so much! I was just worried it would be in a bad area. I've heard that south of 86 can get kind of dicey, but I guess that it depends on what side of the town you're on.

[UsernameAlreadyTaken]

Originally Posted by lillyandpearls11

Perfect. Thank you so much! I was just worried it would be in a bad area. I've heard that south of 86 can get kind of dicey, but I guess that it depends on what side of the town you're on.

That also depends on whom you ask. I am buying a house just south of 86th. It's a nice working-class/lower-middle-class area. It's pretty safe. If you ask a Carmel resident, they might say it's dicey. Consider the source, always.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by lillyandpearls11

Perfect. Thank you so much! I was just worried it would be in a bad area. I've heard that south of 86 can get kind of dicey, but I guess that it depends on what side of the town you're on.

I think anywhere in town you have to go way, way south of 86th Street to get into a dicey area. But TT told you exactly like what the are you are talking about is. A lot of warehouses and industrial buildings with retail along 86th Street.

[Miserable Midwest]

Yeah, that's a perfectly safe area to work in. There are some shady neighborhoods on the NW side but I wouldn't worry at all about the Zionsville Rd/71st-79th area.

[HappyIndyWoman]

I worked in that area you describe for 9 years. It was very safe. We only had one "incident" in all those years and that was when one of the employees invited some associates from another company over for a night meeting and some of the laptops were missing the next morning. So it wasn't due to a break in, just a poor choice in who someone invited over for the meeting. Across I-465 from where I worked, there was a small park and I often saw people playing basketball over there at lunchtime. All in all, it was a fine place to work. My home is in Carmel and it only took about 20 minutes to drive to work, which was another plus!

[AuntNik]

Originally Posted by lillyandpearls11

Perfect. Thank you so much! I was just worried it would be in a bad area. I've heard that south of 86 can get kind of dicey, but I guess that it depends on what side of the town you're on.

Saying that south of 86th is dicey wipes out some fantastic, safe, livable neighborhoods. You won't see McMansions on miniscule yards, but there are tree-lined streets and settled communities where people know each other.