Possible Move to Indianapolis (Lawrence, Fishers: 2015, HOA, crime)

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Meo57

Would anyone recommend living in Indianapolis city limits based on good catholic schools, nice and quiet neighborhoods?

I live in the city limits, about 3 miles east of downtown. I am happy here.

[weskania]

I'm most familiar with the Hamilton County area, which is on the northeast side of Indy, while the airport is on the southwest side. Living in Noblesville, I can tell you that my drive time to the airport is around 45-60 minutes, so it's a bit of a hike from Hamilton County. When we moved here years ago, we looked in the Avon area and we really liked the area. You might also want to check out Greenwood, which is just south of Indianapolis.

[Meo57]

Thanks for the info, it seems like Plainfield is the perfect fit!

[Meo57]

Originally Posted by weskania

I'm most familiar with the Hamilton County area, which is on the northeast side of Indy, while the airport is on the southwest side. Living in Noblesville, I can tell you that my drive time to the airport is around 45-60 minutes, so it's a bit of a hike from Hamilton County. When we moved here years ago, we looked in the Avon area and we really liked the area. You might also want to check out Greenwood, which is just south of Indianapolis.

My concern with living in Hamilton county is the commute time, especially in rain and snow. I really like it out there, I grew up in Carmel so I am familiar with the area. Thanks for the advice!

[Meo57]

Originally Posted by Graywhiskers

My wife and I just got back from a vacation to the Bay area. California has beautiful scenery and climate, but the traffic heading out the east bay towards Yosemite was astonishing. Miles and miles of backed up cars heading in to work. BART would seem to be the only option.
I agree with you, I would rather live in Indianapolis, compared to California, unless I was worth millions and could live close to work.

Unfortunately Bart doesn't run early in the morning when I work, plus its so expensive!

[Serious Conversation]

During rush hour, I would say the commute from Noblesville or even Fishers could easily hit an hour if there are slowdowns on 465. The 465-69 interchange is a mess during rush hour and you'd be getting the worst traffic coming and going. The airport is somewhat inconvenient to get to from the northern suburbs.

[IndyCons]

For Catholic schools inside the city, there are a few "downtown" that come to mind. Recently with the shifting of parishes 4 of the inner-city schools are now under the umbrella of "Mother Theodore Catholic Academies." I don't know all the nuances, but they are essentially schools that aren't funded by the parish that they are next to. There are also 2 charter schools within the MTCA, Padua Academy and Andrew Academy. We don't have kids, but we have friends with kids at St. Philip Neri, Central Catholic and St. Joan of Arc and all are happy with their respective choices. Also, St. Christopher in Speedway is a great school and you'd be close to the airport. There are people who would never live in Speedway due to the proximity to Haughville, but they're pumping $$$ into the Main St. area and the surrounding neighborhood is walkable and nice (though not cookie-cutter suburban).

I also commute weekly to the airport and live downtown (Chatham Arch). We chose this location over Broad Ripple or Meridian Kessler because of interstate access. I leave home at 5:10a for a 6a flight on Monday's and generally arrive to the gate before boarding.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Meh If you want to show prejudice again Hoosiers that's fine but then why are you even remotely worried about Indiana then and commenting.

Because, Old Mcdonald... I lived in the state for 10 years, and perhaps accounts of my experiences there would offer others a different perspective. You seem so worried about what I have to say.

[Acres]

You mentioned what you are getting away from, but what are you giving up? Depending on how much you make, your dream of Husband being a stay at home dad is completely possible. Northside Catholic schools tended to have better standards, but Indiana's overall expectations of its students is abysmally low compared to where you are coming from. I also hope your child is not special needs. The system here requires an initial reponse to a request for help in 45 days. Most parents in that situation I have talked to tell me our overworked and underfunded agencies will take it, too. The state percentage of people with college degrees hovers somewhere around 25%, so read into what that means. If you are a library user, IMCPL is one of the great, shining things about being in Indianapolis. Coworkers in Plainfield and Brownsburg had me borrow things for them all the time. You will drive everywhere you need to go. That means Colts games where parking is a nightmare, just down the 4 lane highway to take your kids to the pool, running out to the grocery for an extra onion. I worked at a hangar out at the airport...that was 35 minutes from downtown. The new airport is pretty remote, so if commute is one of the things you are coming here for specifically, do not look in Fishers or Carmel. If miles of vinyl box is something you don't mind, Plainfield, Brownsburg, and Avon have experienced massive growth since the turn if the century and you will have no problems finding a home in a newer subdivision. Avon is often referred to by people in my circle as redneck Carmel. A friend of mine recently bought a house and some land there so they could raise chickens and goats. But do be aware coyotes are moving back into the area. They ate one and 1/2 of her coops a few weeks ago. They shoot them at the airport frequently. A hardcore logistics manager I worked with recently said she was leaving the Speedway area because even with all the appearances getting a facelift, the property and drug crime was making her go. People are not as laid back here, but they are superficially friendlier. Be aware this is just a cultural mode, what Vonnegut referred to as "nice-nelly-ism", and only sometimes genuine. It's pleasant enough, but just take it at face-value only. People tend to be churchier here as well. As a Catholic I suggest that you will, given enough time, run into fundamentalist, inerrant word of God mindsets that may or may not make trouble for you. If you are Rick Santorum conservative though, you probably will be just fine and be considered "one of the good ones." Trading tornadoes for earthquakes is deal I myself would make, but do be aware we now get thundersnow and the storms' intensities seem, at least to me, to be increasing. Most places without an HOA do not really enforce snow shoveling, so if you can get your car out, dont care about a few neighbors judging you, and you don't want to shovel you don't really have to. Indianapolis Department of Code Enforcement is one of our many overworked and underfunded agencies, and they only really pay attention to bigger fish problems. Not sure how it works in Hamilton or Hendricks Counties for sure, but like I said, HOAs seem to be the only sheriffs for those things. Outside of that, kind of a free-for-all. Want a pony for your kid? Get one. Want to breed pit bulls? Leave leaky Lincolns in your yard? Do whatever you like.
Oh, particulate matter and humidity is going to be way higher here. So if you have asthma or allergies, always make sure you have your inhaler handy and a daily prophylactic Allertec everyday should get you through.
Closing thought:
Swarens: The bad news behind Indiana's good jobs report

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

I'm not worried about what you have to say. What i find sad is you seem to go out of your way to trash talk Indiana and other places.

Not really out of my way - it's the internet. It doesn't take too much time to visit other boards on here. I have lived all over the US and Indy was my least favorite. Just because I didn't have a good experience there doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to offer my experience to people who might be looking to move there.

I understand people choose to defend their "home turf", but you might as well turn this forum into an advert for the tourism bureau if you'd rather not see anyone with a negative opinion about the city. I have said in other threads that I think there are some redeeming qualities of Indy, but it's the last place I'd choose to move back to when there are so many other cities with better qualities (depending on what you're looking for, of course - if you're only after cheap land, then it doesn't get much better than Indy).