What's with the cheap housing in Indianapolis? (Muncie, Anderson: buying a house, buying)

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Despite popular opinion, the entire town of Muncie is not old or rundown, and it's not all that remote. The NW side is not old. Ball State provides lots of entertainment, along with the many festivals that Muncie has thru out the year. I'd put Muncie up against its arch rival Indy satellite towns of Anderson, Kokomo, Marion, Richmond, New Castle, and Muncie is by far the nicest and most progressive. The small towns of Yorktown and Daleville, for the price, they can compete with any other small town or suburb.

Why wouldn't a retiree want to move to Muncie, especially if they are on a fixed income? Some of you folks make Muncie seem like a total dump. Have any of y'all ever spent any amount of time in Muncie? Muncie doesn't get the respect it deserves. Ask David Letterman. He is a big fan of Muncie. Muncie is really just a small version of Indianapolis, and I don't think anybody thinks Indianapolis is a total dump, now do they?

I've spent enough time in Muncie to know it would not be in my top 25 towns in which to reside in Indiana. That said, it may be better than the other towns you mention, except Kokomo. I'd argue Kokomo is nicer. Going that way from Indy, I'd probably choose Pendleton.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Despite popular opinion, the entire town of Muncie is not old or rundown, and it's not all that remote. The NW side is not old. Ball State provides lots of entertainment, along with the many festivals that Muncie has thru out the year. I'd put Muncie up against its arch rival Indy satellite towns of Anderson, Kokomo, Marion, Richmond, New Castle, and Muncie is by far the nicest and most progressive. The small towns of Yorktown and Daleville, for the price, they can compete with any other small town or suburb.

Why wouldn't a retiree want to move to Muncie, especially if they are on a fixed income? Some of you folks make Muncie seem like a total dump. Have any of y'all ever spent any amount of time in Muncie? Muncie doesn't get the respect it deserves. Ask David Letterman. He is a big fan of Muncie. Muncie is really just a small version of Indianapolis, and I don't think anybody thinks Indianapolis is a total dump, now do they?

How are Marion and Richmond at all satellite cities of Indy? Marion is what, 75 minutes north? Richmond is on the Ohio border. New Castle is off on its own. I'd accept Anderson and MAYBE Kokomo as a satellite city.

IMO, none of these places are particularly desirable, as Indy is not expensive to begin with.

[restorationconsultant]

This may be a bit of a "broad generalization", but 35-50K in Indy doesn't buy much anymore , at least in an area that is safe, has decent transportation and road access. 35-50K is now vacant lot prices in places like Holy Cross and Cottage Home where 10 years ago you could buy a house for that money.

A lot depends on what you want in 'retirement' and if you are willing to buy a "fixer' which can still be found in area like Fountain Square, but neighborhood is really block to block.

As far as 'outlying towns' your money would go further in Franklin, Maybe Greenfield. If you are looking for peace and quiet there are lots of very small towns North between Indy and Kokomo where you could find a great house for an more affordable price, but you trade off is small town vs city. BUT, you are within driving distance (especially when they finish with US 31 through carmel/westfield which will reduce commute to Indy majorly.

I decided to be even further out and recently bought a live/work in Logansport (after years of trying to restore a place in Cincy) while driving back and forth from Indy. I bought a building that would have cost me a million bucks on Mass Ave for in the price range you are talking.

Knowing exactly what your needs/wants are would greatly help in determining where would be a good place to look.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by restorationconsultant

This may be a bit of a "broad generalization", but 35-50K in Indy doesn't buy much anymore , at least in an area that is safe, has decent transportation and road access. 35-50K is now vacant lot prices in places like Holy Cross and Cottage Home where 10 years ago you could buy a house for that money.

A lot depends on what you want in 'retirement' and if you are willing to buy a "fixer' which can still be found in area like Fountain Square, but neighborhood is really block to block.

As far as 'outlying towns' your money would go further in Franklin, Maybe Greenfield. If you are looking for peace and quiet there are lots of very small towns North between Indy and Kokomo where you could find a great house for an more affordable price, but you trade off is small town vs city. BUT, you are within driving distance (especially when they finish with US 31 through carmel/westfield which will reduce commute to Indy majorly.

I decided to be even further out and recently bought a live/work in Logansport (after years of trying to restore a place in Cincy) while driving back and forth from Indy. I bought a building that would have cost me a million bucks on Mass Ave for in the price range you are talking.

Knowing exactly what your needs/wants are would greatly help in determining where would be a good place to look.

I take the word "fixer" with a real grain of salt. Sometimes it means something that does need some TLC, but the underlying bones are fine. Other times it's a diplomatic term for a total teardown. For $35k in the city limits, I think you might as well expect to buy the lot and if the house is fixable, great, but don't expect it.

Totally agreed on the outlying towns. There is no reason for someone to look as far as Marion, Muncie, or even further than Anderson. My girlfriend lives in Anderson, and you can find very nice homes there for $100k, and it's only 15-20 minutes from the Hamilton Town Center. The parts of east Anderson close to the interstate are a cheap alternative to the northern suburbs with many of the same amenities. For a retired person who may not have to take 69/465 during rush hour, it can be a viable option. Further than that, I wouldn't advise unless you need to go Indy very infrequently.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by Emigrations

How are Marion and Richmond at all satellite cities of Indy? Marion is what, 75 minutes north? Richmond is on the Ohio border. New Castle is off on its own. I'd accept Anderson and MAYBE Kokomo as a satellite city.

IMO, none of these places are particularly desirable, as Indy is not expensive to begin with.

If I'm not mistaken, Indianapolis satellite cities are (going clock wise) Kokomo, Marion, Anderson, Muncie, Richmond, Columbus, Bloomington, Terre Haute and Lafayette. They are all similar size mid sized towns and are all in Central Indiana, either East Central, North Central, West Central, or South Central, they are all in Central Indiana just the same and they form a ring around Indianapolis.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

If I'm not mistaken, Indianapolis satellite cities are (going clock wise) Kokomo, Marion, Anderson, Muncie, Richmond, Columbus, Bloomington, Terre Haute and Lafayette. They are all similar size mid sized towns and are all in Central Indiana, either East Central, North Central, West Central, or South Central, they are all in Central Indiana just the same and they form a ring around Indianapolis.

I still don't understand how how Marion is a satellite city of Indy. I'm sitting next to 465 and it's 77 miles from here. Richmond is even farther. Would people in those towns go to Indy for pro sports, major medical care, etc? Sure, but the residents are not going to commute to Indy from those places - IMO, commuting patterns are the big determinant of what areas are attached to each other.

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Some are rapidly becoming suburbs as well 20-30 years ago Noblesville was its own satellite city and now its a suburb.

Noblesville is also close to downtown Indy compared to all these other towns.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Emigrations

I still don't understand how how Marion is a satellite city of Indy. I'm sitting next to 465 and it's 77 miles from here. Richmond is even farther. Would people in those towns go to Indy for pro sports, major medical care, etc? Sure, but the residents are not going to commute to Indy from those places - IMO, commuting patterns are the big determinant of what areas are attached to each other.

One of my neighbors drives a couple of times a week to Richmond for a program at one of the schools out there. It is a competitive program to get into, and there are shuttles between Indy and Richmond to accommodate people making the trip between the two places. I've known people who set up residence in Westfield so they can commute to Kokomo for school and work. There are people living in Terre Haute that commute to Indy for work. There have been people in my office that commuted from Muncie and Columbus.

I don't think it is a stretch to call these places satellite cities of Indianapolis when you consider what a satalite city actually is.

Satellite Cities – Cities or smaller metro areas that are close enough to a major metropolitan area that citizens or business people might make easy day trips there and take advantage of specialized amenities, but are far enough to be distinct entities. They don’t share suburbs or airports. The Kitchener CMA (+ Guelph) would be a good example of a satellite (to Toronto). Tucson in some ways qualifies as a Satellite to Phoenix and San Diego and Los Angeles might also be considered a Satellite pair.

All about cities - Finding the Right Labels

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by Emigrations

I take the word "fixer" with a real grain of salt. Sometimes it means something that does need some TLC, but the underlying bones are fine. Other times it's a diplomatic term for a total teardown. For $35k in the city limits, I think you might as well expect to buy the lot and if the house is fixable, great, but don't expect it.

Totally agreed on the outlying towns. There is no reason for someone to look as far as Marion, Muncie, or even further than Anderson. My girlfriend lives in Anderson, and you can find very nice homes there for $100k, and it's only 15-20 minutes from the Hamilton Town Center. The parts of east Anderson close to the interstate are a cheap alternative to the northern suburbs with many of the same amenities. For a retired person who may not have to take 69/465 during rush hour, it can be a viable option. Further than that, I wouldn't advise unless you need to go Indy very infrequently.

Yeah, well the east side of Anderson is only about 12 to 15 minutes to the west side of Muncie and even closer to Daleville and Yorktown. Muncie is only 12 to 15 minutes further to 69 and 465. And in Muncie you got Ball State so you get all the amenities that that brings to Muncie, including a fairly educated population. Ball State brings a lot of smart people to Muncie. Professors, scientists, brain surgeons, etc. Yorktown or Daleville would be an easier commute, Daleville is at 69 where 32 and 67 meet. I would think buying a nice house in Daleville would be a very good investment, because of it's location. I'm 60, so maybe not in my lifetime, but in 30, 40 or 50 years from now, I could see Daleville with a population of 55 or 60, 000 and being to Indianapolis what Noblesville is today. That's why I think buying a house in Daleville would be an excellent ivestment.