Noblesville vrs. Carmel (Indianapolis, Fishers, Westfield: low income, section 8, apartment)

[Clem117]

Hi guys,

My husband's job is relocating him from Michigan to Indianapolis in October. Although he will occasionally have to report to the office, but he will be working virtually from his car and home the majority of the time. His office is located just north of downtown Indianapolis. We are looking to purchase a home for around 180,000.00 (or under ) . We have three children ages 8, 11, and 14. Does anyone have any suggestions in regards to suburbs?

We've done some reaserch online and think when travel to house hunt we will focus on Noblesville and Carmel. We are a middle class family that makes 75,000.00 a year. Just looking for some input from people local to the area. We are down to earth people who dont put alot into status etc. We would like our children to attend good public schools where kids for the most part are accepting. (I know that no matter where you go, there are always going to be difficult personalities in the mix )

It looks like there are houses available in our price range in both area. Although, Carmel appears to be a more affluent community with more expensive homes. We are drawn to Carmel because of its high school rankings. It seems like the public school has a lot to offer. My oldest daughter is an honor student and very active in choir, and it very important to her. They seem to have a solid choir program and a lot of ap classes. I have concerns about the size of the student population (we are coming from a highschool with 1,300 students), and am also worried that my kids may feel out of their league social/economically. We live a pretty modest life style.

We are drawn to Noblesville because it seems like it might be a little more diverse social status wise. We can get more of a house in the area. It seems like their schools are good but maybe not at Carmels level. It also appears to not have as solid of a choir program.

Both areas have pros and cons. Does anyone have any suggestions or insights?. Does any know of good family areas within each city that are in our price range? We like that both areas seem to have lots restaurants and stores. If it's possible, we would like to be in an area of the town that we choose that is close to the schools and its downtown area.

I would appreciate any advice especialy specific area with the towns to look for housing. Thank you so much!!!!

[ischyros]

Carmel will be closer to downtown Indianapolis as it borders Indianapolis. Noblesville is north of Fishers and SR 37/I-69 can be a traffic nightmare, even outside of rush hour.

Carmel is more affluent but still has a range of brand new and older homes. Most of the older homes are located in the central part of the city between Keystone and US 31/Meridian. Carmel has its own mini-rush hour due to the number of offices located here. I know because I have an 8-5 job in Carmel and live in Fishers. Outside there, traffic isn't much of an issue in Carmel unless you trying to cross US 31. But in 3 years, US 31 through Carmel is being upgraded to interstate style that should make things much better. Carmel has a newish downtown in the Arts & Design district with some art galleries and decent local restaurants. Clay Terrace is an outdoor style mall that is nice but seems to pretend to be more upscale than it is.

Noblesville has mostly older homes with some newer ones on the outskirts of town. Downtown Noblesville is very nice and charming with antique shops and restaurants and what you expect history downtown areas to look like in the Midwest. Noblesville also has the Hamilton Town Centre outdoor mall which has nothing more than any other mall, but the setting is pleasant. You will also very likely get more house for your money in Noblesville than in Carmel just because Carmel is a very sought-after address.

Pretty much all of Hamilton county has great school systems, Noblesville, Carmel, Fishers, Westfield. Carmel High School is just a couple blocks from downtown Carmel. Houses in that area are going to be expensive, though. Noblesville High School is pretty far from downtown Noblesville. I don't really know much about choir, though, as I was a band geek. :-)

Hope this helps a bit.

[Clem117]

Thankyou - Anything helps! I kinda feel like we are going into this blind so any input is appreciated Are all of Noblesville schools far from its downtown area, or just the highschool. We will have one in elementary and one in middleschool as well.

[ischyros]

The middle school in Noblesville is pretty close to the high school. They aren't way outside of town. But probably not within walking distance of downtown Noblesville. I would guess about a mile and a half from downtown to the middle school and two miles to the high school. I don't recall there being any elementary schools near downtown Noblesville.

Carmel Middle School is in the opposite direction from downtown Carmel as the high school is, but it's a bit further away. Carmel also has an elementary school right across the street from the high school next to the public library.

[Clem117]

thanks. Do you enjoy working in carmel? Do you like the atmosphere of the town? Im reading alot of conflicting things over the internet. I know a lot of it is subjective to who you are as a person and how you view things - But in gerneral do you find it to be a friendly town? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a feel for things...

[indy_317]

We are also looking at moving to Hamilton County. I have decided that we will more likely end up in Carmel. Wife works in Carmel, and I work downtown. I want a brick/stone home, with at least a 1/2 acre lot. I'm basically looking for homes build from the mid-60s to mid-80s. Both Carmel and Noblesville offer that, but the area of Noblesivlle that has older stock homes has the problem of just not being that close to the interstate. Most of the housing development near the I-69 exits are newer, mostly vinyl homes. Not only that, since those homes are considered in demand and newer, they seem to be just as pricy as the older stock homes.

So we will likely choose Carmel, but we don't have kids. If I had kids, I likely would choose Fishers, unless Noblesville had plans for a second high school. The image of Carmel has infected their school. They want a massive high school, so that they can hand pick the most athletic students for their sports teams, and win championships. So opportunities may be limited in Carmel. Make sure the choir doesn't cap the number of students allowed in certain show choirs or whatnot. For example, they may offer many choir classes, but limit the number of students who can do the show choir your kid may be interested in.

I also like Carmel because so far they have resisted lower income neighborhoods. Noblesville has a very small Section 8 complex. Years ago, that was the only lower income in the city. However, I've recently been informed from two sources that lower income renting has spread to six or seven complexes. These aren't full blown housing projects or anything, just apartment businesses trying to fill vacant units. The only that scares me is that it would bring down property values. However, if you are in a neighborhood, you might be OK. Make sure the neighborhood you choose, and those in the immediate area, are owner occupied. Some of the neighborhoods in Fishers allowed for rentals, and people did take Section 8. Renters in that program can be great, but they can also be really horrible depending on their values and beliefs.

I think both Carmel and Noblesville have nice downtown areas. Carmel has a more upscale downtown that honestly, I wouldn't ever likely shop at due to prices. Noblesville downtown has more middle of the road places to eat and shop. I'm sure there are a handful of trendy, costly places on the square as well. If the money is right and the home is really great, I could pick Noblesville over Carmel, but the home and price would have to really blow anything in Carmel away. As it stands now, I think the different in price might be $10K, which I don't see as all that much.

[mike0618]

Welcome to the area. You will find many former michigan people here. We moved from michigan to carmel 2 yrs ago. Seams alot of the michigan people have settled in carmel. I see michigan plates everyday. Where are you from in michigan? I might be able to compare the cities to ones you know.

[ischyros]

I enjoy working in Carmel, but I hate that there are only 3 bridges that cross the river that separates Fishers and Carmel. Those three roads get very congested. And like I said, Carmel has it's own mini rush hour between 7:30-8 am and 5-5:30 pm. But I don't mind the town. I frequent a few restaurants during my lunch hour so that i have gotten to know managers and owners. They are all very friendly. I don't feel Carmel is pretentious, which is something I've heard people say.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by indy_317

I also like Carmel because so far they have resisted lower income neighborhoods. Noblesville has a very small Section 8 complex. Years ago, that was the only lower income in the city. However, I've recently been informed from two sources that lower income renting has spread to six or seven complexes. These aren't full blown housing projects or anything, just apartment businesses trying to fill vacant units. The only that scares me is that it would bring down property values. However, if you are in a neighborhood, you might be OK. Make sure the neighborhood you choose, and those in the immediate area, are owner occupied. Some of the neighborhoods in Fishers allowed for rentals, and people did take Section 8. Renters in that program can be great, but they can also be really horrible depending on their values and beliefs.

I think both Carmel and Noblesville have nice downtown areas. Carmel has a more upscale downtown that honestly, I wouldn't ever likely shop at due to prices. Noblesville downtown has more middle of the road places to eat and shop. I'm sure there are a handful of trendy, costly places on the square as well. If the money is right and the home is really great, I could pick Noblesville over Carmel, but the home and price would have to really blow anything in Carmel away. As it stands now, I think the different in price might be $10K, which I don't see as all that much.

Carmel continues to resist low income housing, and I don't see it ever coming to Carmel. The few times low income housing has been brought up the idea has been instantly squelched.

You should check out the consignment shops in Carmel, unique items at excellent prices. Fun to shop!

Also there are excellent local restaurants in downtown Carmel, and in the Carmel area.

Carmel and Hamilton County offer many activities year 'round for families, many are free. There are also many nice parks and miles of bike trails and multi-purpose paths in the area.

[Clem117]

Originally Posted by mike0618

Welcome to the area. You will find many former michigan people here. We moved from michigan to carmel 2 yrs ago. Seams alot of the michigan people have settled in carmel. I see michigan plates everyday. Where are you from in michigan? I might be able to compare the cities to ones you know.

Thanks for response, good to know we wont be the only Michigan people in the Indy area...

We currently live in Royal Oak. Im getting the impression from the internet that Carmel is similiar to Birmingham or Grosse Pointe. What are your thoughts. Do you feel like the move from Michigan to Indiana was a good one, and are you glad you chose Carmel? What Michigan city would you find comparable to Noblesville?

Thanks!