Need to find a safe neighborhood in Indianapolis that isn't too expensive (Greenwood: apartment, crime)

[tleeshan]

I agree that Irvington would be a good fit for your budget and safety. I have two young adult cousins that live in different areas in Irvington.
It's main corridor (East Washington Street) is lined with vintage apartment buildings mostly studio and one bedroom units...so they are all pretty clean,quite, affordable, and safe. There's plenty of shops and restaurants also. It has a very vintage-y village-y atmosphere. Biking would probably be best throughout the inner blocks that are filled with nicely maintained single residents homes. Once you reach Arlington Ave to the east and Emerson Ave to the west you've reached a totally different atmosphere.

[tleeshan]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

I'll concede the east side isn't for everybody, however, can confirm I've never found a dead body.

I concur!

[tleeshan]

Another area you may find suitable is the Herron Morton/near north side neighborhood. It's well west of the Irvington neighborhood I mentioned earlier. Same vibe but more hipster-sque, it's just north of downtown Indy..a nice bike ride will have there in a few minutes. I lived in this area and it was and still is very welcoming you'll "front row seat" to many street festivals, cause walks/runs, the IUPUI campus... yet you still feel safe and at home. You can expect the same studio and one bedroom apartment communities just more...a lot more and a slew of very high end renos and new constructions (especially condos) so traffic will probably be your biggest irritant in this area.

[ellie48]

Hey I like Carlton arms.... nicer area...nice landlord too

[IndieIndy]

There are places on 38th that aren't too bad while actually being urban and walkable. 38th street from meridian on east to the fairgrounds is pretty safe, urban and walkable/bikeable. There are dozens of historic apartment buildings all along 38th that are in your budget and on buslines. The monon trail goes right through this section and will take you directly to Broad Ripple or south into the near-north neighborhoods and on to downtown.

The area that i would look into if i were you is the near east side hoods like Holy Cross, Arsenal Heights, Woodruff Place, Cottage Home, Fountain Square (south) and of course Irvington (far east). Very affordable rents and plenty of amenities that are only growing and getting better. Bike friendly too.

Just because a neighborhood has higher violent crime doesn't mean that it's random violence, actually that's rarely the case. If you aren't doing criminal things like drugs, gambling and visiting prostitutes then you will be fine. The inner north and east neighborhoods are incredible for biking, i usually bike everywhere from March until November and Indy has a lot of bike lanes and it is flat which makes for easy riding.

The southside in general is a low crime area. The city neighborhoods are few but still pretty good options. Fountain square, Fletcher Place, Garfield Park, Bates-Hendricks and Sacred Heart are some of the best southern hoods. Most are pretty average in crime, although Sacred Heart is a little more sketchy than the other named areas.

Good luck,

I hope this helps a little with your search.

[hapaleeretired]

Let's think out of the box for a minute. Sounds to me like you might like to find a private apartment instead of a typical apartment complex. Check out the Fountain Square area. It's becoming quite gentrified with lots of bike lanes. Private apartments house many students around the University of Indianapolis. Irvington was mentioned in a prior post and that's another choice.

[Getagrip7]

Thanks for all of the responses and suggestions. I'm moving next week. For safety on the job, I'm going to be working in Zionsville, on a part time basis. I know that no area is immune from crime, but from what I can tell, Zionsville seems pretty safe. However, most of the apartments close to Zionsville seem to be out of my price range, and almost all of the ones I've read reviews about that are 5 to 7 miles away within my price range seem to have shootings, car break ins, bed bugs, etc, so its been rather difficult trying to find something that seems safe. I'm considering living in Lebanon, which is pretty close to Zionsville and is affordable. Out of the suggestions that were previously made, are there any that would have easy access to the interstate for the ride to Zionsville? I'm ok with a 10 to 20 mile commute, if that is what it takes.

[Getagrip7]

Originally Posted by IndieIndy

The inner north and east neighborhoods are incredible for biking, i usually bike everywhere from March until November and Indy has a lot of bike lanes and it is flat which makes for easy riding.

Can you give me a better idea of where "inner north and east neighborhoods" are located? Thanks!

[MsBall]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

I'll concede the east side isn't for everybody, however, can confirm I've never found a dead body.

I used to live on East Michigan (by Ellenberger Park) back in the mid 1990's. Never found a dead body;however......one day my SO was mowing the lawn and a man approached him asking if he had found a tooth! Said he had gotten in a fight on our front lawn the night before, lost his tooth, and needed to find it.

[Dyadic]

Originally Posted by MsBall

I used to live on East Michigan (by Ellenberger Park) back in the mid 1990's. Never found a dead body;however......one day my SO was mowing the lawn and a man approached him asking if he had found a tooth! Said he had gotten in a fight on our front lawn the night before, lost his tooth, and needed to find it.

I grew up on the east side. Maybe I should think my lucky stars that I survived.