Weather issues in Indiana? (Indianapolis, Bloomington: sales, affordable apartment, rentals)

[kelleyking55]

Like others, I love this site and people have been a tremendous help.
I want to retire in the next year or so and unlike many people in the northeast, I'm not clamoring to go to FL. Been there, done that. While I enjoy warm weather and beaches, FL has too many other negatives for me. What I really want is a small town or city, that has not been ruined by over-development and gentrification. I want a place that has mom-and-pop diners, country fairs and friendly folk. When I lived in FL, I met many people from Indiana and they were always super nice. I've researched the state and found many small towns (like Richmond) that I think would be perfect. I am also a horse person and it seems like Indiana has a lot of horses and farms. (And when I need professional sports, Indianapolis is perfect).

If anyone has any info to share, good or bad, I'd love to hear it. Regarding housing, as a retiree, I will be looking for senior apartments (age restricted, 55 or over). It seems like there are a lot of affordable apartment complexes in the state. Is cost of living fairly reasonable? Would people consider it "retiree friendly?" Are there any particular critters I need to look out for? (Snakes? Bugs?) In FL, there are many things that can hurt you from jellyfish and stingrays in the ocean to pygmy rattlers, fire ants and brown recluse spiders on land. What are your weather issues? According to some other sites, the threat of tornadoes around the Richmond area is listed as "moderate" risk. No hurricanes (Yay!) and little threat of earthquakes. I know you have snow and having grown up in the northeast, I'm used to snow and not worried about it. What about flood threats? I've never really lived anywhere that had a flooding issue.
Sometimes during a rainstorm, the drains will back and the street will have about 2-3 inches of water on top of it, so that you can't cross. But I've never had full blown flooding like we have seen on TV recently, where rivers crest and homes are swept away.
Thank you to everyone! (I've passed through Indiana and liked what I saw but was not able to stop and explore...)

[sheerbliss]

• We have brown recluses and black widows, but overall, it's not very buggy here. We do have mosquitoes.
• I've seen one tiny snake since I've lived here (2.5 years).
• Cost of living is reasonable in Indianapolis.
• It does flood here sometimes. Turn around, don't drown! We also have a lot of retention ponds, and one or two drivers slid into them last winter. If that happens, immediately undo your seat belt, roll down your window and get out. There won't be any time to call 911.

[hapaleeretired]

Bloomington Indiana a few years ago was listed as an excellent place to retire. If you want a beach fix there is Lake Monroe. With IU being there you have the cultural advantage. We venture down there for a concert every so often.
I don't know about the over 55 situation but that won't be hard to check on. And, within a few years Indy will be a quick interstate hour away via I-69.
If you decide to move there you will be obligated to buy me a shrimp/Roma tomato pizza at Bucettos' Smiling Teeth Pizza. lol

[indy_317]

Indiana is retirement friendly depending on one's financial situation. While Bloomington is nice, the fact that they have the flagship campus of Indiana University makes it a more costly small town. Lots of highly paid (in some cases, overpaid) employees makes housing more costly, plus all the rentals make the market near the campus more costly as well. On the other end of the spectrum is Richmond. Richmond, New Castle, and Muncie are a dying breed of smaller scale towns/cities. Their time has come and gone. Those cities and the smaller towns near them still have some things going for them in terms of friendly folks, various festivals and such, and mom and pop type eateries. However, may of these places are hanging on because of UAW pension and social security money. Once that generation dies out completely, these places could get really bad. Rushville Indiana was never a power house because they never landed any heavy manufacturing and they fought I-74. They recently lost their Walmart, which I've heard has been a huge blow to the town. They have a Kroger supermarket, but they are likely limited on where they can find clothing and such now.

Closer to Indy, but still far enough away to be considered on their own are places like Greenfield, Shelbyville, Pendleton, and Danville. All of these cities are doing pretty good for the most part. If you wanted places further out, you'd want to stay along the interstates for sure. Greensburg is going to be strong for a while, with Honda expanding and likely not going anywhere. In fact, that area has been tops in housing sales or builds for a few years as more people relocated there for jobs. Further down the interstate is Batesville, which seems to have held its own for the most part. Honda has likely kept Batesville for going downhill like some of the other smaller cities I mentioned above.

Insects and pests aren't an issue unless you just keep your doors open constantly or live with really high grass and such. Tornado can't be predicted. You'll either be hit or you won't. Chances are one will hit somewhat near to you for sure if you live here long enough. In my forty years here, there were only two tornadoes that came "close" to areas where I either worked or lived. I grew up and lived on the east side of Indy for basically all forty of those years. Flooding is only an issue if you live near major waterways and aren't high enough up. I live near a creek, but the creek is about 30' below my lot and the area around the creek is about 100 yards along the banks. I don't ever see it flooding that much given how much water would be needed to reach my elevation. As far as yard and basement flooding, that also depends on soil type and how surrounding water flows.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by indy_317

Further down the interstate is Batesville, which seems to have held its own for the most part. Honda has likely kept Batesville for going downhill like some of the other smaller cities I mentioned above.

For what it's worth, Batesville has always had a fairly stable and strong economy due to the presence of Hill-Rom, Batesville Casket and related businesses. While Honda which have a slight effect on Batesville from people who choose to live there and commute, I don't think it's keeping it from going "downhill".

I speaking from direct experience, as I have family members who are second generation Batesville residents.

RM

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by kelleyking55

Like others, I love this site and people have been a tremendous help.
I want to retire in the next year or so and unlike many people in the northeast, I'm not clamoring to go to FL. Been there, done that. While I enjoy warm weather and beaches, FL has too many other negatives for me. What I really want is a small town or city, that has not been ruined by over-development and gentrification. I want a place that has mom-and-pop diners, country fairs and friendly folk. When I lived in FL, I met many people from Indiana and they were always super nice. I've researched the state and found many small towns (like Richmond) that I think would be perfect. I am also a horse person and it seems like Indiana has a lot of horses and farms. (And when I need professional sports, Indianapolis is perfect).

If anyone has any info to share, good or bad, I'd love to hear it. Regarding housing, as a retiree, I will be looking for senior apartments (age restricted, 55 or over). It seems like there are a lot of affordable apartment complexes in the state. Is cost of living fairly reasonable? Would people consider it "retiree friendly?" Are there any particular critters I need to look out for? (Snakes? Bugs?) In FL, there are many things that can hurt you from jellyfish and stingrays in the ocean to pygmy rattlers, fire ants and brown recluse spiders on land. What are your weather issues? According to some other sites, the threat of tornadoes around the Richmond area is listed as "moderate" risk. No hurricanes (Yay!) and little threat of earthquakes. I know you have snow and having grown up in the northeast, I'm used to snow and not worried about it. What about flood threats? I've never really lived anywhere that had a flooding issue.
Sometimes during a rainstorm, the drains will back and the street will have about 2-3 inches of water on top of it, so that you can't cross. But I've never had full blown flooding like we have seen on TV recently, where rivers crest and homes are swept away.
Thank you to everyone! (I've passed through Indiana and liked what I saw but was not able to stop and explore...)

You didn't mention weather preferences. In some cases, Indiana winter weather is cloudier than portions of the Northeast without as much snow to brighten up the landscape. Indiana gets the worst of both worlds much of the time during the winter. We lack the consistent snows and decent winter sports activities compared to areas to the north of here, but also lack any of the milder weather associated with areas further to the south as well. That leads to many many bone chilling days of rain, drizzle, and clouds with high temperatures in the 30s. I prefer more snow and less clouds during the winter, but it is a personal preference.

[sheerbliss]

Yes--the humidity makes winters very cold here. Summers aren't bad--it's somewhat humid, but the highs are generally in the 80s or low 90s. I think we have a nice mix of sunshine and rain.

There are places outside of flood plains that do flood because of blocked storm drains and low elevation (think underpasses). But it's not the kind of flooding that will sweep away your house.

[popcorn247]

I live in Lafayette. It is a booming town with Purdue University located on the other side of the Wabash River, in West Lafayette. There are senior living areas. I grew up in Lafayette and after graduating from Purdue, I moved to Miami area for my career. Upon my retirement I moved back to Lafayette and couldn't be happier.

In my opinion, compared to south Florida, there is no humidity, heat, mosquito, snake problems up here. Winters are so dry (little humidity, that is...) that static electricity can be a slight issue......just ask my dogs Last summer we had only 7 days when temperatures were in the 90's.

Dayton, IN, a very cute little town, is about 5 miles from Lafayette. I love driving through the area and looking at the spacious, old homes and quiet tree-lined streets.

[Serious Conversation]

It wasn't the cold or snow that got me when I moved to Indy - frankly, it wasn't that much colder or snowier than where I'm in Tennessee. What got me was the consistent cloud cover. "Winter gloom" sets in sometime during November and doesn't really let up until March/April. Yes, you will have some sun, but it isn't enough for a lot of people.

Also, as Granite said, you don't get the "real winter" with the winter sports and more sunshine to go along with the snow that you get up farther north. You also don't get many of the "warm shoots" into the 60s/70s that you get further south.

Bloomington is a very nice town and southern IN would be my choice in Indiana as a retiree.

[Graywhiskers]

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/top-1...s-states-22480

Indiana isn't all that gloomy, and it beats out West Virginia and Connecticut for sunshine.