Transplants from Out-of-State (Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel: fit in, real estate, HOA)

[ImmerLernen]

I'm curious...are there many transplants from other states in your area? And do these transplants seem to want to fit in? Years ago, the term "assimilate" was used, but I'm guessing that's no longer PC..but it's more or less what I'm asking.

The reasons I'm asking are:

(1) We are from California and are researching moving out of state. As of now, our first choice is Hamilton County. We have visited a couple of times and have done quite a bit of research on the area, and it seems to suit us.

(2) Over the years, family members/friends/work associates have relocated out of California. We have heard from several of them that where they've gone, there are so many (even too many) California transplants.

(3) Knowing that no place is perfect, we're hoping to leave behind some of the aspects of California we don't like...and we most certainly are not looking to "Californianize" wherever we end up. I actually saw that term (or something like that) on another forum; someone was saying their city should try to Californianize itself for some reason I can't remember. Yikes!

[hapaleeretired]

I'm amazed at the number of California (and Illinois) plates I'm seeing in Indy. Whole lotta people bailing out of those messes.
About twenty years ago I was visiting Oregon and a local told me about how much the HATED people from CA who were driving up the cost of housing/living. We experienced a bit of that when United Airlines moved it's maintenance facility from San Francisco to Indy. People had to buy huge houses to avoid paying capital gains.
I'm from Pittsburgh. Love Indy/Midwest. Love Hoosier hospitality.
It seems to be getting more difficult to "assimilate". People are so tied up with kids' and activities they don't have time to socialize. I don't know your situation. Most Hoosiers will tell you the best way to slide into finding friends and contacts is to find a church you like.

[ischyros]

Hamilton County seems like a good place for transplants given the growth here. Yes, some is people moving north out of Indy proper, but there are a lot of transplants in Fishers, Carmel, Westfield, and to a lesser extent Noblesville. Many come from elsewhere in Indiana. And many others are from surrounding states, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky. But I'm friends with a woman who moved here from Canada. Another that moved from Louisiana, another guy from Texas. I work with a couple people from Florida, a guy from upstate New York, another girl from Mississippi. The company I work for was founded in Carmel and is still located here. Despite that, a large majority of the employees did not grow up in the Indy metro. Most of them came from elsewhere in Indiana, Illinois, or Ohio, but my point is, there are a lot of people living here that didn't grow up here. And I do from time to time see a car with California plates. Hamilton County especially seems a hodgepodge of people from different areas.

To comment on the previous poster, there seem to be an unusually high number of people from Pittsburgh that live in the Indy area. I'm not sure why that is. There used to be a bar and grill in Fishers that was owned by a guy that moved here from Pittsburgh and on Sundays, the place was packed with Steelers fans, most of whom moved here from Pittsburgh or that general area.

[Serious Conversation]

I lived in Carmel as a transplant from a Southern state for three years.

The vast majority of my social circle from the area was not originally from Indianapolis. Most of my coworkers were from northern or southern IN, along with some immigrants. Most of my social circle were from other parts of the Midwest or even other parts of the country.

Hamilton County is divided more along income lines, not "where you're from."

[ImmerLernen]

Originally Posted by hapaleeretired

I'm amazed at the number of California (and Illinois) plates I'm seeing in Indy. Whole lotta people bailing out of those messes.

Exactly!

Originally Posted by hapaleeretired

About twenty years ago I was visiting Oregon and a local told me about how much the HATED people from CA who were driving up the cost of housing/living.

Yeah, it's that sort of disdain I'm a bit concerned about. We will certainly not be driving up real estate prices even though we will be able to afford a better house in the Indy area than we ever could here in SoCal.

And based on the other replies (thanks, guys!), it doesn't sound like there's a preponderance of Californians. I rather like the idea that there are transplants in the area from all over, including other parts of Indiana. Sounds like a nice mix.

Originally Posted by hapaleeretired

It seems to be getting more difficult to "assimilate". People are so tied up with kids' and activities they don't have time to socialize. I don't know your situation. Most Hoosiers will tell you the best way to slide into finding friends and contacts is to find a church you like.

Good advice. Thanks! We aren't big "joiners" and tend to be rather homebody-ish, but we'd be really happy to find a suburban neighborhood with normal neighbors who smile and wave to each other, keep a watch out for any funny business in the 'hood, walk/ride bikes/play outside, maybe with a community pool and HOA that does a few low-key, family-friendly social events throughout the year (chili cook-off, anyone??? ).

[WestsideMac]

Most of the transplants I've come across generally are from, as a previous poster said, rural parts of Indiana. Obviously you'll get some from other cities too, but it's mostly the just the job opportunities there versus the community they come from. The other transplants have almost always been, by and large, from other Midwestern cities especially from Michigan and Ohio.

I honestly have known very few transplants from California, at least so far. I would guess that currently the numbers from California are so unnoticeable that they aren't truly impacting town or city governance and planning as to "Californianize" Indy and it suburbs. Maybe I'm wrong, but my family in Carmel area at least haven't mentioned anything about that. He owns a business in Carmel and has not noticed a certain trend of where they are coming from more than another.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

I'd bet money most of the people who move to Indiana from California are former Hoosiers who moved to California several years ago, and then they got priced out, mostly due to property taxes. They sell their $500,000 house in California and buy a similar size house in or near their Indiana home town on a bigger piece of ground for $175,000 and have a small fortune left over.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

Hamilton County is divided more along income lines, not "where you're from."

^^^^^^
This.

RM

[InchingWest]

Originally Posted by hapaleeretired

I'm amazed at the number of California (and Illinois) plates I'm seeing in Indy. Whole lotta people bailing out of those messes.
About twenty years ago I was visiting Oregon and a local told me about how much the HATED people from CA who were driving up the cost of housing/living. We experienced a bit of that when United Airlines moved it's maintenance facility from San Francisco to Indy. People had to buy huge houses to avoid paying capital gains.
I'm from Pittsburgh. Love Indy/Midwest. Love Hoosier hospitality.
It seems to be getting more difficult to "assimilate". People are so tied up with kids' and activities they don't have time to socialize. I don't know your situation. Most Hoosiers will tell you the best way to slide into finding friends and contacts is to find a church you like.

Lots of Jersey people and New Yorkers looking to colonize Maryland. They see it as a safe haven for them with much lower taxes (MD is pretty middle of the road on taxation) and less congestion, but where they also don't have to worry about the conservative politics that they fear so much.


Me? I'm still hoping to break free, probably to Indy, Ohio or Michigan, so I check those forums from time to time, although I know the later two are often on the fence. Indiana looks to be poised for strong growth, but one has to hope that the Californian and Illinois liberals don't try to shape it in their utopian image.

[ImmerLernen]

OK...whew! Glad to read all the replies above. Thank you!

When we were in the area checking things out last Fall and again this past Spring, including actual house & neighborhood hunting with a realtor, we never heard anyone mention how many Californians were new to the area. My husband and I did have that experience about 14-15 years ago (before we had kids) when we were almost relocated to another state for his job. At the time, it didn't really concern us, but now (maybe/probably because we have kids), it is a concern. Yep, it's the craziness we're hoping to leave behind.