Commuting from Louisville to Indy (Indianapolis, Lafayette: fit in, homebuyer, living)

[gemstone1]

"murders and gangs, and carjacking is a big thing currently"...that used to be relegated to the West Side, is that no longer the case?

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

"murders and gangs, and carjacking is a big thing currently"...that used to be relegated to the West Side, is that no longer the case?

No; even the Highlands isn't immune now. They get around! And if they get caught, they get released.

[mike1003]

Originally Posted by baller1234

What do you mean, traffic?

My response in this forum has blown up, whereas only like 2 comments in the Louisville post lol.

I didn't say traffic. There has been construction in I65 FOREVER!!!!!!!


Plus it's a very boring ride. I had to do it once a month and hated the drive

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by mike1003

I didn't say traffic. There has been construction in I65 FOREVER!!!!!!!


Plus it's a very boring ride. I had to do it once a month and hated the drive

I can see how the I-65 route between Louisville and Indianapolis could be considered to be a boring ride, particularly if one must drive that route on a consistent basis.

But when I’m personally traveling northbound on I-65 on a longer-distance trip from various points south (including Alabama, Atlanta, Florida, etc.), the drive from Louisville to Indianapolis fortunately does not seem like that long of a drive.

When I’m traveling to see friends and relatives in Indianapolis on a longer-distance trip from a farther flung location in the Southeastern U.S., it feels like I’m almost to Indianapolis when I reach the southern suburbs of Louisville in good traffic conditions.

Not to mention that the 100 or so mile distance between Louisville and Indianapolis pales in comparison to some of the much longer Interstate distances between more populous city/metros, particularly in the much more spread out and more sparsely populated Western U.S.

Though, even with the relatively shorter distance when compared to some other Interstate drives, I still personally wouldn’t recommend any type of regular commute between Louisville and Indy.

[Serious Conversation]

Two plus hours. Absolutely insane and Indy is not so expensive as to where it would be cost-prohibitive. That's not to mention the constant slowdowns and poor condition of I-65.

[baller1234]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Louisville and Cincinnati are good Upper South/Lower Midwestern Ohio River Valley towns.

But you certainly can (and probably should try to) do better than Louisville and Cincinnati with your particular set of needs.

As Ohio River Valley City/metros that also have a strong streak of Lower Midwestern and/or Upper Southern provincialism in them, Louisville and Cincinnati seemingly would be a lateral life move and likely wouldn’t be much better for you than Indianapolis, particularly during stretches of colder and sub-freezing weather.

With your stated desire to live in a vibrant neighborhood in a vibrant city/metro area and/or in the Southeastern or Southern part of the country, vibrant Sun Belt city/metros like Nashville and Austin certainly need to be at the very top of your list for consideration for relocation in the very near future.

Tampa and New Orleans are subtropical and more tropical Gulf Coast cities that you could consider, while Southeast Florida (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties), Daytona Beach, Key West and Jacksonville are East Coast Florida cities that you could strongly consider if you want and/or need to be in vibrant areas that are located immediately near tropical and subtropical beaches.

Asheville, North Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; and Chattanooga, Tennessee are vibrant smaller upland Southeastern city/metros that you could consider if you want and/or need to live near the wonderful outdoor recreational amenities of the Southern Appalachian/Blue Ridge Mountains. Though Asheville, Greenville and Chattanooga all potentially may be more provincial (Upcountry Southeastern provincial) than you might like.

I’ve lived in Atlanta, Georgia on-and-off during much of my life, and Atlanta might could be an area that you potentially could consider moving to.

Many 20-somethings move to Atlanta because it is a very large major metropolitan area with a highly robust job market and an exceptionally busy airport with a relatively very central location in regards to the Southeastern North American continent that is located within relatively very close proximity of the Southern Appalachian/Blue Ridge Mountain ranges and mountain wilderness areas of North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.

Atlanta provides a big-city lifestyle within a stone’s throw of the very popular and much beloved top-notch outdoor recreational amenities of the Southern Appalachian foothills and Blue Ridge Mountains region of North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Downtown Atlanta is only about 80 miles from the Southern Terminus of the famed Appalachian Trail hiking trail that runs roughly about 2,200 miles between Georgia and Maine along the mountainous backbone of the Eastern Seaboard.

Atlanta is also a popular relocation destination for 20-somethings because it is a very heavily transient large major metropolitan area where likely as much as 70% of the population was born and raised outside of the state of Georgia. So there are many opportunities to meet and social network with other 20-somethings who are constantly moving into the area for work.

Because of the area’s very central location relative to the Southeastern North American continent which provides excellent conditions for the alumni and supporters of many SEC schools, as well as many ACC and B1G schools to be abundantly represented in the population in a college football-crazed region in the Southeast, Atlanta also has a very strong college football culture as demonstrated by the presence of the College Football Hall of Fame in Downtown Atlanta… A College Football Hall of Fame facility that ironically used to be located in South Bend, Indiana near the University of Notre Dame campus.

Though, one big downside to Atlanta is the traffic, which is also a significant downside to other fast-growing vibrant Sun Belt metros with severely constrained arterial road networks like Nashville and Austin.

Boston, Massachusetts is an exceedingly vibrant Northeastern/New England metro that you could consider. Though, Boston gets very cold and snowy during the winter, and Boston can be very expensive. But I have a cousin about your age from Indianapolis who went to college there at Northeastern University and loved Boston so much that she stayed there after graduating… But I must re-emphasize that Boston can be very cold and snowy during the winter and can be very expensive.

You appear to have numerous robust relocation options moving forward. You just need to take some time to extensively and exhaustively research which metro area may be the best fit for you and your social and emotional needs before you make an eventual decision on the next city/metro that you will move to.

Though, while you are still living in Indianapolis for the foreseeable future, you should make an effort to socially connect with other people in your age group before you find a new job and move to another city.

Look through these lists of groups and events on the Meetup social networking website and see if you might be able to find any social groups and/or events that might interest you:

Groups near Indianapolis, IN | Meetup

Events near Indianapolis, IN | Meetup

Also don’t hesitate to use the Meetup social networking website to find other social groups and events in whatever city/metro you may decide to move to next.

And I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors and hope that you eventually find an urban environment that is a good fit for you.

Thanks for the input! Yes those were the cities I am hoping for. I have a friend in Atlanta so I am planning on visiting him in the next month or two-bulkhead is where he lives I believe. What do you think of Minneapolis? It is cold but I have heard good things about it there. Chattanooga is also something I have considered. Dallas and Huston are big areas as well but I've never really been. Texas could be an adventure. Some people see to think it is sprawling concrete though-when I interviewed once in dallas that was my impression but I never saw any of the neighborhoods as I was in and out quickly. Austin is obviously very popular.

It is depressing if I have to be here for the foreseeable future-if the job search is not working out eventually I will have to just get a second apartment and deal with the cost of going over continuing to live here-I feel it is too much of a waste of time, especially since I am not willing to be positive about it. There's no way I could tolerate it for more than a year or really beyond the 9 month mark, honestly.

[otterhere]

Surely you could get SOME job in Louisville, if that's where you want to live? There's a university, UPS hub, factories, international airport, etc. You could even work retail in one of those cute specialty shops on Bardstown Road that you're swooning over until something better turns up...

If you're "too new to ask about flexibility" in your current job, then you don't have much invested there.

[baller1234]

At one point I had an offer in STL but decided not to take it. In retrospect I would much rather have gone there and lived in Soulard than Lived in Indy. At least STL had one cool neighborhood. Overall though I felt it was a city that had been largely given up on. It is 1950s level racially divided, and just seemed kinda scary/ghetto to me, so I didn't take it. I didn't even know about the crime stats before visiting. But overall I don't think STL is that great or a place young people want to move to either. But even there the combination of a little good with a lot bad was more interesting than indy.

[baller1234]

Originally Posted by otterhere

Surely you could get SOME job in Louisville, if that's where you want to live? There's a university, UPS hub, factories, international airport, etc. You could even work retail in one of those cute specialty shops on Bardstown Road that you're swooning over until something better turns up...

If you're "too new to ask about flexibility" in your current job, then you don't have much invested there.

I would have to take a massive pay cut to do any other kind of work and my industry has no jobs in Louisville. Louisville/cincy would never be my long term goal but could function as more of a stopgap until I found a better going term solution. There are some employers in cincinatti.

[otterhere]

Then Cincy is your obvious choice. You can be in Louisville in an hour and enjoy your weekends.