Is Indianapolis a bad place to live (Avon, Memphis: crime, theater)

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by REM

I True, but you also can't deny that there are way more opportunities in those cities than here.

There are also costs, REM. It's all a cost-benefit analysis. Most 17-year-olds believe the grass is greener somewhere else. Then the student loans come due, they get married, have children, get a mortgage, have a car payment, etc. Most likely your priorities will change in time.

[donzelle1]

Let me give my input..I just recently moved here from approx 20 miles north of Memphis, TN and this place is heaven on earth compared to there! There is plenty to do here! Memphis was full of shady politicians and constantly listed as having one, if not THE, highest crime rates in the U.S. I feel extremely safe here in Avon and have met some of the friendliest people ever. There are so many wonderful parks, museums, restaurants and shopping areas you could ask for. Your city is what YOU make it. I love it here.

[PixiStix]

Originally Posted by donzelle1

Let me give my input..I just recently moved here from approx 20 miles north of Memphis, TN and this place is heaven on earth compared to there! There is plenty to do here! Memphis was full of shady politicians and constantly listed as having one, if not THE, highest crime rates in the U.S. I feel extremely safe here in Avon and have met some of the friendliest people ever. There are so many wonderful parks, museums, restaurants and shopping areas you could ask for. Your city is what YOU make it. I love it here.

Congrats on your move~ you've found a great place to live.

Have you been to the Washington Township Community Park yet? It's very pretty this time of year & the walking/hiking trails are SO neat during fall. I took my kids there regularly & there was always something new to see.

I miss home

[spyder1375]

I was born and raised in the Indianapolis area. After highschool (1993) I left for the military and traveled the world. Returned in 1996 to goto Purdue. After College I left due to my job and have lived in Annaplolis, MD, Concord, CA, Irvine, Ca, Richmond, VA, Wayne, NJ, NYC, and Portland, OR. Now I find myself back here. Indy has everything to offer from pretty much the other places except the ocean and mountains, but hey I can live with that. Cost of living is low, people are genuine, neighbors are real neighbors that want to get together all of the time, easy to make friends, plus Indy is central to a lot of things and easy to travel to places. So does Indy have the glitz and glam that NYC or LA have? No not all of the time, but sometimes yes. Do we get Broadway shows...yes. Everty ethnic group imaginable is here and you kind find just about every cuisine you can think of. Plenty of festivals and celebrations. yes sometimes you have to look for things to do because they are not thrown in your lap. Yes snow skiing sucks here but hey no mountains. Also no ocean but plenty of lakes for skiing and boating. Plus anyways WV is just a days drive to the mountains for skiing or hop a plane for the west. For the ocean another days drive to the carolinas will have you on the atlantic or a 24 hour drive to FL will have you on the gulf. Not sure what people are looking for.......

[enadevol]

I have lived in Indianapolis since 1945 and must say that your friend must not get out much. She would be right if she's talking about the city of 1945, but I have seen a tremendous amount of change in our city in the past 30 years, and all for the better. Indianapolis is a great city.

[sweetana3]

We actually ended up in Indy because during Vietnam, it was the only place my husband said everyone was nice to him, a lowly enlisted man in is early
20's.

He brought me back here to show it to me(long story since we were living in Alaska and visiting New York State in the winter) and we both got jobs in days. Have stayed for over 30 years.

I still find it as friendly as you make it, conservative, relatively quiet and as fun as you want it to be.

[doulike2]

If you are a boring person than you will be bored wherever you go. If you are a lively person than it doesn't matter where you live, you will enjoy yourself.

[bjm813]

Indy isn't the worst place in the world by any stretch. That said there are also a lot better places to live, all depends on what you want. If you have value in low cost of living, and solid education then Indy might be the place for you. At the same time if you want to live an exciting above average life that isn't revolving around starting a family and just going with what is expected, there are many better places to consider. All depends on what you want.

[urbanologist]

When I first moved up here in 1998 I couldn't believe how much open space (this is a good thing) there was considering that I have moved from an area packed in with highrises. That's all I did worked and lived in highrises. When you take the elevator it can be a pain sometimes when it's out of service. There's nothing worse than either getting stuck in one or lugging your groceries up several flights of stairs. The great thing about Indy is that I have the option to just park and walk in my place. I sometimes like being able to drive away towards a rural area without traffic lights at every block and taking forever to get there. Indy to me is not too big and not too small but just right. I was impressed when I first saw how vibrant downtown was. At first I wasn't crazy about the city but over time I only saw the city improving which has grown on me. Indy has a little bit of almost everything. It's not too extreme on one side or the other. It's pretty reasonable. The taxes and ordinances are less intrusive. No crazy mayor trying to control how much soda you can drink or going through your kitchen cupboard. If you don't like the city don't just up and leave. Help do your part in changing it for the better. I plan on doing my part by starting my own business again to hopefully grow large enough to help create more jobs here for the local economy. It's what people make of it. The only complaint I have is the lack of a regional rapid transit system but other than that Indy is pretty reasonable place to live. I can think of worse places other than Indy and this coming from someone who has traveled (also lived) outside the country, lived in other states and to this day still travel "everyday" to other cities and states more than the average joe. I'm in Cleveland today I will be in Indy tomorrow then onto Omaha. In a few weeks I will be in England and next year Japan or Korea. I have been up to 9 states in one day. I don't mean to brag about my traveling experiences but pointing out what Indy is like to someone who did not grow up here looking from the outside in. There are times when I do feel like a transplant but that's because I didn't grow up here. When I come back to Indy I appreciate the place more. It's not the biggest city, it's not the smallest city, it's not the wealthiest, it's not the poorest, it's not the most snobbish, it's not the best city, and it's certainly not the worse city...it's just right.

[key4lp]

How did this thread jump from 10/11/2008 to yesterday?