Pros and Cons of Indianapolis? Indianapolis or Madison? (Columbus, Marion: university, income)

[nothappyinindy]

Originally Posted by dtimm28

My wife and I are looking into moving from TX soon. I'm considering the Madison, WI and Indianapolis, IN areas due to various reasons, including my IT (networking) career. What are some pros and cons of the Indianapolis area?

I lived in Madison, WI for about 5 years and Indianapolis for 20 years. I would choose Madison in a heartbeat. It's a beautiful city with lots of lakes, clean air, and cultural activities. The state of Wisconsin itself is beautiful and Milwaukee is only 70 miles away for a day or weekend trip. Indianapolis is ugly and has poor air quality. The state is flat, no major rivers or lakes to break up the monotony. The people are very conservative and most were born here and have never lived anywhere but Indiana. They talk about culture here but there really isn't much and what there is, is second rate. If your life centers around sports bars, basketball, football, and car racing, however, Indianapolis is the place for you.

[nothappyinindy]

Originally Posted by hapaleeretired

Ever been to Madison in the middle of winter? Pick the location which will cause you the fewest auto trips through that traffic/road/toll nightmare known as Chicago. Indy's housing appreciation is deplorable.

I lived there for five years and at least they take care of the roads. When it snows 1 inch in Indy, all hell breaks loose. Also, you will see sunshine in the winter in Madison with crystal blue clear skies. In Indy, you can go two weeks without seeing the sun in the winter. Dark and dreary day after day with rain usually.

[nothappyinindy]

Originally Posted by jcamber

I always liked the fact that Indy is very centric to many places. Compared to TX (I'm now in DFW), the property taxes are not nearly as high as here and you still get a lot of house for the money (but probably not as much as down in TX). Winters are long, gloomy and cold. I would expect Madison to be just as Indy in that regard, maybe a bit longer?

I always liked the feel Indy had of small town with all the big city conveniences. Oh and traffic is a walk in the park compared to big Texas cities... you'll love that.

Indy--definitely small town feel, just read the local Indy Star. It's like you're living in some small town in North Dakota or Iowa. By big city conveniences, do you mean light rail? A great infrastructure? What exactly do you mean by "all the big city conveniences"? We have two shopping malls (Lafayette Square and Washington Square) that people are afraid to shop at. Castleton Square is deteriorating. That leaves Greenwood Mall which is really out of Indianapolis and Marion County and the Fashion Mall which is nice but small with Nordstoms and Saks if you can afford to shop there.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by nothappyinindy

I lived in Madison, WI for about 5 years and Indianapolis for 20 years. I would choose Madison in a heartbeat. It's a beautiful city with lots of lakes, clean air, and cultural activities. The state of Wisconsin itself is beautiful and Milwaukee is only 70 miles away for a day or weekend trip. Indianapolis is ugly and has poor air quality. The state is flat, no major rivers or lakes to break up the monotony. The people are very conservative and most were born here and have never lived anywhere but Indiana. They talk about culture here but there really isn't much and what there is, is second rate. If your life centers around sports bars, basketball, football, and car racing, however, Indianapolis is the place for you.

Yeah, judging from your name I'd say your view on Indianapolis is a little biased. A city of 2 million people doesn't have a whole lot in common with the rest of the state. If you think Indy is conservative perhaps you should travel outside the city every once in awhile.

There is diversity in topography as well. You have the limestone caverns in southern Indiana, cornfields cover most of the central part of the state, forests dominate the north around the St. Joseph River, which is also one of only a handful of rivers that flows North in the entire world, and then you have a few beaches up around Michigan City.

The reason Madison is different is it does have a waterfront and it's also a major college city. It is more of an artsy and liberal leaning city, but on the national stage it doesn't really hold anything over Indy. Indy has more of everything when it comes to national precedence.

[Bulldog46208]

I lived in Madison, WI for 18 years and Indianapolis for 17 years. So I couldn't help but respond to this thread even if it is 4 years old.

Madison WI pros: College town, government jobs, U. of Wisconsin sports, great Halloween party, 2 medium sized lakes with small beaches.

Madison WI cons: Lots of snow there is twice as much snow in Madison than Indy, poor weather, people are not as friendly as Indy.

Indianapolis pros: Low cost of living with property taxes about 1% of the value of a home, 2 largest sporting events in the world (Indy 500, Brickyard 400), dozen museums - the arts and culture are underrated, good nightlife - see Broad Ripple, Mass Ave & Warehouse district, booming local craft brewing, many summer festivals.

Indianapolis cons: Traffic is more congested than Madison - avoid NE side of Indy, land locked city with limited waterways - White River is very shallow in places.

My overwhelming preference is Indianapolis. But if you are in your early twenties or if an excellent public school is important for your child then Madison may be a better choice for you.

[MortonR]

Grew up in Indianapolis, lived in SE Wisconsin for 8 years with plenty of travel around the state to include Madtown.

Indianapolis is horribly conservative, so much so it frightened me when I moved back in 2008. For example, many of the comments I heard at work about the incoming president were nothing short of shocking (to me.) Having grown up in Indy I knew its past, but I had hoped in the many years I had been gone things had changed at least a little….

Wisconsin, especially southeast Wisconsin, is a wonderful place with a wide array of culture and peoples. Madison has plenty of culture, is a college town, which makes it great if you're younger or looking for night life, and has year 'round seasonal activities that can keep you busy around the clock.

As for Wisconsin in general, which it may have changed since I lived there in the late 80s and through the 90s, the quality of life exceeded any other place I have lived in to-date. I can't qualify or quantify what exactly it is, but life in general was better there. The people were nice, the crime rate was low, there were plenty of things to do and see.

If I had to choose between Madison and Indianapolis and weather wasn't a deal breaker, I would choose Madison hands down. As for the weather, Madison will have a lot more snow and colder temperatures in January and February. However, winter isn't a bad time as I found when I lived there. The locals embrace it, and it's actually as fun or more so than the summer time. You just have to wear heavier clothing, that's all…..

RM

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Grew up in Indianapolis, lived in SE Wisconsin for 8 years with plenty of travel around the state to include Madtown.

Indianapolis is horribly conservative, so much so it frightened me when I moved back in 2008. For example, many of the comments I heard at work about the incoming president were nothing short of shocking (to me.) Having grown up in Indy I knew its past, but I had hoped in the many years I had been gone things had changed at least a little….

Wisconsin, especially southeast Wisconsin, is a wonderful place with a wide array of culture and peoples. Madison has plenty of culture, is a college town, which makes it great if you're younger or looking for night life, and has year 'round seasonal activities that can keep you busy around the clock.

As for Wisconsin in general, which it may have changed since I lived there in the late 80s and through the 90s, the quality of life exceeded any other place I have lived in to-date. I can't qualify or quantify what exactly it is, but life in general was better there. The people were nice, the crime rate was low, there were plenty of things to do and see.

If I had to choose between Madison and Indianapolis and weather wasn't a deal breaker, I would choose Madison hands down. As for the weather, Madison will have a lot more snow and colder temperatures in January and February. However, winter isn't a bad time as I found when I lived there. The locals embrace it, and it's actually as fun or more so than the summer time. You just have to wear heavier clothing, that's all…..

RM

Horribly conservative? Indianapolis has a democratically controlled legislature. In 2008 almost 70% of Marion County voted for Barack Obama, not sure how that rings "horribly conservative".

Now, in nearby Hamilton county I can see there being a lot of conservative folk.

[MortonR]

Try the west side. I won't be any more specific than that.

RM

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Try the west side. I won't be any more specific than that.

RM

I really don't know, but Marion County voted for Obama at a higher rate than Hamilton County (Cincinnati) and Franklin County (Columbus, supposedly a liberal city), so I guess you must consider those cities horribly conservative, then sure, Indianapolis falls under that category. But if your guidelines for liberal are that strict, then the only liberal cities in the Midwest would basically be Chicago, Minneapolis, and college towns (ie; Madison).

[grmasterb]

Wisconsin elected Scott Walker as governor, and Paul Ryan's district is in SE Wisconsin.