Moving to Indianapolis (Lafayette, Fishers, Carmel: real estate, apartment complexes, rental)

[AZ_TO_IP]

Hello

We (famiy of 4 including 2 daughters aged 5 yrs and 18 months) are moving to Indianapolis for my work. I will be working in Downtown for 5-6 months a year and travelling rest of the time. My wife is planning to be homemaker for next couple of years to raise kids. Looking to find some nice neighborhood based on following factors:
1. Best place to raise a family and safe (low crime) area
2. School (We have 5 year old daughter and looking for best schooling options either public or private)
3. Diversity. We are Asian Indian family. It will be good to have some Indian community and/or diversity in the neighborhood.
4. Downtown commute - less than 40-45 mins. I will also be travelling a lot, so something which is close to airport too will be additional bonus (but not a huge requirement)
5. At this point we are looking to rent 2-3 BR apartment / home (less than 1000 dollars a month) but would be looking to buy house by end of the year in 200K-300K range in same area if it works out

Any suggestions on areas and/or good apartment complexes will be highly appreciated. Thanks for your time and looking into this.

[chalcedony]

Indianapolis has a reasonably large Indian population, and it has really taken off in recent years. You shouldn't have a hard time finding a community.

Within the city of Indianapolis, here are your best bets:

Franklin Township, to the southeast of downtown, has schools with good ratings and a short commute. It is very safe and one of the least developed parts of the city--almost a "country" feel which the upper-middle residents retain through strict controls on commercial developments. Not a lot of retail close by but attractive subdivisions are intersperse around farms and gently rolling hills. Though pretty homogeneous, Franklin Twp's biggest minority population may be Indian. I know some of their outreach is in Spanish and Punjabi, and a large Sikh gurduwara is in the area. Taxes for homeowners are a bit high (due to the lack of commercial) but you should find what you're looking for. The only apartments in the area are immediately east of Emerson Avenue.

Washington Township: just north of the city. Much more urban and more diverse than Franklin, and North Central High School has an excellent reputation and caters to a very multicultural student body. Crime is a bit higher here but still not bad; this is the old money area though and home prices are higher. Plenty of apartments, though some of them may not be so desirable. The neighborhoods around here are often beautiful, but some of this district feeds into Indianapolis Public Schools, where the track record is very very mixed. You'd be very close to downtown and excellent shopping here.

Outside the city limits:

Greenwood is a good option. It has only recently become fairly diverse, and there's a large Sikh population in the area. Schools are excellent and you can get a lot for your money in terms of homes. Plenty of good rental options and very safe. A little farther commute, but still less than 45 minutes unless you go way out. Diversity is lower here, but the Indian population is pretty strong and growing.

Carmel would be another option. It is the most affluent suburban area, north of the city, a large Asian population of all ethnicities. Schools are among the top in the country. Home prices are much higher though, and what you are seeking may be hard to get more than a 3 BR. Commute would be about 45 minutes, mostly due to traffic because the distance still isn't that great. Fishers is right next to Carmel and is still pretty upscale with great schools, but a bit more affordable and more rental options.

The best Indian-related retail (groceries, restaurants, video, gift shops) is in the Lafayette Square/Eagledale area, on the near west side. This is not necessarily a very desirable area to live, though there are some good neighborhoods close by. Pike Township (north of Lafayette Square) has very attractive housing.

[kwr]

Given your $200-$300K price range, you would have more 3 bdrm options in Carmel than in the nicer areas within the city limits.

[AZ_TO_IP]

We have narrowed our list to following four areas and mostly leaning towards Fishers:

All four of them have excellent schools and are very safe areas. So, they met our most important criteria.

Carmel / Fishers - Not able to come up with something that will separate our Carmel from Fishers. Carmel has costlier real estate as compared to Fishers and I couldn't find anything major which will separate it out from Fishers (mostly I looked at my parameters but in general also, they seem pretty much the same). Is there any differece between coommute time to downtown from Carmel vs Fishers?

Noblesville - Good value for money. Cheaper than Carmel and Fishers.(Is it correct?) Not so good - Farthest from Downtown and airport. I have few unknowns like Diversity, how much cheaper will it be as compared to Carmel / Fishers for buying a house.

Greenwood - Positives include - Cheapest real estate, Closest to downtown, Good Indian community. Not so good - It is on South side (not sure of its impact but North side definitely has much better perception on this site); mostly lower middle class (again it doesn't have any correlation to area but I think places with higher income normally has better public facilities like park, libraries etc.)

[hapaleeretired]

You're right on the money with your evaluation. If you are going to work down town check out rush hour traffic to the north and then to the south and Greenwood scores big.

[domergurl]

yea, Greenwood is defintely a better commute to the airport. The Center Grove schools in Greenwood are very good too. There are 2 school districts in Greenwood.

[MortonR]

Consider the Avon area - there is a large Indian population and community related resources in the area, and your price range would give you some very good value for your housing dollar. Schools are excellent and the commute to downtown is not bad at all.

Michelle (a realtor in the Avon area) is around here somewhere and can fill in details, but I think this side of town would be well suited to you based on your requirements.

I grew up on the southside and Greenwood, and have a family member who served on one of the local school boards. Based on their input and my personal experience in the area, I would recommend against Greenwood/Johnson county for a number of reasons.

Just my $0.02....

RM

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by AZ_TO_IP

We have narrowed our list to following four areas and mostly leaning towards Fishers:

All four of them have excellent schools and are very safe areas. So, they met our most important criteria.

Carmel / Fishers - Not able to come up with something that will separate our Carmel from Fishers. Carmel has costlier real estate as compared to Fishers and I couldn't find anything major which will separate it out from Fishers (mostly I looked at my parameters but in general also, they seem pretty much the same). Is there any differece between coommute time to downtown from Carmel vs Fishers?

The commute times downtown may not be too different. Carmel doesn't really have access to a highway going downtown except for I-65 if you live on the far west side. Fishers has highways that go downtown, but I-69 is very congested during the rush hours.

[Michelle Morris]

I live in Avon, and am very happy here. The schools are 4star rated, and the town is smaller than most of the towns on the north side. It is closer to the airport, and commute to downtown is about 20-30 minutes. You real estate dollar would probably go further in Avon than on the North side, and there are several goosd rental options while you're making the transition.

[sweetana3]

A friend lives in Plainfield and I am impressed with the subdivisions I have seen, the parks built, good schools. Avon is similiar. There is sufficient shopping with easy traffic on large streets and a quick trip to airport and downtown with several access methods in case of traffic tie ups.

Another friend, who is Burmese, found a Pulte subdivision off 334 between Zionsville and Carmel to be a very international and friendly subdivision. Michigan Street which would be the closest shopping has grown and all the stores are pretty new and big. Now that I65 is repaired and upgraded, it is a good way downtown and not a bad drive to airport.

It is hard to find a good neighborhood(right fit) for a woman with young children. This is where a local agent can point out the demographics of neighborhoods and the location of elementary schools, parks, etc. Some neighborhoods have done a better job with trails and parks than others. Some people want the community pools and others dont.