Indianapolis Knotties

buttaflai

Any out there? I have job opportunity that would put me an hour outside of Indianapolis. I'm researching the city, but it's always better to "talk to" people in the area. Enlighten me or shoo me if you don't want me around.

FutureMrsDudley55

I'm in Muncie! About 1 1/2 hrs away!

BarefootContessa

I'm about an hour south.

danieliza1127

I live on the west side and work downtown.

onefishtwofish

I just moved to the south side... What part of town are you looking at?

buttaflai

Is it the place to be?H and I like to be by cities - where there are lots of bars (dance types, not sit down types), a diverse population, and A LOT to do. It looks nice...

buttaflai

The job is in columbus.

lyndausvi

My parents moved there about 6 years ago for my dad's job.  Overall they like it there. They live downtown and enjoy the restaurants and stuff.  They will however move away when my dad retires.

onefishtwofish

I am originally from the Chicago area, so I am not very impressed with it overall... but there is a pretty good scene and a decent culture there.  It is not as diverse as I would like, and a little "watered-down" as cities go, but it is generally a nice place.  Also a hop, skip, & a jump from Chi town, Cinci, Columbus, and Louisville.  HTH!

onefishtwofish

Columbus, IN itself is pretty rural... but you are close enough to the action if you are okay living in Nowheresville, Midwest

buttaflai

onefish - that's GREAT feedback. We always saw ourselves right outside of large cities like Chicago. We LOVE Chicago, so everything is always compared to that area.I know Indianapolis is larger than Grand Rapids, so I'm thinking there is more. Have you been to GR?

BarefootContessa

I'm near Columbus...and to be honest with you there isn't much there. I was going to say that Indianapolis isn't the worst...but it's no Chicago, nor even Louisville.

danieliza1127

I dated a guy that lived in Columbus when I was in college in Bloomington, which is nearby.  I will tell you Columbus isn't close enough to Indianapolis that you would feel like you lived near the city.  It's about an hour from the city and an hour from Bloomington which is a big college town (IU).  But it's known for being a really nice town, more upper class I think.  I wouldn't say it has lots of dance clubs/bars/a lot to do though, but I don't live there, I could be wrong.  If you were looking for all that, you would really want to be in Indianapolis not Columbus. 

buttaflai

So... no Asian markets in Columbus? ha

*BeachBride0410*

I live in Indianapolis now, moved from PA.  I have lived here over a year now and love it.  I never grew up in a city, more of a farming area.  So I was a little nervous to move to a city.  But when I got here I was pleasently surprised.  I thought it would be like Philly, NYC or Chicago....but its more of a "little city".  Downtown is great and very clean.  Once you can outside of downtown its more of a suburb.  What kind of info are you looking for?

onefishtwofish

I've not been to Grand Rapids, but I imagine it is similar.  And PPs are right, I have not been to Columbus, but FI worked out of there for awhile... not really close to anything, but a "nice" place to live.

BarefootContessa

I'm in Bloomington and we're pretty diverse here thanks to the University--but you still have that small town feel. Columbus is more...well..just southern Indiana-ish.

buttaflai

I commute 45 min to work now. So If I DID consider this, I'd probably be somewhere inbetween Columbus and Indianapolis. A long drive doesn't bother me if I love my job.

danieliza1127

I am originally from the Chicago area, so I am not very impressed with it overall... but there is a pretty good scene and a decent culture there. It is not as diverse as I would like, and a little "watered-down" as cities go, but it is generally a nice place.You're talking about Indianapolis here, not Columbus right?  Personally I love Indianapolis.  I think it's diverse and there is a ton of fun stuff to do here.  I lived in Tampa for 6 years and Indianapolis has a much better night life, museums, culture, than Tampa did.  The thing is Columbus is an hour away, so you really wouldn't be close enough to Indy to enjoy it.

*BeachBride0410*

There really is not much between Indy and Columbus though....and the commute from Indy to Columbus would be a headache IMO.  I agree Danni, I love Indy too.  You can walk around downtown at night alone and not be worried.  Great places to eat and bars all walking distance of a giant parking garage, which might I add is like $2.50 for 3 hrs! FI and I love to take the dog for a walk at the canal.  There is Mass Ave which has great little shops and art stuff.

buttaflai

I guess I am trying to gauge what type of a city it would be and what the Columbus area would be like.I have only driven through Indiana to get to Chicago so never been to the south side. I like GR because while small, it does have dance clubs and has growth. I like seeing growth. It's clean and is a college town. It's safe and I live on the nice side of town.I would dread being in SMALLTOWN, but access to a large city is all I need.

buttaflai

There really is not much between Indy and Columbus though....and the commute from Indy to Columbus would be a headache IMO.Boooo... that is good info. Thank you all!From what it sounds like, I might enjoy being IN Indianapolis, not outside of it... I might have to make a road trip.

crfische

I loved indianapolis. I lived downtown in Riley Towers. I LOVED it. It was close to chicago, which I liked, and there are lots of college sports close by which was also super awesome. Downtown indianapolis and broad ripple both have very nice bars. I lived closer to castleton for awhile, which was cool. I spent A LOT of time at the Beer Sellar. The carmel/fishers area is upscale and has some really cool stuff up there. I wanna go back.

*BeachBride0410*

This website could give you a lot you need to know about Downtown Indianapolis and what it offers. http://www.indydt.com/North of downtown is a place call Broad Ripple and that has some really neat places to eat.  I just went to a wine bar there and it was amazing.  Great food, seating outside.  There is a main strip of all bars and places to dance.  It sometimes can be a big college crowd, close to Butler Uni.  But its a good place to visit once and a while.  I couldn't do it every weekend.

buttaflai

But it's known for being a really nice town, more upper class I think.Columbus or Bloomington?

*BeachBride0410*

Another plus IMO, Indianapolis as a whole is very reasonably priced.  That includes downtown and the surrounding area.  I live on the west side of town, 20min. from downtown and I am still considered Indianapolis.  Its very affordable.  Then again I am from the east coast where everything is expensive.  my friends cant believe we rent a 3bedroom/2bath house for $900 a month. 

*BeachBride0410*

But it's known for being a really nice town, more upper class I think.She was talking about carmel/fishers area, which is north of downtown indy. 

danieliza1127

Buttaflai - you would probably want to look at Greenwood if you were trying to stay close to the city but commute to Columbus.  It's a nice area south of downtown filled with restaurants and shops and a great mall, about 20 minutes to downtown and about 40 minutes to Columbus.  You could easily go out on the town in Indianapolis if you lived in Greenwood.Indy is a really clean city, beautiful downtown and canal area.

danieliza1127

But it's known for being a really nice town, more upper class I think.Columbus or Bloomington?I was talking about Columbus actually.  It's rural, small town, but it's nice.

buttaflai

Next Google stop: GreenwoodAwesome, thank you all for the loads of information. I really appreciate the help!

MamaKin

i've lived in indy for 22 years now.  if you're looking for move here, the nicest/best areas are the west and north sides.  south side is alright.  avoid the east side at all costs (there are some nice neighborhoods, but it's just generally a bad area).i live on the north side (an area called nora).  the "hotspots" for things to do are either mass ave (massachusetts avenue) downtown, or broadripple (an area 6-7 miles north and a little east of downtown).   indianapolis is a great city, lots to do in the way of entertainment, sports, museums, and plenty of parking (el cheapo compared to most big cities).  i don't know a whole lot about columbus, but it's very close to edinburgh which has a pretty kickass outlet mall.  *shrugs*