Indiana living is my kind of heaven.. (Indianapolis, Bloomington: house, neighborhoods)

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by ischyros

I will agree with the post that the steel mills by the dunes have cleaned up a bit. I remember as a kid going to Chicago and that stretch of I-90 by the steel mills always smelled horrible. I don't really notice that smell anymore or at least I haven't the last few times I've gone by there when I think back on it.

The air quality is also quite a bit better than even 15-20 years ago now that many of the very old coal power plants in the Chicagoland area have been retired and replaced by cleaner sources.

[recycled]

Originally Posted by skeddy

As long as you think it's the most beautiful state, that's all that matters. Whether it is or not, is another matter.

Y'all know the saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! There is no one size fits all in finding a place that makes a person happy.

[Chicago Bob]

All states have beauty that is to be appreciated - this is a big country. Every state I go to I am amazed at the history, the diversity, etc. that I had no idea existed. We are on an all 50 states kick right now. I posted this because Indiana has a LOT of natural beauty that I didn't realize and is given flyover status by many and I grew up in South Bend, IN. Rolling hills are my favorite - love upstate NY and parts of Pennsylvania, Southern Ohio, etc. Do not like mountainous, closed in areas where you cannot see the horizon though. Love seasons, wish winter was shorter in Northern climates but appreciate it all the same. I have learned that wherever you live, Denver for example, the mountains quickly blend into the background and the one road you can take commute starts to become, f those mountains. I want easy living and country roads and hopefully soon I can find it and more importantly, afford it.

[JoeJunior]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I lived in Indianapolis for several years. I'm originally from northeast TN and live in western NC now near Asheville.

IN has a lot of classic Americana, but comparing it to the natural beauty of Appalachia just isn't fair.

I lived in Terre Haute for 3 years after college and traveled the western half of Indiana on business extensively. I like it around Bloomington, but don't find the state especially scenic anywhere. I feel the same about most of the entire Midwest.

As a Tennessee native, give me Middle and East Tennessee any day. When we lived in Atlanta 'burbs, we spent our weekends at our Northeast Georgia mountain place. Give me Hiawassee, Georgia and Lake Chatuge any day for sheer beauty.

I also worked in Virginia and North Carolina and found both states to have it all--from great beaches to beautiful mountains. Even better, Virginia is for Lovers. Cannot beat that.

In my retirement years, we go between NE Georgia and our waterfront house on the Tennessee River in North Alabama. It's 650 miles of the best inland cruising in the U.S.

[Chicago Bob]

Originally Posted by JoeJunior

I lived in Terre Haute for 3 years after college and traveled the western half of Indiana on business extensively. I like it around Bloomington, but don't find the state especially scenic anywhere. I feel the same about most of the entire Midwest.

As a Tennessee native, give me Middle and East Tennessee any day. When we lived in Atlanta 'burbs, we spent our weekends at our Northeast Georgia mountain place. Give me Hiawassee, Georgia and Lake Chatuge any day for sheer beauty.

I also worked in Virginia and North Carolina and found both states to have it all--from great beaches to beautiful mountains. Even better, Virginia is for Lovers. Cannot beat that.

In my retirement years, we go between NE Georgia and our waterfront house on the Tennessee River in North Alabama. It's 650 miles of the best inland cruising in the U.S.

Thanks for the recommendations - jotting these down. Sounds like you have been around.

[rrah]

Originally Posted by ischyros

I will agree with the post that the steel mills by the dunes have cleaned up a bit. I remember as a kid going to Chicago and that stretch of I-90 by the steel mills always smelled horrible. I don't really notice that smell anymore or at least I haven't the last few times I've gone by there when I think back on it.

You were there at the wrong times.

[johnd393]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I have seen it every season. Worked in it for a bit too (biological surveys (herps)). Its on my list of "probably shouldn't be a National Park". And the core, the State Park, is more interesting biologically. I'll stand by that. The National Park expanded on the State Park with lesser quality areas, subtraction by addition.

My memory of it as a kid growing up near there in the 1950s, there was more recreational activity, it was more accessible, before any of the National Lakeshore/National park stuff happened. There a street where you could drive right down to the beach front. Now the road is blocked and you have to park 1/4 mile from the beach and walk through the woods. Of course this particular street that's blocked would have given easy access to people from a poorer community.
The State park is fine. My grade school class took us on field trips there a couple times.

[sheerbliss]

Originally Posted by johnd393

Of course this particular street that's blocked would have given easy access to people from a poorer community.

I admit I'm not familiar with the area, but I don't understand this. Poor people can't walk a quarter mile? The area around the park looks well-to-do; maybe it's improved since the 50s.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by rrah

You were there at the wrong times.

That very well could be. I just remember the smell used to be horrible driving by there back in the 80s and I can't remember the last time I noticed it. The ethanol plant on the south side of South Bend is the same way. It wasn't a horrible smell, at least, more like baking bread, but there were times you could smell it all the way on the north side of Mishawaka let alone when driving past it. But you don't smell it at all now.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

There's lots of advantages to living on flat land. It's easier to get around town if you have to walk. It's easier to roller skate and ride bicycles on. It's easier to build things on, like buildings, houses, railroads, streets, and cities. The way the streets of Indianapolis are laid out, it's probably the hardest big city in the nation to get lost in.