Moving to Columbus, Indiana: Best area to live? (Washington: apartments, for rent)

[FLD]

Dear all,

I apologize if the following questions have been asked before as I may have found a couple but could not find enough details my wife and I wanted.

Basically, I have been offered a position in Columbus, IN. So, my wife and I will have to relocate from Melbourne, Australia. Hence, we pretty much have no idea which part of the town we should rent or even buy a house.

In case we need to rent, can you guys recommend us one that is in a good safe area in Columbus or the neighboring towns (let's say in 20-mile radius)? We'd very much prefer the apartment to be nice and quiet, though. We are looking at getting a 2-bedroom apartment for about $600-$700/month.

In case we want to buy a house, can you guys recommend us the area or surrounding area where we should buy a house and may be able to consider it as an investment? And how much are the house prices in the area?

Thank you very much.

Regards,
fld.

[arossi]

Hello, here are two links to apartments located on the west side of Columbus. Although, I have not been in the apartments I have driven through and both looked nice, quiet and well kept. They are both located in the Southside school district.

EastLake Woods (broken link)

Westwood Pines-4745 Pine Ridge Drive Columbus, IN 47201 812-342-1100 - Apartment Search Results

As far as buying a house, are schools a concern for you? What exactly do you mean by investment? Are you thinking more of a "flipping" type investment or more long term?

Good luck with your possible move.

[FLD]

Hi arossi,

First of all, thank you very much for your reply.

The apartments you have recommended look good, though.

At the moment, my wife and I do not have a kid but might be in the future. So, school district may not be our immediate concern but could be in the close future. However, I guess it would be preferable if we are in a good school district.

What I mean by "good investment" is that if we want to move to another city in 1 or 5 years' time (although I hate moving, who knows what will happen, right? ), we would prefer if the house price appreciates. Actually, my question was based on my generalization that, in any given city, there should be areas in which houses appreciate while in some others they depreciate. So, probably we would prefer to buy a house in an area where we know we won't make a loss when selling it.

Hmm, can I ask what you mean by "flipping type investment"?

Thank you very much again.

Regards,
fld.

Originally Posted by arossi

Hello, here are two links to apartments located on the west side of Columbus. Although, I have not been in the apartments I have driven through and both looked nice, quiet and well kept. They are both located in the Southside school district.

EastLake Woods (broken link)

Westwood Pines-4745 Pine Ridge Drive Columbus, IN 47201 812-342-1100 - Apartment Search Results

As far as buying a house, are schools a concern for you? What exactly do you mean by investment? Are you thinking more of a "flipping" type investment or more long term?

Good luck with your possible move.

[plaidmom]

I have to recommend the Donner Park area, since that is where I live.



It's an older neighborhood, just north of the downtown area, adjacent to two large city parks. Houses range from small cottages to large "mansions" (literally, on Washington Street) built from the 1920's-1960's.

I love being able to walk/ride my bike downtown. My daughter walked to H.S. (Columbus North) and my S.O. and I currently bike-commute to our jobs (we have a contest to see how long we can avoid driving the car).

We were invited to a Memorial Day Weekend block party last night and it was great to see the diversity in our neighborhood. Everyone from octogenarians to toddlers.

I've been in Columbus for ~7 years now, so feel free to ask any questions.

Here are some more photos:

Columbus Indiana - a photoset on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/18037615@N00/sets/72157600051430857/ - broken link)

[FLD]

Hi plaidmom,

First of all, we love the photos; they all look fantastic and made us feel like moving tomorrow.

In fact, I attended my interview, spent about a day in Columbus, and fell in love with it immediately.

I'll make sure I have Donner Park on my list. Approximately, how much would a 3-bedroom house cost in the area? Do they have houses for rent, too?

Thank you very much again for the photos.

Regards,
fld.

[FLD]

I just got a call from the company that my job offer has been confirmed. So, It's very likely that Columbus is going to have another 2 new members soon.

[domergurl]

Congrats! We'll see you there!

[FLD]

Thanks a lot, domergurl.

Now, I would like to have you guys' opinions on the following, please:

1. Good bank(s) where I can easily apply for a credit card, get good customer service and good interest rates. In my experience, at some banks, staffs are very friendly, courteous, and helpful, while, at some others, they work just like droids.

2. Good, reliable car dealers who provide good aftersale service. We are looking at buying a new Japanese car. We realize that there are about three Japanese car dealers available in Columbus, which are Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.

The reason I am asking this question is because in some certain cities, the cars themselves are good, but the dealer is bad, which makes them outsold by other makes. Personally, I had very bad experience when I bought a 2nd hand car from a dealer in Wichita in '96.

Thanks very much in advance.

Regards,
fld.

Originally Posted by domergurl

Congrats! We'll see you there!

[arossi]

Hello, sorry for the delay in my reply I have been away from my computer...

Flipping, in general terms, is buying a rehab or fixer-upper property, rehabbing the property and then selling it for a profit (hopefully) in a relatively short period of time.

Even if you don't have children, it's good to know about the schools when considering buying (and someday maybe selling) a home. Parkside and Rockcreek are both 4 star schools. The Indiana Four Star Awards recognize schools that have demonstrated academic excellence in the past year. Rockcreek serves a more rural area. The Parkside school district has quite a range in housing prices and types of homes. Southside is also a good school. I don't know much about the other elementary schools. Check out greatschools.net it has a lot of useful information about all the Bartholomew County schools.

I'm glad you liked Columbus, it is a nice town. There seems to be quite a few of us, on this board, that are heading that way! Good Luck!

[domergurl]

Banks and car dealers know that they have to beat the competition. Basically, shop around! And play each off the other. But, for the most part, any dealings I've had in the Indy area and in Columbus, people are all very nice. Let your good sense be your guide.