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Well I live in Indiana right now and yes there is some downfalls. But its thriving. I also live up in the North and this winter, yes it was really ruff but other winters it snows from December to February, it was only this year it has snowed to March. Also, there is some tornado warnings but there has never been a tornado that has destroyed anything. Ice may be bad but it isn't terrible, try Alaska. Also the mosquitoes, we are all allergic ( thats why we itch and get bumps) yes they suck, if you want to be itch free, try the fall or spring and no, it doesn't snow. What is wrong with you, autumn is life, yes you had some sucky times in Indiana but have you really thought about what you wrote? Your a whiny baby. I love this place, it was better than anywhere I have been before. Ever heard of sucking it up? Take a chill pill and understand that life can notbe easy, I took your crap til the Autumn thing. Seriously? GET A LIFE! God I can't stand people like you, criticize places you never understood. Grow a pair and them come back and tell me again.
Just to let everybody know, thats not Hoosier Hospitality at its finest. I can only hope you dont work for the chamber of commerce. Not everybody has the same life experiences. Its only natural different people are gonna like some places better than others. what i dont understand is how do you figure you took the posters crap when you read his or her posts totally voluntarily.
What you have done is you allowed a total stranger so much power over you that you were compelled to write a first post that makes you come across as bitter and angry and mean and nasty and ir rational. Maybe you should take your own medical advice and take a chill pill or a nicely rolled slow burning fattie. Lifes too short to to allow yourself to get so worked up over something so trivial.
Premise of the thread is a bit silly, but I do find a couple things depressing.
The state of Indiana seems unique in putting the ugliest things in places where the most people will view them. Coming into Indy on 65, there is a HUGE what appears to be a power plant with two tall reactors. It is atrocious. Coming from the east on I74, you have the Honda plant near Greensburg. The worst parts of the Indy metro are visible from the interstate. Fort Wayne has that massive GM plant visible from 69. Anderson has the Nestle facility visible from 69. The state looks cold, industrial, and unwelcoming from its most widely traveled roads.
The terrain and weather are what they are, but I can see how it would depress people. Most of the state IS very flat and there are A LOT of corn and soybeans. The better parts aren't really visible to the casual passer-through. When it gets snowy in the winter, Indiana doesn't really have much to make it fun. There aren't mountains for skiing, many lakes for ice fishing, no hockey, etc. While there's plenty to do in the summer, Indiana doesn't have much in the way of beaches (aside from NWI), no ocean, no mountains, and I don't think the state has a good PR campaign, like the Pure Michigan thing. Coming from TN, the outdoor recreation is nowhere near as good, and the winters are worse and come much sooner, especially in the northern part of the state.
IN is also pretty conservative, and if you were way outside the mainstream, I could see how it could get depressing. I was traveling between Anderson and Summit Lake State Park and saw a church with a sign that said a man with long hair brings shame to his name. While I'm no liberal, attitudes like that really put off a lot of people.
Another thing I've noticed compared to other states I've lived in (IA, TN, SC) is that Indiana has a lot of urban blight. Anderson looked awful when I was there today. The city of Indianapolis has considerable blight in many sections. Gary is blighted. That kind of thing is depressing.
I still like it here, but the state does have some odd issues.
I have lived in north (Miami county), central (north of Indy) and southern Indiana (Evansville) over the last 5 years. This is after living in Louisiana almost all my life.
Yes, it can be a little depressing at times. I think this is much more true of the central part of the state than others. Particularly the bigger towns directly north of Indy - like Anderson, Muncie, Marion, Kokomo. These towns are have major economic issues because they were so dependent on the auto industry for jobs. When GM pulled out a decade to 15 years ago, a lot of people got screwed. There is a fair amount of bitterness and general, resigned malaise. While I wouldn't call the people in those towns unfriendly at all, there is a fair amount of standoffishness.
I think another major thing is the skies. They're never blue, always gray. Even sunny days, it seems like there's kind of a gray cloudy pall. I've found this to be true in all 4 places I've lived in the state. I would assume that's a pollution factor. People need sunlight, really. It's one of the most underrated factors of emotional health, that's just science.
And obviously it's much worse in winter. The winters north of Indy are pretty awful. I know it's a lot less severe than some other places, but when it's late March/early April and the dirty, slushy snow just won't go away, and your toes have been cold for 6 straight months, it starts to grind on your nerves a little more every day.
Indiana probably also gets the worst of both worlds when it comes to extremes in climate. This is especially true in the more southern part of the state, it can be hot and icky humid in summer, then below zero and two feet of snow in winter. In Evansville this year we got both of those. The mild stretches of weather in spring and fall just don't last very long.
In terms of things to do, I find Indiana pretty homogenized. There are lots of chain restaurants and big-box stores. To be fair, in most every decent-sized town there will be a large variety of chain restaurants and big-box stores. But rarely anything unique, other than things like flea markets (and even most of the flea markets are just part of a larger regional chain). I like mom-and-pop restaurants, greasy spoon diners, independently-owned record stores, little junk shops. You're not going to find a lot of those places unless you get well off the beaten path. In general I just feel like the entertainment/culture/food is lacking for what I am used to, but I suppose Louisiana is an unfair comparison in that regard.
Those are the negative things though. My wife and I bought a beautiful house in Evansville and we plan to live here the rest of our lives, so obviously there are plenty of positives as well. I find the people and culture in southern Indiana (south of Bloomington, roughly) to be much more in line with what I am used to. Folks are very friendly and down-to-earth in general. It is about as safe as you can reasonably ask for a place to be for raising kids. We've had some pretty serious setbacks (our storage unit with 80% of our belongings burned down, basement in new house flooded a week before we moved, storm damages from a tornado, pregnant wife in ER for a week, etc) and I have been absolutely blown away with how people have gone out of their way to help us - a piece of furniture, bringing over food, helping with yardwork, things like that. I'm talking about friend of a friend of a friend types, showing up with a chainsaw and cutting up fallen trees in the backyard, or my wife's coworker bringing over a home-cooked meal for myself and the two kids while my wife spent the night in the ER.
I would not care to live in the central part of the state again, but I enjoy southern Indiana very much. Don't take the list of complaints above too harshly. It's just that I can see why someone might consider it depressing. I like it where I am but at times you do have to shake off the glums. Indiana is quickly becoming "home" for me and I have no qualms with the prospect of living here until I kick over. The drawbacks are there just like any other place though.
Last edited by Roboturner913; 08-20-2014 at 12:39 PM..
Most areas in Indiana have affordable housing, so that's a big plus. Public transportation is poor, so you have to rely on your own transportation. Air quality is generally below average due to the the large number of coal fired power plants and large industrial plants in certain areas. Public (non collegiate) education is only average in quality and ranking. People tend to be resistant to change, especially in more rural areas. There are lots of smokers and overweight people in SW IN (maybe 30%?). Most politicians in IN are crony capitalists feeding off the corporate tit and they tend to pass laws that get overturned by the federal courts. Politicians in IN are corrupt, stupid, and anti-consumer/pro big business. What this means is they will give big companies property tax credits and worker training credits (shift tax base to residential home owners), while at the same time, increase the sales tax, rig the state utility board to always approve yearly rate increases, etc. People in SW IN tend to be clannish, so free time is often spent with extended family. This makes it difficult to really get to know your neighbors. We actually had neighbors of 10 years, from across the street, turn down having dinner with us one weekend because the husband didn't like what we were serving. WOW! To sum it up, SW IN is not a progressive place to live and the state, in general, is worse than average in many categories. It's a harsh rating, but it's true. I've lived here for 19 years, and prior to that in several other states that were better (IA, CA). Family and job obligations keep us here, then it's off to Europe for retirement.
While there's plenty to do in the summer, Indiana doesn't have much in the way of beaches (aside from NWI), no ocean, no mountains, and I don't think the state has a good PR campaign, like the Pure Michigan thing.
Another thing I've noticed compared to other states I've lived in (IA, TN, SC) is that Indiana has a lot of urban blight. Anderson looked awful when I was there today. The city of Indianapolis has considerable blight in many sections. Gary is blighted. That kind of thing is depressing.
I still like it here, but the state does have some odd issues.
Yes, part of Indiana is flat but so is Chicago (and that doesn't seem to repel people from living there
or visiting). Then there are the hills going a bit south of Indy. I will agree that something is wrong
regarding NW Indiana which IMO should have the same appeal as Michigan along the lake. NW Indiana's
proximity to Lake Michigan could be drawing tourists thus creating more revenue, jobs and revitalizing
cities, neighborhoods, historic buildings etc... This would require our politicians and businesses to invest, redevelop, revitalize and beautify the lake shore cities.
Yes, part of Indiana is flat but so is Chicago (and that doesn't seem to repel people from living there
or visiting). Then there are the hills going a bit south of Indy. I will agree that something is wrong
regarding NW Indiana which IMO should have the same appeal as Michigan along the lake. NW Indiana's
proximity to Lake Michigan could be drawing tourists thus creating more revenue, jobs and revitalizing
cities, neighborhoods, historic buildings etc... This would require our politicians and businesses to invest, redevelop, revitalize and beautify the lake shore cities.
Chicago is the anchor city of the Midwest and the third largest metro in the nation. That alone is going to attract people. Indiana doesn't have any city that can attract people the way Chicago can.
I have only passed through NWI, but it has a "reputation," and I didn't see much there that would encourage me to come back. Agreed that it doesn't seem to get the touristy vibe that some of the Michigan beach towns get. I spent the day in Holland back in August and drove up parallel to the lake for about two more hours one way and it's beautiful country. You just don't have much natural beauty in IN (except for the hills in southern IN, which IMO are nowhere near as beautiful as western NC or even the bluegrass area of KY) and I think that kind of turns people off.
Chicago is the anchor city of the Midwest and the third largest metro in the nation. That alone is going to attract people. Indiana doesn't have any city that can attract people the way Chicago can.
I have only passed through NWI, but it has a "reputation," and I didn't see much there that would encourage me to come back. Agreed that it doesn't seem to get the touristy vibe that some of the Michigan beach towns get. I spent the day in Holland back in August and drove up parallel to the lake for about two more hours one way and it's beautiful country. You just don't have much natural beauty in IN (except for the hills in southern IN, which IMO are nowhere near as beautiful as western NC or even the bluegrass area of KY) and I think that kind of turns people off.
Yes I know, I'm from Chicago but at one time there were cities such as Hammond and yes even Gary
that were smaller versions of Chicago back in the 50's-60's. Point is, NW Indiana doesn't have to
imitate Chicago but re-invent itself and restore the once natural typography it has. Similar to what
New Buffalo, MI did (although it went a bit over board) and then there's Michigan City, IN a few miles
away.
There are bird sanctuaries, the dunes, walking trails, woods but no hills - not a deal breaker for many
people since there is Lake Michigan.
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