Indianapolis or Fort Wayne to move too? (Columbus, Fishers: apartments, rental homes)

[leasmom]

Hi. I am trying to find the best place to move me and my daughter. We are originally from Michigan. I am from Detroit but my daughter has never lived in Detroit, only in the suburbs outside of Detroit and also in a small city here in Tennessee. She is used to a very safe place to live and thats what I want her used too but I also want some place that has things to do, museums, things for teens to do, but still safe, and affordable housing, like affordable rental homes, not apartments or shared space. We also need to be close to family in Michigan. I know Fort Wayne is only 2 1/2 hrs from my family in Michigan but if Indianapolis is a better choice, I could handle the 4 1/2 drive instead. So, whats the best choice esp. since I have never been to Fort Wayne, I think I've been through Indianapolis but just in passing...so whats the best choice?

[grmasterb]

What kind of employment would you be seeking?

[leasmom]

I'm going back to school to get a Masters Degree.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by leasmom

I'm going back to school to get a Masters Degree.

In which discipline?

[cdr18]

Well, I personally think Fort Wayne would be the better choice with a population just about 250k. It has grown recently, and although Fort Wayne does not have major suburbs, the suburbs are actually located within the city of Fort Wayne which makes it convenient. There are many nice subdivisions located within the city. The portions of the city that have grown the most in the last decade would be northern Fort Wayne as Southwest Fort Wayne, although I will say the northeast part has seen its fair share of new homes. Whatever you do, stay away from the southeastern part of the city as this has most of the cime in the area. Fort Wayne overall is a very safe place to raise a family and was voted an All-American City in 2009 as well as one of the best places in the nation to raise a family. There are many sports activities to do and the Allen County Public Library is one of the best in Indiana. Southwest Allen and Northwest Allen are the two school districts that have received the highest remarks in the county, so I would look into those. I would advise you to travel to the area and scout it out. The downtown has improved remarkably in the past couple of years with the addition of a new baseball park and other developments. I have been to Indy many times as well and it is nice, especially the suburbs. It is also bigger, so the bigger the city the more amenities. However, like you mentioned, Fort Wayne is closer to Michigan and I think you would be surprised of how much you might like Fort Wayne. I highly encourage you coming and checking it out! Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions!

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by cdr18

Well, I personally think Fort Wayne would be the better choice with a population just about 250k. It has grown recently, and although Fort Wayne does not have major suburbs, the suburbs are actually located within the city of Fort Wayne which makes it convenient. There are many nice subdivisions located within the city. The portions of the city that have grown the most in the last decade would be northern Fort Wayne as Southwest Fort Wayne, although I will say the northeast part has seen its fair share of new homes. Whatever you do, stay away from the southeastern part of the city as this has most of the cime in the area. Fort Wayne overall is a very safe place to raise a family and was voted an All-American City in 2009 as well as one of the best places in the nation to raise a family. There are many sports activities to do and the Allen County Public Library is one of the best in Indiana. Southwest Allen and Northwest Allen are the two school districts that have received the highest remarks in the county, so I would look into those. I would advise you to travel to the area and scout it out. The downtown has improved remarkably in the past couple of years with the addition of a new baseball park and other developments. I have been to Indy many times as well and it is nice, especially the suburbs. It is also bigger, so the bigger the city the more amenities. However, like you mentioned, Fort Wayne is closer to Michigan and I think you would be surprised of how much you might like Fort Wayne. I highly encourage you coming and checking it out! Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions!

I agree with everything that cdr said, but if you were looking for an area that felt like the suburbs in Detroit, Indianapolis would be better. There is more to do especially for adults, but for teens or raising a family there really is not much difference between the two cities. For teens there is really just a higher variety of shopping in Indianapolis.

[krock1dk]

Indianapolis by far. It is the nation's 13th largest single city by population (800,000) in a metro area of 2-million. With that comes big city ammenities: pro sports (Colts and Pacers), the Indianapolis Children's Museum (largest in the world), NCAA Museum, White River State Park, Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Art (some say its the 7th largest in the country), Indiana Transportation Museum (Noblesville), Connor Prarie Settlement (Fishers). Of course dont have time to list everything. And if you like auto racing, Indy is the auto racing capital of the world as it is home to the worlds 2 largest sporting events: the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Brickyard 400.

As with any sizeable city, Indy has its bad and good areas. The bad parts of town are primarily in the middle of town within the I-465 beltway. But you may want to stay away from the east side. The rest of the city is good. The good new is that Indy is consistently ranked as one of America's best places to raise a family. And Indy is always ranked as mong the most affordable cities in the country to live. You should have no trouble finding a good place to live. However, dont send your kids to Indianapolis Public Schools; the township schools or a private/charter school is highly superior in every aspect.

Fort Wayne is definately closer to MI, but it isnt nearly as big (250,000) nor has the big-city ammenities. Probably Fort Wayne's best asset is its cost of living and central location to Chicago, Indy, Detroit, Cincinnati and Columbus.

Personally, I would choose Indianapolis--and not just because I'm from there.

[CHICAGOLAND92]

Based on your previous residencies, I would venture to say Fort Wayne is a better choice. Not only is it more affordable (and ranked as an All-American city, as one former poster noted), but also it has a very prime location. If you ever need to visit home, it's a 2 1/2 hour drive. It's also about 2 1/2 hours from Indianapolis, and about 5 hours from Chicago. I'm not familiar with Ft. Wayne, but there are over 400,000 people in the metro area. It's not a large city by any means, but it's safe, and definitely has its positives as some posters mentioned.

On the other hand, Indianapolis is a much larger city, and likewise there's considerably more culture, shopping and dining choices, and most likely better job opportunities. It's also growing - the Indianapolis metro accounted for 60% of growth for the state I believe. Hamilton County in the metro area is one of the best places in the entire state to live and raise a family, and Indianapolis as a whole is very affordable (not as affordable as Ft. Wayne, but it's understandable). The future of the Indy area is indeed bright.

Posters online can offer suggestions, but ultimately it would be best for you to take a trip to both cities and find which one best suits your needs. Good luck!

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

Based on your previous residencies, I would venture to say Fort Wayne is a better choice. Not only is it more affordable (and ranked as an All-American city, as one former poster noted), but also it has a very prime location. If you ever need to visit home, it's a 2 1/2 hour drive. It's also about 2 1/2 hours from Indianapolis, and about 5 hours from Chicago. I'm not familiar with Ft. Wayne, but there are over 400,000 people in the metro area. It's not a large city by any means, but it's safe, and definitely has its positives as some posters mentioned.

Just to correct this it is only about 1 1/2 hours from Indianapolis and 3-3 1/2 hours from Chicago.

[krock1dk]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Just to correct this it is only about 1 1/2 hours from Indianapolis and 3-3 1/2 hours from Chicago.

It is NOT an hour-and-a-half from Ft. Wayne to Indy. Try 2 hours--at least from downtown to dowtown.