Moving to Columbus, IN. Advice on apartments? (Indianapolis, Greenwood: real estate, to rent)

[TXHumanist]

EDIT: I am unsure whether I should post this in General Indiana forum or Indianapolis forum. Moderators, I'm sorry if I violated any rules.

Hello!

I will be moving to Columbus IN around May, and I have a few questions regarding apartments:

1. Most of the apartments in Columbus (at least the decent ones) seem to have full occupancy. I'm looking for a pet-friendly 3 bedroom/2 bath and I have struck out in River Stone, Westwood Pines etc. I did not really like the others (Briarwood, Parkview etc.) as they seem pretty old. So I am forced to expand my search to Greenwood, Southport etc.

2. In Greenwood, I came across this apartment: Emerald Lakes Apartments. I looked in this forum but cannot find any mention of this place. Does anyone live here/any advice regarding apartments in Greenwood is very much appreciated.

3.The farthest I could probably go would be Southport Road, I'm wondering if anyone has commuted this far north to Columbus? Between Emerald Lakes and Stonebridge Luxury apartments, the distance is only 4 miles, but does traffic back up on I65 to make that seem longer?

4. Lastly, I'm also open to renting a house in Columbus but I'm having trouble finding a real estate agent who can rent houses.Any suggestions in this regard is much appreciated.

Sorry about the long post, I've been reading the posts here which are highly informative and unbiased unlike some other forums.

Thanks!
TexMan

PS: In case it helps, I'm married and have a dog, hence the pet-friendly 3B/2B.

[domergurl]

I'm going to forward your information to a friend of mine ...

[TXHumanist]

Originally Posted by domergurl

I'm going to forward your information to a friend of mine ...

Thanks!

[chalcedony]

My guess is domergurl will be able to help you far more than I can between her and her friend (especially in regard to pet-friendliness), but I'll offer what I know:

Most apartments in Greenwood are probably pretty good and not likely to go downhill anytime soon--it's a great school district and a fast growing suburb in general. The only minor exception to this is the cluster of apartments around the Greenwood Park Mall, which I'd rate as only okay--not good, not bad. By no means am I suggesting anything negative, but the ones around the mall (some are in Greenwood city limits, some are on the Indy side of County Line Road) are very immigrant heavy, which to me only means that they probably target people who lack financial resources to move to nicer, newer apartments. They are not hotbeds of crime that I'm aware of.

From what I can tell from Google Maps, the Emerald Lakes Apartments are right off the interstate on Main Street at Sheek Road, and they probably are nicer than the ones around the Mall--more convenient too.

The ones at Southport Road shouldn't be bad either. The interchange itself isn't the best designed in the world, but you'd be about a 35 mile commute southward to Columbus, and it shouldn't have too many traffic problems since you'd be going against the flow. I'd estimate it would normally take you 25 minutes to work. You'd be a lot closer to downtown Indy, if that's something you value. Apartments at Southport Road should also be nicer than the ones around the Greenwood Park Mall.

[TXHumanist]

Originally Posted by chalcedony

My guess is domergurl will be able to help you far more than I can between her and her friend (especially in regard to pet-friendliness), but I'll offer what I know:

Most apartments in Greenwood are probably pretty good and not likely to go downhill anytime soon--it's a great school district and a fast growing suburb in general. The only minor exception to this is the cluster of apartments around the Greenwood Park Mall, which I'd rate as only okay--not good, not bad. By no means am I suggesting anything negative, but the ones around the mall (some are in Greenwood city limits, some are on the Indy side of County Line Road) are very immigrant heavy, which to me only means that they probably target people who lack financial resources to move to nicer, newer apartments. They are not hotbeds of crime that I'm aware of.

From what I can tell from Google Maps, the Emerald Lakes Apartments are right off the interstate on Main Street at Sheek Road, and they probably are nicer than the ones around the Mall--more convenient too.

The ones at Southport Road shouldn't be bad either. The interchange itself isn't the best designed in the world, but you'd be about a 35 mile commute southward to Columbus, and it shouldn't have too many traffic problems since you'd be going against the flow. I'd estimate it would normally take you 25 minutes to work. You'd be a lot closer to downtown Indy, if that's something you value. Apartments at Southport Road should also be nicer than the ones around the Greenwood Park Mall.

Thanks a lot for your response!!! Based on the previous posts on this forum, I did stay away from the apartments around the mall. I don't mind a 30 minute commute (I am used to driving as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is well spread-out) except I wasn't sure about the traffic pattern, which you had confirmed will be the other way. Also, apartments near Greenwood seems to offer a lot more features/amenities when compared to the ones in Columbus (and the rent is pretty steep for a small town, but considering Cummins pulls in a lot of people, it is to be expected.)

[TXHumanist]

Originally Posted by domergurl

I'm going to forward your information to a friend of mine ...

Hi domergurl,

I did read your messages, but I cannot reply as I have a PM restriction which will be lifted later tonight. I will reply once the restriction is lifted. Thanks!