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Let your parents move, you stay behind for now. Go visit them in August and January and then complain about the weather in CA.
Will your parents help you financially if you can't find a job?
I grew up in the midwest, lived there probably more than half my entire life. Live in the sunny SW now. I would never move back to the midwest. I can't stand the weather or how most live in a 'small box'. Hey not knocking it, its just not for me.
You got a neck tatoo, you aren't a small box kind of person.
Life is short, live where you can thrive and be happy.
My wife and I both live in Indy, we both have tattoos (though none are visible in everyday business wear), and my wife has been a vegetarian for 22 years. Admittedly, we make a lot more money than you do, but I think your money would go farther in parts of Indy (Fountain Square, Irvington, BR), than Carmel. Those neighborhoods will also be a lot more your speed. There will be way more single young people, and most will probably have tattoos.
Overall, Indy is a safe city. Like any city this size, anywhere in the world, you have to be smart and be aware of your surroundings.
The Starbucks comment put a smile on my face. There is Starbucks everywhere ... even in "da hood". There is a Starbucks in the inland Empire that has a code on their door to the bathroom. You can't get in unless you ask for the code. This discourages homeless people for going into the bathroom or drug addicts going into the bathroom to shoot up. This Starbucks is right next to a freeway that all the homeless people sleep under. Of course this is the desert part of California not orange county. In south orange county you walk around perfectly safe day or night. A friends car got broken into and it was a big to do around here. The worst thing you might see is someone panhandling. We get very little crime compared to almost everywhere. Or if there is crime you never see it or hear about it and when you do it's shocking or unheard of. I grew up in Los Angeles where shootings were kind of the norm, break-ins were daily, and homeless was everywhere. I definitely don't want to go back to big city living. I'm very happy in the suburbs. My only complaint is that a one bedroom is 1700 a month, traffic can be horrible during rush hour because everybody wants to live here, and the family I have is moving to Indiana.
OK it's true that I've never been to Indianapolis. But I do have a friend that lives there who says it's no place for a woman at night and it would be a huge adjustment because I wouldn't be safe like I have been in the suburbs. He says there are lots of homeless and drug deals and crime. Granted the pictures I looked at did look nice... but I don't know why a friend would lie to me about a place that he lives in. He is from orange county so he knows what I'm comparing Indiana to. He is from Santa Anna ... which is considered the ghetto of orange county. Even though any part of orange county doesn't compare to the truly bad parts of California. You won't get shot at but you might get your car stripped basically. But he says Indianapolis is even much worse than that (Santa Ana). Hearing that doesn't make me want to visit :/
The biggest thing to remember is that Indianapolis is HUGE. I don't mean in terms of population but just in sheer physical size. It is a very spread out city. Yes, crime is a problem in some pockets, the majority of the city is very safe. My wife lived as a single woman in Indianapolis for several years before we met without any problems. First on the Castleton side in the Shadeland/75th St area and then on the northwest side in the Township Line Rd/86th St area. Granted neither of those are real far into Indy but the latter is the area I mentioned earlier that you can find apartments for under $600 and be only a mile or less into Indianapolis from the Carmel city border. You talk about wanting the suburbs. Most of Indianapolis has a very suburban feel which is one of the reasons I moved down here to begin with.
What about fishers, nobelsville, westfield? Are any of these a better fit for me then Carmel? They still seem like safe suburbs but because the annual income is listed as less maybe it's a little more laid-back? When I put together the amount of people that were never married in Carmel and the amount of people that are divorced that gives me 30% of the population. Which makes me think there would be some possibility of me making some single friends. Not that I would be against making friends with women who do you have families. I usually meet people when I join a new church. But my church is very laid-back with people wearing jeans and flip-flops and visible tattoos. Im Assuming Indiana churches are not like that.
All of these suburbs really just run together. Carmel is the highest income and probably the most "distinct" and "civic spirited" of all these suburbs, but you will not know that you are crossing from one into the other, unless you know the street borders or happen to see a sign. From 82nd/86th street of Indianapolis on north, it is contiguous suburban development until you get into some lower density parts of Westfield and Noblesville. Even below 82nd street, most of the development is older, but still suburban and only slightly more dense than the suburbs. Everyone is correct in saying that Indianapolis is a suburban, low density city.
I think Carmel does have a bit more of an attitude because it is the highest income and most prestigious community (and many of the residents are sure to remind you of that) but none of the communities are what I'd consider laid back.
I'm sure there are churches in Indianapolis where you can find people in jeans and visible tattoos, but I doubt you'll find them in Carmel.
I agree with most everyone else here in that Carmel, or any of the north side suburban areas, would just be an awful fit. I am from Tennessee (similar though slightly milder weather than Indiana - much closer than CA weather), and a white, male Republican with no tattoos or anything other than my accent that would make me stick out, and even then it wasn't easy to adjust. Carmel especially has a lot of people focused on money, image, prestige, and hyping up the town. Once I got familiar with how things worked there, I liked it for day to day living, but it just doesn't have a lot going on for a semi-young single.
The biggest thing to remember is that Indianapolis is HUGE. I don't mean in terms of population but just in sheer physical size. It is a very spread out city. Yes, crime is a problem in some pockets, the majority of the city is very safe. My wife lived as a single woman in Indianapolis for several years before we met without any problems. First on the Castleton side in the Shadeland/75th St area and then on the northwest side in the Township Line Rd/86th St area. Granted neither of those are real far into Indy but the latter is the area I mentioned earlier that you can find apartments for under $600 and be only a mile or less into Indianapolis from the Carmel city border. You talk about wanting the suburbs. Most of Indianapolis has a very suburban feel which is one of the reasons I moved down here to begin with.
This, this, and this.
OP, just Google Marion County Indiana. With a few small independent cities, those are your city limits of Indianapolis. There are about five miles on I-74 as you approach Indianapolis from the east that is technically the Indianapolis city limits, but is pretty much all cornfields until the last mile or so.
If you lived in Carmel or Fishers and worked at the airport, that's going to be a 40+ minute ride without traffic. I was also looking for a modern apartment last winter in Carmel/Fishers and could not find a newer unit for under $900/month. You'd probably need to bump up the budget to around $1000/month to get a nice 1BR in the suburbs. The city, outside of a few hot neighborhoods, is generally a lot cheaper.
All my tattoos are definitely not unwanted. They were all beautiful and expensive artwork. I have full sleeves and my neck is tattooed. Here in California most offices do not care whatsoever because most people have tattoos. And as long as they are not drug or gang-related nobody minds. And because in most offices you work over the phone and not in person it doesn't affect the clientele. At my last job I made 15 an hour and the job before that I made 1550+ commission. Retail management pays less ( i've also worked for years in retail management) they pay about 12 to 13. Our rent is extremely high. Our one-bedrooms are 1700 a month. But you're also a 15 to 30 minute drive from beautiful beaches without the humidity or any bugs. Plus the weather is beach weather year-round so that's what you're paying for. I'm hoping to find an employer that cares more about performance than appearance. I've heard the East Coast is much more conservative than California. I definitely wouldn't show cleavage or wear a short skirt but my tattoos are pretty impossible to hide because they're everywhere. That said I'm a very hard worker. I've been working full time since I was 15 years old.
I would love to hear more about Lake Michigan and the dunes. Im a beach lover so anything like that would spark my interest. Still 2.5 hours will be an adjustment compared to how close I am to the beach now. But I know that I would have to make some sacrifices. And with the rent in Carmel being cheaper than here it might be worth it. I would like to plan a trip and visit and just see how locals react to me walking around and if I get dirty looks for the way I look or if people are friendly and accepting. I'm also vegetarian and I don't wear any animal products (so wool is out). Are there any good vegetarian or vegan restaurants?? I also really enjoy outdoor recreation like hiking or running in nature. I saw that Carmel had a nice trail but I wonder if it will be too humid to run outdoors or if you will be attacked by mosquitoes?? These are issues that we don't have in California so I have to ask because I don't know ... I really appreciate all the input
Hi Shelly, I'm an Indiana native who lived in SoCal for 5 years so I have some perspective on both places.
First, Indiana is a very conservative state and a completely different world from Southern California so keep that in mind. Hamilton County isn't Bible Belt conservative but it's conservative nonetheless. I doubt the neck tattoos and sleeves are going to fly there in terms of getting a job, jmho. It's a family area, so likely most people your age are going to be married with several children.
I get why you're focusing on Hamilton County. It's in some ways similar to OC but it's also very different. If you're vegetarian and tattooed there are places where you will feel comfortable but they are likely going to be in the city. Carmel isn't that close to Muncie so there's really no difference whether you live in the city or the suburbs. I think you need to adjust your expectations a bit and broaden your horizons. Other posters have mentioned some really fantastic neighborhoods that I think would be a better fit for you.
IMO though, the perfect place for you would actually be Bloomington. It's 2 hours away from Muncie compared to Indianapolis at 1 hour, but I think you would love it. It's my favorite city in Indiana. It's a very socially progressive place, nobody would bat an eye at your tattoos or that you're vegetarian. But, again, it's 2 hours away.
As far as the Dunes, yes they are very beautiful. If you come out here, there is the Dunes State Park and National Lakeshore in Indiana, but IMHO the better beaches are on the Michigan side, from New Buffalo on up. The difference between the Indiana side and the Michigan side is that in Indiana it is either steel mills (which are ugly eyesores) or national parkland/undeveloped, which is nice in a lot of ways because you have some pretty good hiking trails. It's just more remote. On the other hand, in Michigan you have cute little beach towns every couple of miles. New Buffalo, Saint Joseph, South Haven, Grand Haven... it's a very picturesque area, and it gets more and more beautiful the further north you go. There are also a number of wineries in the area and lots of festivals throughout the year and a lot of good restaurants. You also have Warren Dunes state park up there which is smaller than the Indiana Dunes but still offers some hiking/nature opportunities. It's one of my favorite places in the country actually.
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