thinking about moving from Denver to Indianapolis (Fishers, Carmel: crime, houses)

[BrooksinDenver]

My wife I are thinking about moving to Indianapolis. She is out of a job in a year, and could relocate at the Federal Center in Fisher, IN I think is the name of the city. I am in construction and could be out of a job soon as well. We dont know much about the area, schools and would appreciate any info anyone could share with us. How far of a commute would Avon be or Ripple Rock? I have heard through reading on this site that the north end of town is nice, just dont know. How are the seasons there?
Thanks again for the help

[Colts]

I think you'll find Indy to be somewhat similar to Denver, except much flatter

I assume you meant Fishers in your post. Fishers is a large suburb on the northeastern part of town. It's got excellent schools. It gets pretty congested up there during rush hour, so you may want to look at the western or southern suburbs. These areas have very good schools as well. A trip from Avon to downtown is roughly ~12 miles or so, so the commute wouldn't be very bad.

As far as weather is concerned, Indianapolis is a few degrees colder in winter and a few degrees hotter in summer compared to Denver. There's a bit less snowfall, though. Winter is persistently cloudy, but autumn is pleasant with cool temps and colorful trees.

Hope this helped! Good luck with the job search, too.

[losercore]

I live in Fishers and while it is very nice, safe and the schools a great, I would stay in Denver or look elsewhere unless you can stand the Mid West.

CONS:

• Weather sucks compared to Denver - Yes less snow in the winter, but if you like your sunny days say goodbye to them
  
• The joy of tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms all spring long is a hoot.
  
• Summer is hot and humid compared to Denver and the bugs suck
  
• Indiana is still Indiana. While I consider myself republican, Indiana puts a whole new spin on this. I hope you like red necks (Not so much in Fishers, but in Indiana as a whole)
  
• Not a lot to do. You almost have to take trips to do fun stuff. Chicago, Cincy are a few hours away and can be great for a baseball game or weekend trip. Downtown Indy offers very little and is not the cleanliest city around. (Denver does have more crime though by the numbers)
  
• If you enjoy outdoors like you would in CO. Forget it. Very limited outdoor activities and only for limited times. It is either too cold or too hot or stormy or both... Not a lot of trails, no mountains and not even bike lanes on the roads.
  
• Traffic in Fishers sucks and I am from Southern California. It sucks because it should not exist. Poor planning and over development have made it pretty bad.
  
• Forget about skiing unless you take a trip far away. Even local ski “resorts” in Wisconsin and Michigan are a joke.
• If you like beer they have both Bud and Bud Light here.
  
• The only thing flatter would be Kansas on your way out...There is actually nothing to look at. Central IN is not a very pretty area at all.
• We have a nice lot, but almost all the houses in Fishers that are under $300,000 are sitting on top of each other and offer no privacy. I hate driving down a regular road and seeing all these backyards. All these houses stare at each other and look the same.

PROS:

• Very affordable housing and I do mean very. Very nice houses in the safest areas of the Country for nearly nothing compared to the rest of the Country. On average a 4 bedroom 2500 SQFT house in a nice part of Fishers would run between $160,000 and $230,000 depending on things like basements and upgrades. The $300,000 range can offer some very nice houses on great lots and even some really close to the water.
  
• Cost of living in general is rather low

Yes I am biased. I am moving back home in June and have a number of dislikes about Indiana. They only thing I will miss is the housing market.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by BrooksinDenver

My wife I are thinking about moving to Indianapolis. She is out of a job in a year, and could relocate at the Federal Center in Fisher, IN I think is the name of the city. I am in construction and could be out of a job soon as well. We dont know much about the area, schools and would appreciate any info anyone could share with us. How far of a commute would Avon be or Ripple Rock? I have heard through reading on this site that the north end of town is nice, just dont know. How are the seasons there?
Thanks again for the help

Ripple Rock, do you mean Rocky Ripple? That is a nice neighborhood, it is almost on an island. Probably looking at a 20 minute commute or so from their to Fishers. Avon is probably at least 30 minutes; wait for Miki and she will tell you all about Avon.

[Michelle Morris]

Hi! I'm here! Thanks, Toxic Toast!

Yes, I live in Avon, and I love it. There are people on here who will tell you all about how wonderful Carmel, Fishers, or Zionsville are, but I am the Avon cheering section!

I love it because there is plenty for my family to do, nice parks, plenty of shopping and restaurants. It is growing and evolving, and home prices are generally lower than on the North side of Indy. You can check out school statistics at GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

If you think of Indy as a clock, which is easy to do because 465 loops around the city, Avon is at about 9 o'clock. From here, you can get to the North or South sides or downtown in about 30 minutes.

Overall though, Indy and it's suburbs are wonderful places to live.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by losercore

I live in Fishers and while it is very nice, safe and the schools a great, I would stay in Denver or look elsewhere unless you can stand the Mid West.

CONS:

• Weather sucks compared to Denver - Yes less snow in the winter, but if you like your sunny days say goodbye to them
  
• The joy of tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms all spring long is a hoot.
  
• Summer is hot and humid compared to Denver and the bugs suck
  
• Indiana is still Indiana. While I consider myself republican, Indiana puts a whole new spin on this. I hope you like red necks (Not so much in Fishers, but in Indiana as a whole)
  
• Not a lot to do. You almost have to take trips to do fun stuff. Chicago, Cincy are a few hours away and can be great for a baseball game or weekend trip. Downtown Indy offers very little and is not the cleanliest city around. (Denver does have more crime though by the numbers)
  
• If you enjoy outdoors like you would in CO. Forget it. Very limited outdoor activities and only for limited times. It is either too cold or too hot or stormy or both... Not a lot of trails, no mountains and not even bike lanes on the roads.
  
• Traffic in Fishers sucks and I am from Southern California. It sucks because it should not exist. Poor planning and over development have made it pretty bad.
  
• Forget about skiing unless you take a trip far away. Even local ski “resorts” in Wisconsin and Michigan are a joke.
• If you like beer they have both Bud and Bud Light here.
  
• The only thing flatter would be Kansas on your way out...There is actually nothing to look at. Central IN is not a very pretty area at all.
• We have a nice lot, but almost all the houses in Fishers that are under $300,000 are sitting on top of each other and offer no privacy. I hate driving down a regular road and seeing all these backyards. All these houses stare at each other and look the same.

PROS:

• Very affordable housing and I do mean very. Very nice houses in the safest areas of the Country for nearly nothing compared to the rest of the Country. On average a 4 bedroom 2500 SQFT house in a nice part of Fishers would run between $160,000 and $230,000 depending on things like basements and upgrades. The $300,000 range can offer some very nice houses on great lots and even some really close to the water.
  
• Cost of living in general is rather low

Yes I am biased. I am moving back home in June and have a number of dislikes about Indiana. They only thing I will miss is the housing market.

Feel better? Your post was more of a vent than anything else.

lived in Fishers for 4 years and I thought the traffic hysteria was overrated. There are alternate routes to most anyplace you can use instead of I-69. Not sure what the beer hate is ... we have most every beer you can find ... if some of your WC beers are unavailable in Indiana, it may have more to do with your beer's distribution channels than Indiana ... sheesh!

In any event, did you not read that these folks are out of jobs???

Yes, Indiana is flat, no mountains and landlocked. Southern Indiana is more hilly and forest-y. The weather is typical midwest ... we have weather, period. Yesterday it was sunny and in the 70's, today, it's overcast and a tad chillier ... it's more humid here than what you'd be used to in Denver and bugs, yes, there are bugs OH NO!!!!!! People who complain about Indiana weather are usually people who come from areas of no humidity, snow and constant sunshine.

I'm not sure what the Federal Center is.

The one consistent complaint I have is that the food choices here are pretty miserable. There are gem places here and there, but by and large, this is chain restaurant central.

Indiana is really a make your own bliss kind of place. If you come in expecting it to be something it's not (like Southern California) ... well, you have read just how miserable you will become.

[BrooksinDenver]

thanks for the reply

[BrooksinDenver]

i really appreciated your candidness-if thats a word. We would both rather stay here, hopefully we can make it work. Thanks again

[BrooksinDenver]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Feel better? Your post was more of a vent than anything else.

lived in Fishers for 4 years and I thought the traffic hysteria was overrated. There are alternate routes to most anyplace you can use instead of I-69. Not sure what the beer hate is ... we have most every beer you can find ... if some of your WC beers are unavailable in Indiana, it may have more to do with your beer's distribution channels than Indiana ... sheesh!

In any event, did you not read that these folks are out of jobs???

Yes, Indiana is flat, no mountains and landlocked. Southern Indiana is more hilly and forest-y. The weather is typical midwest ... we have weather, period. Yesterday it was sunny and in the 70's, today, it's overcast and a tad chillier ... it's more humid here than what you'd be used to in Denver and bugs, yes, there are bugs OH NO!!!!!! People who complain about Indiana weather are usually people who come from areas of no humidity, snow and constant sunshine.

I'm not sure what the Federal Center is.

The one consistent complaint I have is that the food choices here are pretty miserable. There are gem places here and there, but by and large, this is chain restaurant central.

Indiana is really a make your own bliss kind of place. If you come in expecting it to be something it's not (like Southern California) ... well, you have read just how miserable you will become.

thanks domergurl

[domergurl]

Best wishes to you and your wife.