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Moving to Indy- help!

post #1 of 26
8/25/10 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 
Not sure where to live in Indy. My husband will be working at Butler but we don't know the area so we don't know what part of town we might like....

Any favorites? You can pm me if you prefer.

So far, we're looking at Broadripple and perhaps Meridian Kessler... any other area we might like?

We have two small children, one is 3.5 and the other turns 2 in a couple of days. I'm a seamstress, a sewing teacher, a knitter, a babywearer, and altogether crafty lady.

Coming from living in central Vermont... bit of a change for us.

TIA
Leila
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post #2 of 26
8/27/10 at 10:40pm
Those are two of my favorite neighborhoods in Indianapolis. I live in a suburb of Indy (Noblesville). But I spend a lot of my free time in the areas you mentioned. If you plan to do public schooling down the road I don't think the schools are the best in those areas. They are older well established areas with older homes with a lot of charm. You will find great restaurants too. You will be close to downtown and the Children's Museum.

My dream place to live is Vermont. My husband and I took a vaction there before having our son. It was beautiful!

I have an almost 2 year old son, Oliver. When will you be moving? Do you know anyone in the area? If you are interested we should get together for a playdate. We relocated to Indy four years ago and I still don't know many people. I have been trying to meet other moms.
post #3 of 26
8/28/10 at 8:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leilab View Post
Not sure where to live in Indy. My husband will be working at Butler but we don't know the area so we don't know what part of town we might like....

Any favorites? You can pm me if you prefer.

So far, we're looking at Broadripple and perhaps Meridian Kessler... any other area we might like?

We have two small children, one is 3.5 and the other turns 2 in a couple of days. I'm a seamstress, a sewing teacher, a knitter, a babywearer, and altogether crafty lady.

Coming from living in central Vermont... bit of a change for us.

TIA
Leila


Are you wanting a place where you can walk/bike to a lot of places? Broad Ripple is like that. Lots of neighborhoods pretty close together and the Monon Trail runs through. There's the art center and main street in BR is fun. On the weekends especially it is seriously taken over by college kids and lots of party noise. But it has a fun vibe.

Meridian Kessler is an older, established neighborhood. My perception is that it is rather stuffy and not as pedestrian oriented. At least a few years ago the property taxes in that area were reassessed and really went sky high.

Depending how far away from Butler you want to be, there's lots of nice neighborhoods out by Eagle Creek Park.

There's also loads of great MDC-esque mamas in the area, especially over in Irvington and on the Northside near and including Carmel. That's where our house is, between Indy's northside and Carmel.

We'll be there sometime this fall (moving back from a few years out-of-state) maybe we'll meet up sometime.
post #4 of 26
8/28/10 at 8:54pm
Greenwood is right outside of Indy, but it's a nice place.
post #5 of 26
9/4/10 at 9:01pm
I'm kinda partial to Greenwood myself, being a native south-sider!

But if your DH is working at Butler, that's a bit of a commute. (And here, anything over 1/2 an hour is a "bit of a commute." ) BR is artsy, pedestrian-friendly, and semi-close to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. (Which is more than I can say for my beloved southside Greenwood.) Meridian-Kessler, is... pretty. What kinds of things are you looking for in your neighborhood? That might help us narrow down an area for you to look at.

Mary, I didn't know you were moving back to Indy! Still going to be in Carmel?
post #6 of 26
9/4/10 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitenites View Post
I'm kinda partial to Greenwood myself, being a native south-sider!

But if your DH is working at Butler, that's a bit of a commute. (And here, anything over 1/2 an hour is a "bit of a commute." ) BR is artsy, pedestrian-friendly, and semi-close to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. (Which is more than I can say for my beloved southside Greenwood.) Meridian-Kessler, is... pretty. What kinds of things are you looking for in your neighborhood? That might help us narrow down an area for you to look at.

Mary, I didn't know you were moving back to Indy! Still going to be in Carmel?
Being near a Trader Joe's in an 'always essential' for us. Where we live now I have to do a 3 hour round trip for TJ's...which means a once a month trip.

But once we move we will have 2 TJ's and 2 Whole Foods within a very easy drive.

Yep, moving back to the same house. So excited! I have missed Indy and my community intensely.

Congrats on the newest expected wee one!!

And, yeah, Greenwood is nice, but so many mamas I know who are down there really wish that some of those places (like TJ's & WF) would be nearby...but they seem to only want to be up 'north' or at least northish.
post #7 of 26
9/8/10 at 3:22pm
I went to Butler, and I lived in Broad Ripple for 3 yrs after I graduated. We moved away for about 7 yrs. My husband got a job offer there last year but we didn't end up there (for now). Are you going to do public or private or homeschool? If you want to do public, keep in mind that Broad Ripple (LOVED living there) is Indy Public Schools. We go back and visit often, and my beef w/ Broad Ripple is that it isn't real kid friendly. I have a 5 yr old only child though, and so for me it is important to live in a neighborhood with kids for him to play wtih. You don't see that a lot in BR. It is loud on the weekends, and there are safety issues. We lived in an apt complex at College and I think 65th. It was a few blocks north of BR Avenue. a lady left her door unlocked by accident and was broken into and raped. We also lived on Winthrop Ave and there were drug deals going on across the street - I saw a draped, dead body hauled out one day (this was in 2000). They cleaned that rental building up across from our duplex, but you never know exactly what you'll get when in BR.

Meridian Kessler is a nice area, the only issue w/ schools is that they are always rezoning, so if you start out in Washington Twnp schools, you may end up in IPS before it is said and done.

I have a few friends that live in Speedway in older homes and love that. Fishers is cheap but boring - no downtown area to speak of. Lots of rezoning of schools there so the elem kids sometimes switch schools.

I personally was looking to live in Zionsville, Fishers, or Carmel when we moved back just b/c they burn coal downtown and I wanted to live farther away from that now that I have small kids and am pregnant. Zionsville, Fishers, and Carmel have the best public schools (I have teacher friends in Indy). There is an excellent K-6 Montessori in Fishers as well.

If you really want to be in the city and want public schools Washington Twnp schools are the best IN indy. Check out the Nora area - around 86th St. That would be close to Whole Foods adn Trader Joes and I believe it is Wash Tnwp schools. There is also a neighborhood over near the Jewish Community Center that is very nice. You'd have to google the JCC to find the streets.

Also check out this street. Oh gosh. I forget the name of it. If you go north on Meridian and turn left on Kessler. One of the first roads you come to (I forget the name of it, but you can only turn right on it). It is very wooded and scenic and gorgeous but is in the city. one of my professors lived there, and we had class at her house one night. If you were to keep going on that road, you would eventually come to the Jewish Community Center neighborhood.
post #8 of 26
9/8/10 at 3:30pm
I wanted to add that a really good friend of mine lives in Irvington and homeschools. She loves it. The houses are old and quaint and lots of MDC types there. She has a rather large homeschool group that does book clubs and projects together -lots of socialization for the kids. They also have moms from other parts of town in the group.

I was very concerned about the smokes stacks downtown and ended up doing extensive research on that though - I was on the phone with people from IEP and people that were doing safety research on the area.
post #9 of 26
9/8/10 at 4:40pm
I'm in irvington and we really like it. We will be homeschooling so don't have to worry about schools. Really if you're doing public schools you need to be outside of city limits. Lawrence is nice and closer to butler than irvington. There is ft. ben there that is a state park.

I'm a seamstress/knitter/babywearer too and have a 3.5 yr old and a 11week old (both boys). PM me if you want to get together when you get here. Some friends of mine and I are starting a homeschooling group for young children that will meet on fridays if you want to get you kiddos around some other similarly raised kids around the same age too.

Mary, how did I miss that you were moving back?! looking forward to seeing you and yours again.
post #10 of 26
9/8/10 at 5:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariew View Post
Mary, how did I miss that you were moving back?! looking forward to seeing you and yours again.
Well you had me confused...couldn't figure out who you were until I looked at your blog.

I posted about it on FB but I know you've had lots going on recently.

We're moving back home this fall...sometime after Pam & fam move to Lawrence.
post #11 of 26
9/8/10 at 9:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mary3mama View Post
Well you had me confused...couldn't figure out who you were until I looked at your blog.

I posted about it on FB but I know you've had lots going on recently.

We're moving back home this fall...sometime after Pam & fam move to Lawrence.
yeah anonymity and the internet, lol

I figured it out. I needed to switch my settings on fb cause not everyone was showing up
post #12 of 26
9/8/10 at 10:55pm
Zionsville is nice, Fishers is... okay (kinda plastic to me, a southsider), and as a former teacher I wouldn't put my kids in the Carmel schools. Too much of a "good 'ol boy" network in the administration.

I've heard good things about Irvington. Lots of hs'ers there. But if you're looking for low-crime, unpretentious, ordinary neighborhoods, Greenwood or Zionsville are your two best bets, IMO.
post #13 of 26
9/9/10 at 9:50am
There are a few neighborhoods that are in the Clay Township area of Hamilton County....they are called Carmel-Clay. They are sequestered between the northern boundary of Indy and Carmel. All the same services as Carmel without (as of yet) the higher property taxes. They include Home Place and Orchard Park. Our home is in the latter and we couldn't be happier.

OP has an elementary school at its heart, which is fabulous. We are homeschoolers but enjoy the school's playground and parking lot during 'off hours'. Being near it gives the children opportunities for socializing, as it is a natural gathering place for families.

We also get to utilize one of the best libraries (IMNSHO) I've ever visited, Carmel-Clay library.

There are a few houses for sale in OP and I would suspect in the various neighborhoods that make up Home Place as well. The area is very accessible to both Keystone and Meridian Avenues -- major thoroughfares -- but far enough away from them to not notice.

The Monon Trail (rails to trails program) cuts between OP & HP and leads one either north to Carmel's Central Park (complete with fitness center, pool, wetlands, walking trails) or south into Nora then Broad Ripple and beyond. It's a great resource!

I know almost nothing about the Carmel-Clay schools or the politics involved. I do know that Orchard Park Elementary is well-loved and considered wonderful...and not for test scores alone...but for the fact that the children seem to love it.

OP, if you'd like more details or a tour of our lovely neighborhood (once we get moved back in) please PM me...I'm happy to help.
post #14 of 26
9/9/10 at 2:25pm
I remembered the name of the road I LOVED so much that my Butler prof lived on. Check on Spring Mill Rd which dumps into Kessler west of Meridian. I don't know what school system it is in, but it is so wooded. it is like country living in the middle of the city.

The thing I don't like about Zionsville - or at least the part that our friends live in. They live in a subdivision put in the middle of an old cornfield - newer developed area. For me, I grew up out in the country where it was hard to get to everything in the city, and I hated it. I felt too secluded. And this part of Zionsville makes me feel that way. Also our friends are having major mold allergy issues w/ their kids. He is a PhD researcher at Eli Lilly and he feels like the water run off from the corn fields is exposing their family to more mold than they should. But you can pick your poison, there are downsides to city living too - pollution wise.
post #15 of 26
9/10/10 at 10:38pm
Not much time to read all the pp's so I'll just give my thoughts.

If you will be in Indy long enough for your dc to grow to be school age and if you're planning to send them to PS stay away from IPS. Washington Twp is ok but your best off in Hamilton County for schools, imho.

GL!
sorry, I have to run. Baby's crying.
post #16 of 26
9/11/10 at 5:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HRJ View Post
I remembered the name of the road I LOVED so much that my Butler prof lived on. Check on Spring Mill Rd which dumps into Kessler west of Meridian. I don't know what school system it is in, but it is so wooded. it is like country living in the middle of the city.
Spring Mill Rd is absolutely gorgeous! Holliday Park is along there and we love the area. The house prices tend to reflect how lovely and well-sought-after the surrounding neighborhoods are too.

Both Carmel and Noblesville have distinct downtown areas, as does Zionsville.

Irvington is the way to go, for loads of MDC-ish families who homeschool...lower housing costs, cool, funky, alternative families every where you turn...though crime can be a bit of an issue in some neighborhoods. Little Flower is particularly lovely there.

I have friends in all the above mentioned areas as well as Westfield, Fishers, Lawrence, Geist, Greenwood, Greenfield, Beech Grove, Broad Ripple and more that I can't remember. I am more than happy to hook you up with whatever friend I have in whatever locale so you can get a more one-on-one feel for each space.
post #17 of 26
9/15/10 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks!

Thanks everyone. Sorry I'm just getting back to you all now. I'm excited to meet you all! Really.

We went to Indy for a weekend to look for a place and found a house to rent near Cantebury Park, just south of Broad Ripple. I agree that BP is walkable but not kid-friendly at all. I was sitting with my husband having an appetizer outside some restaurant (my inlaws were down from Chicago to help w/kids) and about a dozen dudes walked in. I started to giggle just cos of all the testosterone.

I went by the knitting shop in BR... - Hey, knitting moms, I need to plug in with what you're doing.

We don't know anyone in Indy, besides some friends of my husband's family, but they're in a sububrb (name escapes me).

We are planning on homeschooling/unschooling/life learning (can you tell I've been reading about the misunderstanding around terms for this stuff?) School districts weren't an issue, but safety definitely was. I've been tracking some crime map (another name that I can't recall) and there's "activity" north on Broadripple ave, and south of us, but not in like a 5 block radius. I just want to feel comfortable walking around with my kids during the day, you know?

We should be arriving October 1st and begin the fun that is unpacking.

Looking forward to hanging out. Thanks again for taking the time to think this neighborhood stuff through. I realize now how little information I gave and you all still came through. Wow. Thanks! Feeling the love.

PM me if you'd like to connect.

thanks a mil! Leila
post #18 of 26
9/15/10 at 5:18pm
Great idea renting for a while! I sent you a pm with some links to local info. I'll look you up on fb.

Our la leche league supplemental meetings are at Canterbury park. Great little neighborhood! Looking forward to meeting you!
post #19 of 26
9/15/10 at 5:22pm
Thread Starter 
Geigerin,
I did get your pm. About to get back to you. Thanks!

LLL meetings at Canterbury park? very cool! Didn't see that one on the LLL Broadripple site. Probably didn't look that well.

thanks again
Leila
post #20 of 26
9/15/10 at 9:24pm
Cool! My best mama-friend lives in an apt near Canterbury Park! We must get you guys hooked-up!

I'll look for you on FB and you are welcome to PM me as well.