I don't know if this is the right forum to post this, but I *may* move to Indianapolis for a job with Atlinks if all goes well, and I'm wondering what neighborhood are considered pretty good (school districts and such). Looking at the housing prices there, I think I will be in heaven (I can sell my current townhouse and get a castle with enough left over for an S2000 AND a C6 Z06!)

 

Jahnke used to live in Carmel. I've visited him twice out there. It's as nice as you can get in Indiana (from my experience). It's a well-to-do suburb of Indianapolis that could make you feel inadequate without a Mercedes-Benz, BMW, AND a Hummer (H1 or H2) in the garage.

Be it that it's a well-off suburb, it's quite inexpensive to live there as compared to Chicago-area. I was seeing 4-car garage mini-mansions (I call them McMansions) going for $400,000!!!!

Other than that, it was a "plot your cookie-cutter suburb here", USA. There's a lot of strip malls, shopping centers, high-end eateries, typical chain-restaurants...all built in red brick to give it that high-end look and feel. It reminded me of new part of town Charlotte (NC), newly developed area of San Jose (CA), the less hilly area of Mission Viejo (CA), Fairfax (VA), Herndon (VA), Schaumburg (IL), etc.

I'm sure that once you get out here, you'll be wanting some part of your CA life back, but at the same time, you'll enjoy other aspects of Midwest living over CA. I sure hope you make it out here, and we can get together (not that it's that close to Chicago...but one can hope).

Good to see one of the S2Ki OG's still around.

 

I don't know much about Indy, but I can say this:

Get the C6Z06! What a sweet ride.

 

ATLinks is a 10 minute drive from Carmel (and that's with traffic ). I'd definitely start your search there.

 

I live in Carmel, and I have to say the cost of living around here is pretty good. If you are coming from California, you will be amazed at the house/property you can get for your money. I do not know the location of your possible employer, but I would say that the Northside suburbs will be your best bets if WSB says Carmel is 10 minutes from where you might work.

The Carmel-Clay schools are viewed as the best public schools in Indiana, and they are usually up there with the most expensive private schools when it comes to standardized test scores, etc.

Carmel is just north of Indy in Hamilton County. Other places to consider are Zionsville (NW Indy Suburb, in Boone County) and Fishers (NE suburb in Hamilton County). Also, on the NE side of town there is a very nice area around Geist Reservoir, with large houses on the water, and if you have a huge amount of money from selling property in California, that might be a place to shop for a place.

Feel free to send me a PM if you want more information. I'd be happy to help.

-Bart

 

thanks everyone for the input. question: is there a chinatown in indianapolis? if not does anyone know where i can buy chinese/asian groceries?

 

ATLinks is just off 31, north of the 465 loop, Bart. On 103rd.

 

Thanks WSB, in that case it is IN Carmel.

I know there are a number of asian grocery stores in Indy, but probably relatively fewer than what larger cities have. I am not aware of a "chinatown."

 

You sure you know what you're getting into? To find that concentrated/organized an ethnic community in the midwest I really think you have to go to Chicago. That being said, I'm sure you'd be able to find most of what you need. We go to Sakura Mart off Keystone behind Sakura (the restaurant) which is the best Japanese restaurant in Indy. Theres a new, fairly large looking Asian market off of 86th across from the Costco but I haven't been in yet. Theres also several good Vietnamese places off of Lafayette north of 38th so I'd guess there should be some markets in that area.

As far as areas to live in go, I agree that Carmel/Fishers/Geist are all great suburbs. Just don't rule out some of the other areas without taking a look. Theres a lot of neighborhoods closer in with historic homes that would absolutely blow you away with what your money can buy. Broad Ripple, Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, Fall Creek, Old Northside, Lockerbie, etc. Just depends on what you value I guess. Check these sites for some examples if you're interested www.flockrealty.com www.jeverhart.com

Good luck!

 

Mingster, Big_nate is right about some amazing historic homes and neighborhoods in Indianapolis.

A web site you might want to look at for homes is the Tucker real estate website. I mention this because it has a search function that lets you search all the homes listed in the greater Indianapolis Area, not just the homes Tucker has listed.

You can search by county, township, etc., even street name, and plug in variables like size/type of house, price range, etc. That should give you an idea of how much house you can get for the money.

www.talktotucker.com