An Overview Please?

[Wyody]

Many, many people who are long-time Ohio residents are fed up with various issues of living there. Primarily, it seems to be the sheer volume of people along with finding safe places to live near the cities.
I know a few folks who have moved from the burbs of Cincinnati to areas just across the border that were once very rural but are slowly becoming more accepting to residential development.
I can't speak for sure on NE Indiana - as I used to live there (briefly) but there, NW Ohio was more an outlet for them than vice-versa.
I'm wondering if someone here can speak as to the good and bad points of moving across the Ohio and Kentucky borders. Will folks find a better home life? Are locals currently more accepting than they were 40 years ago? Do some parts still take on the form of a socio/religious enclave? Must one play basketball to live in Garrett? (I think it used to be required, lol).
Indianapolis is a booming concern - is it keeping pace with the growth?
And is there a reason for not give Gary & Crown Pt to Illinois? Along with Michigan City?
Thanks in advance. Mostly, my concerns relate to my son and his family wishing to move it from SW Ohio into Indiana "toward" Indianapolis.
And ... can somebody tell me ... what exactly is a "Hoosier"?

[CityDataForumSux]

A hoosier used to be a greeting in indiana. Some one would knock on the log cabin and the answer "who'sh 'ere "

here is a link to the history of the word

Hoosier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Indianapolis is far from Gary. Gary and a lot of the nw indian burbs are kind of in blue collar decline. Lots of jobs gone, lots of crime, drugs, etc.

what say you domergirl? your from indian, no? would you like to add?

[domergurl]

I am a lifelong Hoosier save for almost 10 years living in the city of my heart, Chicago. Indiana is a great place to raise a family. I grew up near South Bend, went to college near Fort Wayne, graduate school at IU in Bloomington ... taught law school in Valpo after leaving Chicago, lived in Fishers for 4 years and now reside in Columbus ... whew! In any event, and yes, I've played basketball since the age of 5 ... Dad grew up near Garrett and he was a mad player too. I'm very familiar with most of the state and I have to say, that if we didn't have kids, I'd be out of here. Indiana isn't the most exciting place to live, but it's nice ... full of nice. The Indy area tends to overall, have the best schools, hospitals, abundance of housing, etc. But I really like NW Indiana with it's proximity to Chicago. Indy has a complex about the region, they (the region) are treated like the ugly stepchild of the state, yet it garners most of it's money through it's strong manufacturing base and yes, it's strong. Indiana is still the top steel producer in the country.

I find the northern suburbs of Indy to be shiney new and sterile, but again ... nice ... affordable and the schools are fantastic. Indy, itself, is again .. nice, but it has a seedy underbelly that nobody wants to talk about. The Childrens' Museum is one of the best attractions in the midwest and the Zoo is very nice as well. Yea, there's the 500, yawn .. personal opinion. But Indy is about sports ... the stupid ass Koltz (don't get me started), the Pacers getting arrested left and right. But Indianapolis IS the amateur sports capital of the country, if not the world. The NCAA is HQ'd here and it boast one of the fastest tracks ( the late great Flo Jo set the world record for the 100 meter dash in Indianapolis) in the world as well as a world class natatorium. We've hosted the NCAA tournament countless times and the Indiana HS basketball tournament is the best ... but it was better before they shoved class basketball down our throats.

I live in Columbus. It's a great place to raise a family. We have been noted as a top 10 architectural city for the entire country. We have a fantastic trail system. I ride my bike around town more than I drive, which I adore. I also love Southern Indiana. It's truly beautiful any season.

And yes, Indiana is a conservative haven, but we liberals are getting the spotlight now with the primary heating up on Tuesday ... can't wait to vote! If I see an exit poller, I'm going to give them a big hug because that's a new thing for us. So far, Bill, Chelsea, RFK Jr. and the Governor of Ohio have all come to Columbus ... now if Hillary would show up! I like Columbus because it's not suburban. It's very diverse with white collar and blue collar folks who all get along. The suburbs of Northern Indy tend to all be hum drum homogenous, boring.

Anyway, I've blathered and I hope I've been able to enlighten you.

[Wyody]

Okay - slight digestion problems here.
You're telling me Columbus, Indiana is a top-10 architectural city? Whoa - something has changed over there in the corn-rows!
I used to head that way weekly - either for church or for caving (I like to think one was running from the Devil while the other was looking for her).
That's actually a surprise. I was once familiar with most towns in your "sector".
I'm a big fan of the Indy. My son went last year. Oh, I prefer NASCAR these days (you probably ho-hum that too, eh?) but in that part of the east, it's part of what a guy does.
I was never actually a fan of Indy (the town) - too flat, too small in my day, too hayseed - although I did like the area south - around Girls School Road ... but I had no idea it had a "seedy underbelly". Care to expound on that a tad.
I was also not quite a fan of South Bend/Mishawaka (sp?) - even back then, it was so "housing-project-urban" that I didn't feel at home there. I preferred the NE - lived in Auburn, Waterloo - bought my first pair of "Hippie Pants" in Ft. Wayne ... and it all still appears a bit old-fashioned up there.
I'll know not to insult Gary and the area. It's just that - when you're travelling thru those parts heading west, it's almost a relief to get to Chicago! And coming out of Michigan, it's a giant, metal monster waiting outside the jungle to swallow you.
I see you still see Indianer the same way I always used to - boring. Still, it is becoming the next escape from Cincy.
Thanks for your help and I hope to read more on the state!

[domergurl]

NASCAR ... well, Tony Stewart is from Columbus, so I have to kind of be a fan. Who else .. Ryan Newman is from South Bend and of course Jeff Gordon is from Pittsboro.

Indianapolis is ok, nice, ok. That smell in Gary is the smell of money. You smell it in East Chicago and Whiting too. $$$$$$$ and Indianpolis benefits.

I'm not joking, Columbus Indiana was named the 6th most architectually significant city in the US. We have fantastic public art and buildings built by star-chitects. We also have one of those cool Hotel Indigo's ... boutique NY style hotel. We were also recently named the most walkable city in Indiana. My kid's elementary school is not only a 4 star school, but also was name the most physically fit elementary school in the state. Come check it out! Our park system is fantastic and Cummins is adding hundreds of well paying jobs. The Honda plant is going to be firing on all cylinders come September and some of them are moving into Columbus because our schools are better than Greensburg's ... sorry Greensburg.

Seedy underbelly. There are neighborhoods that are incredibly violent here. Mass murders of families, Dad's killing their kids and then killing themselves, chicks beating running old ladies off the road and beating them up for driving too slow ... drug busts ... the Indianapolis public schools are some of the worst in the nation ... something like a 25% graduation rate. It's not something to be proud of for sure. But yet there is a lot of wealth there. The Lilly family, the Simons and down here in Columbus, the Irwin Sweeney Miller families.

Again, if we didn't have kids, we would be miserable here. We'd still be in our loft in downtown Chicago and walking to work everyday. But I do like it here in Columbus.