Indianapolis, Indiana SperlingViews

I was born and raised in Indianapolis, and attended public school in the suburbs. From an early age, I knew Indy was not a place for me and couldn't wait to leave. One post was correct: people are born there, stay there, and never leave. In fact, most never leave the state their whole lives and have no concept of life outside the city (other than the news). After graduating, I moved to the DC metro area and never looked back. This area is far from perfect, but at least I never feel bored out of my mind and no longer surrounded by ignorant hicks. Overall, this is NOT a place I would ever want to live again on my own free will.
I will just cover the pros/cons of the city.
Pros:
Very low cost of living
Little, if any traffic.
Several top-notch universities within an hour of Indy
Sports teams (go colts!), both pro and amateur
Indy 500
A few very nice neighborhoods, if you're well-healed
Midwest hospitality (usually)

Cons:
Jobs. Wow...good luck finding a good job in this city. Indiana is suffering a "brain drain" right now and it's getting worse
People. Ignorant hicks and wannabe rednecks who have never left the city and just complain about how terrible it is there and how everyone is against them.
Schools. The schools are BAD. This leads to the previously stated problem
Culture??? If you don't mind a good children's museum counting as culture, you're OK. Otherwise, go elsewhere.
Environment. This city lacks character. It's flat, boring, and the weather gets all extremes. There's also pollution issues from the remaining factories.
Racial. This is the most racist place i've EVER been. The whites blame the blacks for everything. The blacks play the oppressed role. If you're anything other than black or what, you will be a complete outcast. And be careful going into certain parts of the city due to:
Crime. Bad and getting worse. Drugs (meth) and violence are very rampant problems. Your kids will probably be exposed to them frequently...so think twice about raising a family here.
Religion. Conservative religious right is the majority rule here. Catholic and protestant mostly. If you even smell slightly liberal, you'll be shunned (move to Bloomington in that case)

Overall, if it's a choice between Indianapolis and _____....take ______

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re: Born, Raise, and finally Left - 6/14/2007 - 4/27/2009
Well, I have to say that the Indianapolis Museum Of Art is incredible, as is its newly created central library. After those two gems, I can't think of enough good things to say about this city to even merit moving or staying here. Since I finished covering all the pros this city has, I will complete your list of cons. First of all, no public transportation. How can any one take this city seriously when the only way to travel here is to rent or buy a car, or wait over an hour for an extremely short routed bus line. Also if you ever lived anywhere other than here, than you know that the water here tastes like it came from a sulfur plant or even hell itself. I wage on the latter. I have to drink bottled water, because water shouldn't have to taste like salt, or chlorine, or lime, or whatever it is that does not get filtered out here. Indianapolis has one of the highest unwed teenage pregnant rates in the states, great place to raise your underage daughter or son for that matter, no? Oh, shucks, just for the fun of it, the per capita crime here is more than twice of that of New York City.. almost three times!! Seriously? I bet it is something in the water

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re: Born, Raise, and finally Left - 6/14/2007 - 6/2/2009
You obviously suffer from sterotyping people and things. Not all people stay. I was born and raised in Indianapolis and DID leave! I was raised in a very well-to-do neighborhood in Perry TWP and graduated from college, and moved out when I found a job elsewhere. I am NOT a hick! You will find hicks in ALL cities and states, even California. And trust me, there's a lot of them there. I dont understand why you think Indy is so unique. You just described EVERY community on planet Earth. I like Indianapolis.

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re: Born, Raise, and finally Left - 6/14/2007 - 2/23/2009
Wow, are you sure you lived in Indianapolis. I just think you hate to hate. You are incorrect on several issues

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