Severe Problems
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4/16/2018
I'm 24, just graduated university, have lived in Indiana my entire life, and am moving to Florida once my lease is up. I'm desperate to get out of Indy, like everyone else I know, because it doesn't serve anyone who deviates from the norm whatsoever.
A few examples: I came here without a car and didn't have one during an internship I had last summer. To get to and from the internship, one would think that I'd be able to rely on mass transit, but this is nonexistent in Indy. A ride to my workplace, from downtown to west Indy, would have taken 2.5 hours; add another 2.5 if you intend to get home after work. Meanwhile, people who do own cars, especially on the east side, deal with inexcusable potholes, whose claims the city almost always rejects. And forget about reporting one on the city's website; they've all been reported, and the city doesn't take care of them. Full-time jobs are nearly restricted to factory work, extremely picky corporations, and healthcare. If you have an Informatics degree, like me, you'll have to reduce yourself to helpdesk work to get by in your industry.
Meanwhile, you might be wondering about the people. You have northsiders, who grimace at anything different than them, and whose problems are typically restricted to taxes. On the south and west sides, you have your typical Indiana people, who are almost invariably from where they currently live. Then, on the east side, where I've lived for a while, you have your minorities and pretty typical families, but there's little to no opportunity.
And as someone who's been a trans woman singe age 19, there's nothing here, as far as community and resources go. LGBT seems to be nonexistent, and trans women are quite a lot older (and offer less-diverse experiences) here. My friends and resources have all come from nearby Chicago, which - by the way - most Indianapolis residents haven't ventured to. A good way to summarize the people of Indy: I was once walking on IUPUI campus, and the wind was so strong that my bangs were blown into my face. I took a second to move them back in plafe, which prompted a woman walking past me to stop dead in her tracks and stare at me as I figure out my hair situation. That's how little people around here have going on in their own lives.
Pros: downtown is cool in certain parts, the "State that Works" sign is humorous, quite cheap rent, more diverse than the rest of Indiana, not quite as bad as Missouri
Allie | Indianapolis, IN