Rohan

has written 3 SperlingViews. Currently, Rohan is living in Evanston, IL and has a little something to say:

Indianapolis ain't half bad Posted On: 1/14/2007 12:02:11 PM

I lived here for a summer doing a research internship and other small things, and from what I saw I was impressed by Indy. I've lived in Chicago as a university student for the past four years and though Indy lacks the cultural opportunities and nightlife of Chitown, Indy has a nice, laidback vibe to it. People here are very friendly, traffic is very light for a city this size, the city is affordable, and it is easy to navigate. Crime, though on the rise, is still quite low in comparison to other Midwestern cities I've lived in such as Chicago and Cleveland. Put it this way: I never felt unsafe at night downtown and only a few neighborhoods would I consider not walking around at night. The best thing I liked about Indy is what I got for what I paid for an apartment. In Chicago, I pay 650 a month for a very small studio with a kitchenette, but in Indy I paid roughly the same amount for a one bedroom with a full kitchen and cable included! Parking even downtown is very easy and I've never seen bumper to bumper traffic as I have every day on the Dan Ryan up here. IUPUI and the IU grad schools dominate higher education here and though I hear the public schools leave something to be desired, some private schools like Park Tudor are very very good. Outer neighborhoods like Carmel and Fishers are great places to raise a family and have many Eli Lilly employees

Perhaps the only thing that irked me was the lack of nightlife for a twenty something like me. All the bars are restricted to Broad Ripple and the downtown area doesn't have much in the way of entertainment or really upscale restaurants. Other than that, I enjoyed my stay in Indy and wouldn't mind living here to raise a family. As a younger student, however, I prefer the bright lights of Chicago for now.

Corrupt, rude city Posted On: 1/7/2007 10:29:36 AM

Evanston is a city that has a deceptive facade. Although you see all these towering condos and yuppie restaurants and stores, Evanston is actually a horrible place to live if you're not a said yuppie or if you're African American. Like most of NorthSide Chicago, Evanston is full of jerks, which is fine by me unless this jerkishness extends to the city officials itself. Evanston PD in particular is full of huge a-holes who rather than taming down violence in the bad areas of Evanston are content to issue parking tickets 24/7. You will not find a city of Evanston's size so rabidly devoted to issuing parking tickets; it's their number one hobby. Lastly, EPD is notoriously racist towards blacks; I'm not even black and I've noticed this. In additon, homelessness gets worse every year and if you're a university student (Northwestern is to the north next to lake) expect to be hounded by rude city denizens. Because the university charter says Evanston cannot collect property taxes from NU, Evanstonians have decided to use this as a reason to be rude jerks and take out their frustrations on students. Oh yeah, living is costly here too because Evanston by the lake is very very yuppie (whole Foods, LA Fitness, Cereality, Pier 1 Imports abound). The weather here is typical Midwest, very cold in winter and very hot during summer. The lake is beautiful during spring and summer but the bane of your existence otherwise thanks to the lake effect. All in all, there's no reason to live in evanston, the school system is lagging for NorthSide Chicagoland, it's costly, no place to park, and the city routinely ignores the poorer, black neighborhoods. It's best to live further north if you have the money or live in Chicago where you atleast have cultural options, etc.

Vincennes blows Posted On: 1/7/2007 10:14:31 AM

I've lived with my parents in Vincennes throughout my high school years and leaving this piece of crap town for Chicago for college was just about the best decision I've ever made. Vincennes is a historic town and early center of trade in the Northwest Territory whose origins go back to the Revolutionary War. However, thanks to backwards city leaders, Vincennes failed to progress beyond that stage and hence has stayed a small town with little infrastructure or culture. Vincennes should have been a Chicago or Indianapolis, but thanks to old, psycho conservative people; Vincennes has stayed a cultural wasteland with little business or opportunity for young people. Literally, this town is decaying and will likely continue to shrink in population until only old people and white trash remain. It doesn't seem to shame city officials when visitors come to see the memorial and they have to see a town that's both ugly and dirty in many areas. Seriously, the downtown area needs a serious facelift, as well as the school system. Regarding schools, even if you're lured in by the small town charm and want to raise a family, you'll be seriously disappointed as both the public and Catholic school system would rather flaunt meaningless ISTEP scores than more meaningful SAT, AP, or ACT scores. That's probably because both school systems seriously underperform in those markers of true educational level. Both Lincoln and Rivet are content in serving as a funnel for VU and thanks to the low expectations they set for students, most kids are content with just doing that and nothing else. Perhaps the only bright spot is the hospital in town, Good Samaritan. For a town this size, GSH has a good patient base and provides quality care. However, none of this matters if you're not interested in health care vocations, and even if you are, you would be scared off by this poor excuse for a small town. If you're a smart, motivated person, Southern Indiana is not for you. If you live here, move out of this backwards locale as soon as you can.