Way to refute my points, Franklin. All that's missing is the blank Hoosier stare. Carry on, Gomer.
Zen | Portage, MI | Report Abuse

Although I cannot agree with everything, you're right about the lack of socializing. I like Indy, but I don't love it. The main reason is people here just aren't very social. I know folks will argue that it's like that everywhere. It's not. When I visited Denver I had to tell people I'm just a tourist because I was constantly getting invited to social events. It's an odd Midwestern behavior: nice, but reserved.
Gregory | Bloomington, IN | Report Abuse

I lived in Indy 25 years as a born Hoosier, now I'm in Fort Wayne Indiana. Since I've lived places other than Indiana, what Zen said isn't far off, especially about the social skills. But FTW is worse, even your neighbors glare at you with suspicion.
just | Fort Wayne, IN | Report Abuse

In Midwestern culture...it's rude to criticize or insult their cities and states...maybe not in Chicago or in Michigan. But, most of the region suffers from some type of inferior mentality towards other regions of the country. Midwesterners are reserved by default.... because there's not much to do there but eat, sleep and work
Reese | Bloomingdale, GA | Report Abuse

is your moniker meant to be an indication of your self appointed enlightenment or just happenstance? I'm leaning towards the former but hate to rush to judgement
D | Lafayette, IN | Report Abuse

Your review of Indy is so far off base, it's laughable. Stay in Michigan...heard Flint is wonderful.
P | Franklin, IN | Report Abuse

This was a pretty funny read! My favorite part was the author's attempt to shield himself from criticism by stating outright that Indy residents get irrationally defensive about the city. Expert level gaslighting, Zen! Now none of us can critique your criticism without you painting us into the crazy local category. Brilliant move on your part, truly. As someone who actually lives downtown: I enjoy the Cultural Trail and its function as a vein that connects the major parts of the city. It is a truly walkable, compact city with a strong local food scene. I have never once heard anyone liken Indy to Amsterdam as a result of practical sidewalks and greenways. I have never once felt more unsafe in Indy than I have in any other major metro area. I dislike the fact that the state's backwards politics and priorities trickle into the more progressive-minded city. I dislike the road and pothole situations. I dislike the lack of a true Indy cultural identity. But a one-star city? I'd give it a 3 or 3.5. If you're in Paris, please let me know what glowing ads you've seen about the city of Indianapolis. I'm sure we'd all be shocked they even exist.
Rachel | Indianapolis, IN | Report Abuse

So Indianapolis just doesn't measure up to the lofty standards of our little friend Zen? I'm sure the city's failure to please such a world-renowned connoisseur of urban excellence has sent every Indy resident into an irreversible emotional tailspin. But seriously, before we give this sniffy critic a shred of credence, let's examine what exactly Zen's "standards" really are. First, he says he's "been to just about every big city," but it's hard to tell if he spent any quality time in those places or just rambled through in the back of a Greyhound. In any case, you can tell a lot about a person's standards by the place he calls home. And in Zen's case, we're talking Portage, Michigan -- the Paris of the Midwest. Nah, just kidding -- actually, Portage is described by NeighborhoodScout.com as "Safer than 11% of U.S. Cities." (Note to Zen: That means it's more dangerous than 89%.) Portage sounds like the kind of place where walking to the corner convenience store is riskier than taking a moonlight stroll across the Korean DMZ. Then again, it's a bad idea to leave your house in the first place, since the property crime rate in Portage is more than double that of the rest of Michigan. Fact is, Indy’s a great city with affordable housing prices, a welcoming populace, a convenient layout, minimal racial strife and top-notch sporting events. Besides the NFL Colts and NBA Pacers, this year Indianapolis and the rest of Indiana will host March Madness itself, the NCAA men's basketball tournament. That's right -- the whole tournament. Nine years ago Indy hosted the Super Bowl. In Zen's hometown, big-time sporting events are as close as ... well, a 2-hour-plus drive to Detroit or Chicago. If you’re less fussy, you can bop over to nearby Kalamazoo and watch the Growlers of the summer collegiate baseball league. Or the Killamazoo Derby Darlins of women's roller derby. Now THAT'S entertainment! Zen also disparages the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, obviously failing to grasp that it helped reinvigorate the historic Fountain Square neighborhood, ushering in art studios and sending property values doubling and tripling. In Portage, art is defined as “holding your can of spray-paint steady.” The most uproarious part of Zen's critique, however, was his fawning adoration of the Northwest: "You can criticize Seattle or Portland and people will listen," he says. Well, bro, they ought to listen: This past summer saw more than 100 straight days of rioting in Portland, while in Seattle, a bunch of scraggly protesters took over an entire neighborhood while city leaders asked them to pretty please put a stop to it. Final evidence of Zen’s dubious judgment is this: While he shrieks at Indy’s supposedly scary murder rate, the two cities he admires – Seattle and Portland – just experienced a 74 percent and a 52 percent increase, respectively, in the homicide rate. No wonder he hunkers down in Portage.
B. | Indianapolis, IN | Report Abuse

Four paragraphs of negative review; not one line of positive thing to say about the city. Now, that's suspicious! Not a good review!
David | Westbury, NY | Report Abuse

i worked downtown indy for 5 years. bums all over and many are aggressive and in your face...city does nothing about it...they just want to do what you said...advertise national and globally for folks to move here. during the workday i felt safe enough walking about but i never went out after 5pm to downtown without carry firearm. they used to let people park around the circle for free on fri/sat nites..and tons of motos would come down and cool cars and people hung out and had fun..SO OF COURSE the new dem mayor put a stop to that. cant have people out having fun 4 months of the year after the 8 months of winter where they sstayed inside.
al | Lafayette, IN | Report Abuse