The Appeal of Urban Neighborhoods

Spring has officially arrived in Indianapolis, and all sorts of yearly rituals are being renewed. Flowers blooming, people out in the neighborhood, romances beginning, and probably some people are looking to buy or rent houses in the Indianapolis region. I'm hoping that everyone in the last category is taking a serious look at housing within the urban core or the inner suburbs.


These established neighborhoods offer an experience that is hard to beat by the outer ring of suburbs. Personally, I have lived in Avon and Carmel, but I have found Irvington to be a much more satisfying place. Not only Irvington, but almost every urban neighborhood scores much higher on a walkability scale. Sidewalks and old style storefronts promote pedestrian accessibility and neighborhood interaction.


Living inside the I-465 loop also has more esoteric attractions. It is about belonging to a community. You aren't just living in the Metropolitan Statistical Area - you are living in Indianapolis. Every time you put that address on a letter or a form, you can feel proud of your contributions as a citizen. The parades, the halloween festivals, the lighting of the Christmas tree on the Circle, these are all events happening in your town.


People are often concerned about the quality of urban schools, public safety, and property taxes. To be honest, I think these issues scare people needlessly. The school system, with its magnet schools, charter schools, and other great opportunities, is really turning around. My neighborhood feels very safe, and I know I am surrounded by helpful neighbors watching out for me. The property taxes, well, they are dropping significantly with the new round of tax reform. They might make me give up my membership to the Cato Institute, but haven't minded paying taxes. I feel I am getting such a good deal for the cost, why would I complain?

Hopefully I've convinced you to consider an urban setting for your next residence. So which neighborhood, what house to buy or rent? Everyone has different needs and different expectations, so there is no simple answer. When it comes down to it, you need to be doing a lot of research. People always say a house is your most important investment, so treat it like one. Research the Walkscore map, find restaurants to visit in different neighborhoods, and read all the neighborhood posts on sites of bloggers like these guys:

Four Square No. 266

Urban Indy

The Urbanophile

Atomic Indy

Also, the city of Indianapolis has some great resources. There are several clearinghouses of information available, including:

Discover Cultural Districts

Great Indy Neighborhoods

Indy Downtown

Unsung Indy

Now these options are by no means a complete listing of all the neighborhoods in Indy. I encourage you to visit the Walkscore site for Indianapolis and start your research. The heat map can give you clues to two important features of any neighborhood: 1) neighborhoods that have somewhere to go (economic activity), 2) a way to get there. Armed with this information and a good realtor, you will be successful. Welcome to city life!

Update 2009-04-03: Comment from Virginia suggested the Nuvo Neighborhood Guide (2008). It looks like another great resource, and coming from an independent source should be very honest.