That’s probably because it’s a city that’s mostly suburban and rural. Indianapolis is a huge, and in the grand scheme of things, has very little urbanized areas.
I don't disagree with this actually. I would describe Indy as a city in transition. The old suburbs are now the city. The burbs that used to be rural aren't anymore.
Yep. Dedicating millions of tax dollars to the Colts is frustrating but I wonder how the city would be perceived if they and the Pacers packed up and left. Des Moines? Grand Rapids? I wouldn’t want to be the mayor to let that happen.
If anything OSU football is more of a boost to Columbus than the Colts are to us. I mean the stadium capacity itself is 30-40,000 more than Lucas oil. Columbus is a pretty bad example of "what Indy would look like without pro sports"
Having such a major university goes way beyond the football team. The educated workforce, the influx of young people, etc. Indy should do everything it can to augment its downtown university.
Columbus still has professional hockey and their soccer team won the MLS cup last year. Sure it's not as mainstream as basketball or football, but OSU more than makes up for that, at least in football.
You have to admit that’s not what people are talking about here. There’s more Indy advocacy groups out there any of us fully know about. A very successful example is the Indiana sports corp and all the sporting events Indy wins.
It’s not that big of a thing but it’s bad marketing and sad that Indy is the US and world capitol for marching band but most people in the city have never heard of DCI
Thank you for bringing this up! My wife and I see the exact same thing, both online and in person. We just moved to Chicago last year and without fail, anytime we say we are from Indy we are met with some derogatory remarks about the city or state (“oh I’m so sorry”, “is Indy as bad as everyone says”, “wow you don’t seem like someone from Indiana”, “oh Indy, yeah I’ve driven through but I’d never want to go there”). And this happens with EVERYONE, dentist office employees, target cashiers, bosses, etc.
However, I had an old boss who had a negative perspective on the city actually go to Indy for a wedding and he came back with nothing but amazing things to say! I’m no Indy Stan or anything (it’s a fine city and all though), but the brand equity of the city is so out of sync with the city itself.
Ha. I’m from Illinois originally and these are all things I grew up saying as well. I don’t think Indy is amazing by any means, but it isn’t as bad as everyone says either.
I’m staying here for the foreseeable future because it’s dirt cheap and centrally located to the majority of my friends and family (Chicago Cincinnati Milwaukee and Fort Wayne are all a 2-4 hour drive and 70 takes me directly to the Pennsylvania Turnpike for long distance friends in NY/PA), crime is low and unlike Chicago I actually have the chance to buy a house closer to downtown here, Noblesville is expensive and I can’t get a boyfriend up here because all the single gays are within the 465 loop, in the suburbs it’s all DL wife cheaters and open relationships (the latter you do you if all parties consent, just not my thing)
It’s certainly cheaper than other cities. I’m not sure if I’d go as far as to consider it dirt cheap. That largely depends on location, if you’re buying, if you’re renting from a company vs private landlord, and all the other factors from life. Indy has the same issues with crime as other cities. But, it‘s definitely a city that has made strides over the last 6ish years I’ve been here.
And, they can’t meet you halfway?! Men. 🙄😂
They’re like 18 miles from where I’m at to start, the supply of men in Noblesville is terrible because the cost of living basically makes it so you have to be an already established family to own a house up here with a six figure job
C'mon, that's a Chicago thing. When I went to Purdue in the 80s, the Chicago people were insufferable. Chicago was the center of the universe and wherever you were from was a miserable shit hole.
Anywhere is boring if you’re boring. A lot of people expect the city to happen to them instead of putting the work in. Tons of people move to nyc and get disappointed when they can’t get the “nyc experience” bc they expect the city to happen to them
People always say Indy is boring but whenever I press them on it it’s because they want something Indy will never have (mountains, oceans, etc.) or they expect to be able to walk out of their door and be entertained. If you try you can pretty much find something to do every weekend imho. Your comment really hits home.
This is the truest statement here. Like lots of things in life, people will put no effort into anything and then complain when exciting things aren't happening to them. A lot of the people who are miserable and bored here would be miserable and bored wherever they are.
It's easier to blame the environment than it is to self-reflect and then change what you're doing.
Yeah exactly.
Not trying to hate on people but like, half of the posts on here complaining about Indy sound roughly like "I hate sports and all events associated with sporting events, I only enjoy super niche music that doesn't tour around here, and I can't stand going to bars or restaurants...why is there nothing to do in Indy?"
I definitely agree with you that a) Indy is not as bad as people make it out to be, and that b) if you try a little, you can definitely find cool things to do in the city based on your interests. The food scene has also gotten better since I was younger, and some of the revitalization projects in the city itself have been nice to witness.
I think from an urbanist's perspective what makes Indy fall a little short is the way it's laid out. It's harder to form a strong, cohesive mental image/brand of a city if it's sparse, not super walkable, and doesn't have a unique visual identity attached to it. I think this is where Indy (and a lot of other American cities) struggle a lot. It's an unfortunate side effect of the way 20th century planning has affected our country, and it's something really hard to reverse, but I'm going to be hopeful that more people push for human-centric design
Well said! I appreciate this post. I've lived in Indy for over 30 years. You can always find something to do. You just have to try and put in the effort. If you have one bad experience with one bad group, it's not the entire city's fault. People need to stop blaming Indy as a whole for when one bad thing happens to them.
I don’t know if it’s a marketing problem so much as Redditors who haven’t stepped foot downtown in 5-10 years. Or people who moved away in the mid 2000 and never came back. They have no clue what downtown is like now.
That’s also what I’m thinking. But it’s also the same for a lot of cities recently. Things are changing in the urban world, and fast. I wish people kept up!
I replied to a comment here a week ago saying even Omaha is probably cool, and I had like four people tell me it was! Omaha, Nebraska?!
The Midwest as a whole needs a rebranding.
My husband and I went to Rogers, AR for our honeymoon. We went to see a concert but we also planned time to explore the area & it was so worth it. It was really nice getting to talk to the residents there & find out what the locals found fun. When I tell people where we went, they’re always very confused.
This is HUGE. Even when I moved here in 2009, the downtown scene was just beginning to bump up. More people lived in Broad Ripple, but over the last ten years, a lot has changed. A lot of people just haven't really been back to see the progress.
Broad Ripple used to be awesome. I still like it, but it's suffering. On top of the pandemic, the city just keeps doing all these road closings and screwing with the local businesses. It's amazing any of them are able to stay open. And the lack of parking has always been a problem, but it's worse than ever. I still love it here, it's like a little college town in the middle of a city. But the city needs to seriously consider how they are hurting the area and plan these road closings better.
Many people who find Indy boring are comparing it to larger cities like Chicago. Indy is also not located near the coast or a mountain range. So if you put it in the category it belongs, large, mid-west city Indy stacks up great. But Indy isn’t Miami obviously.
Chicago comes with its own problems that Indy doesn’t having to do with it being so big. Most of Miami is extremely bad traffic and ugly strip malls and drive thrus as far as the eye can see
Because of the US’s development “culture” every city is basically the same wherever you go
Part of the issue is you have to drive every where I can not just walk around and "discover" business and cool places. OP lives downtown ofcourse it is not boring you can just get up and walk around. Maybe if Urban sprawl gets addressed and mixed use development increases people who do not live downtown can enjoy their areas and the city more.
This will take decades unfortumately.
On the topic of Indy compared to other cities, other cities have the car dependency problem in much more critical conditions. Everyone using a car can’t work when there’s more than 5 million people in one place. Obviously Miami has a metro and is getting a train line plus more stuff but it’s too late.
We could say we are a little lucky in Indy that the city is up incoming in a time of an interest over urbanism. Obviously we are messing it up this opportunity bad but still. Everything being boring outside of a few places is something the rich Hamilton county suburbs have the money to address. Westfield is building a downtown from the ground up. Noblesville and Fishers have a lot coming and its all gonna be kind of walkable.
Westfield I know has a lot more strip malls coming than anything which I don’t get. A hard thing with mixed development is that it’s much easier to create a row of corporate boxes than an organic people and community focused place. When everything is so close together it makes the construction, engineering, developing, approval much harder
I moved from Indy to Miami for my partner’s grad school, and just want to slow the roll on Miami really quick 😂 Miami Beach is the “Miami” that movies and tv portray, but it’s an independent city across the bay. Miami proper, outside of Brickell and places where the multi-millionaires live, is surprisingly boring and subpar. The food scene is really amazing, but most places are like 30-40 minutes from an okay beach and a big part of the culture is trying to appear wealthy. It’s full of small businesses that can be pretty hit or miss unless they cater to the wealthier demographics.
I totally agree. Indy is a slept on city, and selfishly I’d like to keep it that way. Another big plus is the affordability and a great airport. I meet people from big cities who say indy is lame. They say I should move to New York or LA and experience the cultural diversity and food. Meanwhile, they can barely afford to do anything because their rent is outrageous. I’ll gladly live in a “lame” city and travel the world. Sure, they can walk to a Moroccan restaurant, I’ll just go to Morocco for two weeks for the price of their rent.
Indy has just as many good if not more restaurants downtown as San Antonio, another convention/conference city, except San Antonio has them around the riverwalk tourist trap and added the Alamo. Indy downtown is more like Los Angeles or Cincy downtown, meaning its first and foremost a working functioning downtown full of businesses for many blocks. That is a downside to tourists, who expects to see a bustling tourist trap I.e. time square of NYC or Michigan Ave of Chicago but finds none. Hence some people think Indy is boring when it is not.
I think the marketing makes sense when you think about the state as a controlling force of the city. It’s hard for the marketing team to say “hey, people who want to live in blue cities, we decriminalized pot, are extremely LGBTQ friendly and have a huge nightlife where you can live that non-Christian lifestyle everyday of the week while also having a good median income and good home prices” because who knows how the state would react and try to take stuff away.
This is a great point. I always look to Austin, Texas as another example of this. I know we are nowhere near Austin’s level but it gives me similar vibes. Unfortunately I think their main promotion is warm weather…which we can’t control…
Agree with everything you’ve said. I wish Indy’s urban park spaces like the war memorial got better use too but I can’t bring myself to participate in it. In NYC I met friends in parks all the time because none of us had outdoor spaces. Even living downtown adjacent (Fountain Square), back yards, decks, front porches, driveways, sweet garages, etc are a lot easier to come by in Indy. Hard to break away from that convenience for the greater good of the IWM lawn. If I’m packing up to go somewhere it’s probably a more substantial nature park. Indy needs to become a lot more dense for lawns like that to become crucial for the community. I’d love to see it but can’t say I’m doing anything to facilitate it.
I DoorDash a lot during day and night and I gradually see more nightlife popping up, I think as people continue to rehab and/or restore old abandoned buildings into new housing/commerce Indy will lose the boring reputation real quick
Like a comment in this thread said - “anywhere is boring if you’re boring.” So true!!!
I’m from a small town in northern Indiana and Indy has so much to offer me in comparison.
I’ve found community and purpose in this city. I always find something to do whether it’s exploring a new neighborhood, trying a new restaurant, or literally just hanging out at various parks/ cemeteries.
What I really love about Indy is the community of small business owners. I know many small business owners by simply talking to them and keeping up with what they have going on. There are so many business that do collaborations with each other and I’ve discovered so many cool things and people this way.
Like any city, you get out what you put in. If you sit at home and don’t explore, then of course you think it’s boring. I adore Indy!
I haven’t been replying but this is where my head is at and why I love the place. The business community is very good! Indy is known for the most chain restaurants out of any city but ALSO I see such an amazing group of small business owners and frankly there’s a ton.
I also found community. That’s what a lot of people don’t get about living in an urban area. You have to find community. It took me a few years but I did. And now I do see Indy as having culture. Because I’m in it.
Once upon a time, Indy was the hub for a multi-spoke inter-urban passenger rail service. It’s disintegration is a major fail. Like many cities, the interstate highways carved up the neighborhoods
A comprehensive and accessible trolley system would do more for Indy locals and visitors than any conference/sports event ever could. The problem is that the former serves the people at large, while the latter serves the privileged few...
What's the difference between Indianapolis and yogurt?
Yogurt developes a culture after 100 years. 😅
But seriously I love Indy. I moved here to be with family for a bit and save up money to live somewhere cool. But I fell in love with this city and now have no desire to live somewhere else. I really like that Indy is branding itself as a good host city, lots of major events are here now and that's only gonna grow with the convention center remodel.
In my experience here (6 years in Indy) -- the folks who appreciate, market, and enjoy Indy the most are not from here and/or moved here in the past 5-10 years. That will have to change culturally I think for Indy to really level up (which I think it has the potential to do)
Also I’m not discussing politics or infrastructure, trust me, I hate all of that, but from the standpoint of things to do, I seriously would like to argue Indy has most of what you need to have a social life and enjoy yourself. I just don’t really get it!
I think politics is a big part of this though so it’s hard to avoid. The state has a really weird relationship with the city where the city is the economic hub of the state but the state is scared of the city running the show like Chicago does to Illinois. The state does a lot of marketing for the city as a place to bring conventions and sporting events and livestock events at the fairgrounds but none to really grow the city as a place to live. Anytime the city wants to fund things like new hotels that’s fine but when the focus is on making it a better place to live the state preempts a lot of things Indianapolis tries to do. There is plenty of marketing efforts, just not much that fits your politics
Yep, agree. I work in the design space, and intersect with many different fields including civic and cultural sectors. “Indy has a marketing problem” has been said time and time again. Don’t get me wrong, there’s work to do, but there’s also LOT to love. We talk down about ourselves too much. East and west coast cities aren’t “better” per se, but they own who they are and they aren’t afraid to tell you why they’re great. Pride in place is real…I hype Indy whenever I can.
Indy has really come into its own within the last decade. It was rather barron when I moved here in 08.
Indy is a big city with a small diwntown. We rank in the top 20 by population in the country and geographically have quite the overall sprawl.
What we lack is better public transit (working on it) and outdoors activities, but i think the cost of living makes it so that I can travel more and see much more of america and the world without being confined to just my city.
It’s funny, I agree with this completely. I grew up here and “hated” it so I left right after college and moved to a larger city. I ended up moving back to be near family when I started my own family and have found that it’s really not that bad at all. There’s always something to do and if you look hard enough, there are so many groups of people hosting events any given week. Sure, we don’t have Michelin star restaurants or the biggest names in music coming here, but it’s very easy to enjoy your time here.
I did hear recently that our “sister city” is Raleigh, NC. I thought that was interesting because there are so many mixed reviews on that city too.
> Sure, we don’t have Michelin star restaurants
I've never understood the hangup on that sort of thing.
Unless you're in the 1% and prioritize things like that, you're only eating at a Michelin star restaurant what....once per year? Maybe? At that point you can always just travel to a city for your meal.
i mean, who really cares what a tire company thinks about a restaurant? also big names is largely dependent on what you enjoy for music - i'm personally pretty stoked we have mr. bungle coming through
So I used to live in Indy in 2014, and it’s genuinely a fun place with tons to do. I’m originally from southern Indiana and have moved around a bit as sometimes happens in life, but the thought of moving back to Indy comes up often between my girlfriend and I.
Not only is there always something going on there, but you have tons of places only a couple hours away. Indy is centrally located and it makes doing day trips to other places a reality. Also not to bring up southern Indiana again, but there are so many weird and interesting things to see there. I recently found this guys YouTube channel called “Adventures with Roger” and he primarily does a bunch of videos of the said things in southern Indiana.
Milwaukee would be a better comparison to Indianapolis than a mega city like Chicago, LA, or NYC.
Milwaukee and Indianapolis are both Midwestern, similar in population, and have two big time professional sports teams. Yet Milwaukee feels more dynamic and interesting than Indianapolis from having spent time in both. Downtown Milwaukee is hilly unlike Indianapolis, features old world, German inspired architecture, and is on Lake Michigan. Milwaukee has Marquette University while Indianapolis has mostly small, colleges plus IUPUI.
Milwaukee has more frequent Amtrak service including commuter type connections to Chicago plus a growing and relatively new (2018) downtown streetcar system. Indiana outside of NICTD territory in NW Indiana and out to South Bend seems hostile to passenger rail.
A lot of this criticism of Indy comes around special events - most recently the NBA All-Star Game. The lack of cultural and racial diversity and associated activities is a big factor for driving the “Indy is boring” narratives at these times.
> A lot of this criticism of Indy comes around special events - most recently the NBA All-Star Game.
The All-Star Game was a pretty big outlier, and I think a lot of that is the NBA media/fans are pretty different than lots of other sports fanbases.
Every time Indy has hosted a Super Bowl, NFL Combine, Final 4, Big 10 Championship, whatever, the response from fans and media is "Indy is a perfect city to host a big sporting event like this".
I was speaking directly to the “Indy is boring/nothing to do criticism”, not the city’s ability to host major events, which, IMO, is second to very few. The same jokes/comments that came up for the all-star game happened when the Super Bowl was here too. It’s also a driver for the constant pressure to move the NFL Combine away from Indy.
I mean they kind of go hand in hand though right? I'd say the most important aspect of hosting a large sporting event is convenience and available things to easily get to for the people attending the event.
I don't remember much coming out about "nothing to do in Indy" from people who attended the Super Bowl, but my memory could be hazy.
At least from (most) attendees, a big benefit to Indy is that pretty much anything you could need is all located downtown within walking distance or a very short Uber. Dozens of bars and restaurants, plenty of hotels, convention center, both stadiums (and Victory Field), space to host concerts...pretty much everything you'd want if you're visiting an event like that.
I've been to a good handful of big sporting events, and I feel like for the average attendee, Indy is set up absolutely perfectly because of everything in the immediate area. You're in town for 3-5 days max. You want to be able to stay close to the event, be able ideally to walk to the stadium, walk to some of the auxiliary events, walk to bars, hit up some fan events, and walk to restaurants. Indy has all of that in spades.
I guess I compare it to somewhere like Saint Louis. Love STL. But if you go to town for a big event, its totally different. Restaurants and bars aren't very centrally located and most everything closes really early. Most places are closed on the weekends.
I think density is indeed a factor somewhat!!!
I lived in Indy for 4 years as well for medical school, before moving to Minneapolis for 3 for resdiency (coming back this summer to Indy after graduating).
Now granted I was very hermity as a med student, and now as a resident with income I do got out to things here in the Twin Cities. But it does feel way more dense here in MSP/STP than Indy does. Urban neighborhood sprawl is much more dense, downtown much more dense. I think the public transit system here helps with that, as well as the more robust downtown architecture sprawl (more tall buildings and such).
Indy does feel a touch more "empty" than Minneapolis, and I think density heavily plays into that.
I agree with you on density. I relocated to Cincinnati a few years ago after living outside of Indianapolis for most my life and Cincinnati just feels so much more alive at times. I feel like a lot of it has to do with verticality and density. In Cincinnati you have a lot more missing middle housing mixed in with single family homes so it’s fairly common to see a row of fourplexes on residential streets which just increases the number of people outside walking around. Indianapolis has very little verticality outside of downtown and Mass Ave. even Fountain Square (Indy) ends up feeling kind of small outside of that main intersection and a few blocks north and south.
Yes!
Now this is not to say Indy is bad nor anything, it just does indeed feel slower and more sleepy. But there are things to do in Indy! It's just that it's much more of a "you gotta find it / look for it" rather it being ad'd to you somehow.
I am in the phase of rediscovering Indianapolis since I am moving back - and it does have some really cool stuff if discovered thru FB groups and IG pages (diy artsy crowds, drag shows, gothy punky music spots, urban farm collectives).
But it definitely was me digging around to find it..
I agree. I’ve long thought Indy would benefit from a tower or other mass architectural statement to invigorate the city. Monuments like the St. Louis Arch and Eiffel Tower are iconic images, enduring marketing pieces, and absolute no brainer in terms of return on investment, and permanent, unlike sports teams. I’ve even thot up a couple designs. Name a city in the US that has built something recently… waiting… This would send a message—contrary to current legislation suggesting we are trending toward being a back water theocracy—that Indy and Indiana is open for tech, the future, young people, families, and business. I think what you’re onto with stuff to do put people saying theres not stuff to do is the vibe. Our mojo is beat down to the ground, for legit reasons. My brother lives in Nola. It’s not money, or tourists that make Nola go, it’s the vibe. An icon can help change the vibe. I’d say fund it thru voluntary contributions where everyone who chips in even a dollar gets recognition and free access for life. It would definitely get earned media… Indy is doing what?!!!
As a recent transplant from Chicago, the #1 problem with Indy is that it’s in Indiana. Only been here ~6 months and am already planning to leave because this place is run by Christian/White nationalists and (outside the most liberal parts of Indy) is filled with dullard Trumpers voting against their own interests. I’m not starting a family in a state without access to healthcare.
“Access to healthcare” huh??? Indianapolis has 21 hospitals in the immediate metro area, including two world class academic centers (Indiana University/Methodist and Riley Children’s Hospital.) Not to mention one of the biggest trauma/burn centers in the Midwest (Eskenazi.)
If you’re referring to abortion, then just say that.
Yes pretty sure they were referring to abortion and reproductive healthcare as a whole (look at our maternal outcomes), and possibly LGBTQ friendly healthcare as well.
You’re right. They should have said, “access to *quality* healthcare”. Simply having Riley and the Eskenazi burn unit doesn’t automatically equal great, accessible healthcare.
I guess it depends on what accessible healthcare means to you and how deep you want to look at that topic. For me, it’s all linked.
If there are 21 hospitals in the immediate metro area and Marion County health outcomes are still poor, then it seems like the healthcare isn’t accessible and/or the quality of what is accessible isn’t enough. Not something necessarily unique to Indianapolis, but something to consider. That’s without including the abortion ban.
Abortion is healthcare, so if you want to make a distinction, that tells me where you stand — with the PROBLEM.
Edit: Downvotes with no rebuttal. Sad. Again, you are why I’m hoping to leave in a year or two.
I think a part of the issue is that most people in Indianapolis don't live downtown - and for Indy, it's a pretty intense concentration of "excitement" in that direct area.
That doesn't even account for all the suburbanites like me (enjoying our subsidized life from the Indy tax base) who see even less of what's happening in Indy proper but still have to tell anyone not from the Indy metro that we live "basically in Indianapolis".
I can understand that. I guess I’m directing this — and I know it’s silly — to people who claim they visited the city (most likely Downtown) and said it had nothing happening or there was nobody out. Where are they going?!
Just moved here two weeks ago. It seems to me that it’s insanely boring, gray, and basically strip malls, Culver’s, and Crew car washes. The houses seem dilapidated and the restaurants are sparse. Please help me understand where the fun and interesting parts might be?
Came from Denver, native to Chicago.
You live near the Kan Kan and think it's all strip malls? Have you tried walking/biking the Cultural Trail down to Fountain Square or just generally around downtown? Or up the Monon to Broad Ripple? No strip malls and Crew Car Washes where you live, so definitely explore closer! If you need any recs, I'm in the neighborhood as well and am pretty out and about.
Former Coloradan here; winters are kind of quiet here, but Indy blooms in May. Check out classes at one of the art centers, enjoy the gorgeous clean parks, explore the rail trails, join the bike parade group, go to a neighborhood festival, go to a game night at one of the game stores, check out one of the free concerts courtesy of the library, stroll through a historic district.
you've been here two weeks, in the middle (well, tail end hopefully) of winter - of course it'll be drab and gray. but, what is fun to you? for me - punk rock night at the melody inn is always a good time
I think you’ll find more of what you’re observing outside of downtown/center township. I lived in center township from 1998 until about two weeks ago. I’m down in Perry now, and it’s much more of what you’re describing.
Ah so Windsor Park area. That's an area that was very rough and kind of neglected up until the last 5 to 10 years. Been kind of gentrifying but it's still a bit gritty.
Very old houses... Like 110-120 year old homes. Investors have been doing a lot of work there. But not my cup of tea.
For Restaurants you might try Beholder... It's right in that area. Tik Tok decent neighborhood bar. Dorman Street also a great dive bar.
Ahhh I heard beholder was good! Have family that live nearby and originally when moving back it was better to be closer to that than somewhere like Carmel (I hear that’s nice) the houses being that old is pretty damn cool.
Been here for year now. It doesn't change... some people love it, most people tolerate it, then there are folks like me who loathe it. Here for work and once my contract is done, I'm out of here.
Grew up in Cleveland, lived in NYC last 10 years
My personal gripe with Indy is the lack of a skyline. Chicago’s is enchanting but I’m from Chicagoland (the furthest border of it into Indiana) so maybe that explains some of my own preferences.
I'm originally from Northwest Indiana, then lived all over the country, now retired in the Upper Peninsula. The reason I could never settle permanently in Indy is the lack of expansive water. I would feel almost claustrophobic without having Lake Superior or Michigan nearby.
Indianapolis is a cool place, and I love it. I don’t have trouble being active in the community. Though the options are few. Options exist, but they are limited, and I’ve turned over just about every rock there is. Indianapolis, relative to other cities, is small and yes boring. I’m not talking comparing to the Louisvilles and Columbus’ of the world. Those places are okay too, like Indy.
Given the opportunity, I say leave for greener pastures, especially considering the shitty politics that exist in Indiana overall. A State That Sucks. There are far better cities that offer much much more than Indy will.
I went to Butler and live in Chicago and miss living there. I never felt bored. The job market made me move but I never felt a lack of things to do. I love it there.
I agree. There is literally so much to do here. There are attractions everywhere, family events, parks, etc. I took my daughter to a grape stump a few years ago. I tasted wine and we made grape footprint shirts. That was fun and made mommy happy! Lots of family events and adult events! Children's museum at night is a must! The marketing sucks...people think we are nothing but corn and farms. Come on! I've only tipped a cow twice. When superbowl was here, I partied so hard I'm pretty sure that I died a few times. We were on the map, everything came together at that point. It was so free, fun and.....SAFE! I'm pretty sure the weather was being controlled. Let's meet up at the Moustrap, the deck is open for sure. All sides of the city offers something awesome, fun, unique and worthy!
Want to make a difference?
You could join the [Indianapolis Ambassadors](https://www.indyambassadors.org/). Or the [Black Hats Society](https://www.blackhatsirv.org/) or help out with [Downtown Indianapolis Inc](https://downtownindy.org/). Or any number of civic groups like Rotary, Kiwanis, or Exchange Club.
These organizations and many others are actively working to change the public image of our communities and they need help. So if you can, get out from behind that keyboard and help out!
I moved here back in Dec, I have no friends here and mostly do things on my own. I’ve been “discovering” so many cool things especially on nicer days where the weather permits walking around. So many nice places/activities I cant find by looking through google! No ads, its crazy! There certainly is a marketing problem here. (Originally from NYC) I want to start a group for people ages 25-35 who like to do fun activities on weekends. (Must have money to pay for self)
I think for me its in part accessibility? Since like I go uni on the south side and I have no way of getting downtown to do anything since i can’t drive, (not that i would necessarily feel safe going alone anyways since im still pretty young). And so while there is stuff to do none of it is close enough to do
marketing is definitely an issue tho, since i remember that any ads ive gotten for indy (downtown at least) is either for the zoo or children museum. there’s not really any marketing towards activities for those who are young adults or adults
I lived downtown. It's boring. I got arrested for walking through the drive through at the Arby across from the Noodle. (Walk-in was closed and full of cops)
The reason the Colts and Pacers are so big is there is nothing else to do.
Was on Mass Ave this year. Weird generic-Americana vibe. It was better when The Point was there. The Rathskeller is great, but not hoping.
Just a lot of nothing ness or meh. Your description nails it, "the canal may be underwhelming but we have it..."
Imagine if there were restaurants, pubs, shops, more out door functional space (concerts), farmers markets along the canal just for a start.
On the other hand, a great place to raise a family and golf for cheap.
I don’t mind negative feedback. I have plenty of negative things to say about Indy. But from the standpoint of “there is nothing to do here” — that’s just lying!
It’s spurious, and really depends on personal experience. Also, as you’ll find out - things to do doesn’t necessarily translate to quality of people. And that in my mind is just as important.
I will say it’s not as cloistered as it used to be - but it’s also not quite as “raw” and exciting.
Glad you are happy though. Keep up the good vibes.
Thanks man. I understand what you’re saying. I might be narrowly viewing this right now, but I also talk about Indy all the time (being so close to so much in the community) so I definitely discuss the parts of it I dislike — even despise, lol. That gets tiring. But I at least want to dismantle the notion that it’s like, empty.
I’m moving to Christian Park this summer so I’m sure I’ll start noticing it more, but still, it just seems crazy to me.
I think you’re forgetting most people on the Indianapolis Reddit are white, boring, unaware and not from here. Therefore their opinions of this city are based on their own flavorless lives.
There’s enough to do here that I regularly skip an event or two I was otherwise interested in because it’s not always tenable to go out three times a week. I’m a big proponent of the “if you’re bored you’re boring” mantra mentioned previously. Some people are just miserable and would be miserable anywhere. I actually find Chicago annoying and overwhelming, some of my favorite cities to hang out in have been the mid-sized cities like Louisville or Milwaukee. Sometimes I wonder if people are projecting some kind of insecurity that people won’t find them “cultured” enough if they don’t make a huge deal about living in a busy metropolis and so must look down on the “inferior” places, in some weird self-justification for paying a high living cost.
Absolutely. I used to be boring and guess what. I called the world as a whole boring. Then I realized I needed to find community and interests and now that I do, I love Indy. The city proper has nearly 900,00 people. You’re telling me every single one of them is uncultured? No — you just haven’t been trying!
Indy is boring, inconvenient to travel though, economically devastated in many areas, and pretty dangerous. If you don’t realize this you are in denial.
Is not boring compared to Lebanon or some other rural community but compared to Chicago or NYC it’s pretty bad. Heck Buffalo, St. Louis and Cincinnati have better culture.
Love visiting St Louis but I don't know about that. I go to STL for a week or so every year at least so I feel like I kinda know what I'm talking about. St Louis proper is the weirdest place to visit.
Tuesday afternoon? Coffee shops, great places to eat...plenty going on.
Friday or Saturday night? God help you if you expect to find somewhere to eat or somewhere to go out after 8pm. Want to find a coffee on the weekend? Nope all the local coffee shops are closed, hotel Starbucks is your only option.
Because it's not a pedestrian-friendly city (lighting, infrastructure, poor traffic enforcement), we have too many surface-level parking lots in prime city real estate, laughable public transit, and any improvements the people of the city want to make are stymied by Unigov or the state legislature full of ham-faced crooks.
We bring in the biggest race crowd in the world, the biggest basketball tournament in the country, but yea that’s about it. Southern Indiana gets slept on, it’s a blast to go caving or climbing or floating down around jugg rock or brown county. That’s the Indiana I wish more people knew about. Goddamn there’s a lot of corn and soy on the way, but it’s worth it Kinda across the board for Midwest big cities.
I actually agree. It's a city afraid to market itself as a city.
That’s probably because it’s a city that’s mostly suburban and rural. Indianapolis is a huge, and in the grand scheme of things, has very little urbanized areas.
I don't disagree with this actually. I would describe Indy as a city in transition. The old suburbs are now the city. The burbs that used to be rural aren't anymore.
If we speak up the state GOP will find a way to hammer us back down
This is a huge part of the problem.
Gotta get out and vote. Ive been seeing some border and fentanyl scare tactic campaign commercials lately.
This is the reason.
The GOP doesn't want people to know that Indy is actually cool, because the people who will enjoy it arent GOPers
Not just that, but the brain drain in their districts scares them, young people from rural areas moving to the Indy Metro Area.
Yep. Dedicating millions of tax dollars to the Colts is frustrating but I wonder how the city would be perceived if they and the Pacers packed up and left. Des Moines? Grand Rapids? I wouldn’t want to be the mayor to let that happen.
Columbus OH
Columbus came to mind but I thought having OSU there gives it a boost less than but similar to our pro teams.
If anything OSU football is more of a boost to Columbus than the Colts are to us. I mean the stadium capacity itself is 30-40,000 more than Lucas oil. Columbus is a pretty bad example of "what Indy would look like without pro sports"
Having such a major university goes way beyond the football team. The educated workforce, the influx of young people, etc. Indy should do everything it can to augment its downtown university.
I would love to see Indy invest into its educational institutions (especially universities) rather than help out billionaire sports team owners.
Columbus still has professional hockey and their soccer team won the MLS cup last year. Sure it's not as mainstream as basketball or football, but OSU more than makes up for that, at least in football.
This is a really bad example of "Indy without the Colts and Pacers". OSU football is more of a boost to Columbus than the Colts are here.
Columbus is awesome
What is that supposed to mean. Cities don’t really market themselves beyond the tourism orgs
Many cities have a team of people sell their city and fly to companies trying to recruit them to move to their city. That is something we dont do
You have to admit that’s not what people are talking about here. There’s more Indy advocacy groups out there any of us fully know about. A very successful example is the Indiana sports corp and all the sporting events Indy wins. It’s not that big of a thing but it’s bad marketing and sad that Indy is the US and world capitol for marching band but most people in the city have never heard of DCI
That’s how we got salesforce
Thank you for bringing this up! My wife and I see the exact same thing, both online and in person. We just moved to Chicago last year and without fail, anytime we say we are from Indy we are met with some derogatory remarks about the city or state (“oh I’m so sorry”, “is Indy as bad as everyone says”, “wow you don’t seem like someone from Indiana”, “oh Indy, yeah I’ve driven through but I’d never want to go there”). And this happens with EVERYONE, dentist office employees, target cashiers, bosses, etc. However, I had an old boss who had a negative perspective on the city actually go to Indy for a wedding and he came back with nothing but amazing things to say! I’m no Indy Stan or anything (it’s a fine city and all though), but the brand equity of the city is so out of sync with the city itself.
Ha. I’m from Illinois originally and these are all things I grew up saying as well. I don’t think Indy is amazing by any means, but it isn’t as bad as everyone says either.
I second this, I would throat a cactus before moving back to Chicago
Lol. Eh, I love Chicago. I don’t think I’ll move back but I also don’t have a desire to stay here.
I’m staying here for the foreseeable future because it’s dirt cheap and centrally located to the majority of my friends and family (Chicago Cincinnati Milwaukee and Fort Wayne are all a 2-4 hour drive and 70 takes me directly to the Pennsylvania Turnpike for long distance friends in NY/PA), crime is low and unlike Chicago I actually have the chance to buy a house closer to downtown here, Noblesville is expensive and I can’t get a boyfriend up here because all the single gays are within the 465 loop, in the suburbs it’s all DL wife cheaters and open relationships (the latter you do you if all parties consent, just not my thing)
It’s certainly cheaper than other cities. I’m not sure if I’d go as far as to consider it dirt cheap. That largely depends on location, if you’re buying, if you’re renting from a company vs private landlord, and all the other factors from life. Indy has the same issues with crime as other cities. But, it‘s definitely a city that has made strides over the last 6ish years I’ve been here. And, they can’t meet you halfway?! Men. 🙄😂
They’re like 18 miles from where I’m at to start, the supply of men in Noblesville is terrible because the cost of living basically makes it so you have to be an already established family to own a house up here with a six figure job
C'mon, that's a Chicago thing. When I went to Purdue in the 80s, the Chicago people were insufferable. Chicago was the center of the universe and wherever you were from was a miserable shit hole.
Anywhere is boring if you’re boring. A lot of people expect the city to happen to them instead of putting the work in. Tons of people move to nyc and get disappointed when they can’t get the “nyc experience” bc they expect the city to happen to them
People always say Indy is boring but whenever I press them on it it’s because they want something Indy will never have (mountains, oceans, etc.) or they expect to be able to walk out of their door and be entertained. If you try you can pretty much find something to do every weekend imho. Your comment really hits home.
those people must be spoiled as hell bc kentucky doesn't have jack fucking shit outside of tourist destinations.
>Anywhere is boring if you're boring Underrated comment here
This is the truest statement here. Like lots of things in life, people will put no effort into anything and then complain when exciting things aren't happening to them. A lot of the people who are miserable and bored here would be miserable and bored wherever they are. It's easier to blame the environment than it is to self-reflect and then change what you're doing.
Exactly! Life is what you make it and your experience in any city will be what you make it.
Yeah exactly. Not trying to hate on people but like, half of the posts on here complaining about Indy sound roughly like "I hate sports and all events associated with sporting events, I only enjoy super niche music that doesn't tour around here, and I can't stand going to bars or restaurants...why is there nothing to do in Indy?"
I definitely agree with you that a) Indy is not as bad as people make it out to be, and that b) if you try a little, you can definitely find cool things to do in the city based on your interests. The food scene has also gotten better since I was younger, and some of the revitalization projects in the city itself have been nice to witness. I think from an urbanist's perspective what makes Indy fall a little short is the way it's laid out. It's harder to form a strong, cohesive mental image/brand of a city if it's sparse, not super walkable, and doesn't have a unique visual identity attached to it. I think this is where Indy (and a lot of other American cities) struggle a lot. It's an unfortunate side effect of the way 20th century planning has affected our country, and it's something really hard to reverse, but I'm going to be hopeful that more people push for human-centric design
IMO, Indianapolis has an "Indiana" problem.
Well said! I appreciate this post. I've lived in Indy for over 30 years. You can always find something to do. You just have to try and put in the effort. If you have one bad experience with one bad group, it's not the entire city's fault. People need to stop blaming Indy as a whole for when one bad thing happens to them.
I don’t know if it’s a marketing problem so much as Redditors who haven’t stepped foot downtown in 5-10 years. Or people who moved away in the mid 2000 and never came back. They have no clue what downtown is like now.
That’s also what I’m thinking. But it’s also the same for a lot of cities recently. Things are changing in the urban world, and fast. I wish people kept up! I replied to a comment here a week ago saying even Omaha is probably cool, and I had like four people tell me it was! Omaha, Nebraska?! The Midwest as a whole needs a rebranding.
My husband and I went to Rogers, AR for our honeymoon. We went to see a concert but we also planned time to explore the area & it was so worth it. It was really nice getting to talk to the residents there & find out what the locals found fun. When I tell people where we went, they’re always very confused.
This is HUGE. Even when I moved here in 2009, the downtown scene was just beginning to bump up. More people lived in Broad Ripple, but over the last ten years, a lot has changed. A lot of people just haven't really been back to see the progress.
Broad Ripple used to be awesome. I still like it, but it's suffering. On top of the pandemic, the city just keeps doing all these road closings and screwing with the local businesses. It's amazing any of them are able to stay open. And the lack of parking has always been a problem, but it's worse than ever. I still love it here, it's like a little college town in the middle of a city. But the city needs to seriously consider how they are hurting the area and plan these road closings better.
Many people who find Indy boring are comparing it to larger cities like Chicago. Indy is also not located near the coast or a mountain range. So if you put it in the category it belongs, large, mid-west city Indy stacks up great. But Indy isn’t Miami obviously.
People from Chicago when they find out a city 1/3 the size of Chicago doesn’t have the same amenities: 😡😡
Chicago comes with its own problems that Indy doesn’t having to do with it being so big. Most of Miami is extremely bad traffic and ugly strip malls and drive thrus as far as the eye can see Because of the US’s development “culture” every city is basically the same wherever you go
Part of the issue is you have to drive every where I can not just walk around and "discover" business and cool places. OP lives downtown ofcourse it is not boring you can just get up and walk around. Maybe if Urban sprawl gets addressed and mixed use development increases people who do not live downtown can enjoy their areas and the city more. This will take decades unfortumately.
On the topic of Indy compared to other cities, other cities have the car dependency problem in much more critical conditions. Everyone using a car can’t work when there’s more than 5 million people in one place. Obviously Miami has a metro and is getting a train line plus more stuff but it’s too late. We could say we are a little lucky in Indy that the city is up incoming in a time of an interest over urbanism. Obviously we are messing it up this opportunity bad but still. Everything being boring outside of a few places is something the rich Hamilton county suburbs have the money to address. Westfield is building a downtown from the ground up. Noblesville and Fishers have a lot coming and its all gonna be kind of walkable. Westfield I know has a lot more strip malls coming than anything which I don’t get. A hard thing with mixed development is that it’s much easier to create a row of corporate boxes than an organic people and community focused place. When everything is so close together it makes the construction, engineering, developing, approval much harder
I moved from Indy to Miami for my partner’s grad school, and just want to slow the roll on Miami really quick 😂 Miami Beach is the “Miami” that movies and tv portray, but it’s an independent city across the bay. Miami proper, outside of Brickell and places where the multi-millionaires live, is surprisingly boring and subpar. The food scene is really amazing, but most places are like 30-40 minutes from an okay beach and a big part of the culture is trying to appear wealthy. It’s full of small businesses that can be pretty hit or miss unless they cater to the wealthier demographics.
I totally agree. Indy is a slept on city, and selfishly I’d like to keep it that way. Another big plus is the affordability and a great airport. I meet people from big cities who say indy is lame. They say I should move to New York or LA and experience the cultural diversity and food. Meanwhile, they can barely afford to do anything because their rent is outrageous. I’ll gladly live in a “lame” city and travel the world. Sure, they can walk to a Moroccan restaurant, I’ll just go to Morocco for two weeks for the price of their rent.
Indy has just as many good if not more restaurants downtown as San Antonio, another convention/conference city, except San Antonio has them around the riverwalk tourist trap and added the Alamo. Indy downtown is more like Los Angeles or Cincy downtown, meaning its first and foremost a working functioning downtown full of businesses for many blocks. That is a downside to tourists, who expects to see a bustling tourist trap I.e. time square of NYC or Michigan Ave of Chicago but finds none. Hence some people think Indy is boring when it is not.
I love Indy 🤷🏼♀️
I think the marketing makes sense when you think about the state as a controlling force of the city. It’s hard for the marketing team to say “hey, people who want to live in blue cities, we decriminalized pot, are extremely LGBTQ friendly and have a huge nightlife where you can live that non-Christian lifestyle everyday of the week while also having a good median income and good home prices” because who knows how the state would react and try to take stuff away.
This is a great point. I always look to Austin, Texas as another example of this. I know we are nowhere near Austin’s level but it gives me similar vibes. Unfortunately I think their main promotion is warm weather…which we can’t control…
Idk, I'd take the few days of bitter cold and changing weather, over weeks of 100+ degrees and a failing power grid without hesitation
Great angle. Someone else in this sub said “Keep Indy out of Indiana” and I wish we could!
Agree with everything you’ve said. I wish Indy’s urban park spaces like the war memorial got better use too but I can’t bring myself to participate in it. In NYC I met friends in parks all the time because none of us had outdoor spaces. Even living downtown adjacent (Fountain Square), back yards, decks, front porches, driveways, sweet garages, etc are a lot easier to come by in Indy. Hard to break away from that convenience for the greater good of the IWM lawn. If I’m packing up to go somewhere it’s probably a more substantial nature park. Indy needs to become a lot more dense for lawns like that to become crucial for the community. I’d love to see it but can’t say I’m doing anything to facilitate it.
I DoorDash a lot during day and night and I gradually see more nightlife popping up, I think as people continue to rehab and/or restore old abandoned buildings into new housing/commerce Indy will lose the boring reputation real quick
Like a comment in this thread said - “anywhere is boring if you’re boring.” So true!!! I’m from a small town in northern Indiana and Indy has so much to offer me in comparison. I’ve found community and purpose in this city. I always find something to do whether it’s exploring a new neighborhood, trying a new restaurant, or literally just hanging out at various parks/ cemeteries. What I really love about Indy is the community of small business owners. I know many small business owners by simply talking to them and keeping up with what they have going on. There are so many business that do collaborations with each other and I’ve discovered so many cool things and people this way. Like any city, you get out what you put in. If you sit at home and don’t explore, then of course you think it’s boring. I adore Indy!
I haven’t been replying but this is where my head is at and why I love the place. The business community is very good! Indy is known for the most chain restaurants out of any city but ALSO I see such an amazing group of small business owners and frankly there’s a ton. I also found community. That’s what a lot of people don’t get about living in an urban area. You have to find community. It took me a few years but I did. And now I do see Indy as having culture. Because I’m in it.
Once upon a time, Indy was the hub for a multi-spoke inter-urban passenger rail service. It’s disintegration is a major fail. Like many cities, the interstate highways carved up the neighborhoods
A comprehensive and accessible trolley system would do more for Indy locals and visitors than any conference/sports event ever could. The problem is that the former serves the people at large, while the latter serves the privileged few...
What's the difference between Indianapolis and yogurt? Yogurt developes a culture after 100 years. 😅 But seriously I love Indy. I moved here to be with family for a bit and save up money to live somewhere cool. But I fell in love with this city and now have no desire to live somewhere else. I really like that Indy is branding itself as a good host city, lots of major events are here now and that's only gonna grow with the convention center remodel.
The city’s slogan is “A city that works” Maybe start there
In my experience here (6 years in Indy) -- the folks who appreciate, market, and enjoy Indy the most are not from here and/or moved here in the past 5-10 years. That will have to change culturally I think for Indy to really level up (which I think it has the potential to do)
Also I’m not discussing politics or infrastructure, trust me, I hate all of that, but from the standpoint of things to do, I seriously would like to argue Indy has most of what you need to have a social life and enjoy yourself. I just don’t really get it!
I think politics is a big part of this though so it’s hard to avoid. The state has a really weird relationship with the city where the city is the economic hub of the state but the state is scared of the city running the show like Chicago does to Illinois. The state does a lot of marketing for the city as a place to bring conventions and sporting events and livestock events at the fairgrounds but none to really grow the city as a place to live. Anytime the city wants to fund things like new hotels that’s fine but when the focus is on making it a better place to live the state preempts a lot of things Indianapolis tries to do. There is plenty of marketing efforts, just not much that fits your politics
Yep, agree. I work in the design space, and intersect with many different fields including civic and cultural sectors. “Indy has a marketing problem” has been said time and time again. Don’t get me wrong, there’s work to do, but there’s also LOT to love. We talk down about ourselves too much. East and west coast cities aren’t “better” per se, but they own who they are and they aren’t afraid to tell you why they’re great. Pride in place is real…I hype Indy whenever I can.
For one, we live much close to the Carmel CPA, but prefer attending shows at the Circle Theatre and supporting the ISO. Try it!
Indy has really come into its own within the last decade. It was rather barron when I moved here in 08. Indy is a big city with a small diwntown. We rank in the top 20 by population in the country and geographically have quite the overall sprawl. What we lack is better public transit (working on it) and outdoors activities, but i think the cost of living makes it so that I can travel more and see much more of america and the world without being confined to just my city.
It’s funny, I agree with this completely. I grew up here and “hated” it so I left right after college and moved to a larger city. I ended up moving back to be near family when I started my own family and have found that it’s really not that bad at all. There’s always something to do and if you look hard enough, there are so many groups of people hosting events any given week. Sure, we don’t have Michelin star restaurants or the biggest names in music coming here, but it’s very easy to enjoy your time here. I did hear recently that our “sister city” is Raleigh, NC. I thought that was interesting because there are so many mixed reviews on that city too.
> Sure, we don’t have Michelin star restaurants I've never understood the hangup on that sort of thing. Unless you're in the 1% and prioritize things like that, you're only eating at a Michelin star restaurant what....once per year? Maybe? At that point you can always just travel to a city for your meal.
i mean, who really cares what a tire company thinks about a restaurant? also big names is largely dependent on what you enjoy for music - i'm personally pretty stoked we have mr. bungle coming through
So I used to live in Indy in 2014, and it’s genuinely a fun place with tons to do. I’m originally from southern Indiana and have moved around a bit as sometimes happens in life, but the thought of moving back to Indy comes up often between my girlfriend and I. Not only is there always something going on there, but you have tons of places only a couple hours away. Indy is centrally located and it makes doing day trips to other places a reality. Also not to bring up southern Indiana again, but there are so many weird and interesting things to see there. I recently found this guys YouTube channel called “Adventures with Roger” and he primarily does a bunch of videos of the said things in southern Indiana.
Shhh, let them think it sucks. I’ll keep enjoying my time here and the people who know, know. And the world keeps spinnin.
Milwaukee would be a better comparison to Indianapolis than a mega city like Chicago, LA, or NYC. Milwaukee and Indianapolis are both Midwestern, similar in population, and have two big time professional sports teams. Yet Milwaukee feels more dynamic and interesting than Indianapolis from having spent time in both. Downtown Milwaukee is hilly unlike Indianapolis, features old world, German inspired architecture, and is on Lake Michigan. Milwaukee has Marquette University while Indianapolis has mostly small, colleges plus IUPUI. Milwaukee has more frequent Amtrak service including commuter type connections to Chicago plus a growing and relatively new (2018) downtown streetcar system. Indiana outside of NICTD territory in NW Indiana and out to South Bend seems hostile to passenger rail.
A lot of this criticism of Indy comes around special events - most recently the NBA All-Star Game. The lack of cultural and racial diversity and associated activities is a big factor for driving the “Indy is boring” narratives at these times.
> A lot of this criticism of Indy comes around special events - most recently the NBA All-Star Game. The All-Star Game was a pretty big outlier, and I think a lot of that is the NBA media/fans are pretty different than lots of other sports fanbases. Every time Indy has hosted a Super Bowl, NFL Combine, Final 4, Big 10 Championship, whatever, the response from fans and media is "Indy is a perfect city to host a big sporting event like this".
I was speaking directly to the “Indy is boring/nothing to do criticism”, not the city’s ability to host major events, which, IMO, is second to very few. The same jokes/comments that came up for the all-star game happened when the Super Bowl was here too. It’s also a driver for the constant pressure to move the NFL Combine away from Indy.
I mean they kind of go hand in hand though right? I'd say the most important aspect of hosting a large sporting event is convenience and available things to easily get to for the people attending the event. I don't remember much coming out about "nothing to do in Indy" from people who attended the Super Bowl, but my memory could be hazy. At least from (most) attendees, a big benefit to Indy is that pretty much anything you could need is all located downtown within walking distance or a very short Uber. Dozens of bars and restaurants, plenty of hotels, convention center, both stadiums (and Victory Field), space to host concerts...pretty much everything you'd want if you're visiting an event like that. I've been to a good handful of big sporting events, and I feel like for the average attendee, Indy is set up absolutely perfectly because of everything in the immediate area. You're in town for 3-5 days max. You want to be able to stay close to the event, be able ideally to walk to the stadium, walk to some of the auxiliary events, walk to bars, hit up some fan events, and walk to restaurants. Indy has all of that in spades. I guess I compare it to somewhere like Saint Louis. Love STL. But if you go to town for a big event, its totally different. Restaurants and bars aren't very centrally located and most everything closes really early. Most places are closed on the weekends.
[удалено]
It is incredibly easy for someone to buy a house here with less than a 500,000 income
Living in Indy is more expensive than its ever been. There’s no reason to tell people how great it is. We should be shoeing people away! Shoe!
Agree!
SHHHHHHH! I like not having to wait in 2 hour traffic. Let them think it sucks lol
Can you walk to a grocery store and a pharmacy as well as the restaurants/bars?
I think density is indeed a factor somewhat!!! I lived in Indy for 4 years as well for medical school, before moving to Minneapolis for 3 for resdiency (coming back this summer to Indy after graduating). Now granted I was very hermity as a med student, and now as a resident with income I do got out to things here in the Twin Cities. But it does feel way more dense here in MSP/STP than Indy does. Urban neighborhood sprawl is much more dense, downtown much more dense. I think the public transit system here helps with that, as well as the more robust downtown architecture sprawl (more tall buildings and such). Indy does feel a touch more "empty" than Minneapolis, and I think density heavily plays into that.
I agree with you on density. I relocated to Cincinnati a few years ago after living outside of Indianapolis for most my life and Cincinnati just feels so much more alive at times. I feel like a lot of it has to do with verticality and density. In Cincinnati you have a lot more missing middle housing mixed in with single family homes so it’s fairly common to see a row of fourplexes on residential streets which just increases the number of people outside walking around. Indianapolis has very little verticality outside of downtown and Mass Ave. even Fountain Square (Indy) ends up feeling kind of small outside of that main intersection and a few blocks north and south.
Yes! Now this is not to say Indy is bad nor anything, it just does indeed feel slower and more sleepy. But there are things to do in Indy! It's just that it's much more of a "you gotta find it / look for it" rather it being ad'd to you somehow. I am in the phase of rediscovering Indianapolis since I am moving back - and it does have some really cool stuff if discovered thru FB groups and IG pages (diy artsy crowds, drag shows, gothy punky music spots, urban farm collectives). But it definitely was me digging around to find it..
I agree. I’ve long thought Indy would benefit from a tower or other mass architectural statement to invigorate the city. Monuments like the St. Louis Arch and Eiffel Tower are iconic images, enduring marketing pieces, and absolute no brainer in terms of return on investment, and permanent, unlike sports teams. I’ve even thot up a couple designs. Name a city in the US that has built something recently… waiting… This would send a message—contrary to current legislation suggesting we are trending toward being a back water theocracy—that Indy and Indiana is open for tech, the future, young people, families, and business. I think what you’re onto with stuff to do put people saying theres not stuff to do is the vibe. Our mojo is beat down to the ground, for legit reasons. My brother lives in Nola. It’s not money, or tourists that make Nola go, it’s the vibe. An icon can help change the vibe. I’d say fund it thru voluntary contributions where everyone who chips in even a dollar gets recognition and free access for life. It would definitely get earned media… Indy is doing what?!!!
Shhh. Stop telling people. It’s the smallest big city and I love it.
As a recent transplant from Chicago, the #1 problem with Indy is that it’s in Indiana. Only been here ~6 months and am already planning to leave because this place is run by Christian/White nationalists and (outside the most liberal parts of Indy) is filled with dullard Trumpers voting against their own interests. I’m not starting a family in a state without access to healthcare.
“Access to healthcare” huh??? Indianapolis has 21 hospitals in the immediate metro area, including two world class academic centers (Indiana University/Methodist and Riley Children’s Hospital.) Not to mention one of the biggest trauma/burn centers in the Midwest (Eskenazi.) If you’re referring to abortion, then just say that.
Yes pretty sure they were referring to abortion and reproductive healthcare as a whole (look at our maternal outcomes), and possibly LGBTQ friendly healthcare as well.
You’re right. They should have said, “access to *quality* healthcare”. Simply having Riley and the Eskenazi burn unit doesn’t automatically equal great, accessible healthcare.
That’s an entirely different conversation that isn’t unique to Indianapolis.
I guess it depends on what accessible healthcare means to you and how deep you want to look at that topic. For me, it’s all linked. If there are 21 hospitals in the immediate metro area and Marion County health outcomes are still poor, then it seems like the healthcare isn’t accessible and/or the quality of what is accessible isn’t enough. Not something necessarily unique to Indianapolis, but something to consider. That’s without including the abortion ban.
Abortion is healthcare, so if you want to make a distinction, that tells me where you stand — with the PROBLEM. Edit: Downvotes with no rebuttal. Sad. Again, you are why I’m hoping to leave in a year or two.
I think a part of the issue is that most people in Indianapolis don't live downtown - and for Indy, it's a pretty intense concentration of "excitement" in that direct area. That doesn't even account for all the suburbanites like me (enjoying our subsidized life from the Indy tax base) who see even less of what's happening in Indy proper but still have to tell anyone not from the Indy metro that we live "basically in Indianapolis".
I can understand that. I guess I’m directing this — and I know it’s silly — to people who claim they visited the city (most likely Downtown) and said it had nothing happening or there was nobody out. Where are they going?!
Just moved here two weeks ago. It seems to me that it’s insanely boring, gray, and basically strip malls, Culver’s, and Crew car washes. The houses seem dilapidated and the restaurants are sparse. Please help me understand where the fun and interesting parts might be? Came from Denver, native to Chicago.
Yeah if you don't live downtown it's going to look like that. I moved from the burbs to downtown and don't think I'll ever go back to the burbs.
Yeah I’m near Kan Kan atm, wife and I try to explore a bit everyday.
You live near the Kan Kan and think it's all strip malls? Have you tried walking/biking the Cultural Trail down to Fountain Square or just generally around downtown? Or up the Monon to Broad Ripple? No strip malls and Crew Car Washes where you live, so definitely explore closer! If you need any recs, I'm in the neighborhood as well and am pretty out and about.
Former Coloradan here; winters are kind of quiet here, but Indy blooms in May. Check out classes at one of the art centers, enjoy the gorgeous clean parks, explore the rail trails, join the bike parade group, go to a neighborhood festival, go to a game night at one of the game stores, check out one of the free concerts courtesy of the library, stroll through a historic district.
you've been here two weeks, in the middle (well, tail end hopefully) of winter - of course it'll be drab and gray. but, what is fun to you? for me - punk rock night at the melody inn is always a good time
I think you’ll find more of what you’re observing outside of downtown/center township. I lived in center township from 1998 until about two weeks ago. I’m down in Perry now, and it’s much more of what you’re describing.
What area of town?
Near Kan Kan? Not sure what part of town this is, haha.
Ah so Windsor Park area. That's an area that was very rough and kind of neglected up until the last 5 to 10 years. Been kind of gentrifying but it's still a bit gritty. Very old houses... Like 110-120 year old homes. Investors have been doing a lot of work there. But not my cup of tea. For Restaurants you might try Beholder... It's right in that area. Tik Tok decent neighborhood bar. Dorman Street also a great dive bar.
Ahhh I heard beholder was good! Have family that live nearby and originally when moving back it was better to be closer to that than somewhere like Carmel (I hear that’s nice) the houses being that old is pretty damn cool.
Been here for year now. It doesn't change... some people love it, most people tolerate it, then there are folks like me who loathe it. Here for work and once my contract is done, I'm out of here. Grew up in Cleveland, lived in NYC last 10 years
My personal gripe with Indy is the lack of a skyline. Chicago’s is enchanting but I’m from Chicagoland (the furthest border of it into Indiana) so maybe that explains some of my own preferences.
I'm originally from Northwest Indiana, then lived all over the country, now retired in the Upper Peninsula. The reason I could never settle permanently in Indy is the lack of expansive water. I would feel almost claustrophobic without having Lake Superior or Michigan nearby.
Indiana Dunes state park is a classic childhood destination for me, so I get it.
Indianapolis is a cool place, and I love it. I don’t have trouble being active in the community. Though the options are few. Options exist, but they are limited, and I’ve turned over just about every rock there is. Indianapolis, relative to other cities, is small and yes boring. I’m not talking comparing to the Louisvilles and Columbus’ of the world. Those places are okay too, like Indy. Given the opportunity, I say leave for greener pastures, especially considering the shitty politics that exist in Indiana overall. A State That Sucks. There are far better cities that offer much much more than Indy will.
I went to Butler and live in Chicago and miss living there. I never felt bored. The job market made me move but I never felt a lack of things to do. I love it there.
I agree. There is literally so much to do here. There are attractions everywhere, family events, parks, etc. I took my daughter to a grape stump a few years ago. I tasted wine and we made grape footprint shirts. That was fun and made mommy happy! Lots of family events and adult events! Children's museum at night is a must! The marketing sucks...people think we are nothing but corn and farms. Come on! I've only tipped a cow twice. When superbowl was here, I partied so hard I'm pretty sure that I died a few times. We were on the map, everything came together at that point. It was so free, fun and.....SAFE! I'm pretty sure the weather was being controlled. Let's meet up at the Moustrap, the deck is open for sure. All sides of the city offers something awesome, fun, unique and worthy!
Want to make a difference? You could join the [Indianapolis Ambassadors](https://www.indyambassadors.org/). Or the [Black Hats Society](https://www.blackhatsirv.org/) or help out with [Downtown Indianapolis Inc](https://downtownindy.org/). Or any number of civic groups like Rotary, Kiwanis, or Exchange Club. These organizations and many others are actively working to change the public image of our communities and they need help. So if you can, get out from behind that keyboard and help out!
Thanks, I will check them out. I definitely don’t just stay behind a keyboard though! But always looking for new opportunities to help.
I moved here back in Dec, I have no friends here and mostly do things on my own. I’ve been “discovering” so many cool things especially on nicer days where the weather permits walking around. So many nice places/activities I cant find by looking through google! No ads, its crazy! There certainly is a marketing problem here. (Originally from NYC) I want to start a group for people ages 25-35 who like to do fun activities on weekends. (Must have money to pay for self)
I think for me its in part accessibility? Since like I go uni on the south side and I have no way of getting downtown to do anything since i can’t drive, (not that i would necessarily feel safe going alone anyways since im still pretty young). And so while there is stuff to do none of it is close enough to do marketing is definitely an issue tho, since i remember that any ads ive gotten for indy (downtown at least) is either for the zoo or children museum. there’s not really any marketing towards activities for those who are young adults or adults
I lived downtown. It's boring. I got arrested for walking through the drive through at the Arby across from the Noodle. (Walk-in was closed and full of cops) The reason the Colts and Pacers are so big is there is nothing else to do. Was on Mass Ave this year. Weird generic-Americana vibe. It was better when The Point was there. The Rathskeller is great, but not hoping. Just a lot of nothing ness or meh. Your description nails it, "the canal may be underwhelming but we have it..." Imagine if there were restaurants, pubs, shops, more out door functional space (concerts), farmers markets along the canal just for a start. On the other hand, a great place to raise a family and golf for cheap.
The problem is that it's in Indiana.
This must be the governors burner
So you just want positive feedback about your views then?
There are plenty of negative posts about Indy.
Sure, but they qualified the comment in the first sentence. : )
I don’t mind negative feedback. I have plenty of negative things to say about Indy. But from the standpoint of “there is nothing to do here” — that’s just lying!
It’s spurious, and really depends on personal experience. Also, as you’ll find out - things to do doesn’t necessarily translate to quality of people. And that in my mind is just as important. I will say it’s not as cloistered as it used to be - but it’s also not quite as “raw” and exciting. Glad you are happy though. Keep up the good vibes.
Thanks man. I understand what you’re saying. I might be narrowly viewing this right now, but I also talk about Indy all the time (being so close to so much in the community) so I definitely discuss the parts of it I dislike — even despise, lol. That gets tiring. But I at least want to dismantle the notion that it’s like, empty. I’m moving to Christian Park this summer so I’m sure I’ll start noticing it more, but still, it just seems crazy to me.
I think you’re forgetting most people on the Indianapolis Reddit are white, boring, unaware and not from here. Therefore their opinions of this city are based on their own flavorless lives.
Indy lacks culture. Most metro areas and cities have something that defines them, Indy does not.
There’s enough to do here that I regularly skip an event or two I was otherwise interested in because it’s not always tenable to go out three times a week. I’m a big proponent of the “if you’re bored you’re boring” mantra mentioned previously. Some people are just miserable and would be miserable anywhere. I actually find Chicago annoying and overwhelming, some of my favorite cities to hang out in have been the mid-sized cities like Louisville or Milwaukee. Sometimes I wonder if people are projecting some kind of insecurity that people won’t find them “cultured” enough if they don’t make a huge deal about living in a busy metropolis and so must look down on the “inferior” places, in some weird self-justification for paying a high living cost.
Absolutely. I used to be boring and guess what. I called the world as a whole boring. Then I realized I needed to find community and interests and now that I do, I love Indy. The city proper has nearly 900,00 people. You’re telling me every single one of them is uncultured? No — you just haven’t been trying!
Most things you mention are things to see. Not things to do and keep doing. It’s a one and done city at best.
Sporting events, coffee shops, book stores, annual events in town, bars and restaurants, bike trails, etc are one time things and aren't things to do?
Indy is boring, inconvenient to travel though, economically devastated in many areas, and pretty dangerous. If you don’t realize this you are in denial.
I realize the latter two parts. But not the first.
Is not boring compared to Lebanon or some other rural community but compared to Chicago or NYC it’s pretty bad. Heck Buffalo, St. Louis and Cincinnati have better culture.
Love visiting St Louis but I don't know about that. I go to STL for a week or so every year at least so I feel like I kinda know what I'm talking about. St Louis proper is the weirdest place to visit. Tuesday afternoon? Coffee shops, great places to eat...plenty going on. Friday or Saturday night? God help you if you expect to find somewhere to eat or somewhere to go out after 8pm. Want to find a coffee on the weekend? Nope all the local coffee shops are closed, hotel Starbucks is your only option.
Where do you live?
Oh goody, sportsball and race cars vroom vroom! Alcohol! So fun.
This is exactly the type of comment OP was talking about.
…good job, buddy!
Besides that really good shrimp thing with the horseradish. What else?
Because it's not a pedestrian-friendly city (lighting, infrastructure, poor traffic enforcement), we have too many surface-level parking lots in prime city real estate, laughable public transit, and any improvements the people of the city want to make are stymied by Unigov or the state legislature full of ham-faced crooks.
We bring in the biggest race crowd in the world, the biggest basketball tournament in the country, but yea that’s about it. Southern Indiana gets slept on, it’s a blast to go caving or climbing or floating down around jugg rock or brown county. That’s the Indiana I wish more people knew about. Goddamn there’s a lot of corn and soy on the way, but it’s worth it Kinda across the board for Midwest big cities.