Are there any Indiana or Ohio mamas here?

[bcafe]

DH keeps pulling switcheroos on me regarding his employment. First he was looking at CO, then TX, now the Indiana/Ohio area. He really wants to work for this particular company, so I am leaving this up to him. The whole state is up for grabs! Best cities, school districts, etc. TIA!

[mommyoftwo]

I'm in the Youngstown, OH area, just southeast of cleveland. What are you wanting to know?

[searchdog]

We live on the Northeast side of Indianapolis.

[boogiemom]

I'm in the South Bend, IN area and we love it here! We actually live in Granger, IN and have a really good school district. South Bend is fairly small so no dealing with big city traffic, etc. We are within a few hours of Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit. There's lots of neat things to do close by in Michigan around the lake. We have lots of festivals throughout the summer and fall months. We have a lot of fun sporting events always available thanks to Notre Dame. Well, that's all I can think of. Good luck deciding where your new home will be!

[lilycat88]

I'm on the west side of Indianapolis but have lived on the northside as well. I've also lived in Northern Indiana, Southeastern Indiana and Southwestern Indiana.

I wish central Indiana weren't so flat but other than that, we love Indy. I can't imagine ever leaving. Wonderful Children's Museum, zoo and parks. Easy to get around. Depending on where you are, the schools are top rate. We're going the private school route most likely and we have one of the only full immersion foreign language preschool/elementary schools in the country.

There are several other Indy BBB moms around and I've been meaning to try to organize a Indy BBB get together.

Feel free to email or PM.

Jamelin

[ribbit1019]

I live near Cleveland. It is a 'pretty' nice city, the suburbian school districts are touch and go, it really depends. Nice cities with good school districts, Solon (I want to live here. :)), Rocky River, West Geauga (more rural) Lakewood, Beachwood, Lyndhurst, Fairview Park are really good. Admittedly I know more about the East side than West. I haven't done much school research (yet, I will be very soon because we are moving before DD starts school or I am homeschooling) so these are impressions from co-workers and friends experiences. In general anything 20-30 minutes outside the city will get you a decent neighborhood and schools, the farther you go out the better the neighborhoods/schools get.
Let me know if you need anything else!

Christy
My Waterbabies
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Jarred born 3/8/06, 11 lb 14.5 oz 24" @ 6 wks, a happily breastfed babe.
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Co-Owner Ribbit Baby

[Elilly]

Another Indy person. We love it! We live near Broad Ripple and we are close to everything. I don't drive further than 20 minutes to get anywhere that I need to go.
I, too have lived throughout Indiana and definitely prefer Indy. But, I'm not really a small town kind of person.
Good luck with your relocation!

[dawell0]

Not a mom yet, but I'm in Cincinnati. I know that there are a couple of other OH moms on here.

[missym]

Another Hoosier here! I was born and raised in small-town Northern Indiana, spent several years in Indianapolis, and now live in Fort Wayne. I think Indiana is a great place to raise kids. Housing is affordable, relatively low crime rates, overall good schools...

If you need specifics about Fort Wayne, just let me know. ;)

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03 and Rebecca 09/05

**Want a penpal for your BBB kiddo? Send an email to:
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[bcafe]

I have been trying to figure out the 'burbs. Is this a nice area? So if central Indiana is flat, can I assume there are no ski hills? ;) BTW, we are in SE WI. We love to ski! I think I will PM you later. Thank you!

[lilycat88]

Yep...it's a 'burb. It's a nice area. Expensive. Crowded. Some of the largest homes in the city are there and it is considered by many to be "THE" place to live. Some Carmelites can be a little "snotty" and look down on just about everyone else but I guess you can run into that anywhere. It's in one of the most rapidly growing counties in the NATION...like top 15, I think. Depending on where your DH would be going to work, commute times are a nightmare. Good schools -- although they are chronically dealing with overcrowding issues from what I understand. If I never had to leave the Carmel area, I would consider it a great place to live. But, if I had to do my commute downtown, you couldn't pay me enough.

[o_mom]

I am also in Indy - I've been looking at schools in case we move in the next few years. Carmel is a nice area with good schools. There are some very expensive areas there, but also alot of more affordable neighborhoods. They have lots of shopping areas close by.

The schools are in a state of rapid growth, but just about every system I have looked at is (excpet IPS, which has its own problems). They are much better than most places at controlling growth, so seem to have less overcrowding. Some of the other surrounding areas are much worse (Brownsburg, Pike Township, for example).

There are no real ski areas anywhere close by, but we do have great state parks for hiking. :-)

[jbowman]

I grew up in Carmel, and my parents and ILs still live there. It was an amazing place to grow up (a lot of sports/extracurricular opportunities for children) and the public schools are excellent.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. My mom directed the Chamber of Commerce there for a long time, so I know all about the place. ;)

Other areas in Hamilton County to consider: Fishers, Noblesville.

I agree with PPs--central Indiana is incredibly flat, but it is a nice place. I live in TX now, and I have to say that I don't miss the snow! ;)

ETA: I have also lived in North Vernon, IN (near Columbus), and went to IU in Bloomington. If I moved back to Indiana, I would move back to that area--near Columbus/Brown County. The most beautiful part of the state IMO. And the architecture in Columbus is fabulous!

[ykc]

I live in NW Ohio. No skiing and a dearth of big cities in the near vicinity. But it's a nice area for a family, and our town has a pretty good school district. We like it, except that we are really big(ger) city folk so we're hoping to move somewhere a little more populated in the next year or so.

[lindauer72101]

I currently live in Bloomington, IN. It is 60 minutes from Indy and about two hours from Louisville, KY. I really like it.

I grew up on the southside of Indianapolis, near Greenwood. I would move back in a heart beat.


Angela

Chelsie Lea 7/9/2004
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