Moving to Indianapolis, IN

Thinking about moving to Indy?

Congrats! You’ve found the goldmine of the midwestern cities. Indianapolis was recently named one of the best cities to live in if you’re a millennial — the high job market and low housing cost make this an easy move. Your dollar will go farther here and you can be on the ground floor of transforming neighborhoods and culture.

The Circle City has the Chicago feel — of neighborhood enclaves and districts — without the price. Indy neighborhoods have a distinct feel that make this city easy to get to know and carve out a home for yourself. Whether it’s the international corridor, the historic near Northside, or being a heartbeat away from the 500 Mile Race, Indy has a speed for everyone.

Let this guide to Indianapolis be your true north during this move, whether that’s where to live or what relator to use, we have you covered.

Traffic

Indy is a growing city, and with that comes some rush hour traffic. However, Indy is still small enough that there is never more than about an hour commute to any part of the city — even at rush hour (between 7 a..m. and 9 a.m. for the morning and 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the eventing). The most problematic area is where I-65 and I-70 meet downtown. During rush hour avoid the downtown cross by taking the I-465 beltway that wraps around the Circle City.

The best way to avoid traffic all together is to bike. Aside from Crown Hill, Indianapolis is almost entirely flat; making a bike commute super easy. Nearly all major north-south and east-west streets have bike lanes. There are three main biking trails that run through Indy — The Monon (which runs all the way through Carmel, one of Indy’s northern suburbs), Pogues Run, and the Cultural Trail downtown. For a commute from any northern neighborhood in Indy take the Monon down to the Cultural Trail for a scenic view past some of Indianapolis’ best public art.

Weather

Like most cities in the midwest Indy has some scattered weather, but the silver lining is that there is a full range of seasons without any of them being overbearing. The winters tend to get about 17 inches of snowfall total — which is far better than the national average of 25 inches. Summer time storms are known for their beauty and lending to some of the most colorful skies in the country, and they result in about 41 inches of rain per year.

Summer average (June — Aug): 85.6°F.
Winter average (Dec — Feb): 18.5°F

Economy

Indianapolis economy is an example of what our politicians have done well. Indiana has one of the most balanced budgets in the nation and with that there has been a surge of job growth. In fact, the future job growth is estimated to be nearly ten percent above that national average.

Some of the biggest employers in the area are health care, education and finance. Tourism has also given Indiana a big jump ahead. Being — what could be considered — the sports capital of the country, Indianapolis events like the Big 10, Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400. Not to mention the cult following of college sports. NCAA, Angie’s List, IU Health and Cummins are all based in Indiana lending to thousands of jobs. Inc. 5000 also named 21 Indiana tech companies as the fastest growing in the country. The Indiana unemployment rate was 4.6% in July 2016.

With the surge in jobs there has been an astronomical demand for housing, and Indianapolis neighborhoods are developing as fast as reality companies can buy them. According to the Indianapolis Business Journal existing-home sales in central Indiana rocketed up to “12.4 percent in April as average sale prices rose slightly and inventory dropped significantly.” Sale price rose about one percent and the number of newly listed homes in 2015 dropped 3.9 percent. Meanwhile closed sales rose to 11.4 percent. Moving sooner than later (and buying) is in tandem with the way Indiana housing markets are growing.