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Treat living in new places like dating. You're learning and growing the whole way, and for many people the ultimate goal is to find a good long term fit. Right

by warent 8y ago

Treat living in new places like dating. You're learning and growing the whole way, and for many people the ultimate goal is to find a good long term fit. Right now I live in Indianapolis. My ex girlfriend and I wanted to try somewhere new, so we looked at a bunch of different options and listed the pros and cons. Ultimately our decision to live here was based on the high population yet low population density, the growing tech scene, the cleanliness of the city, and the low crime rate. Those are all great qualities, but I've learned a lot along the way about more things that are important. First of all, I really can't stand the cold. My house had the heater on even during some summer days (running endlessly now in the winter). Also, everything is too spread out in Indy. There's not much outdoorsy stuff nearby. Being landlocked sucks and I love the ocean. Finally, I love Asian culture which barely exists here. So again, now that I've learned all this, I'm applying this knowledge to my next place. It turns out that Oahu, Hawaii seems to fit the ticket. It has all the positive qualities I mentioned above. The super high prices out there are less than ideal of course, but living in San Francisco already taught me that it's not a deal breaker (plus I'll finally save some energy with the heater turned off) So, hopefully I'll make cool friends and find that Oahu is a great fit. It seems like somewhere I could live for years, and possibly settle down in.

moorhosj 8y ago
I’ve never heard Indianapolis referred to as having a low crime rate. Is there a specific type of crime you are referencing?
- warent 8y ago
  I guess it's all relative. It has a high crime rate when compared to someplace like Boise, Idaho, sure. But for a city that has well over a million people, I can walk around in the middle of the night downtown feeling quite safe, which is definitely not the case in, for example, San Fransisco (Market St. is PACKED with dealers and tweakers). Of course there are some places that are sketchy in Indy, but that's true anywhere and it's easy to avoid. It's rare enough to hear about a shooting or robbery here, but there's a lot of cities where it's a regular occurrence.
  - ryanwaggoner 8y ago
    Statistics don’t tell the whole story, but Indianapolis is pretty consistently ranked as one of the top 20 most high-crime cities in the nation.
    - warent 8y ago
      That's fair, my experience is just anecdotal. According to the locals it has improved significantly in just the last couple of years. However, that may possibly be just due to gentrification. The crime rate is probably averaged across the huge surface area of the city, whereas my range is fairly confined to the inner portion.
    - paulcole 8y ago
      Care to share one of those rankings? I looked at quite a few and couldn’t find any ranking Indianapolis in the top 20.
      - moorhosj 8y ago
        ==The website SafeWise recently found Indianapolis to be the 10th most dangerous city in the United States based on 2016 FBI crime statistics and population data.== https://fox59.com/2018/08/14/100-homicides-put-indy-ahead-of-2017s-record-pace/ https://fox59.com/2018/08/14/100-homicides-put-indy-ahead-of...
  - moorhosj 8y ago
    Not sure where you are getting your information, but it isn't so cut-and-dry. 2017 had a record number of homicides in Indianapolis and 2018 hasn't been better. That said, most other types of crime are down. From October [1] ==The FBI reported that crime dropped 10 percent from 2016 to 2017 in Indianapolis and robbery was off by more than 12 percent. IMPD statistics show robberies are down another 17 percent so far this year and burglaries are off 20 percent from last year. But killings and aggravated assaults, often with guns, are up.== [1] https://cbs4indy.com/2018/10/01/overall-crime-down-as-murder-rate-increases-in-indianapolis/ https://cbs4indy.com/2018/10/01/overall-crime-down-as-murder...
dorfsmay 8y ago
> high population yet low population density As somebody who hates driving I immediately wondered how that could be a good thing! > everything is too spread out Ah! Yes, I can imagine.
- warent 8y ago
  It's a really good point! Super high population densities seems to make people much more grumpy, increase sickness, and increase pollution. But admittedly I wasn't prepared for exactly how spread out everything actually is here, and I sold my car before coming here. Hopefully Oahu will have a good balance where I can be a bike ride or short drive away (considering buying a cheap truck) from downtown Honolulu while still living in a super green, peaceful area. But the great thing is that I can always just make slight adjustments to my distance to the city the longer I live there.

by warent 8y ago

moorhosj 8y ago

I’ve never heard Indianapolis referred to as having a low crime rate. Is there a specific type of crime you are referencing?

warent 8y ago
I guess it's all relative. It has a high crime rate when compared to someplace like Boise, Idaho, sure. But for a city that has well over a million people, I can walk around in the middle of the night downtown feeling quite safe, which is definitely not the case in, for example, San Fransisco (Market St. is PACKED with dealers and tweakers). Of course there are some places that are sketchy in Indy, but that's true anywhere and it's easy to avoid. It's rare enough to hear about a shooting or robbery here, but there's a lot of cities where it's a regular occurrence.
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  Statistics don’t tell the whole story, but Indianapolis is pretty consistently ranked as one of the top 20 most high-crime cities in the nation.
  - warent 8y ago
    That's fair, my experience is just anecdotal. According to the locals it has improved significantly in just the last couple of years. However, that may possibly be just due to gentrification. The crime rate is probably averaged across the huge surface area of the city, whereas my range is fairly confined to the inner portion.
  - paulcole 8y ago
    Care to share one of those rankings? I looked at quite a few and couldn’t find any ranking Indianapolis in the top 20.
    - moorhosj 8y ago
      ==The website SafeWise recently found Indianapolis to be the 10th most dangerous city in the United States based on 2016 FBI crime statistics and population data.== https://fox59.com/2018/08/14/100-homicides-put-indy-ahead-of-2017s-record-pace/ https://fox59.com/2018/08/14/100-homicides-put-indy-ahead-of...
- moorhosj 8y ago
  Not sure where you are getting your information, but it isn't so cut-and-dry. 2017 had a record number of homicides in Indianapolis and 2018 hasn't been better. That said, most other types of crime are down. From October [1] ==The FBI reported that crime dropped 10 percent from 2016 to 2017 in Indianapolis and robbery was off by more than 12 percent. IMPD statistics show robberies are down another 17 percent so far this year and burglaries are off 20 percent from last year. But killings and aggravated assaults, often with guns, are up.== [1] https://cbs4indy.com/2018/10/01/overall-crime-down-as-murder-rate-increases-in-indianapolis/ https://cbs4indy.com/2018/10/01/overall-crime-down-as-murder...

dorfsmay 8y ago

> high population yet low population density As somebody who hates driving I immediately wondered how that could be a good thing! > everything is too spread out Ah! Yes, I can imagine.

warent 8y ago
It's a really good point! Super high population densities seems to make people much more grumpy, increase sickness, and increase pollution. But admittedly I wasn't prepared for exactly how spread out everything actually is here, and I sold my car before coming here. Hopefully Oahu will have a good balance where I can be a bike ride or short drive away (considering buying a cheap truck) from downtown Honolulu while still living in a super green, peaceful area. But the great thing is that I can always just make slight adjustments to my distance to the city the longer I live there.