Private school wise, I also don't think Park Tudor is where it's at. I would look at the International School if you want to stay in Indianapolis. University High School is also good but in Carmel. I think both offer much better academic and social experiences than Park Tudor.
There is a significant group of hippie liberals in Indy. I wouldn't let that be a reason to stop you from moving here. Even if the suburbs I think you'll find similar people. I spent 3 years as a pretty ultraconservative in a liberal part of town and it didn't bother me at all.
There are a lot of shitty schools in Indianapolis. However, there are some more than decent ones too. I don't get an objection to Zionsville schools. I think the new honors high school program at Southeastern is going to be awesome. Carmel kids do extremely well academically.
I was surprised to hear about the lack of pre-k programs. Did you check Primrose? Most people I know do Pre-K through a church. Christ the King, IMH, the Presbyterian church on Kessler may all be good options for you.
Chicago does have a lot of positives. It's a tough call. DH and I had to make the same choice a few years ago and picked Indy. We go to Chicago every 6 weeks or so.
IMH doesn't have a Pre-K. I kind of couldn't believe it. It was actually one of the first schools I checked out. St. Luke's doesn't either and neither does Christ the King. I think a good number of the independent private schools have Pre-Ks. I was just hoping for a Catholic school - something similar to what we've got now. But even at that, it's only one year. Well, it's kind of three years, because our current school does two years of Pre-K. PTS has one more year of Pre-K ahead of her (or would have) and K would have two years (he's not even 2 yet). I also want to try to minimize the number of school changes. So PTS will have to switch schools when we move and I'd like that to be the last switch she makes, but since the Catholic schools don't have pre-Ks, if we went with one of them for K, that would be yet another switch. Follow?
Do they just call it something different? I sat next to a lady the other day who told me she was a former pre-K teacher at CTK. Maybe it was somewhere else. I think the call it preschool but it's more like a formal pre-k program. I know all the suburban churches have pre-k programs, that's weird that those don't.
I'm math lazy, but his monthly payments are $500, so that would go away.
Think of all you could do with that extra money, especially if it's a lower cost of live than what you currently have. that would fund fixing most of the cons (except the ILs and Red State issues)
Agreed. I think with all that you've stated, Indy is definitely the way to go. Besides, it doesn't mean it's a forever move, plenty of things can happen in the near future to provide opportunities elsewhere. But the student loan forgiveness + dream job is too good to pass on.
ISI also has full day preK, I'm not sure if you've checked that out
What is ISI?
Sorry, International School of Indianapolis. It's pretty awesome. Several of my coworkers send their kids there. It seems much less drug run / snobby / entitled than Park Tudor.
Oh Hellz no. I'm pissed off for you. *starts rocking like Miss Sophia*
Thank you. When they told me to send my kids to the private school I responded, " I don't think I should as my kids are the ones those kids are trying to get away from in the public schools." My kids and I do not look like your traditional Mexican.
Grrrr to the whole idea of "looking Mexican." Really, everyone needs to move away from this concept.
Thank you. When they told me to send my kids to the private school I responded, " I don't think I should as my kids are the ones those kids are trying to get away from in the public schools." My kids and I do not look like your traditional Mexican.
Grrrr to the whole idea of "looking Mexican." Really, everyone needs to move away from this concept.
I agree and it drives me insane when people tell me you don't really look Mexican. I wish I had the balls to say well that's funny you don't look like my picture of a racist. Sorry this is a thread jack maybe I will start a new thread asking what I should have done or do in the future.
Grrrr to the whole idea of "looking Mexican." Really, everyone needs to move away from this concept.
I agree and it drives me insane when people tell me you don't really look Mexican. I wish I had the balls to say well that's funny you don't look like my picture of a racist. Sorry this is a thread jack maybe I will start a new thread asking what I should have done or do in the future.
I will also say the restaurant quality has gone up significantly even in the last 3 years. There's no Alinea like places, but there are handful of really great, locally owned creative options that are just top notch.
Culture wise, we definitely can't compare to Chicago, but we still find a ton to do and most of it is free. We save the more awesome culture stuff for Chicago weekend trips.
ISI is where a lot of the law school professors and staff send their kids. I was really impressed with it. The tip I received was to apply for French immersion because the waitlist is either less or non existent than the Spanish immersion. No idea if that is still the case.
Depending on where your H will be working some areas of Carmel are an easier commute. We lived in the area west of Meridian and south of 116th - basically a few miles north of the Marion county line - and the commute downtown and to the west side (specifically to the law school and Washington street) was fine. If you get too far to the east the commute is pretty miserable. But we could use the Michigan road exit instead of meridian or keystone. Of course all the really gorgeous houses are not in the suburbs. Well there are some in downtown Zionsville.
I agree with Boiler Re: Park Tudor and well, everything else. Pence is a huge concern of mine as well... I am a teacher, and the testing attitude sucks. For culture and liberals I like to hang out on Mass Ave and in Fountain Square.
Sorry, International School of Indianapolis. It's pretty awesome. Several of my coworkers send their kids there. It seems much less drug run / snobby / entitled than Park Tudor.
I was walking to a friend about PT and saying that my impression was that these kids were high on pot and that their parents had failed to follow the golden rule of white-collar parenting: give your kids just enough money to do something but not enough to do nothing. And then I started back peddling like, "Well, granted, the last time I had much interaction with Park Tudor was 20 years ago, so maybe it's changed in that time."
Guess not.
Anyway, I'm looking up some of this stuff on some inventory of private schools in Indianapolis and seeing that they do call it "pre-school" in Indpls, but still most of the city Parochial schools don't offer it. The ones in the 'burbs seem to, but I think we're going to be firmly in Indpls just to keep DH's commute under control.
I'm going to look at ISI. It was already on my list of schools to check out. I would like it if she could go to Catholic school and make all her sacraments and all that, but that just might not be possible.
That was one of the bizarre things about living in MK. I could not find out what people did with their kids all day. There were no child care places, save for a couple of 24 hour shady looking places out by Glendale. Otherwise you had to drive to the suburbs or downtown. Once I started meeting people, I figured it out -- everyone in MK either has a SAHP (like 90%) or a nanny. It's very odd. I expected that kind of stepford-ness in Carmel, not MK.
I have a friend who is half Mexican (like her mother is from Mexico, she's not just "brown") and half Euro-mutt. She got the joy of listening to her neighbors call the construction workers in their neighborhood "beaners." Fucking people.
See in my case my dad's family is Mexican and my mom's family is Canadian. My DH is white and while I resemble my father's family my children won the recessive gene lottery. DD is a red head with light brown eyes. DS 1 is blonde with hazel eyes, and DS 2 is a red head with dark brown eyes.
On and Indiana note if you do get down to Bloomington try Blu Boy. They make these awesome chocolates.
See in my case my dad's family is Mexican and my mom's family is Canadian. My DH is white and while I resemble my father's family my children won the recessive gene lottery. DD is a red head with light brown eyes. DS 1 is blonde with hazel eyes, and DS 2 is a red head with dark brown eyes.
On and Indiana note if you do get down to Bloomington try Blu Boy. They make these awesome chocolates.
Total thread-jack, but...Sunterp, you should come back and be my best friend. My dad's Mexican, and I love Blu Boy. My wedding cake was from BB; they delivered it to my very Mexican wedding at Adobo.
If I can deal with Tom Corbett you can deal with Mike Pence.
Everyone has a different level of comfort in terms of where they live. I was okay being a sort-of trailing spouse (feminist issues aside - I know my husband would move for me too), but I work from home now. It's not a great situation and won't last forever, but at least it's transitional. There are few places I wouldn't live for a few years, honestly. Well, Wyoming is one of those places. Also, Florida (sorry). I can't deal with the humidity, which means I really shouldn't move any further south on the east coast than I am now.
Anyway, I don't love the exact place we are right now, but I'm starting to figure it out and I think I'll have everything pieced together (like the areas I want to live in) in the next 2 years. You're a step ahead of the game, since you already know the neighborhoods and can be relatively certain of where you want to be, and how comfortable you feel in each place, and what's good for the kids, and the crime and density and culture and the like.
And hey, at least they city isn't dry or totally devoid of museums and the like. I mean, Indy seems a bit... flat and boring to me, but the COL alone will really work in your favor! And you don't have to be there forever. Maybe he'll get another great job in 10-15 years. Maybe you can save up for a kick-ass retirement property on a lake somewhere.
See in my case my dad's family is Mexican and my mom's family is Canadian. My DH is white and while I resemble my father's family my children won the recessive gene lottery. DD is a red head with light brown eyes. DS 1 is blonde with hazel eyes, and DS 2 is a red head with dark brown eyes.
On and Indiana note if you do get down to Bloomington try Blu Boy. They make these awesome chocolates.
Total thread-jack, but...Sunterp, you should come back and be my best friend. My dad's Mexican, and I love Blu Boy. My wedding cake was from BB; they delivered it to my very Mexican wedding at Adobo.
Seriously, I really miss that place. My DH misses Upland as there are no local brew pub in our town. Does Blu Boy still ship (I act like I have been gone forever only 7 months) because I am asking for a 20 piece box for my birthday.
If it were me, I would move. If I or H found our Dream Job, it would up to the both of us to do everything reasonable we could do to make it happen. So few people get to be truly happy with what they do for a living, if I could make that happen for H without sacrificing too much of what made me happy in my job, I would do it in a second.
Unless you're as happy in your current job as he is miserable in his, I think the miserable spouse wins.
With no student loans, better salary, and a lower COL, are there career goals of yours that you could make happen in IN given the time and opportunity to pursue them?
Come to Indiana. I don't know much about Indy as I live south and I'm moving north. You should take a few days and check out the schools and neighborhoods you may want to be in and maybe you can get more comfortable with the idea. Indiana is slowly becoming more moderate. They are definite pockets of crazy (the place we are moving to seems to be one of them) but most places, especially around the city, have a decent mix.
Also, the Children's Museum in Indy is awesome. We get a membership every year even though we don't live there, because it pays for itself within a few visits to family.
Like others said, extra money = more awesome house, which you will love. And maybe more time to travel? Have some good cultural outings to other cities?
Also, didn't you mention that there are only a few metro areas you can live in because you need a good pediatric cardiology hospital? So AFAIK, Waikiki isn't really an option, anyway. (Although I think Philadelphia is!)
Culture wise, it's probably similar to how I felt moving from Denver to Omaha. Denver had my kinds of people. Omaha decidedly did not. And I won't lie, it was a real struggle. Even though I found a few of my people in Omaha who are awesome and are lifelong friends even though I only spent a year there. It sucked going to the "best" Italian restaurant, where they had "wine" on the tables, and everyone raved... only to see jugs of julio gallo and shitty fried food. Or to go to the other "best" Italian place where there was a note on the menu to order al dente pasta by special request. Fucking Omaha.
Or, how about my coworker who gave me an intro to a class saying "sushi is really interesting. She hikes and skis. And has traveled out of the country." I was a novelty. It sucked.
That said, Indy does sound like the right move. It will be a big adjustment for you. You probably will dislike it and resent it at times. That's ok. This will allow you a better family experience, which I'm assuming is a top priority for you, with your happy partner alongside. That's huge! As will be the house which you couldn't have afforded in Chicago.
Also, think of the impact you could have volunteering for a "liberal" place like PP. Big fish, small pond, and all that.
Finally, I'll add that my brother made the choice of Indy. Not really, but they moved to small town/city in Maryland (not in the DC/Balt corridor) because they wanted to be closer to family and they wanted to a better quality of life. SIL doesn't work so that is off the table but they have to use private schools (well they choose to, the public schools are decent), but my brother's office is 5minutes from his house. He goes home for lunch. He's home by 5 or 6 most days. He is only on call one weekend a month. His salary is good but way below what others in his residency class were being offered,but it works out to be a lot because the COL is relatively low (ie 3000 sq ft house, on 3/4 acre, on a gorgeous, wooded street with big brick mansions, for 389k.)
It has been a very good choice for them so far. He takes his daughters to ballet. He goes to indoor soccer and sits with the head of his practice while they watch their kids practice. He has never taken a work call when I've been around him. He's a surgeon for crying out loud, and he is so not-stressed about work -he loves the practice, he loves who he works with, he loves being in a town that is close to family but not too close (an hour from my parents), etc. They are just setting themselves up for a really nice life.
He could make a lot more money almost anywhere - a LOT more - his residency program was one of the top in the country. But he is so happy where he is. (of course, SIL has literally had a mental breakdown but that was coming regardless, so thank GOODNESS he works 5 minutes from home.) If your H has the chance for that kind of lifestyle as a doctor WITH more financial benefits than Mark gets, I'd be all over it.
You know, it just occurred to me, I don't think I know a single person from Indianapolis. I know people from tons of random places throughout the US from college but no one from Indy. Hell I even had a roommate from Omaha lol.
You know, it just occurred to me, I don't think I know a single person from Indianapolis. I know people from tons of random places throughout the US from college but no one from Indy. Hell I even had a roommate from Omaha lol.
I'm arguably from Indianapolis. Though I've now lived in Chicago longer than I lived there. So you know me.
I thought you were from Bloomington. (I don't know how far one is from the other lol.)
although there is a bloomington MN, and the first time I flew out to Minnesota I saw all these signs for Bloomington and I thought "that is strange that they have signs out here for how to get to Indiana." lololol
Post by PinkSquirrel on Mar 11, 2013 16:33:33 GMT -5
How long does your H have to work there to get his loans forgiven? For me, it would all depend on the number of years I would be stuck in Indy because I would not do well there long term, but could move there for a bit if that means student loans would be forgiven.
That was one of the bizarre things about living in MK. I could not find out what people did with their kids all day. There were no child care places, save for a couple of 24 hour shady looking places out by Glendale. Otherwise you had to drive to the suburbs or downtown. Once I started meeting people, I figured it out -- everyone in MK either has a SAHP (like 90%) or a nanny. It's very odd. I expected that kind of stepford-ness in Carmel, not MK.
Meridian Kessler is interesting to me. And not in a good way. I mean, I love the houses. Like LOOOOOOVE. That house on Penn that everyone in here is drooling over is Meridian Kessler. But there's just this weird disconnect there. The houses are gorgeous, the people are professional, but the school district is IPS (bad) so everyone sends their kids to private schools, usually the swanky ones. THEN, even though they're paying $15K a year to send their kids to Sycamore or Park Tudor, they all flipped their shit when the state (city?) tried to raise their property taxes to fund the schools that they all can't send their kids to because they're so shitty. I remember those stupid signs everyone had in their yards. The fake "For Sale" signs that were all, "For Sale - can't afford my property taxes." And then you'd take a closer look and it was like:
Probably because they feel put out that they have to spend "all" their money on private school, lol.
That house is also gorgeous by the way. At least you know you'll have awesome real estate options if you move there? Just think about what something like that would cost near Chicago