Indianapolis, Indiana

Over 65% of the population in Indy live in family households and over 35% of the population is under the age of 25. Combine a young, family-oriented city, with the gosh darn friendliness of the place, and you get an amazing place for a young family (or someone who wouldn’t mind one someday).

Indianapolis is considered the crossroads of the country because it sits at the intersection of 4 major freeways. In some ways that’s the issue. You’re really in the center of a lot of land here and in fact, it's the largest city in the U.S. not on a navigable body of water. There's some question about this designation due to the White River that winds through the city and offers some small craft access but for larger boats/ships it remains cut off. For those moving from a coast, a great lake, or a river, that lack of water access and view might matter.

Indianapolis is a city all on its own, which means locals have to rely on each other and work to improve the city if they want more entertainment or nightlife. Locals love that it’s a big city that still feels small (perks of being in the midwest, eh?). There is a great downtown, an “in the works” food scene, a great airport and locals boast about how bike-friendly the city is. If the weather is nice, you’ll catch people biking from BR to Carmel or downtown, all on a dedicated greenway. Speaking of weather, Indianapolis is in the midwest, which means you’re getting all 4 seasons. Winters can be grey and depressing, while the summers can be stifling. You’ll also catch a lot of people getting into the college sports season. As a Big Ten area, you’ll have no shortage of people wanting to go out and catch a game either in person or at a local bar.

If you're interested in the going on's of Indianapolis check out the Downtown calendar of events:

Indianapolis, like many midwest cities, suffered from the deindustrialization and loss of manufacturing jobs over the years. The city used to rival Detroit as an auto manufacturing giant, but companies started shutting down plants and thousands lost their jobs between 1990-2012. Since then, the largest industries in Indy are mainly finance, insurance, education, healthcare, wholesale trade, and hospitality. Niche markets include amatuer sports and auto racing. Speaking of racing…The Indianapolis 500 is what the city might be best known for. Sports tourism is a huge draw for the city and brings in a ton of revenue. The Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium are also huge draws and bring in a ton of work-related tourism and convention goers every year. Headquarters in Indy include Anthem, Inc, Simon Property Group and Eli Lilly, which has become the largest private employer in the city, with over 11,000 workers. Biotech, life sciences, and healthcare have steadily become front runners as leading industries of the city. Other large corporations in the city include Lids, Steak n’ Shake, and Duke Realty. Because of where the city is located and the extensive highway and railway infrastructure, Indy is huge for logistics and has the second largest FedEx Express hub in the world.