Indianapolis it is! Maybe.
Last week me, my husband, and Cmoney visited Indianapolis. We spent 27 hours there. I was on my own with Cmoney and spent my time exploring downtown, playing at the children's museum with Twitter friend Kate and her son, and eating lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with friend and kick ass blog sponsor Cort of Wishful Stitches. I had a phenomenal time. It was a short break from cooking, cleaning, and laundry folding that I truly appreciated. I missed my son like crazy but he is a big boy now. He was fine without mommy and daddy for a night but he told me he was " so happy to see mommy and daddy home". Cmoney and I went on a girls night out. We had a snack at Ruth's Chris. There I learned that in Indiana it is against the law to sit in a bar area with a child. I should have been tipped off by the horrified look on the waiter's faces as I shimmied the Maclaren up the stairs but nope, I was clueless. It is a good law (I guess) but it isn't as if I was taking the kid to Hooters for a beer! I felt badly occupying a table at dinner time. We were only having a snack but the wait staff was sweet and accommodating. Our waiter brought a plate of fresh berries for Cmoney and I had some lobster and a 3 oz. glass of Pinot Noir. A little lonely yet fabulous.
The downtown area is busy but not overwhelming. Everyone was friendly and nice. There seems to be a significant homeless population but the people were crazy sweet. I talk to pretty much anyone that will pay me some attention and I suppose sidling up to strangers isn't the smartest thing to do but everyone was so helpful.
I am not sure I would want to live downtown. Before visiting I was sure I wanted to be right in the middle of things but Indianapolis is pretty busy right now. They are doing a lot of construction and getting ready for the Super Bowl. I don't think living outside of town would be a terrible thing. You also get a lot more for your money if you are willing to drive a little.
We are used to Northeast real estate prices so when we see the price of homes in Indiana we get giddy with excitement. We are *totally* okay with setting up shop in Indiana. The cost of living and real estate, good school system, and proximity to other awesome cities are very enticing. The company that recruited my husband is well-known for taking very good care of its employees and has an excellent global reputation.
Right now it looks like Indianapolis is where we will spend our summer but that could change. My husband has until February to decide. We didn't see everything but what we did see was very promising.