Looking to relocate to Central IN

[SumtnFancy]

As the title says, I'm looking to pack up my kids and relocate to Central Indiana. Just need a change of pace and some new scenery. Would ideally like to be in near a small town about a half an hour outside of Indy, maybe further. Looking for somewhere wooded/secluded. Any recommendations? Maybe somewhere with state/federal forests and some rivers. We love to go camping/hiking/exploring. Just looking for a nice, quiet small town to raise the kids, with the option of commuting to the city. Who needs a new neighbor!?

 

[mrjarrell]

Well, you have to travel to get to the national or state forests from central Indiana. Lots of nice communities around though. I live in Hamilton County, just north of Indy and we have a number of communities that are nice. Some rural, some not so rural. State Rd 37 is a decent artery to get on to get to Indy, as is I-69. Lots of good places off both those. Don't know what you're doing about schools for the kids, but the schools in Hamilton are pretty good and rate rather high in many locations. Noblesville is a bit smaller than some (despite being the county seat) and they have good schools there. Cicero is a small town a touch north of there. Westfield is a nice little burg, too.

 

[nightgaunt]

Maybe Martinsville area, or Nashville (Brown Co State Park)?

 

[SumtnFancy]

The kids are in a small Lutheran school now, and I would probably like to continue with something similar. My ultimate goal is to homestead, so I just want to find a quiet rural area. I love Brown county, but the rest of the family is tucked in the NE corner so that would be a haul to/from.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Columbus, IN has a lutheran school associated with a church there and plenty of hills and forrests, but homes are expensive in the area. Could live in the country though.

St Peters Lutheran Church and School - Columbus, IN / Welcome / At St Peters

 

[SkinNFluff]

For a second I was going to say Central, Indiana is about as small of a town as they get. Then I saw you were meaning central as in the middle of the state. I guess I should have known better than to think you were meaning Central.

 

[KellyinAvon]

For a second I was going to say Central, Indiana is about as small of a town as they get. Then I saw you were meaning central as in the middle of the state. I guess I should have known better than to think you were meaning Central.

Oh man, do you mean Central Barron? That was barely a wide spot in the road 30 years ago when I lived down that way. Palmyra was a metropolis compared to Central Barron.

 

[SkinNFluff]

Oh man, do you mean Central Barron? That was barely a wide spot in the road 30 years ago when I lived down that way. Palmyra was a metropolis compared to Central Barron.

Right county, wrong Central.

The town of Central was plotted by William Smith in 1890. It originally contained fifteen lots, two parallel streets coving 5 acres (20,000 m[SUP]2[/SUP]) of land.
The church in the center of town was deeded its land from Charles Kopp in 1882. The original church then deeded in turn to the Missionary Society of The Churches of Christ in 1907
Longbottom-Hardsaw, the only business still operating in Central, was built in 1947 on the corner of Central and Heth-Washington.
The Central Post office was operated from 1879 until 1999 when the area was taken over by the Mauckport and Corydon Post Offices.
Central had its own school from 1900 to 1945 when it was absorbed into the South Harrison Consolidated School District.

Central, Indiana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[88GT]

The kids are in a small Lutheran school now, and I would probably like to continue with something similar. My ultimate goal is to homestead, so I just want to find a quiet rural area. I love Brown county, but the rest of the family is tucked in the NE corner so that would be a haul to/from.

I70 is a rough dividing line between the two main topography types of Indiana. North of it is flat. South of it builds from hilly to hillier. Take your pick. But you should probably define "small town." It's a bit relative depending on one's frame of reference.

if you don't want neighbors, you'll need to be more than a half hour outside Indy unless you're loaded and can afford hundreds of acres. Hendricks, Hamilton, and Johnson are the most densely populated donut counties, and you would have to go center of county or beyond (away from Indy) in order to find the small town feel. Those are also the counties with the highest $/acre. Hancock, Shelby, and Morgan are a little easier on the budget and don't have much in the way of booming metropolises.

If you can deal with the separation from Indy, moving out at least one more county beyond the donut counties gets you more of your criteria.

edit: forgot to mention that I don't think there are much in the way of private schools in the sticks. If you want to keep the status quo, you will have to sacrifice a bit on seclusion factor. A properly picked piece of land can give the feel of seclusion though. It's just harder to find in is move areas.

 

[Frosty]

There's a beautifully wooded 20 acres across the street from me, has a small house that's probably not live able and a large classic red barn, just outside the border of Greencastle, about equal distance from terre haute and indy, and your neighbors are all gun owners. Lots of deer, and I've seen turkey's over there a couple times.

 

[SumtnFancy]

I70 is a rough dividing line between the two main topography types of Indiana. North of it is flat. South of it builds from hilly to hillier. Take your pick. But you should probably define "small town." It's a bit relative depending on one's frame of reference.

if you don't want neighbors, you'll need to be more than a half hour outside Indy unless you're loaded and can afford hundreds of acres. Hendricks, Hamilton, and Johnson are the most densely populated donut counties, and you would have to go center of county or beyond (away from Indy) in order to find the small town feel. Those are also the counties with the highest $/acre. Hancock, Shelby, and Morgan are a little easier on the budget and don't have much in the way of booming metropolises.

If you can deal with the separation from Indy, moving out at least one more county beyond the donut counties gets you more of your criteria.

edit: forgot to mention that I don't think there are much in the way of private schools in the sticks. If you want to keep the status quo, you will have to sacrifice a bit on seclusion factor. A properly picked piece of land can give the feel of seclusion though. It's just harder to find in is move areas.

Thanks for the insight! I'm not loaded, and would love to build my own shanty on a chunk of woods. Would also love to homeschool the kids too, but I'll choose my battles. I've found that small town public schools are still pretty quality... I mean, I came from one haha. Being near Indy isn't a must, but it depends on how well the local rural market could sustain my business.

 

[SumtnFancy]

There's a beautifully wooded 20 acres across the street from me, has a small house that's probably not live able and a large classic red barn, just outside the border of Greencastle, about equal distance from terre haute and indy, and your neighbors are all gun owners. Lots of deer, and I've seen turkey's over there a couple times.

Is it officially for sale? I'm a contractor, so "not liveable" means "cheaper house that can be customized" to me. I was also just discussing with my lady friend today about turning g a large old barn into a house as well, so that could be an option. Thanks, I'll check out Greencastle on the map.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Hey Frosty, know of a listing on that place? I'm somewhat familiar with the area and sort of looking for a place to build.

 

[88GT]

Thanks for the insight! I'm not loaded, and would love to build my own shanty on a chunk of woods. Would also love to homeschool the kids too, but I'll choose my battles.

And by this you mean......?????? Logistical it isn't a good choice or something else?

Being near Indy isn't a must, but it depends on how well the local rural market could sustain my business.

I think you'll find that unless you work a wage-earning 9-5 IN a small town, most people have some level of commute/drive to keep business going. Contractors are a dime a dozen in terms of availability around here, but I also know that probably better than 50% (anecdotally calculated) never get repeat business because of the way they do business the first time around. There's always room for an honest contractor who keeps his word.

Full disclosure: I moonlight as a Realtor (when I'm not homeschooling my 2 kids or keeping our rental business afloat) so that's where that familiarity with the big picture of Central Indiana real estate comes from.

 

[rw02kr43]

I live in Paragon. Tiny little town. I commute to Indy every day. Bloomington is about 15 min away. My neighbor is moving so it would be nice to have someone moving in that isn't a meth head.

Jason

 

[88GT]

I live in Paragon. Tiny little town. I commute to Indy every day. Bloomington is about 15 min away. My neighbor is moving so it would be nice to have someone moving in that isn't a meth head.

Jason

Floods a lot too.

 

[rw02kr43]

Some of it does. We've never had any problem

 

[AGarbers]

Morgan County meets the requirements that you state. Martinsville is about 25 miles SW of Indy. We have the Morgan/Monroe State Forest and the Hoosier NF is just another half hour south.

 

[Dirty Steve]

I'll second Morgan Co. I live near Morgantown and own a business in Bloomington. It is 30 miles from my home to my office, 30 miles from my home to Indy and about the same to Greenwood. If we want to go to a "big town", we have those 3 options. If not, we run into Morgantown where I can pull up and leave the keys in the truck without much concern. Martinsville has a Rural King, which fits most of my needs for stuff. Big box home improvement stores and other shopping in Bloomington and Franklin.

Morgan Monroe SF is about 15 minutes away, Yellowwood is 20 minutes away and I can be in the Deam in HNF in an hour. Lots of rural acreage available. No neighbors close and I can go out to the mailbox to get the mail buck naked if I so choose. We have lived here for almost 18 years and enjoy it.

Dirty Steve

 

[SumtnFancy]

And by this you mean......?????? Logistical it isn't a good choice or something else?

I would love to, but I raise my two on my own while running a business. Would rather meet our living standards first, for the time being, then go from there.