Indianapolis is a great place to visit for a long weekend, and areas like downtown Carmel are great for walkable, neighborhood-centric home base for raising a family.

There aren't many nomads here. You move here if you want to raise a family while keeping up a lifestyle where you travel for a few months a year. There are good schools, the cost of living is cheap, the food and drink scene are great, and biking is fantastic.

Source: Indy native who moved to Carmel, Indiana while getting through the pandemic. I've spent the last 4 years spending 6-8 months in Indy and 4-6 months abroad.

Go anywhere other than the north. Stear clear of the Carmel, zionsville, and fishers areas. Mostly intolerant disgusting people there. The rest of city is great. Source: I’ve lived all over Indy for 30+ years

I live in Indianapolis. Even though I don't want to live here in the future, I do now. And what I can tell you from this is that it is a beautiful family friendly city. Broad Ripple is a place for pets and children to come eat lunch and walk around. There are many shops from Ice Cream to Hiking stores. The inner city of Indianapolis though is the most fun. It may have been called a boring city but I highly disagree. I have a blast everytime I come to the city. Yes, there are problems and my tip is to stay downtown and have fun! I find it so sad that my city is ranked so low. I also don't know why the "Female Friendly" ranking is only at an okay. There are women's marches and other things along those lines here. Overall Indianapolis is a beautiful city! :)