I bought a house about three blocks west of Broad Ripple Ave last November and live there when I'm not traveling for work. For roughly the five years prior to the house purchase I hadn't spent much time in Indianapolis and really had no opinion of the city. Now that I'm there more often, I have to say that I'm impressed with Indy's quality of life and the direction the city is going. First, Broadripple is a cultural gem relative to anywhere else in Indiana (exception being Btown) and the downtown/Mass. Ave area seems like it's constantly being developed and improved upon. Second, Indy is a phenomenal sports city. The new Big Ten football championships will be held there, and every other year the Big Ten basketball tournament is held there. These events, combined with the NFL combine, the races (Indy 500, Brickyard, and Moto GP), the swimming and diving championships, Colts/Pacers, a Super Bowl, and the half marathon (the nation's most-participated in half marathon) really add value to the city. In June I hit up an Indianapolis Indians game for the first time; $9 lawn seats, cheap beer, and the stadium was 3/4 full. It was a great atmosphere. Third, the job market in Indy is one of the best in the country, with tech companies like ExactTarget, Angie's List, Delivra, and many others rapidly growing. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (
IEDC) is a semi-private semi-public organization that attempts to attract businesses from other states and countries to Indiana by highlighting Indiana's generous corporate tax incentives, and many companies have relocated to the Indianapolis area. Other notable items: The Indianapolis Int'l Airport is new and impressive, and Indy drew San Francisco's director of tourism way from SF because he felt Indy has viable potential to be a great conference city and tourist destination. Finally, and most importantly, the biggest draw to Indy is the low cost of living. It's really a great deal.