Fishers, Carmel among best places to live

Criteria: Population between 75k-500k and median home value between $75k-500k

Result: only 1 city with multiple communities landing in the top 10 of the list; Indianapolis.

Carmel, known for its award-winning Roundabouts and world-class Art scene has been hailed as the best town in America for a long time. The stats support what we all already know. 

With a Crime rate 5x lower than US avg, and a strong commitment to healthy living, innovative restaurants, and an expanding tech scene with unbeatable community amenities, Fishers also stands out. Now another Hamilton County town is getting some recognition...

[Player 3 has entered the chat] Noblesville joins in the mix: SmartAsset now lists Carmel, Fishers AND Noblesville among THE safest and THE most affordable places in USA. Whoa, didn't see that coming. /s

Indy 500 Pole Day sets several records

The first ever all-234mph front row in Indy 500 history also resulted in the closest gap between 1st & 3rd spot. The 4-lap averages of Alex Palou & Felix Rosenqvist were just 0.103mph apart, beating the previous record of 0.112mph between James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2016.

Palou’s & Rinus VeeKay’s gap of 0.006mph is the second-smallest gap between 1st & 2nd in Indy500 history, the narrowest difference being 0.003s between Ryan Briscoe & Hinchcliffe in 2012.

The result means that the 3 front-row starters come from 3 different teams and both of IndyCar’s engine manufacturers, Honda & Chevrolet, are represented. While neither of those stats are unusual, what is remarkable is the fact that the trio’s combined number of Indy500 starts is only 10. That’s the lowest since 2004, when Buddy Rice, the late Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti started 1-2-3 and had only 3 starts between them.

A not-surprising corollary of that stat is that this is the 3rd-youngest front row in history. The only younger ones are 2013 – Ed Carpenter, Carlos Munoz and Marco Andretti (26 years and 9 months) – and 1930 – Billy Arnold, Louis Meyer and Shorty Cantlon (25 years, 7 months).

It is also the first time Indy 500 history that the front row consists entirely of European-born drivers; Palou is from Spain, VeeKay from the Netherlands and Rosenqvist from Sweden.

Indy vs. Boston battle for America's best suburbs

Joining Carmel as one of the best places to live in America (and the world), neighbors Zionsville and Westfield are now also ranked in the top 10 in the newest ‘Best Small Cities’ study, according to WalletHub: 

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-small-cities-to-live-in/16581

Boston & Indy suburbs dominated the top of the list, with Lancaster (PA) taking the top spot. 

Not only is Indianapolis one of the fastest growing cities in America, it's the only city on the list not located in the South or West: 

https://www.inspectionsupport.com/resources/the-fastest-growing-metropolitan-areas-in-the-u-s/

Mecca of College Basketball

Strictly geographically speaking, Cincinnati could rightfully call themselves the center of the Universe when it comes to basketball. Problem is, we all know most of the basketball lore from Cincy is via an Indianapolis-native briefly providing his talents in the late 50s. The same man who the NCAA later named their Player of the Year trophy after: Oscar Robertson.
Besides that, there's not much to say about Tri-State Hoops being the capital. Much of the collegiate success over recent decades have spread out to neighboring schools Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Louisville, Michigan State... the list goes far beyond just bluebloods and powerhouses - Dayton was a top-5 school just as March Madness was about to begin, until the damn panic shut it down. Creighton was contending for a top-10 spot. Iowa & Illinois were ranked in the top-10. 

I might be so bold as to say that in any given year, at least half the ranked teams are from the Midwest. Yep, that includes NET, RPI, Sagarin, and KenPom rankings. 

So I thought, let's put together a crude lil map and then check every now and then to see how well the prediction holds up.

2021 Update: Naturally, the NCAA chose Indianapolis, and Indiana to host the entire Men's Basketball tournament this March with most games (including all elite8+ games) within covered-walking distance of Circle Center in the Circle City, just south of Carmel aka Roundabout City, which is quick drive to anywhere else around Indy, thanks to Interstate-465 highway, a circle around the city known for driving in circles (ovals). Get it yet? 🎯 

Indy named in "21 Best Places to Go in '21"

The Best of the Best - in the World

Two Mr Basketball candidates lead LC

3 years ago, the Lawrence Central basketball Bears were bounced from the opening round of the playoffs. The following year, D'Andre Davis and Nijel Pack advanced to the Sectional championship. Last year, LC posted a 22-4 overall record on their way to a Regional appearance. A loss, if you will, but still a Sectional Win. Either way you look at it is bittersweet. They're hoping to drop that bitterness when they contend for a State title in March of 2020; but right now, this dynamic duo is focused on it's annual Thanksgiving Eve matchup against Lawrence North. May the games begin. 

Speaking of rivalries, Purdue hosts Indiana at Noon in their annual Thanksgiving Saturday matchup, aka The Old Oaken Bucket game. IU who is looking for their 8th regular-season win, is hoping for a Gator Bowl invite in warm, sunny Florida this New Year... or maybe that's just me. And before you ask: Yes, I'll even take Notre Dame as a consolation prize. 

Best Suburb in America is...

Business Insider published a new ranking, proving once again which the best Suburb in the United States is. If you look closely at who landed at Numero Uno you'll see that not much has changed in the past decade or so.

Niche refreshed their calculations for 2018 due to the rising costs of big-city living and more millennials opting to steer away from suburbia. The major factors included to determine quality of living are: crime, unemployment rate, schools, new home price, income, amenities, and cost of living. 

America's Most Underrated City

It's that time of the year where Indianapolis takes center stage again - on ABC Sunday afternoon, to be specific. Forbes recently ran an article touting Indy as the most underrated, partly due to being the 35th largest city yet hangs with the elite, in terms of things like value, food, sports, steak, golf, and unique activities.  You might think it's weird to list both steak and food, plus golf and sports, but when you're ranked at the top of your class, you gotta give it its own press.

Sports: 

• #1 football stadium (LucasOil)
• #1 basketball stadium (Fieldhouse)
• #1 Superbowl experience (2012)
• #1 sporting event (Indy 500)
• #1 Final Four host (8 times)
• #1 NFL Combine host
• NBA All-Star 2021 2024 host
• BCS Championship 2022 host 
• Annual NCAA Championships for Swimming, Gymnastics, Track & Field. And best of all...

Golf

• Pete Dye courses (The Fort, The Brickyard, Maple Creek)
• PGA events (Crooked Stick)
• #2 city for public golf courses (Fishers)
• #1 rated public course (Eagle Creek) & only $25 w/ cart after 3pm. Speaking of value...

Value

• Top-10 hottest destination in 2018 (Conde Nast)
• Top-50 places to travel in 2017 (Travel and Leisure)
• Luxury hotels (Conrad, Alexander) cheaper than Nashville, Cincy, Minny, & KC
• #1 convention center 
• #1 airport in North America (ACI)
• mansion-like homes listed as the most affordable in the nation (sq/ft)
• #1 in downtown walkability, including covered skyway to hotels and...

Food

• Most Underrated Food City (Conde Nast)
• Top-7 most impressive city (Thrillist)
• Top-20 US Food city (Food & Wine)
• Top-15 Hottest Food Cities (Zagat)
• the Martha Hoover empire
• exploding brewery scene with award-winning craft beers (SunKing, DareDevil's LiftOff)
• the Kimbal Musk empire & farm-2-table movement, which may or may not include...

Steak

• Award-winning St. Elmo's
• Renowned: Prime 47, Char Blue, Red the Steakhouse
• Other Favorites: Shula’s, Ruth’s Chris, McCormick & Schmick’s, Morton’s, Capital Grille, Hyde Park Prime

Unique Activities

• Children's Museum, Medical History Museum and NCAA HQ
• Award-winning Indianapolis Zoo
• Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, Newfields (IMA), and Lilly House
• World's largest mini Marathon
• White River, Monon Trail, Pogues Run, Downtown Canal
• more war memorials than any other city outside DC, including the USS Indianapolis
• Eagle Creek, Geist Resevior

Carmel ranks as Best Place to Raise a Family

If there is any doubt what's the best (small) city in America, SmartAsset has joined the pool of publications aiming to ease that speculation. The only question left to debate: is it Fishers or Carmel?

The tech company used factors such as crime, jobs, and household income to determine where's the #1 place to live. With great-paying jobs, low unemployment rate, absurdly low crime rate - both property crime and violent crime - Carmel was able to pull ahead of all other U.S. cities less than 100,000 residents.
What's not mentioned is how all the roundabouts greatly improve the flow of traffic and reduce travel time. So whether you're visiting the #1 museum in America, attending the largest sporting event, flying out of the top-ranked airport, or watching a game at the best sports stadium, you're likely to get there quickly. 

Fishers named Best Place to Live

Once again, our local municipality of under 90k residents has been voted the #1 city in America. 

Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis, offers a low cost of living alongside high community standards, great schools, a safe environment, and top-notch local services. 

The town is attracting residents and businesses from across the globe. What makes it unique is this huge emphasis on Fishers as a place with an entrepreneurial spirit. Moody’s Analytics projects 11.6% job growth in the city by 2021. Of course, some of that booming growth brings its own issues: traffic. However, they are constantly widening roads, putting in roundabouts, and making infrastructure improvements to ease some of the congestion.

The increased traffic is a small price to pay. “It’s a wonderful place to live. There’s certainly no shortage of things to do. It’s kind of anything anyone would want, aside from having a mountain range or beach in your backyard,” says one local resident. “A small part of me doesn’t want the secret of Fishers to get out.” I think the secret's out. 

Carmel (again) named best place to live

The past 10+ years have seen countless publications praise Indianapolis and it's northern suburbs, often times ranking at the top of many national lists. However, it's been a couple years since my last power rankings post, so you may have wondered how we still stacked up.

Those questions were put to rest with the latest survey conducted by Niche. Factors include: crime, schools, jobs, cost of living, and local amenities. Despite its reign at the top, I guess some still don't recognize the name. Maybe we should rename it something more catchy, like Roundabout City, USA.

Biggest sports moments in Indiana history

Yesterday marked the 20-year anniversary of Reggie Miller's 8 points in 9 seconds. I started to wonder, where would that moment rank if it were played in the state of Indiana? Here are some from from recent memory:

• 2011 Indy 500: 100th Anny, rookie (JRH) leads final turn/lap, crashes; Wheldon wins again, his last
• 2006 AFC Championship in Hoosier Dome. 38-34. Cheaters lose
• 2010 Final Four: small, local school w/ half-court buzzer to beat #1 Devils
• 2011 Watshot 3-pt winner at buzzer over #1 and undefeated Wildcats
• 2001 Haston 3-pt winner at buzzer over #1 and undefeated Spartans
• 2014 AFC Divisional playoffs: Andrew Luck's 24-pt comeback win
• The NBA pipeline
• 2000 Pacers reaching NBA Finals

Last Century:

• Jeff Gordon winning inaugural Brickyard 400
• 1993 Notre Dame over #1 FSU (and '88 title)
• Bob Knight's championships, chair-toss & choke
• 1987 Pan Am Games
• Multiple ABA Championships in the 70s (and Nancy Leonard's fundraiser)
• Larry Bird
• Oscar Robertson
• Bobby Plump & Milan HS
• Hoosiers
• Rudy
• Breaking Away
• Slick Leonard
• John Wooden

Honorable mention: Tony Hulman, Mike Aulby, Isiah Lord Thomas, Shawn Kemp, Glenn Robinson, Damon Bailey, Billy Keller, Scott Skiles, Steve Alford

The Perfect Storm

The topic dominating airwaves for weeks is a crescendo this week in Indianapolis. America's best city is hosting another Final Four, this time featuring bluebloods Duke & Kentucky, as well B1Gs: Wisconsin and Michigan State. As if the game needed any more attention, the NCAA (and others) have publicly denounced the RFRA bill signed into Indiana law last week. Legislation was forced to specify a Federal law with similar language after gays were denied cake at a local bakery.

The result of that legal battle that required clarification has rubbed many liberals the wrong way (rightfully so) but Mike Pence doesn't deserve to be called a bigot. Understanding the language of the bill is the first thing everyone should do before you go off criticizing all Hoosiers and boycott the entire state. Bill Clinton signed the Federal RFRA over 20 years ago, and Obama signed the Illinois RFRA as well. So why is the outrage directed only at Indiana? They hate us cuz they anus.

Before you throw a tantrum, keep this in mind: it can be used to defend oneself against lawsuits or administrative action. It can’t be used affirmatively to try and deprive others of the protections of law. By boycotting, you're essentially doing the same thing you're accusing the intolerant of doing - not conducting business with someone based on their (constitutionally protected) beliefs. Religious or not, everyone should follow the Golden Rule, respect karma and maintain inner peace.

Colts offseason moves

I promise not to discuss deflated balls. Time to move on to the 2015 season...

Notable free agents that I don't expect to return include Reggie Wayne, Matt Hasselbeck and likely Hakeem Nicks. That leaves a big hole at WR (after TY Hilton and Donte Moncrief) but the rumor mill says Duron Carter has his hopes set on playing with Andrew Luck this fall. Ahmed Bradshaw played great in the games he was healthy, and deserves at least another year - especially at the pricetag of less than $1M/yr. Ballard, Boom and Trent are still on the roster but I don't expect Richardson to stay employed much longer.

The 2 old guys (10+ years experience) entering Free Agency are Cory Redding and Mike Adams. Both of these men are anchors at their positions. Adams' value will be inflated by his Pro Bowl bid but should be a manageable sum around $2-3M/yr. Sergio Brown is quite a bit younger (26) but is quickly proving his worth. Colts need both their safeties to return as one of the league's best Pass Defenses can only get better. That is, as long as their 2 Free Agent corners can stay. Josh Gordy and Darius Butler are both in their late 20s and they're at that point in their careers where they've basically peaked. Do the Colts reward either with lucrative contracts (Butler was already making $2M/yr) or does Indy dive into the deep CB pool on draft day?

The 2 remaining Free Agents the Colts need to look hard at are Joe Reitz and Fili Moala. Maybe I have a warm spot in my heart for overpaid backups, or maybe I see greater potential from both, but this is where the Salary Cap comes into play. As I mentioned above, they are letting go of Reggie and Nicks, which should free up some space. And if they also happen to not re-sign Gordy and Butler, that should leave them around $11M under the cap. Take away ~$5 for the incoming rookies and you're left with some wiggle room, depending on how much the Cap increases this year. Lately, the average increase is about $7M but last year was $10M (to $133M). Thus, I expect this year's increase to be slightly smaller than average, so lets say it only increases $5M. Now we're back up to much more wiggle room, which allows them to possibly sign an experienced backup QB or upgrade at OL.

Yes, the most glaring need is Offensive Line but I argue that their patchwork actually works. As long as Donald Thomas plays, the only major weakness is Center. Lets face it, Harrison and Shipley are not starting-caliber. I suspect it would take a minor miracle to find a stud at this position for a cheap price. Honestly, who wouldn't want to be the battery mate of the best QB in the game?? 

Indy tops many more lists

As mentioned in numerous posts on this blog, central Indiana is continually ranked as one of the best places in America.

Here's some more proof:

• TIME "Top 10 Best Cities to Start New Career" 
• New York Times "52 Places to go in 2014"
• USA Today "Best Convention City" 
• Livability "Top 10 Downtowns" (#3)
• Locality "Most Affordable City for Yuppies"
• US News "Best State Government"

Some factors that determine these top rankings include:
the Indy 500 "Best Bucket List Sports Event"
the Children's Museum "Best Museum for Families"

In addition to being dubbed the "Amateur Sports Capital of the World", Indianapolis stands above the rest partly due to their professional team's success, shrine-like sports venues, NCAA HQ, F1 Grand Prix, PanAm Games, Superbowl(s?), the annual NFL Combine, 8* Final Fours, and the Track & Field and Swimming & Diving championships - just to name a few.


* including 2021

America's most surprising city

click image for full article

 "Clean-cut Indy is the state capital and a perfectly pleasant place to ogle racecars and take a spin around the renowned speedway. The art museum and White River State Park have their merits, as do the Mass Ave and Broad Ripple 'hoods for eating and drinking."

Update: Lonely Planet also listed Indianapolis in their Best in the US list.

Hoosiers have sexiest dreams

According to the American DreamsCloud Index, Indiana residents report dreaming about sex more than any other state.

Among all users who report their dreams to DreamCloud, your Hoosiers lead the nation in content related to sexual intercourse, pregnancy and babies. Could this be related to the survey that recognizes Indianapolis as the #1 sexually satisfied city? Or another survey that reports Indianapolis men are willing to spend the most on a first date? Or another survey that rates the kinkiest places?

Whatever's in the water, I'll have another glass.

Carmel and Fishers named America's safest place to live

This one caught my attention - not just because of the city that grabbed the #1 spot, but the cities that grabbed the top TWO spots.

Carmel just barely beat out Fishers for the #1 ranking on Movoto's List, calculated by the lowest number of violent crimes per capita (highlighted by both towns having no murders last year), how many victims of crimes, and also property crimes - most falling under the category of 'theft'.

I've already highlighted the #1 ranking bestowed upon the Indy-area in numerous other categories including affordability, livability, sports, jobs, schools, etc. and this one simply adds to the prestige that makes this metropolis so great. 

Lucas Oil Stadium ranked #1

The stadium that Peyton built, erected a year after the Colts won the Superbowl, sits alone at the top of the rankings - much like its neighbor down the street, Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Not only does Indianapolis provide a safe, affordable, compact downtown with plenty of hotspots, the city also offers the best basketball and football venues in the country. To top that off, the city also boasts impressive products on the field as well. How impressive? Well, both the Pacers and Colts are ranked #1 this year (or have been), while featuring the best young-pro-athlete-duo around: Paul George and Andrew Luck.
Anyway, back to Lucas Oil... Retractable roof? Check. Food variety? Check. Scenic view of the city? Check. Wide-open hallways allowing for easy access and decreased traffic? Check. With over 350 concession stands, lines rarely take more than a minute or two.  The stadium and the city also masterfully hosted a Superbowl last year.

Lets take a look at the other factors making Indy #1:

• professionals
• Airport
• dating
• jobs
• sex
• affordable homes
• spectator events
• sports

Ryan Newman wins Brickyard

Just weeks after announcing this would be his final year under Tony Stewart's ownership, Hoosier Ryan Newman won the 2013 Brickyard 400 at the IMS today.

The South Bend native followed through with today's victory after a record-setting pace that won him the pole earlier this week, at 187.531 MPH. Now closer to 40 y/o than 30, this win cements his legacy - his trophy case includes 2002 Rookie of the Year, 2003 Driver of the Year, 2008 Daytona and 2003 All-Star race winner.