Well, Carmel is very nice and you have a choice of a variety of different areas. Huge, expensive houses...medium priced houses...historic "old-town" area (my personal favorite).

Also near there is Fishers...pretty much everything under the sun without much historic area.

I live on the East side of INdianapolis in a historic area called Irvington. LOVE IT! You can get a lot of bang for your buck here.

What kind of housing are you looking for? It would be easier to recommend areas if I knew what style you like, range, etc. :)

As for the soil, TOTALLY depends on where you live. Indiana has a lot of clay (oh joy) and is alkaline but depending on how woodsy the area is/was, if it was farmland previously, etc, you can get some killer soil! :)

I look forward to hearing more of what you're looking for and will be glad to give you any assistance that you need! The great thing about Indy is that it's a small town feel w/ big city amenities. You can get everywhere in a pretty decent amount of time so you aren't bound to living right where your hubby works.

Andrea

Thanks for your reply, Andrea. I like the look of historic areas, but would probably be happier in a newer home. I like a large established neighborhood with trees and good areas for walking the dog and jogging. Also would like a mid sized lot for gardening, but not so much that upkeep is a full time job. Price range would be up to about $250K.

I love OKC (the short time we've been here) but wouldn't mind being somewhere with a little more rain. I thought it would never get green here this spring!

I think with your price range, you will actually be able to find a home *in* Carmel that you love! You'll want to look for housing near the Monon Trail (something to mention to your realtor) which would probably be closer to Old Town Carmel or the area south of there. The Monon runs all the way from downtown Indy up to Carmel and it's a biking/walking/jogging trail - very lovely! The core of Old Town Carmel is mostly historic homes but sprinkled in between and all around it are newer homes so I think this may be your best bet. The wonderful thing is that the lots are really lovely with established trees and great soil! :)

You might want to check out mibor.com and do a search for houses in Carmel. See the link below and then you should be able to navigate through the site pretty easily.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mibor Realty Site