Indy really is an underrated city imo. For a large city, everything is really accessible and conveniently located. It is the perfect city for large sporting events and conventions with many underground connections between important venues. As you branch out from downtown the excitement wanes, but downtown Indy is one of the very best in the country!
I enjoyed the video. Thanks! A few additions: 1. I'm sure others have already mentioned that you left out Mass Ave. 2. Also, no mention of the War memorials. No city except DC has more war memorials. They add a rich artistic value to the city, especially the memorials along the canal and the Indiana World War Memorial. 3. Eagle Creek Park barely got a mention but as a birder and rower, it's one of the best among urban parks for both. 4. Don't miss lunch at City Market, just a couple of blocks east of the circle.
Kyle, have you considered doing a video laying out the regional boundaries of the US? (which states are Southern, which are Midwestern, etc). As a Missourian I'd like to hear your takes; nobody around here can agree where we are
Missouri is a unique state. Geographically, Yes Missouri is Midwest. As someone who has traveled back and forth between Houston and Chicago dozens of times in 20+ years I will say that Missouri acts and feels like a “northern” southern state (Arkansas and Southern Illinois feel exactly the same to me ) more than what I deem as “Midwest” culturally like Chicago area, Wisconsin or Mich/Indiana. At Same time it’s a crossroads in the US because of where you are located so you pull in the Kansas and Iowa farming/Great Plains influence too. Big Difference if you are in SE MO vs NW part of state also near KC. It’s a beautiful state. I think Missouri and Arkansas are some of the most underrated beauty in the country with the “mountains” and uplift in the area. Way older than the Rockies - They were once 10,000ft tall!
@@JH-fb3mp Missourians who think they are the south are the worst Missourians. Except the boot heel. That as dirty south as it gets. I love the people from Minnesota and Wisconsin who fancy themselves 'Midwesterners."
Nice video, a few comments: 1. Monument Circle is technically one block north of the center of the city's addresses. 2. Indy was instumental in the early jazz scene. Wes Montgomery was our most famous jazz musician but we also have Freddy Hubbard and Slide Hampton. It is true that we have lacked prominent contemporary musicians that are nationally known. 3. The NE side of town is probably more valuable than the NW. Geist Reservoir is often where our sports starts live. 4. The near north is not great but I don't think it's the most crime-ridden part of town. 5. We might not have light rail, but we did invest in bus rapid transit. I ride it occasionally when I'm heading downtown. It's pretty nice.
Near north resident here, lived here 10 years, my neighborhood did not look like that picture lol. I walk my dog late at night, with headphones, generally do not worry about anything happening to me. While I do hear gunshots from time to time they always seem to be targeted incidents. I keep to myself and am left alone. That being said property value around me has exploded over the time I've lived here and overall I think it's getting much nicer.
I used to live near broad ripple as a kid, and it’s a really nice place to live and have your kids grow up in. Even though it’s more for young adults, it’s still well set up for families of all types. I remember being able to hop on my bike and ride anywhere into broad ripple and along the Monon Trail. Fun times.
Great video as always, Kyle. I've been attending the Indy 500 since 2012, and I hate to admit it, but I've rarely seen much else of Indy. Your video is an inspiration to make some extra time this Memorial Day. Fyi F1 hasn't raced at IMS since 2005. Annual calendar as of 2022 is 3 IndyCar races, the big one on the oval plus two on the road course, and now Nascar also races on the road course.
Wow I didn't realize it's been so long since F1 raced there. I've never seen a race at IMS but I've been in town the weekend that Nascar had the 400 there. Crazy scene at the bars that weekend. I'm sure it's even crazier and busier for the Indy 500. I'd be happy just seeing some time trials during May.
Boy, I enjoyed that! I went to Kyle's channel and searched 'city overview' and found how I'll be spending the next few nights. What an interesting an insightful view you provide us, Kyle. Thank you!
@@StaackeR if you love roundabouts Carmel Indiana a north suburb of Indianapolis has the most roundabouts in the US. The mayor fell in love with them on a UK trip. There was a recent NY Times article on them
@@timmmahhhh Is that why? I literally visited Carmel downtown the other week and felt like I was on one of those spinning machines from going from roundabout to roundabout to roundabout and didn't understand why they'd put them all together like that lol
@@mercy5004 Yes you were definitely in Carmel! May your stomach soon recover from all of the centrifugal forces it was subjected to. Joking aside there are some great benefits to roundabouts. Think about it, if there were traffic lights here one direction would be waiting for them; having the roundabout if there's no traffic you don't have to stop so that saves time and fuel from idling. While the upfront cost is a lot it eliminates traffic lights and the energy needed to operate them. Next it forces you to slow down and significantly reduce his collisions so no more getting t-boned. And architecturally they're very cool in that you can put sculptures in them, as elaborate as Monument Circle if they wish. We also see the world more from a Google maps perspective as well so they have an aerial appeal too. The major highways US 31 and State Road 431 the streets with interchanges are crazy because yes both ramp intersection points have a roundabout so you get two of them right off the bat.
I've lived in Indianapolis and the surrounding area (currently live in Avon, a western suburb) almost my whole life. This is an excellent summary of the city imo. You hit all the major high points but didn't sugar coat the not-so-good parts. I've enjoyed your content for some time now. Thanks for presenting my hometown in your usual thoughtful and balanced fashion. Cheers.
We didn't go to a great many places in Indianapolis, but we did enjoy walking around Broad Ripple and going to a great Indian restaurant there. I'm glad you're saying something about public transportation in the cities you're profiling.
Thanks for this! I'm originally from a small town nearish Fort Wayne, but lived in Indy a few years ago during college. The bus system was definitely not the best, but it was my bread and butter of getting around since I couldn't drive at the time and lived almost at the very north edge of town. Having visited some of the less... tourist friendly areas, you do see a lot of rundown places, which in hindsight makes sense given that poverty rate. I used to take the bus to this international market on the west side of town and on the way there I distinctly remember areas feeling so rundown and almost like a ghost town in parts. Parking lots with weeds growing in the cracks, abandoned strip malls, and it felt like you could walk for 15 minutes and still be surrounded by nothing but liquor stores and payday lenders... And yet other areas like Castleton and Fountain Square and the downtown area were fantastic to walk around. Also can confirm, the children's museum is as awesome as it looks! I also remember being just absolutely amazed by the Indiana World War Memorial - it's that huge building with lots of stairs sitting on the opposite side of the park from the public library. The inside is just gorgeous
I try to take all of my out of town guests to the Indiana World War Memorial. It really is incredible inside, yet many lifelong Hoosiers I know have never stepped foot there.
@@behard2 Honestly, I only happened to go inside on pure accident... Me and a few friends were at Pride one summer and, on the verge of all of us getting heat stroke, we went inside. Two things I learned about the Indiana War Memorial that day: 1. it exists and is very much worth a look around, and 2. it has simply fantastic air conditioning
Lived in Indianapolis for about 25 years now and I say you’ve nailed it. Yeah, surprisingly Indy doesn’t have a whole lot of big name musicians for its size. We have Mark Battles - rapper, Haste the Day - metal, and lots of blues and jazz players
This is crazy timing! I was there yesterday. I saw a movie and ate dinner at the Garage Hall in the Bottleworks District. Drove back to KC this morning.
I used to always travel to St. Louis to get my city fix, but have switched to Indy in the last few years. I love flying out of their airport. Also HGTV chose the city for its 2021 Urban Oasis home giveaway. My husband and I went on the hunt for it last weekend.
Good overview of Indy and I appreciate the city reviews. Was disappointed you didn’t mention the different “cultural Paths” and Mass Ave (lots of gentrification, nightlife, local shops, bars, restaurants, and a renovated hotel that use to be a Coke Bottling plant)- but it’s hard to cover everything. Keep up the good work.
@@GeographyKing if you do the Canal Walk again make sure to check out the 9/11 Memorial if you missed it. It has girders from the Twin Towers and the aesthetic mimics how those towers once dwarfed their surroundings. There’s also an eagle facing NYC on one of the girders.
I wish there were more of these urban analysis videos. But I value how much you research and experience the city before talking about it. Keep it up man.
Great video, Kyle! I've never been to Indianapolis, despite growing up in Ohio. I enjoyed the way you ended this video by playing music from a local band while showing images of some of the public art and sights. Happy New Year!
This is perfect timing for me! I’ll be heading to Indianapolis this weekend for a certain football game on Monday so this is super helpful! Keep up the great work and Roll Tide!!
Make sure to check out Mass Ave near downtown. There’s a development called Bottleworks. He didn’t touch on it in the video but it’s actually the best part of downtown now
Great video, you more or less nailed it. Some other great places to check out around town are Long's Donuts, The Tamale Place, Steer Inn, Luna Records, Square Cat Vinyl, The Mousetrap, The Hi-Fi, and the NCAA Hall of Champions.
Say, that doesn't look too shabby! One city I have never been to. Honestly though, Kyle, I'd probably watch a video of a rural outhouse tour if you made it. Thanks for all you do!!!
Great video as always Kyle. Promoting a cool local band while showing those images was a really nice touch. Would be a cool signature way to end your videos, in my humble opinion.
I've tried to do just that in other videos, but TH-cam makes it difficult. Even with written permission from the artists, I often am not able to upload a video with music as TH-cam flags it as copyright infringement. There are workarounds but I'm not trying to stir the pot.
One other hipster neighborhood is along another diagonal street north of Virginia Avenue: Massachusetts Avenue or Mass Ave. It's even more developed and they recently converted an old Art Deco Coca Cola plant into a luxury hotel. It also connects downtown to the Monon Trail. Also used to have a great Jazz venue called The Metro, not sure if that's still around.
Kyle, your videos are always the highlight of the week. My birthday was yesterday and I got the greatest present of all, a positive covid test. I’ve been bored out of my mind quarantining and unable to work. I opened youtube just to see if you had uploaded and you did!! Immediately brightened my day ❤️
Unbiased opinion about Indianapolis from a Californian that lived there: if you’re looking for overall quality of life, it’s actually an excellent city (especially for raising a family). Its Achilles heel is that it lacks the “wow” factor that comes with other major cities in the US
Hey Kyle! Another awesome video! Never been to the Midwest US myself, but one day I'm gonna have to check it out. Please consider doing an urban analysis of Toronto!!
I lived in Indy for 3 years a few years back. The best way I could describe it is that it has a smattering of pretty much everything you would want from a city its size, but not in a cohesive way. I found that there were a lot of traditional events, but if you didn't live there your whole life, you just wouldn't know about them and that can be a pretty non-inclusive environment. Most of the people I met there, who were longtime residents, will tell you that Indy had made a lot of progress in the previous 20 years. My impression was that it got stuck there. Socially it has an extremely rural attitude. It's like the city moved forward, but the people didn't know how to transition with it. I also wondered what "coming a long way" meant as pretty much anywhere you went felt run down. There really weren't a lot of areas I felt completely safe in. That being said, I met quite a few good natured down to earth people who are quite content with where they are and what they have. "Who'd a thunk it?"
South side has some good restaurants, shout out to Egg Roll Number 1 off of 465 and Emerson Ave, they have great pho and Hana Japanese Fusion Sushi & Grill off of Emerson Ave and Southport Long's Bakery across town but also on Southport Rd, a great street to drive and the Mocha Nutt down the road, cute coffee shop with different selections.
Nicely done. Indianapolis is a well-kept secret, in my view. Friendly, clean and welcoming town. Vibrant downtown. Wide range of affordable housing options in the city and suburbs on all sides. Experiences all four seasons (not just the HEAT and humidity of where I’m writing from in the Deep South). Good airport. Easy access to Chicago and Louisville. Lots to like here.
Recently got an electric scooter and have been exploring around downtown more and also finding myself more and more curious about the design of it, so sought some videos out, glad I found yours, it's nice to see some attention on our little city.
Was there last week, visited the speedway right before leaving town and got a flat tire 20 miles out of the town! Still Indy is pretty lovely and sport is a pretty big thing there in terms of its reletive importance to the city, not only racing but amatuer sports as well!
I wish there were more safe areas closer to downtown without having to pay the gentrification prices. So many beautiful historic homes and neighborhoods have either been flipped to boring modern atrocities, or left to crumble and become condemned. I've been here my whole life, my parents actually met at the Slippery Noodle in the early 90s, and I work in the Broad Ripple village! I won't say where publicly but you probably walked by it when you were there, or maybe even stopped in! Also there was this great indie rock band from here called Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. I don't see myself in Indy forever because of a lot of its flaws, but videos like this remind me that there are still a lot of good things here.
Yeah I moved to indy a few years ago and had to move away from downtown (now I'm around the Eagle Creek Park, which is fun but also probably not my forever place) due to the price and crime. Saw a woman shove her mugger in front of a car (literally outside of my ground floor apartment windows), and a man get ganged up on and then thrown into a van right as I was about to enter the building (gave witness statements in both), with another incident of a woman and her daughter being carjacked behind the building, and an active shootout between drunk party guests in a different hall....after that I was like 1200 a month for an apartment is too much to deal with all this. But honestly I felt much safer actually in the streets of downtown (especially around monument circle) than I did on the street in front of my downtown apartment. With all that, however, I did and still do love living here and especially the people I've met along the way. Looking to try to hit Greenwood since a lot of the people I've met here reccommended it for someone who likes a quiet home life within reach of city lol.
The IMA is a fantastic art museum. King Ribs has several locations; good BarBQ. Same with Hubbard and Cravens for coffee, with Sobro and Morning Sky being my favorite coffees of all time. Steer Inn near eastside Irvington is a good, unique diner. Nice craft brewery scene; FourDayRay and SunKing are two worth a mention. Maintain situational awareness, cuz he wasnt lying about the high crime rates.
I've been to Indy twice and enjoyed both visits. It's one of those cities that doesn't seem as big as it actually is and is easy to get around. You covered most of what we did other than the zoo, which is pretty nice. The only negative we had was Indy is it is the only place I've tried White Castle and I thought it was pretty nasty.
I grew up just 5 miles north of the track and spent a lot of time on the west side when I was younger. The Main Street is 100% improved and is such a lovely addition to Speedway.
Testament - The Legacy!!! That was a phenomenal debut album that really put them above most of the other thrash bands of the time. And they are still going strong. Oh yeah...and nice video on Indy. :)
I really like that you closed with a feature of a local band rather than someone who had already gained national recognition. You should consider doing that more often.
I'm always interested in seeing what album you have on the wall behind you in your videos each time you post. I was a little surprised to see Legacy by Testament this week. Excellent choice. I wouldn't have guessed to be a thrash enthusiast.
Excellent video, Kyle I grew up in southern Indiana and went to several concerts in Indy as a youth. My son is installing radon systems in Indy now. He has a camper way out off Washington street, almost to Plainfield. I bet walking Indy is pretty good it's alot flatter than my end of the state!
I've lived here 20 years and thought that was an excellent overview! Our public transit struggles, but the recent bus rapid transit lines are a step in the right direction. Mass Ave. and other parts of the near eastside are worth a mention. Kurt Vonnegut! But I see you included a mural of him. The Zoo is a highlight and Salesforce is a major player, companywise. Just minor additions. Overall a very accurate portrayal.
At 7:51 Mark the Beautiful Large 🏠 Home is actually on Geist Reservoir on the North East side of the City. Note: Geist Reservoir stretches into Marion, Hamilton and Hancock Counties
The only time I've been to Indy was to see Phil 'n' Dylan (Phil Lesh & Friends and Bob Dylan), then a three-nighter by Phish at Deer Creek. That would have been summer tour, 2000, I believe. Good times, good times.
Deer Creek- that’s what the locals will still call it- LOL… Now it’s Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center… but it’s a great local venue for outdoor concerts- although technically I believe that’s in Noblesville (another suburb town)- Indy has lots of them these days…
Nice video! I really want to get back to Indy at some point. I spent some time there when I was in the army, at Fort Ben. The base was closed and has now been redeveloped; I believe there's a brewpub where the mess hall was once located.
That’s so cool! My dad lives just outside the entrance to the fort and I grew up going there all the time! It’s crazy for me to imagine it being a base at one point and not always a state park.
Next time, check out the World War Memorial building in Indianapolis. It is one the most impressive buildings I have ever seen. The inside is amazing as well. The music at the end is fabulous. Wish you can do more of that format.
Hey Kyle great job exploring one of the best cities in U.S.--I've been to all the major ones. Sometime when in Indy check out the Eiteljorg Museum--outstanding repository of Native American and Western art in the Midwest. Also the Indianapolis Museum of Art is really underrated.
One thing to note about the "excluded cities" like Speedway and Lawrence, is that they are not, in fact, completely separate from the Indianapolis. Since Indianapolis and Marion County is a combined city-county, residents of an excluded city reside in two cities. They vote for the mayor of both, and their city-county representatives often represent portions of both the excluded city and the city-county. Taxes are handled on a county basis and shared between the excluded city and Indianapolis. "County" services are provided by the City of Indianapolis.
I'm in SW Michigan (you should visit sometime!) and I travel south a good deal and Indianapolis is just - in the way. So I paid extra careful attention to this video to see if there were any redeeming qualities that would lessen the hassle of avoiding the city altogether. With that said, I do hear from people who move there that they don't really like the place very much but after a few years though they still don't like it, they feel as part of it and find it hard to leave. It's got an unnameable draw once you're there. It wants to keep you. So, that's nice.
The South Shore Line isn’t affected because the ban actually targets central Indiana specifically. The State government often acts adversarially towards Indy. Even the modest transit plan Indy is allowed to pursue has been constantly meddled with by the state.
I was born and raised there. People often overlook the amazing Jazz musicians that are from Indy - Wes Montgomery, Freddy Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, and Slide Hampton.
Cool cool sir very interesting. Thank you for sharing it with us today sir. God bless and your family and i hope you and your family have a Happy New Year.....🙏❤🙏❤🙏🙂😊🙂
It's Carmel. Some of the roundabouts of sculptures at the center. You should look up "Morning Sun" sometime. It's... something. They claim to have the most roundabouts of any city period, not just per capita. Imagine Eagleton from Parks & Rec, but with a mayor who has a weird obsession with roundabouts. That's Carmel.
As someone not from Carmel, by elsewhere in the Indy metro (Lawrence), I’m duty bound to dislike Carmel, particularly their singular, obscenely large high school of 5,400 students
We have family in Carmel and visit regularly. It's an awesome place to bicycle, especially along the Monon. My wife constantly complains about the roundabouts.
@@TanookiOshawott64 I lived in Carmel for five years and passed by that school many times. Just looking at it, it always gave me the vibe that it was the kind of brutal, overcompetitive academic environment common to a lot of wealthy neighborhoods (like those commonly associated with Silicon Valley) that produced a lot of burnt-out, and occasionally suicidal, students. I was not surprised at all when students from Carmel High School appeared in "Race to Nowhere", a documentary covering these exact topics.
Indy is my 2nd home. And I will say, othef than Mass Ave and Castleton, you got everything else pretty spot on. They do also have a cool native American museum and art museum. The native American museum is right next door to the Indiana History Museum on the canal.
Indy really is an underrated city imo. For a large city, everything is really accessible and conveniently located. It is the perfect city for large sporting events and conventions with many underground connections between important venues. As you branch out from downtown the excitement wanes, but downtown Indy is one of the very best in the country!
Nope, lol. Like it better than Ft Wayne that’s fo sho
Downtown Indianapolis is one of the best??
I thought you were the other Mr. Obvious. :)
Medium sized city*
"large city" lmao
I had no idea THE KING was in town - there could have been parades, proclamations, press tours, etc.! Hope you enjoyed your stay.
Well the city did paint "You Are Beautiful" on a building in Fountain Square in anticipation of me visiting. At least that's the story I'm going with.
Speaking of The King--Elvis played his last concert in Indy!
I enjoyed the video. Thanks! A few additions:
1. I'm sure others have already mentioned that you left out Mass Ave.
2. Also, no mention of the War memorials. No city except DC has more war memorials. They add a rich artistic value to the city, especially the memorials along the canal and the Indiana World War Memorial.
3. Eagle Creek Park barely got a mention but as a birder and rower, it's one of the best among urban parks for both.
4. Don't miss lunch at City Market, just a couple of blocks east of the circle.
I am very impressed with your analysis of the different types of crime and what each means. Thank you. I never made that distinction before.
Kyle, have you considered doing a video laying out the regional boundaries of the US? (which states are Southern, which are Midwestern, etc).
As a Missourian I'd like to hear your takes; nobody around here can agree where we are
That topic is on my list of videos coming soon.
You're in the midwest
@@jesuschrist2616 I agree wholeheartedly, but not everyone here does
Missouri is a unique state. Geographically, Yes Missouri is Midwest. As someone who has traveled back and forth between Houston and Chicago dozens of times in 20+ years I will say that Missouri acts and feels like a “northern” southern state (Arkansas and Southern Illinois feel exactly the same to me ) more than what I deem as “Midwest” culturally like Chicago area, Wisconsin or Mich/Indiana. At Same time it’s a crossroads in the US because of where you are located so you pull in the Kansas and Iowa farming/Great Plains influence too. Big Difference if you are in SE MO vs NW part of state also near KC. It’s a beautiful state. I think Missouri and Arkansas are some of the most underrated beauty in the country with the “mountains” and uplift in the area. Way older than the Rockies - They were once 10,000ft tall!
@@JH-fb3mp Missourians who think they are the south are the worst Missourians. Except the boot heel. That as dirty south as it gets.
I love the people from Minnesota and Wisconsin who fancy themselves 'Midwesterners."
Nice video, a few comments:
1. Monument Circle is technically one block north of the center of the city's addresses.
2. Indy was instumental in the early jazz scene. Wes Montgomery was our most famous jazz musician but we also have Freddy Hubbard and Slide Hampton. It is true that we have lacked prominent contemporary musicians that are nationally known.
3. The NE side of town is probably more valuable than the NW. Geist Reservoir is often where our sports starts live.
4. The near north is not great but I don't think it's the most crime-ridden part of town.
5. We might not have light rail, but we did invest in bus rapid transit. I ride it occasionally when I'm heading downtown. It's pretty nice.
Thank you for all the info!
@number 5, yes, the pseudo-light rail with a bus.
The Sports stars mostly live in Fishers or Carmel.
Near north resident here, lived here 10 years, my neighborhood did not look like that picture lol. I walk my dog late at night, with headphones, generally do not worry about anything happening to me. While I do hear gunshots from time to time they always seem to be targeted incidents. I keep to myself and am left alone. That being said property value around me has exploded over the time I've lived here and overall I think it's getting much nicer.
The same city planner who laid out the basic structure of the streets and neighborhoods of Indianapolis also did the same for Washington DC!
That's incredibly fascinating as I'm from DC and grew up in Indy.
I used to live near broad ripple as a kid, and it’s a really nice place to live and have your kids grow up in. Even though it’s more for young adults, it’s still well set up for families of all types. I remember being able to hop on my bike and ride anywhere into broad ripple and along the Monon Trail. Fun times.
yes, i would agree i love going to Broad Ripple, Indiana, There is always something to do. So many restaurants and small shops. I love it.
TESTAMENT's "The Legacy"! Thank you haha. I love this band. I've seen them a few times here and there (UK, Poland, Japan).
Excellent album
That caught my eye also. Practice is my favorite Testament album.
Look At The Lost Souls!!
Great video as always, Kyle. I've been attending the Indy 500 since 2012, and I hate to admit it, but I've rarely seen much else of Indy. Your video is an inspiration to make some extra time this Memorial Day. Fyi F1 hasn't raced at IMS since 2005. Annual calendar as of 2022 is 3 IndyCar races, the big one on the oval plus two on the road course, and now Nascar also races on the road course.
Wow I didn't realize it's been so long since F1 raced there. I've never seen a race at IMS but I've been in town the weekend that Nascar had the 400 there. Crazy scene at the bars that weekend. I'm sure it's even crazier and busier for the Indy 500. I'd be happy just seeing some time trials during May.
@@GeographyKing I’ve been to 25 Indy 500s. There is nothing like it in sports. It’s a bucket list item for sure.
dude you've only been to Speedway? come on lol at least tell me you've had Long's Donuts at some point
More like this, please. Especially loved the idea of showcasing a local band.
Boy, I enjoyed that! I went to Kyle's channel and searched 'city overview' and found how I'll be spending the next few nights. What an interesting an insightful view you provide us, Kyle. Thank you!
Ive never seen the center circle, that is really cool
Yes, i love roundabouts
@@StaackeR if you love roundabouts Carmel Indiana a north suburb of Indianapolis has the most roundabouts in the US. The mayor fell in love with them on a UK trip. There was a recent NY Times article on them
@@timmmahhhh Is that why? I literally visited Carmel downtown the other week and felt like I was on one of those spinning machines from going from roundabout to roundabout to roundabout and didn't understand why they'd put them all together like that lol
@@mercy5004 Yes you were definitely in Carmel! May your stomach soon recover from all of the centrifugal forces it was subjected to. Joking aside there are some great benefits to roundabouts. Think about it, if there were traffic lights here one direction would be waiting for them; having the roundabout if there's no traffic you don't have to stop so that saves time and fuel from idling. While the upfront cost is a lot it eliminates traffic lights and the energy needed to operate them. Next it forces you to slow down and significantly reduce his collisions so no more getting t-boned. And architecturally they're very cool in that you can put sculptures in them, as elaborate as Monument Circle if they wish. We also see the world more from a Google maps perspective as well so they have an aerial appeal too. The major highways US 31 and State Road 431 the streets with interchanges are crazy because yes both ramp intersection points have a roundabout so you get two of them right off the bat.
I've lived in Indianapolis and the surrounding area (currently live in Avon, a western suburb) almost my whole life. This is an excellent summary of the city imo. You hit all the major high points but didn't sugar coat the not-so-good parts. I've enjoyed your content for some time now. Thanks for presenting my hometown in your usual thoughtful and balanced fashion. Cheers.
We didn't go to a great many places in Indianapolis, but we did enjoy walking around Broad Ripple and going to a great Indian restaurant there. I'm glad you're saying something about public transportation in the cities you're profiling.
Thanks for this! I'm originally from a small town nearish Fort Wayne, but lived in Indy a few years ago during college. The bus system was definitely not the best, but it was my bread and butter of getting around since I couldn't drive at the time and lived almost at the very north edge of town.
Having visited some of the less... tourist friendly areas, you do see a lot of rundown places, which in hindsight makes sense given that poverty rate. I used to take the bus to this international market on the west side of town and on the way there I distinctly remember areas feeling so rundown and almost like a ghost town in parts. Parking lots with weeds growing in the cracks, abandoned strip malls, and it felt like you could walk for 15 minutes and still be surrounded by nothing but liquor stores and payday lenders... And yet other areas like Castleton and Fountain Square and the downtown area were fantastic to walk around.
Also can confirm, the children's museum is as awesome as it looks! I also remember being just absolutely amazed by the Indiana World War Memorial - it's that huge building with lots of stairs sitting on the opposite side of the park from the public library. The inside is just gorgeous
I try to take all of my out of town guests to the Indiana World War Memorial. It really is incredible inside, yet many lifelong Hoosiers I know have never stepped foot there.
@@behard2 yeah, even having grown up in Indy I never really realized what that building was until now. This vid just makes me happy to be from here :)
@@behard2 Honestly, I only happened to go inside on pure accident... Me and a few friends were at Pride one summer and, on the verge of all of us getting heat stroke, we went inside. Two things I learned about the Indiana War Memorial that day: 1. it exists and is very much worth a look around, and 2. it has simply fantastic air conditioning
Lived in Indianapolis for about 25 years now and I say you’ve nailed it. Yeah, surprisingly Indy doesn’t have a whole lot of big name musicians for its size. We have Mark Battles - rapper, Haste the Day - metal, and lots of blues and jazz players
student here 👋
I personally love indianapolis. having lived in multiple large cities it really is accessible and safe.
This is crazy timing! I was there yesterday. I saw a movie and ate dinner at the Garage Hall in the Bottleworks District. Drove back to KC this morning.
That is a drive indeed. I did that but the other way coming from worlds of fun and silver dollar city
@@TanookiOshawott64 howdy fellow Survivor fan!
I used to always travel to St. Louis to get my city fix, but have switched to Indy in the last few years. I love flying out of their airport. Also HGTV chose the city for its 2021 Urban Oasis home giveaway. My husband and I went on the hunt for it last weekend.
Good overview of Indy and I appreciate the city reviews. Was disappointed you didn’t mention the different “cultural Paths” and Mass Ave (lots of gentrification, nightlife, local shops, bars, restaurants, and a renovated hotel that use to be a Coke Bottling plant)- but it’s hard to cover everything. Keep up the good work.
Yeah I definitely missed Mass Ave. But I'll be back in Indy the next time I drive to Detroit from TN. I'll check it out for sure.
@@GeographyKing if you do the Canal Walk again make sure to check out the 9/11 Memorial if you missed it. It has girders from the Twin Towers and the aesthetic mimics how those towers once dwarfed their surroundings. There’s also an eagle facing NYC on one of the girders.
Massachusetts Avenue is far more lively than Virginia Avenue
@@wmw3629 my thoughts exactly lmao I though for sure he was gonna talk about it right there
I wish there were more of these urban analysis videos. But I value how much you research and experience the city before talking about it. Keep it up man.
I like the song at the end!
Awesome video! I was born and raised in Indy and love that you enjoyed your time here :) also excited to see the shout out for SM Wolf!
Great video, Kyle! I've never been to Indianapolis, despite growing up in Ohio. I enjoyed the way you ended this video by playing music from a local band while showing images of some of the public art and sights. Happy New Year!
Thanks! Happy New Year!
This is perfect timing for me! I’ll be heading to Indianapolis this weekend for a certain football game on Monday so this is super helpful! Keep up the great work and Roll Tide!!
Make sure to check out Mass Ave near downtown. There’s a development called Bottleworks. He didn’t touch on it in the video but it’s actually the best part of downtown now
Great video, you more or less nailed it. Some other great places to check out around town are Long's Donuts, The Tamale Place, Steer Inn, Luna Records, Square Cat Vinyl, The Mousetrap, The Hi-Fi, and the NCAA Hall of Champions.
Hello, I am born and raised from Indianapolis and I enjoyed seeing my city and all the good spots to visit.
Love the video. Just a correction, FedEx Express's largest hub IS in Memphis as well as it's headquarters. Indy is it's 2nd largest hub.
Thank you for the correction.
Once they build the new sorting facility which they are currently working on at the airport, Indy will be be bigger than Memphis.
I went to college in Indy! I learned more about it in this video than I did living there for 4 years 😂 Thanks for this video!
Say, that doesn't look too shabby! One city I have never been to. Honestly though, Kyle, I'd probably watch a video of a rural outhouse tour if you made it. Thanks for all you do!!!
Good to view a positive video on Indianapolis!
Great video as always Kyle. Promoting a cool local band while showing those images was a really nice touch. Would be a cool signature way to end your videos, in my humble opinion.
I've tried to do just that in other videos, but TH-cam makes it difficult. Even with written permission from the artists, I often am not able to upload a video with music as TH-cam flags it as copyright infringement. There are workarounds but I'm not trying to stir the pot.
@@GeographyKing I hear ya, it's a shame and I am sure the bands aren't happy about the run-around you're getting for trying to do them a favour
Well hey. I was binge watching your stuff last night and I live in indianapolis
One other hipster neighborhood is along another diagonal street north of Virginia Avenue: Massachusetts Avenue or Mass Ave. It's even more developed and they recently converted an old Art Deco Coca Cola plant into a luxury hotel. It also connects downtown to the Monon Trail. Also used to have a great Jazz venue called The Metro, not sure if that's still around.
Kyle’s reviews make me want to visit those places. I hope there’s one about Las Vegas, we want to visit it soon.
Great video! You do an amazing job of highlighting the really interesting aspects of cities. Also, the mall looks really interesting!
Sadly, the mall was great the first 10 years. It’s gone totally downhill. Downtown retail is a total disappointment.
Kyle, your videos are always the highlight of the week.
My birthday was yesterday and I got the greatest present of all, a positive covid test. I’ve been bored out of my mind quarantining and unable to work. I opened youtube just to see if you had uploaded and you did!! Immediately brightened my day ❤️
Hope you feel better soon
Unbiased opinion about Indianapolis from a Californian that lived there: if you’re looking for overall quality of life, it’s actually an excellent city (especially for raising a family). Its Achilles heel is that it lacks the “wow” factor that comes with other major cities in the US
Add to everything already in the video, Brown County State Park isn’t too far south and it has great hiking, biking, and scenery.
Hey Kyle! Another awesome video! Never been to the Midwest US myself, but one day I'm gonna have to check it out. Please consider doing an urban analysis of Toronto!!
I haven't been to Toronto in many years, but I loved it when I visited.
I lived in Indy for 3 years a few years back. The best way I could describe it is that it has a smattering of pretty much everything you would want from a city its size, but not in a cohesive way. I found that there were a lot of traditional events, but if you didn't live there your whole life, you just wouldn't know about them and that can be a pretty non-inclusive environment. Most of the people I met there, who were longtime residents, will tell you that Indy had made a lot of progress in the previous 20 years. My impression was that it got stuck there. Socially it has an extremely rural attitude. It's like the city moved forward, but the people didn't know how to transition with it. I also wondered what "coming a long way" meant as pretty much anywhere you went felt run down. There really weren't a lot of areas I felt completely safe in.
That being said, I met quite a few good natured down to earth people who are quite content with where they are and what they have. "Who'd a thunk it?"
Irvington in October is really fun
South side has some good restaurants, shout out to Egg Roll Number 1 off of 465 and Emerson Ave, they have great pho and Hana Japanese Fusion Sushi & Grill off of Emerson Ave and Southport
Long's Bakery across town but also on Southport Rd, a great street to drive and the Mocha Nutt down the road, cute coffee shop with different selections.
Nicely done. Indianapolis is a well-kept secret, in my view. Friendly, clean and welcoming town. Vibrant downtown. Wide range of affordable housing options in the city and suburbs on all sides. Experiences all four seasons (not just the HEAT and humidity of where I’m writing from in the Deep South). Good airport. Easy access to Chicago and Louisville. Lots to like here.
I now really want to check out Indy. Great video!
Thank you!
Come on down and visit us in Indy.
Oh man I remember visiting the children's museum as a kid, it was awesome
Recently got an electric scooter and have been exploring around downtown more and also finding myself more and more curious about the design of it, so sought some videos out, glad I found yours, it's nice to see some attention on our little city.
Indianapolis had more scooter-riding than just about any city I've been to. The rental ones were all over the place
Was there last week, visited the speedway right before leaving town and got a flat tire 20 miles out of the town!
Still Indy is pretty lovely and sport is a pretty big thing there in terms of its reletive importance to the city, not only racing but amatuer sports as well!
It’s also where the ncaa is
I wish there were more safe areas closer to downtown without having to pay the gentrification prices. So many beautiful historic homes and neighborhoods have either been flipped to boring modern atrocities, or left to crumble and become condemned. I've been here my whole life, my parents actually met at the Slippery Noodle in the early 90s, and I work in the Broad Ripple village! I won't say where publicly but you probably walked by it when you were there, or maybe even stopped in! Also there was this great indie rock band from here called Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. I don't see myself in Indy forever because of a lot of its flaws, but videos like this remind me that there are still a lot of good things here.
Yeah I moved to indy a few years ago and had to move away from downtown (now I'm around the Eagle Creek Park, which is fun but also probably not my forever place) due to the price and crime. Saw a woman shove her mugger in front of a car (literally outside of my ground floor apartment windows), and a man get ganged up on and then thrown into a van right as I was about to enter the building (gave witness statements in both), with another incident of a woman and her daughter being carjacked behind the building, and an active shootout between drunk party guests in a different hall....after that I was like 1200 a month for an apartment is too much to deal with all this.
But honestly I felt much safer actually in the streets of downtown (especially around monument circle) than I did on the street in front of my downtown apartment. With all that, however, I did and still do love living here and especially the people I've met along the way.
Looking to try to hit Greenwood since a lot of the people I've met here reccommended it for someone who likes a quiet home life within reach of city lol.
I was born and raised in Indianapolis. This is a great video to showcase some of the key features of the city - great work! :)
The IMA is a fantastic art museum.
King Ribs has several locations; good BarBQ. Same with Hubbard and Cravens for coffee, with Sobro and Morning Sky being my favorite coffees of all time. Steer Inn near eastside Irvington is a good, unique diner. Nice craft brewery scene; FourDayRay and SunKing are two worth a mention.
Maintain situational awareness, cuz he wasnt lying about the high crime rates.
I've been to Indy twice and enjoyed both visits. It's one of those cities that doesn't seem as big as it actually is and is easy to get around. You covered most of what we did other than the zoo, which is pretty nice. The only negative we had was Indy is it is the only place I've tried White Castle and I thought it was pretty nasty.
Would love one of these for Cincinnati
I live in Speedway! You did a good job representing Indiana.
Thank you!
I grew up just 5 miles north of the track and spent a lot of time on the west side when I was younger. The Main Street is 100% improved and is such a lovely addition to Speedway.
@@GeographyKing good thing you didn’t mention the politics though. Ugh. 😆
Testament - The Legacy!!! That was a phenomenal debut album that really put them above most of the other thrash bands of the time. And they are still going strong. Oh yeah...and nice video on Indy. :)
Another great vid from Kyle. Cool song at the end.
Great video as always, also love the Testament album in the background 🤘
I really like that you closed with a feature of a local band rather than someone who had already gained national recognition. You should consider doing that more often.
Geography King + Indianapolis Content = 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩
I'm always interested in seeing what album you have on the wall behind you in your videos each time you post. I was a little surprised to see Legacy by Testament this week. Excellent choice. I wouldn't have guessed to be a thrash enthusiast.
Indianapolis is super nice! I’ll have to check out the downtown the next time I drive from my current state to my home state
Nicely done! You're dead on right with the pork tenderloins and sugar cream pie. The tenderloins have become an art form here.
I am from Indianapolis and I love me a good pork tenderloin and some sugar cream pie. yummy
Excellent video as always… And that’s my favorite Testament album.. The Legacy!
Awesome! Thank you from Speedway, IN!
I love the random record you put in the background and the record talk 👍👍👍
Excellent video, Kyle I grew up in southern Indiana and went to several concerts in Indy as a youth. My son is installing radon systems in Indy now. He has a camper way out off Washington street, almost to Plainfield. I bet walking Indy is pretty good it's alot flatter than my end of the state!
Kyle, can’t believe I missed you in my hometown! Loved the video and hope you enjoyed your visit!
Thank you, and I did enjoy the visit!
glad your talking about indy!
I really enjoyed this. Please do more reports like this for more cities.
I'll be doing these videos as a series kind of like the state geographic profile videos. Probably soon after I visited it to be as current as possible
Finally some love for my hometown…
I like how you did the local music video at the end with pics. Really cool idea for your videos!
I've lived here 20 years and thought that was an excellent overview! Our public transit struggles, but the recent bus rapid transit lines are a step in the right direction. Mass Ave. and other parts of the near eastside are worth a mention. Kurt Vonnegut! But I see you included a mural of him. The Zoo is a highlight and Salesforce is a major player, companywise. Just minor additions. Overall a very accurate portrayal.
The Red Line? LOL, what a joke.
Indy is a nice city. My dad and I attend the 500 every year and discover new parts of town every year!
At 7:51 Mark the Beautiful Large 🏠 Home is actually on Geist Reservoir on the North East side of the City. Note: Geist Reservoir stretches into Marion, Hamilton and Hancock Counties
The only time I've been to Indy was to see Phil 'n' Dylan (Phil Lesh & Friends and Bob Dylan), then a three-nighter by Phish at Deer Creek. That would have been summer tour, 2000, I believe. Good times, good times.
Deer Creek- that’s what the locals will still call it- LOL… Now it’s Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center… but it’s a great local venue for outdoor concerts- although technically I believe that’s in Noblesville (another suburb town)- Indy has lots of them these days…
Nice video! I really want to get back to Indy at some point. I spent some time there when I was in the army, at Fort Ben. The base was closed and has now been redeveloped; I believe there's a brewpub where the mess hall was once located.
That’s so cool! My dad lives just outside the entrance to the fort and I grew up going there all the time! It’s crazy for me to imagine it being a base at one point and not always a state park.
Next time, check out the World War Memorial building in Indianapolis. It is one the most impressive buildings I have ever seen. The inside is amazing as well. The music at the end is fabulous. Wish you can do more of that format.
Jazz Guitar Legend Wes Montgomery was from Indianapolis. He spent most of his career playing in small clubs around town there.
Hey Kyle great job exploring one of the best cities in U.S.--I've been to all the major ones. Sometime when in Indy check out the Eiteljorg Museum--outstanding repository of Native American and Western art in the Midwest. Also the Indianapolis Museum of Art is really underrated.
One thing to note about the "excluded cities" like Speedway and Lawrence, is that they are not, in fact, completely separate from the Indianapolis. Since Indianapolis and Marion County is a combined city-county, residents of an excluded city reside in two cities. They vote for the mayor of both, and their city-county representatives often represent portions of both the excluded city and the city-county. Taxes are handled on a county basis and shared between the excluded city and Indianapolis. "County" services are provided by the City of Indianapolis.
I'm in SW Michigan (you should visit sometime!) and I travel south a good deal and Indianapolis is just - in the way. So I paid extra careful attention to this video to see if there were any redeeming qualities that would lessen the hassle of avoiding the city altogether. With that said, I do hear from people who move there that they don't really like the place very much but after a few years though they still don't like it, they feel as part of it and find it hard to leave. It's got an unnameable draw once you're there. It wants to keep you. So, that's nice.
That’s a great song! I’m gonna look for it on Spotify
There’s tons of free outdoor concerts this weekend in Indy for the college football championship. It’s going to be great
I didn't know Indiana had a ban on light rail. The Southshore line from South Bend to Chicago must have been grandfathered in.
Yeah, it's wild to straight up ban it. It has so much potential if implemented properly.
The South Shore Line isn’t affected because the ban actually targets central Indiana specifically. The State government often acts adversarially towards Indy. Even the modest transit plan Indy is allowed to pursue has been constantly meddled with by the state.
The South Shore line is commuter rail, not light rail
video suggestion:
a ranking of state governor’s mansions (for the states that give governors their own houses)
You mean the ones they live in overseas? LOL
Yeah, that's a pretty good idea! 👍🏼😎✌🏼
You should do a state government website ranking, by accessibility or ease of use
Surprised to hear you mention Not Just Bikes and Streetfilms. It’s nice walkability is mentioned in the video. Greetings from the Netherlands, Europe.
I was born and raised there. People often overlook the amazing Jazz musicians that are from Indy - Wes Montgomery, Freddy Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, and Slide Hampton.
Cool cool sir very interesting. Thank you for sharing it with us today sir. God bless and your family and i hope you and your family have a Happy New Year.....🙏❤🙏❤🙏🙂😊🙂
Great video. Very well done.
TestAment!!! Kyle you are a bad ass
I like the band playing and the pictures at the end. Nice touch, Kyle.
Thank you!
Thanks for showing Nick's Kitchen when you were talkng about tenderloin sandwiches. It's located in Huntington, IN but is the originator and best.
Nice vid. I'm a new subscriber, but I knew I would enjoy this after watching a couple of others of Kyle's.
And Babyface might be more of a producer now, but he had quite a run as performer in the 80s/90s....
Hella informative! Super helpful stuff
I loved my years living in Indy.
I believe one of the northern suburbs has the most roundabouts per Capita of any city in the US, kinda interesting
It's Carmel. Some of the roundabouts of sculptures at the center. You should look up "Morning Sun" sometime. It's... something. They claim to have the most roundabouts of any city period, not just per capita. Imagine Eagleton from Parks & Rec, but with a mayor who has a weird obsession with roundabouts. That's Carmel.
Carmel is one of the best cities to live in.
Beautiful neighborhoods, dining, water park and linear parks.
As someone not from Carmel, by elsewhere in the Indy metro (Lawrence), I’m duty bound to dislike Carmel, particularly their singular, obscenely large high school of 5,400 students
We have family in Carmel and visit regularly. It's an awesome place to bicycle, especially along the Monon. My wife constantly complains about the roundabouts.
@@TanookiOshawott64 I lived in Carmel for five years and passed by that school many times. Just looking at it, it always gave me the vibe that it was the kind of brutal, overcompetitive academic environment common to a lot of wealthy neighborhoods (like those commonly associated with Silicon Valley) that produced a lot of burnt-out, and occasionally suicidal, students.
I was not surprised at all when students from Carmel High School appeared in "Race to Nowhere", a documentary covering these exact topics.
Indy is my 2nd home. And I will say, othef than Mass Ave and Castleton, you got everything else pretty spot on. They do also have a cool native American museum and art museum. The native American museum is right next door to the Indiana History Museum on the canal.