Notes from a Publisher: On Living in Anderson, Indiana
My, how time flies. I was thinking the other day that I've lived in Indiana longer than I lived in Cleveland, Ohio growing up. Does this make me a Hoosier?
I've been living in Anderson over eight months now, and I have to say I like my neighborhood and like the city. (Perhaps it's just that I lived in Elwood for three years - that's a story for another blog post someday maybe. Smile.)
I had coffee downtown today and at one point, the subject of the NY Times piece about Anderson came up - about Anderson being a "come back" city. I was asked why I thought that, what I pinned it on. To be honest, I didn't really have an answer. (Which brings up a side thought of finding out exactly how many jobs have been created in the last twelve months and what's coming up...)
For me personally, it's more of a feeling, I guess. And maybe it has to do with me moving here with the intent of it being "my city" for at least the next couple of years. That is, because I'm here, I want to have hope that Anderson is turning around. You do need action, not just talk of things getting better, but I really feel a vibe around the city, that it's in the process of making a lot of comeback. It's hard to pin it down.
Don't get me wrong, I realize there's a lot of work to be done. (I can't wait to see downtown Anderson as active as downtown Muncie - they really turned their downtown around over the last 12 years or so...) Maybe it's just that we're not going backwards that makes everything seem so positive? Or am I just interacting with a small group of people positive about Anderson and Madison County? Are there more who think we're heading in the wrong direction?
Anderson Indiana Positives:
- Parks
- Anderson University
- Casino
- I-69
- Rails
- Cost of living (compared to national)
- People
Needs Work in Anderson, Indiana:
- ACSC - Education
- Downtown Anderson
- Jobs - business
- New Sources of Revenue for the City
What are your thoughts? How long have you lived in Anderson? What do you like? What do you dislike? What do you wish was better? What would you do?
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I was born here and have lived here all but two years of my life. To be honest some days I hate it and some days I like it. I wish we had a mall that was comparable to the one in Muncie. More jobs to keep our kids from moving away would be nice. It would be nice if we didn't have all of the drama associated with our schools. I would like to see someone come up with a "hook" that would create activity downtown. I'm hoping someone will step up and capitalize on the casino and the horse track by developing entertainment venues along Charles street. Not everyone likes to gamble and this could provide entertainment for those who don't. This might anger some people but I feel Anderson needs a culture change. This isn't the Anderson of the past we need to think outside the box in order to improve our schools,attract new jobs,and to give folks a reason to move to Anderson.
“I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.”
You mean you would like to see a "little Indy" here?
Why not already have the "little 500" ;)
You mean you would like to see a "little Indy" here?
Why not already have the "little 500" ;)
Not really a "little Indy". I just think Anderson needs to establish it's own identity. This could be a difficult task since we are so close to Indianapolis.
“I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.”
I went to dinner with friends this weekend in Noblesville. The entire town square was filled with people eating at the various restaurants or just window shopping. Would be nice if there was something like that in downtown Anderson.
It has been tried, yet everything that seems to go in downtown also seems to fail. Why is that exactly? Bad management, bad planning by the city, lack of interest?
There are a million reasons not to do something, you just need to find the one reason to do it.
It's that way in Pendleton, too. We lose businesses every year and we're a lot smaller than Anderson.
“If you treat an individual as he is, he will stay as he is; but if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Hamilton County has never been out of the highest six group".
K-Rock, Not to be cynical of Madison/Anderson because I am now here....
Hamilton Counties Wealth is probably one of the factors here..
I chose several years ago to purchase a home in Anderson, I did purchase a home for a comparatively less $ amount (half the cost) than I had in Hamilton County. Although, now I am paying a much higher Property tax rate for much less of a home than I had before. I've been told it is because of the loss of businesses in/around Madison county and the residents have to make that amount up..
I'm a 40+ year Hamilton County Resident.."Noblesville" now transplanted to Anderson because of (not blaming her) Momma_Mayhem... She was from Delaware County.."Muncie". The drive for me and time, was becoming to expensive/time consuming with high gas prices/hours it took to drive it almost daily...
Madison County "Anderson" was the middle ground for us to move to so, neither one of us or the children would be to far away from childrens Grandmothers/Families, it is around 30-35 minutes for either one of us..in each direction....
Home prices have plummeted for all Americans but, I am still paying for what I feel is, an outrageous Property tax for what is offered in/around Anderson/Madison County as compared to what my families from Hamilton County are paying receiving..
Anderson was built around the GM plants, incomes were high at one time, it now could be considered a poor community, they are trying and time will tell, they can return somehow, just how though is the question..
This could be part of why Anderson down town has not been able to come close/compare to Noblesville area down town..
Found This report was from back in 2000...
They studied Indiana Counties for 30 years.. results are below..
http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2000/fall00/01.pdf.The disparity of PCPI among Indiana counties has been growing over the years.
The six wealthiest counties in 1969 (Hamilton, Porter, Elkhart, Allen, Bartholomew, and Marion) averaged a PCPI of $15,614.
The six poorest counties (Owen, Crawford, Jennings, Switzerland, Martin, and Perry) averaged just $10,294 in the same year. The difference was more than $5,300. By 1998 this differential had grown to $13,100. Where the average citizen in the poorest counties in 1969 had 66 cents for each dollar enjoyed by residents of the wealthiest counties, that ratio had fallen to just 56 cents per dollar in 1998..
The fact is that the poor stay poor and the rich stay rich. How many times each county has been in either the highest or the lowest six counties over the 30 year period 1969 to 1998.
"Hamilton County has never been out of the highest six group".
Boone and Marion counties were in that atmosphere 20 or more times. In early 1970s, years of exceptional prosperity for farmers, Benton and Carroll made the elite list. When a power plant was under construction and coal prices boomed in the same era (due to high petroleum prices) Pike joined the top six for one year.
Less fortunate have been Crawford and Switzerland which have never escaped the lowest six counties on the list. Owen has been among the lowest income counties in 28 of the 30 years.
Eleven of the 16 counties on the list of lowest PCPI are in southern Indiana..
It is not length of life, but depth of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
How a Man plays the game shows something of his character
How he loses shows all of it..
I went to dinner with friends this weekend in Noblesville. The entire town square was filled with people eating at the various restaurants or just window shopping. Would be nice if there was something like that in downtown Anderson.
It has been tried, yet everything that seems to go in downtown also seems to fail. Why is that exactly? Bad management, bad planning by the city, lack of interest?
Some of the businesses that have opened and closed in the past few years have had poorly trained employees, lack of enthusiasm, bad or no management. Example-supposed coffee house that opened on 9th St behind former Star China-that could have been a great business-but, it had a few groceries, no sandwiches, coffee or really much seating. Each time I went in there woman was sitting at table and on cell phone. Lots of folks from Court House would have patronized them but they really had nothing to offer.
Kolache shop another bust-nice product-except they wanted to nuke and then by the time you got back to office they were like rocks. Those folks could not even make change and they were not kids.
SCORE has folks that will come and talk to you and help you with a business plan. Think that folks have good ideas but cannot or do not follow thru and get help that they need.
The value of persistent prayer is not that he will hear us . . . but that we will finally hear him. —William McGill