Indiana

Where else but in Indiana can you take part in one of the nation's premiere sporting events - the Indianapolis 500 - take a tour of the country's largest concentration of covered bridges, and swim with dolphins. Only in Indiana can you be called a Hoosier, the nickname for people who live in Indiana, and which once described someone born and raised in the state. Although stories of the exact meaning for the term "Hoosier" vary from historians to politicians, today the term is loosely used to describe anyone who lives in Indiana, and is the name for Indiana University's sports teams.

Indiana, located in the Midwest or America's "Heartland," has so much to offer families today and is often referred to as one of the most livable places in America. Indiana has something for everyone. For the sports fanatic, Indiana offers two major football teams, the college football Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. If football is not your interest, you can race on foot in the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon or cheer on the drivers that zip around the racetrack during the Indy 500. Rowing in the International World Rowing Championships, kite flying in the Indiana State Fair Balloon Race and the Senior PGA golf tournament are also part of Indiana's sporting culture.

Moving to Indiana can be an unexpected treat for children. Families can visit the nation's first goldfish farm, visit the animals at Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, one of the nation's top 10 zoos, or they can visit Santa Claus -- that is, the town of Santa Claus, IN, which receives millions of letters with Christmas wishes each year. When in Indiana you can choose from more than one dozen festivals. There's the Circus City Festival, Elkhart Jazz Festival, Wakarusa Bluegrass Festival, and the Three Rivers Festival to name just a few.

Indiana has a large arts community especially in Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana. Several times a year you can take a "gallery walk" through downtown Lafayette visiting more than a dozen different art galleries which feature work from Indiana residents and internationally known artists.

If the countryside and the simple life is what you are seeking then north-central Indiana is the place for you. Elkhart County, IN and LaGrange, IN has a heavy population of Amish people (roughly 20,000 according to Indiana real estate statistics) who share their crafts, woodworking and crops at roadside stands.

Well known Hoosiers include Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, James Dean, Florence Henderson, Larry Bird, David Letterman, and John Mellencamp.

Indiana History

Indiana's capital, Indianapolis, is at the heart of Indiana. As a bustling manufacturing hub in the early 1800s Indianapolis was nicknamed Crossroads of America for its railroads and today the nickname still holds true because of the seven interstate highways that now run through or around the city. In the mid 1900s Indianapolis saw a major decline in manufacturing - the same decline that was sweeping cities across the nation. The state fought back economically by bringing in new forms of businesses including insurance businesses and pharmaceutical companies. One pharmaceutical giant which still has a strong presence in Indiana is Eli Lilly and Company. Eli Lilly and other businesses today make manufacturing the number one industry in the state followed closely by education, social services and health care.

Indiana Real Estate and Demographics

Indiana Real Estate is not expecting a huge shift in its housing market. Indiana's real estate market is expected to stay steady and not see a huge drop in prices or a weakened demand for real estate compared to the rest of the nation. Construction of new homes, however, is expected to slow down as builders continue to sell from their existing inventory of homes.

While home prices range in Indiana based on the region, Central Indiana's real estate prices are higher than most other areas of the state. Boone, Brown, Hamilton, and Hendrix were some of Indiana's 92 counties where housing is considered to be too expensive for the average police officer, school teacher, and firefighter who work in those same counties. Home prices in those counties range from $100,000 to $200,000 but are considered unaffordable to many residents due to local wages and incomes being relatively modest compared to other areas of the country. Still, Indiana has one of the highest rates of owner-occupied housing in the country. Indiana, which has a population of 6.7 million as of 2006, ranks number seven in terms of the rate of home ownership, with 72 percent of occupied homes being occupied by their owners. In addition, less than 10 percent of all Indiana families live below poverty level. Indiana's median household income was $60,383 in 2005.

The state of Indiana, through the Indiana Housing Finance Authority, a state bank, provides financing for residential mortgages and the development of rental housing. The state bank also provides down payment assistants and low interest rate mortgages.

Indiana Education

Education begins early in Indiana. The state has developed a program called Building Bright Beginnings which is an umbrella organization formed to promote development of children birth to age five. The program is based on the notion that a child begins learning at birth and that parents are a child's first teacher.

Eighty-two percent of adults in Indiana have high school diploma, which is higher than the national rate of 80 percent. However, only 19.4 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher which is five percentage points below the United States average. Still, Indiana offers a number of schools of higher education including 21 colleges, 22 universities and four seminaries.