I'm considering a move to Columbus, IN to retire. Does anyone have any relevant information? I'm looking for a small, suburban community with low traffic areas for walking and biking, and less vehicle traffic for better access to highways for motorcycling. Any information on pistol ranges would be welcome, too. I already know the concealed carry laws are very, I hesitate to say, liberal. Also the availability of a single floor house is a big plus. I've always liked the general area, and I have grandchildren in West Lafayette and Louisville, Columbus nicely splits the difference and keeps me in conservative country, although not really the South. Thanks!

Home of Tony Stewart. Close to John Mellencamp home in Seymour. It is the South according to others in the Midwest who consider anything south of Indy the Deep South. Four season climate. Close to Indianapolis. Lived in Indiana for four years, though close to Michigan border. Decent healthcare in Indianapolis. Not a bad choice.

As a Purdue student, I dated a gal from Columbus. Surprisingly a beautiful city with many buildings designed by famous architects (eg Frank Lloyd Wright).

Unfortunately, I haven't been a Purdue student in 2 decades and can't offer any modern insights.

It is pretty quiet there. Used to spend a few weeks there every year for military training at nearby Camp Atterbury.

Im a former resident, and the city is only getting better. Cummins engines rules that town, and it really makes this small town seem more cosmopolitan than you might think. I lived in a place called Tipton lakes, that would have everything you mention:

http://www.tiptonlakes.com/

I just looked, and it seems a home just a few down for mine, is for sale... Gives you some idea of what you can expect, plus a whole lot more closer to the lake. Pretty good price for 4BR/3.5 baths, just like my place:

Tipton Lakes Home

Not a ranch, but Columbus has plenty of them, and so might Tipton Lakes. Forgot to mention this whole area is a bikers dream! I used to ride the Hoosier National Forest roads outside of Seymour/Brownstown (135), and just outside of Columbus, you have beautiful roads(46) heading toward Nashville and Gnaw Bone IN... Great Fall riding for sure.

I used to shoot pistols at a place called "Ceraland". It's a recreational park for Cummins employees, but anyone could shoot there with a paid card. http://www.ceraland.org/

Please email me if you have any questions about Columbus.

http://atterburyshootingcomplex.com/
Nice range but I don't care to drive from INDY down 65 to get there. Some Meth problems in the area just south of it. We are looking to move but it will be westward. Hating Indianapolis South side. Columbus is not far enough away.

Good Luck

You won't find anything as cool as Red River Gorge but those Indiana hills nearby are rural as Kentuckys and Brown County fall color is world famous. In general Indiana has it going on thanks to years of republican leadership. Thank God for Mitch Daniels. Pence was a good governor, too. Shall issue gun permits and lifetime permits are available. We don't get the perk of bypassing the ncis phone call on a transfer like the Ky permit does.

You already know college basketball crazy but Columbus is only 30-40 miles from IU Bloomington and hoosiers are nuts for basketball. High school ball is big too. Gun shows about every w-end within 100 miles. Not sure about ranges but Ingo.com is a good Indiana gun forum and full of information. Speed trap potential on I-65 any place but especially from the river to Henryville about 20 mile north. Troopers drive pickups and mustangs to blend in and they will light you up for 10 over. Pills and heroin are a major problem in small towns. Austin is infamous for aids/drug epidemic. Lot of killings and thuggery in Indy so get plenty of local guidance.

I'm in the southern end and forever we've been the red headed step child to the Indianapolis elites. But the sun don't shine on the same dog's butt all the time.

Fed Gov kept 1000s of acres, hundreds of sq miles as Charlestown ammunition factory during WWII. After Nam it got mothballed and just set rusting for about 40 years. Around 2005 the land was opened for industry and the I-65/I-71/I-64 east end bridge was built completing the loop around Louisville this year. This bridge is huge for shipping. Lets eastbound freight totally bypass the old spagetti junction mess in downtown Louisville. Couple that with an expanded Ohio River shipping port and you have a perfect storm for business explosion.

Real estate is so hot the realtors announce a listing a couple weeks in advance of when they will accept offers. They hold a 2 day open house and often show 20 times and get several offers. A friend sold a good subdivision house for 10 k over ask.

River port is state of the art so we've got the grain barges and several steel fabricators. Amazon built a monster distribution center and the peripheral businesses that follow them are substantial. The bridge opens up into the ritziest of east Louisville blue blood country real estate and now we mongrel heathen hoosiers are just a few miles away.

Thanks guys. I just realized I've been thru Columbus about 100 times. I recognized the beautiful red bridge (2nd street, I think) when I ran it up on the internet. I used to drive up to West Lafayette to see my daughter. I'll have to set up a weekend there soon.

I grew up in Greensburg, which is about 20 miles east of Columbus. It has some great architecture throughout the town. The downtown has a mix of small town shops and Cummins Engine offices. Cummins engine is head quartered in Columbus and has expained in the past few years.

There are some great motorcycle roads to the west of Columbus near Brown County State park, but this is coming from a person that has lived in mostly flat Indiana and Ohio all of my life.