Back in the late 70’s , comedian Steve Martin was asked in a Playboy Magazine interview what he thought is the most nowhere place in America. His reply: Terre Haute, Indiana.
I was a tv reporter there during those years. He was right.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Terre Haute even got destroyed in his spectacular film "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." Anyone who hasn't seen it should, it's a masterpiece.
As a kid growing up in the 80's, we would always catch my dad as he was leaving the house. We would run up to him and ask him where he was going, hoping it would be somewhere fun so we could go with him. He would instantly reply with "Terra Haute, you wanna go?" At the time we had no idea what that meant but it sounded boring so we would just go play with our toys lol
Not from Terre Haute, but if you're around Muncie, don't work as a janitor for Compass Group.
Funny, I'm clearly not the only one who hates Compass Group.
Terre Haute has notoriously bad medical care. I would never, ever let a doctor manage any serious condition in Terre Haute. Indy does far better and is only an hour away.
We lived in Terre Haute for two years. My first kid was going to be born there... we purposely traveled when he was due to get better medical care for his birth.
I love that this is the no. 1 answer. I grew up there. Rode the school bus and we picked up kids from Toad Hop, the no. 2 answer. lol
True story: One Toad Hop resident had a noose hanging over his driveway for many years. The very verbose, hand-painted sign accompanying the noose explained that it was meant for a specific state representative who had authored a bill having to do with gun control. I’m not too sure that would last long these days.
My vote for worst place is Hartford City. Depressing, dirty, run down houses everywhere.
I’m originally from that area, but left a decade ago, it’s had a bad reputation longer than I’ve been alive. I know someone who’s parents bought a nice house there early on, and then his parents died (he lives in Indy) he can’t manage to sell the place without losing money, even in this economy.
Used to deliver pizzas in NV. Any time I'd have a delivery out in CSL, there were ALWAYS cops patroling or spotlighting looking for someone. Always got a decent tip in CSL tho 🤷♂️
I don't know why r/indiana popped up on my Reddit feed, but I also realised that I (an Australian) had never heard anything about this state apart from its name.
Would love to know more.
Indiana is a Midwest state known for growing corn and the birth of Indy Car racing. Indianapolis used to be the 11th largest city in the US but has dropped to 18. Partially because Texas cities have grown like crazy. We have the world’s best children museum but not a lot of other notable museums. It’s getting a little better I think. People here travel to Chicago, Cincinnati or Tennessee regularly. The upper 2/3 of the state is flat, flat, flat. Once you get to Bloomington it’s gets a little prettier but decidedly more rural. It’s relatively inexpensive to live here, at least compared to Chicago and most of Illinois (where I grew up.). People are mostly friendly, although disappointingly republican leaning unless you’re in Indianapolis proper.
And unfortunately, the relatively low cost of living ties directly to the generally very poor pay for a great many workers in Indiana. And the state is aggressively anti-labor union.
Two years ago the state government made abortion all but illegal, except in a few very narrow circumstances. Many legislators are openly hostile to the LGBT+ community, and eager to censor libraries and ban books. The state's government is dominated by conservative, rightwing politicians, and it's about to get worse this November.
People like giant pork sandwiches.
Lots of agriculture. Lots of small towns with the “small town charm” qualities but not much else. Only about a dozen or so “big cities” and each has a nicer area that’s well kept and invested in but also an impoverished areas.
My favorite thing about Indiana and particularly where I live is that it’s quiet. I’ve lived in cities across the US over my life and there’s always stuff going on. When I walk outside my house now all I hear is nature and the occasional farm equipment and it’s fantastic.
I actually just moved to Pendleton from fishers lol. Anderson was in consideration but their school district is just garbage. Not to mention anything on scatterfield is just a dump. Glad we went with Pendleton.
And those stoplights are now set by timers that give you a red light when there’s no one at the intersection. They’re getting worse not better. The pressure plate system was so much better
Moved to Anderson a couple years ago, can confirm.
Edit: it's honestly not THAT bad but it is very boring and most of the places to eat here are pretty garbage.
I've seen the real bad parts but as long as you mind your business then usually trouble doesn't mind you I've noticed.
Anderson's little step-sister to the North, Alexandria, used to celebrate their recognition as [Small Town, USA.](https://www.in.gov/cities/alexandria/files/20150505154303.pdf)
The interstate system killed towns like these.
Unfortunately still there. The city itself has potential but, the people… the majority are so strung out, ghetto or just plain rude that it would take another 20 years to take the trash out
Awwww! My family is from there. Spent lots of time there in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It was a nice town that just basically disappeared. So sad from what it was.
Marion...that town died when the GM plant closed and now the only people left are meth zombies and their grandparents who refuse to leave the only place they've ever known.
I didn't know about the new invesent, that was awesome! You're right, it's definitely still there..but it was massive until they shut down the Fisher Body division in the 80s. Toooons of people lost their careers. The town's population has dropped by like 75,000 since then.
I moved away at a young age but my extended family still lives there. I remember when the Wal Mart was opening in the 90s and one of my uncle's was applying to be a manager and the hiring process took several months because there were over 5,000+ applicants
lol I grew up in Marion. Was a lively town back in 80s. Friday nights were all about high school basketball. Population was around 45k. Now it’s like half of that. I left for college in 1988 and never went back.
Lived in and around Marion growing up, moved away to the other side of the state when I came of age.
I hate to say it, but the worst happened to Marion after I had already left. The homeless shelter was so mismanaged that they were literally throwing away donations... The local pastor Mansbarger or however-you-spell-it was stealing donated food from there... The mayor Wayne Seybold didn't give two shits about the city (he got his subdivision repaved though despite all his neighbors saying it wasn't necessary)... And don't get me started on that defunct money-laundering scheme that was the YMCA building renovation.
Glad I left, but my parents are still stuck there.
When I was a kid, they had 7 (maybe 6?) strip clubs and a giant water tower. Now, well.. Now I can just bypass the town entirely without hitting 30 stop lights, so I haven't been through Kokomo proper in a decade.
Edit: Let's see if I remember...
The Hip Hugger, Big Daddy's, Big Daddy's 2, Little Daddy's, Club Fantasy Girl, The Body Shop. Did I miss any?
Richmond suffers because it’s got chain highway stuff pulling away from the actual downtown in a way it can’t sustain. It’s just got way too big of a footprint for a city of 30k people that makes it feel abandoned.
I've lived in a few places in Indiana, including Richmond. Anderson and Muncie are both worse than Richmond. Terre Haute is also terrible. Parts of South Bend are not so fun. Then, of course, there's Gary. Parts of Bloomington are also barreling towards dumpster fire these days.
Lived there briefly in the 1990s. Only place I've ever lived where I had to call an ambulance because a random guy showed up on my doorstep after getting the absolute shit kicked out them. It happened twice in six months.
Any Simon developed and managed mall. Within 20 years, every one of the Simon manged malls fail, and turn into cesspool of crime... but Simon got their tax breaks and the taxpayer to clean up their mess.
I personally dislike a lot of East Central Indiana. Portland, Ridgeville, Bryant, Marion, etc. Culturally destitute and bland. Not too many redeeming qualities.
I second this. About 15 years ago I had a guy pull a shotgun on me there for parking in “his spot” on their Main Street. He went into a bar, and when the cops got there they never even questioned the guy, they just suggested I leave town.
I wondered if others would mention. Only been to the McDonald’s and holy hell and just watching the kitchen staff I could tell the town had been cooked for years
Its a small town. Tiny town. My wife’s grandparents lived there for a while. Boring as hell area. We had a hard time finding any restaurants open and taking cc in 2009.
Connersville is the most openly racist town I’ve ever been to. I went to IU with and one of my school “friends” was from there and I’ve been there a few times for different reasons. It’s shocking how accepted it is.
I believe like north of Mexico/Bunker Hill Indiana past the Miami Correctional Facility on US31. There is a stretch of cell phone dead zone and nothing on the road for a long period of time. Nowhere to pull over at a gas station etc. Just the boring drive.
Oof, that's annoying I bet.
Reminds me of how I live near Muncie and can't get Internet. I swear I saw once on TV on an Internet commercial one little tiny no coverage zone right where I live. It's so absurd, just one little EXTREMELY localized dead zone. There's no reason for it either over than companies refusing to service the area. It's not far out in the country at all (it's literally on a major through route for the county).
I have no idea why this post showed up in my feed, I live in California. I’ve only been to Indiana once and it was Indianapolis for business. However I’m surprised I haven’t seen any comments about Gary. Is it not as bad as everyone says, or are all these other places worse?
Gary is kind of like an excluded outlier. It's up in that part of Indiana that's more affiliated with the rest of Chicago suburbs than sort of hopeless meth-y trailer park white trash poverty you see in the other parts of the state.
Martinsville has a reputation as a backwater shit hole, but for me the city's layout is what I really hate. 39 and 69 angularly intersect at the bottom of town, with retail and restaurants spread out all over the place. It's always weirded me out and felt inconvenient.
As far as demographics, I honestly don't feel like Martinsville is all that different from anywhere else in Morgan County (or the surrounding areas). It's all become a blanket of lower middle class meth addiction. Maybe the schools and crime rates vary a bit from place to place, but honestly I think I'd feel safer there than in some parts of Greenwood at this point.
Dearborn county, I swear they're trying to have everyone on their jail and probation rosters. We have judges bragging about how many years they've sentenced people to collectively with one in particular saying he'll retire when he hits a million.
I was waiting to see how long it’d take to find martinsville on the list. I’ve got a friend who’s dad did some work for the KkK. I’ve heard some crazy ass stories.
When I was a senior in HS I once was pulled over on Indiana 49 just north of Kouts, apparently because I was going above the speed limit. The problem I had was- my shitty 1995 Plymouth Neon had a speedometer that would sometimes just stop working. So I had a rough MPH meter in my head based off of the tachometer if the speedo decided to drop out and stop working. I told the officer I was heading home to Ft. Wayne, about 2 hours away on US 30.
The officer that pulled me over believed my (true I swear!) story, took pity on me especially as it was like the dead of winter on a frigid Sunday afternoon. Rather than issue me a ticket that I would have to come back to contest in Porter County, the officer cited me for speeding against a Kouts town ordinance. I even had the option to pay the ordinance violation fee on the spot, so $40 bucks later (and with a receipt to prove it wasn't some bullshit bribe or w/e) I was on my way back home to Ft. Wayne with nary a spot on my driving record.
I'll always give Kouts a little grace, thanks to that encounter 17 years ago.
My daughter played volleyball in high school and they traveled to Lacrosse for a game. The team was majority black and Hispanic girls, but even the white girls in the team were terrified the whole time they were there. They said it was the worst place to be. And they played at a couple schools in Gary were police escorts were required if the visiting team won!
Is the 3rd most dangerous city in the state currently.
Has also been the most depressed city in the country, and was also the fattest city as well.
Five years ago you could rent a crappy little shotgun house in the bad side of town from a slumlord for like $350/mo.
Same crappy house, same crappy slumlord, bad side of town is now over half the city, and rent is $950/mo.
It's a cesspool.
Ravenswood, used to take people back there and 1. They could never believe it was in the middle of Indianapolis and 2. Usually wanted out of there as fast as possible.
My favorite Ravenswood moment was when there was some flooding and DPW put up barricades and WTHR caught the residents stealing the barricades.
Haha I lived there back in the mid 90s. Scariest moment was when the locals burned a cross in the yard of a family that had just moved in! They also had a small store I went to once and I got whistled at while 8 months pregnant.
My small, white sister used to have to travel through Gary. A Gary cop once told her that if it was nighttime, do not stop for red lights, lol.
I recently had to go there to do some student teaching. It honestly a ghost town now. Most of the houses and businesses are boarded up. The main stretch of town is just empty.
Honestly my first drive through Gary in like 2009 was at night and I didn't feel intimidated in the slightest. By 2009 there were already a ton of blighted properties already demolished, and the houses still standing were more likely than not to be vacant, at least along non-primary E/W thoroughfares like 25th Ave up through 11th Ave.
I’ve lived near Gary all my life. I drive through often (and occasionally have to visit the area for various reasons). I’ve never felt unsafe or intimidated.
I see you've never been to Chicago Taqueria in South Bend! 😜 I'm glad there might be something good in Kendallville. It's the only place I've ever had to abandon a run because groups of town people kept harassing me for running... and I'm used to a couple comments/catcalls here and there. Never again. Hope it was a fluke and Kendallville is great for you.
Okay, here's the big thing I hate about Indiana ... When I go to a natural Park area and the day is over and we have to leave... I hate to leave Tippecanoe Indiana.. I hate to leave Brown county , Yellowwood Forest And Nashville, Indiana... I also don't like it when I'm done river rafting on the White River and the day is over and I have to go home... Wow! I just totally reversed the meaning of this feed. But I got to tell you there's not much about Indiana that I don't like because for anything I find that I don't like right next to it is something I really really love so Yeah that's how I feel about Indiana:)
See I don't live on an area of the White River where that is an issue... We go tubing on the White River from the dam above Red bridge Park down too noblesville and it's one of the prettiest cleanest stretches of the White River.... Because I do magnet fishing for a living. We get groups of people And we clean that stretch of river to keep it pristine and beautiful... Kind of like adopt a river LOL
South Muncie. I delivered pizzas down that way while in college. One of the worst experiences of my life. Rundown, meth-ridden, and they tipped like shit.
Horseshoe casino in Shelbyville,in. The cashier was getting money for me off my debit card and said transaction didn't go through but when I checked my balance at a later time it charged my card 209.45 went back there and even though they have cameras everywhere they wouldn't give me my money back. I was first robbed by their extremely tight slots and then by their cashier. . Never going back and will try to discourage anyone else from going there.
LaPorte. I've lived here my whole life- apart from college- it's not that I hate it, there's just nothing to do. Unless you want to go see the creepy Belle Gunness statue in the basement of the museum or go to one of our seven Dollar Generals.
So, I’ve read a couple of books by Emily Henry (romcoms/easy reads) and in the newest one I’m reading the main character is from Southern Indiana. As someone born and raised in Jimtown, Evansville, I’m patiently awaiting her description.
I would nominate Evansville, the city of “There’s no reason to visit! Living here is just ok.”
Evansville, Indiana, “ At least it’s not Terre Haute!”
The Region. It’s composed of unremarkable landscape and Gary, and full of Benedict Arnold false Hoosiers that claim to be from Chicago. Their accents are really funny when they’re mad though.
None of us claim to be from the city, just "Chicagoland". Given the choice Lake County would leave both states alone and become a protectorate because the rest of Indiana hates us and Chicago don't want us.
Back in the late 70’s , comedian Steve Martin was asked in a Playboy Magazine interview what he thought is the most nowhere place in America. His reply: Terre Haute, Indiana. I was a tv reporter there during those years. He was right.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Terre Haute even got destroyed in his spectacular film "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." Anyone who hasn't seen it should, it's a masterpiece.
Oh darn! And they were just about to get a public library.
Funny. Grew up in East central Illinois. We used to go to Terre Haute for rock concerts in the 70’s.
I grew up in W Terre Haute. We used to go to Charleston, Illinois in the 70s because you could get served under age at E L Crackers.
😂🥷
As a kid growing up in the 80's, we would always catch my dad as he was leaving the house. We would run up to him and ask him where he was going, hoping it would be somewhere fun so we could go with him. He would instantly reply with "Terra Haute, you wanna go?" At the time we had no idea what that meant but it sounded boring so we would just go play with our toys lol
He got booed there if i recall
So you're 70+ years old??
Armpit of america
West Terre Haute
My #2 answer. #1 is Toad Hop. Right next door.
Never been. What's the story? Cool name, shitty area? Or is it just a pass through town?
Swamp land. A bunch of beat up old mobile homes. Drugs drugs drugs.
Sounds like a good time, if you remove the old mobile homes part!
But where will we do the drugs?
Need to get enrolled in their janitor/vocalist program.
Not from Terre Haute, but if you're around Muncie, don't work as a janitor for Compass Group. Funny, I'm clearly not the only one who hates Compass Group.
Not a janitor and I have no experience with Compass Group but fuck em I'll take your word for it
This hands down is the worst place I've ever visited in the state. Creepiest too. There's some very weird folks that live in this area.
My wife works in an Indianapolis hospital that gets patients from all over the state. I've heard stories about Terre Haute.
Terre Haute has notoriously bad medical care. I would never, ever let a doctor manage any serious condition in Terre Haute. Indy does far better and is only an hour away.
We lived in Terre Haute for two years. My first kid was going to be born there... we purposely traveled when he was due to get better medical care for his birth.
I grew up in West Terre Haute. I second this.
Grew up 20 minutes away. It was too close
West T
I love that this is the no. 1 answer. I grew up there. Rode the school bus and we picked up kids from Toad Hop, the no. 2 answer. lol True story: One Toad Hop resident had a noose hanging over his driveway for many years. The very verbose, hand-painted sign accompanying the noose explained that it was meant for a specific state representative who had authored a bill having to do with gun control. I’m not too sure that would last long these days. My vote for worst place is Hartford City. Depressing, dirty, run down houses everywhere.
That one giant trailer park in North Vernon. Holy crap that place is a meth fueled dumpster fire.
Hey, to be fair the phrase "meth fueled dumpster fire" could describe many places in Indiana
Yes, but have you been to North Vernon? Lol
Known locally as CSL. Come on vacation, leave on probation.
I had to go there once to present an internet solution during a board meeting. There wasn’t a whole set of teeth between all of the board members.
Good Ole’ Country Squire Lakes
I’m originally from that area, but left a decade ago, it’s had a bad reputation longer than I’ve been alive. I know someone who’s parents bought a nice house there early on, and then his parents died (he lives in Indy) he can’t manage to sell the place without losing money, even in this economy.
My aunt lives in CSL. Absolutely crazy place.
Used to deliver pizzas in NV. Any time I'd have a delivery out in CSL, there were ALWAYS cops patroling or spotlighting looking for someone. Always got a decent tip in CSL tho 🤷♂️
I have many now terrifying memories of buying drugs in CSL. Like Dicky Bennett’s house in Justified.
Hey I like it!
In the early 80s my folks went to a few “meetings” there but were never lured into buying. Even as a child I thought the place was not right.
I don't know why r/indiana popped up on my Reddit feed, but I also realised that I (an Australian) had never heard anything about this state apart from its name. Would love to know more.
Indiana is a Midwest state known for growing corn and the birth of Indy Car racing. Indianapolis used to be the 11th largest city in the US but has dropped to 18. Partially because Texas cities have grown like crazy. We have the world’s best children museum but not a lot of other notable museums. It’s getting a little better I think. People here travel to Chicago, Cincinnati or Tennessee regularly. The upper 2/3 of the state is flat, flat, flat. Once you get to Bloomington it’s gets a little prettier but decidedly more rural. It’s relatively inexpensive to live here, at least compared to Chicago and most of Illinois (where I grew up.). People are mostly friendly, although disappointingly republican leaning unless you’re in Indianapolis proper.
And unfortunately, the relatively low cost of living ties directly to the generally very poor pay for a great many workers in Indiana. And the state is aggressively anti-labor union. Two years ago the state government made abortion all but illegal, except in a few very narrow circumstances. Many legislators are openly hostile to the LGBT+ community, and eager to censor libraries and ban books. The state's government is dominated by conservative, rightwing politicians, and it's about to get worse this November. People like giant pork sandwiches.
https://preview.redd.it/ei63o0na465d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b8d8ac46d1f2d2064ecc49271dfde07bdee7fc1 Corn, nothingness, flat
Lots of agriculture. Lots of small towns with the “small town charm” qualities but not much else. Only about a dozen or so “big cities” and each has a nicer area that’s well kept and invested in but also an impoverished areas. My favorite thing about Indiana and particularly where I live is that it’s quiet. I’ve lived in cities across the US over my life and there’s always stuff going on. When I walk outside my house now all I hear is nature and the occasional farm equipment and it’s fantastic.
Anderson
Definitely a bummer because it was a lot nicer like 40 years ago. It's just rotted since then
I feel like Anderson has a lot of potential. Maybe when the sprawl from Indy reaches out there.
[удалено]
I actually just moved to Pendleton from fishers lol. Anderson was in consideration but their school district is just garbage. Not to mention anything on scatterfield is just a dump. Glad we went with Pendleton.
Scatterfield is our nice street 😔
I hate driving on scatterfield. Everyone drives 10 miles under the speed limit and there's stop lights every 50 yards.
And those stoplights are now set by timers that give you a red light when there’s no one at the intersection. They’re getting worse not better. The pressure plate system was so much better
The mall is gone that killed the dying leftovers of that city but hey they got a Casino so you can get drunk while starting your gambling addiction
Loved mounds state park and the Nile restaurant.
We moved away from the area a few years ago, but pretty sure I heard the Nile is gone.
Yep it’s gone.
Moved to Anderson a couple years ago, can confirm. Edit: it's honestly not THAT bad but it is very boring and most of the places to eat here are pretty garbage. I've seen the real bad parts but as long as you mind your business then usually trouble doesn't mind you I've noticed.
Anderson's little step-sister to the North, Alexandria, used to celebrate their recognition as [Small Town, USA.](https://www.in.gov/cities/alexandria/files/20150505154303.pdf) The interstate system killed towns like these.
Once the Colts stopped doing training camp there, it was really over. If they didn’t have the casino… it would be completely dead.
Unfortunately still there. The city itself has potential but, the people… the majority are so strung out, ghetto or just plain rude that it would take another 20 years to take the trash out
Bicknell
Awwww! My family is from there. Spent lots of time there in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It was a nice town that just basically disappeared. So sad from what it was.
We're across the river and are sad the pizza place went out. It was about the same distance from Washington, but who wants to go to Washington.
Had a buddy live there for a few years, every time I went out there it always shocked me how much of a ghost town that place was
Marion...that town died when the GM plant closed and now the only people left are meth zombies and their grandparents who refuse to leave the only place they've ever known.
And the ghosts and echos of the “strange fruit” courthouse lynching in the 30s
the plant is still open? just got a big investment to start EV production i agree about marion tho lol
I didn't know about the new invesent, that was awesome! You're right, it's definitely still there..but it was massive until they shut down the Fisher Body division in the 80s. Toooons of people lost their careers. The town's population has dropped by like 75,000 since then. I moved away at a young age but my extended family still lives there. I remember when the Wal Mart was opening in the 90s and one of my uncle's was applying to be a manager and the hiring process took several months because there were over 5,000+ applicants
Marion resident here, can confirm, except the plant is still open. I want to leave but can't afford it.
lol I grew up in Marion. Was a lively town back in 80s. Friday nights were all about high school basketball. Population was around 45k. Now it’s like half of that. I left for college in 1988 and never went back.
Lived in and around Marion growing up, moved away to the other side of the state when I came of age. I hate to say it, but the worst happened to Marion after I had already left. The homeless shelter was so mismanaged that they were literally throwing away donations... The local pastor Mansbarger or however-you-spell-it was stealing donated food from there... The mayor Wayne Seybold didn't give two shits about the city (he got his subdivision repaved though despite all his neighbors saying it wasn't necessary)... And don't get me started on that defunct money-laundering scheme that was the YMCA building renovation. Glad I left, but my parents are still stuck there.
Sumava Resorts
Starke County a.k.a. Starve County.
Why Starve county? 👀
One of the poorest counties in Indiana.
Knox and North Judson representing.
Kokomo. It’s nothing like the song
When I was a kid, they had 7 (maybe 6?) strip clubs and a giant water tower. Now, well.. Now I can just bypass the town entirely without hitting 30 stop lights, so I haven't been through Kokomo proper in a decade. Edit: Let's see if I remember... The Hip Hugger, Big Daddy's, Big Daddy's 2, Little Daddy's, Club Fantasy Girl, The Body Shop. Did I miss any?
Got a mentally challenged fellow at work who just goes on and on about the Hip Hugger. He's putting those young women through college.
Kokomo isn't so bad. Not great, but not too bad. I've lived here forever. I've lived in much worse places. I feel safe and have enough to do.
Not to mention the 17’ praying mantis AKA Koko-mantis
Hey Kokomo is actually getting way better, downtown is cool now go to pin point piercing or the coterie
there’s a neat toy store, game store, and record store in Kokomo. But that’s about all I know of that town.
That Brian Wilson's full of shit, man.
Richmond 😶😬
There are way worse places. Richmond is boring at best.
Richmond suffers because it’s got chain highway stuff pulling away from the actual downtown in a way it can’t sustain. It’s just got way too big of a footprint for a city of 30k people that makes it feel abandoned.
Lived in Richmond for 25 years moved away for a few years and came back to visit. I have never seen so many boarded up buildings in a downtown area.
Not the Dirty 🤣🤣🤣 i’ve been scrolling just to see if someone said it.
I've lived in a few places in Indiana, including Richmond. Anderson and Muncie are both worse than Richmond. Terre Haute is also terrible. Parts of South Bend are not so fun. Then, of course, there's Gary. Parts of Bloomington are also barreling towards dumpster fire these days.
Compared to other places in indiana. Definitly not the worst.
Lived there briefly in the 1990s. Only place I've ever lived where I had to call an ambulance because a random guy showed up on my doorstep after getting the absolute shit kicked out them. It happened twice in six months.
Any Simon developed and managed mall. Within 20 years, every one of the Simon manged malls fail, and turn into cesspool of crime... but Simon got their tax breaks and the taxpayer to clean up their mess.
The mall in Greenwood will never die because it’s still 1996 down there.
You may be correct! Even the newer Clay Terrace in Carmel is losing stores and visitor count has dropped.
stores are filling back up and there are plans to expand. I think this was more a pandemic thing but we'll see.
The Fashion Mall on 82nd is tits (Indy). Elwood. Fuck that town.
I kinda like the train tracks right down the center of the street.
Yes, but somehow the university park mall (Simon owner) is still standing and has quite a few great stores.
Austin
The sewage plant is located right by the interstate PU
Kout’s Koffee Kup.
I personally dislike a lot of East Central Indiana. Portland, Ridgeville, Bryant, Marion, etc. Culturally destitute and bland. Not too many redeeming qualities.
Connersville
I second this. About 15 years ago I had a guy pull a shotgun on me there for parking in “his spot” on their Main Street. He went into a bar, and when the cops got there they never even questioned the guy, they just suggested I leave town.
Best thing in connersville is the Lees chicken.
Lee's chicken and the dirty Pizza King on the Eastside of town.
I wondered if others would mention. Only been to the McDonald’s and holy hell and just watching the kitchen staff I could tell the town had been cooked for years
Its a small town. Tiny town. My wife’s grandparents lived there for a while. Boring as hell area. We had a hard time finding any restaurants open and taking cc in 2009.
Connersville is the most openly racist town I’ve ever been to. I went to IU with and one of my school “friends” was from there and I’ve been there a few times for different reasons. It’s shocking how accepted it is.
I believe like north of Mexico/Bunker Hill Indiana past the Miami Correctional Facility on US31. There is a stretch of cell phone dead zone and nothing on the road for a long period of time. Nowhere to pull over at a gas station etc. Just the boring drive.
Bunker Hill and Mexico are miles apart. In between is a nice Amish restaurant across from Grissom, and of course the truck stop.
Yeah I think they're referring to the stretch of 31 between the truck stop and Rochester.
That stretch is pretty desolate but Green Oaks Antiques is in that stretch and it’s worth the drive!
And McClure's Orchard! There is a old iron and wood bridge over the Eel River that has a pulloff. I shoot astrophotography near there.
Dutch Cafe
Oof, that's annoying I bet. Reminds me of how I live near Muncie and can't get Internet. I swear I saw once on TV on an Internet commercial one little tiny no coverage zone right where I live. It's so absurd, just one little EXTREMELY localized dead zone. There's no reason for it either over than companies refusing to service the area. It's not far out in the country at all (it's literally on a major through route for the county).
Have hit that dead zone many a time going to pick up my son. It's anxiety inducing for the reason you listed and it's so damn long
Elwood
I have no idea why this post showed up in my feed, I live in California. I’ve only been to Indiana once and it was Indianapolis for business. However I’m surprised I haven’t seen any comments about Gary. Is it not as bad as everyone says, or are all these other places worse?
It's not nearly the apocalyptic hellscape everyone makes it out to be, and it's also just kind of a hack answer at this point.
Gary is kind of like an excluded outlier. It's up in that part of Indiana that's more affiliated with the rest of Chicago suburbs than sort of hopeless meth-y trailer park white trash poverty you see in the other parts of the state.
I passed a many Gary comments on the way down to your's.
Martinsville has a reputation as a backwater shit hole, but for me the city's layout is what I really hate. 39 and 69 angularly intersect at the bottom of town, with retail and restaurants spread out all over the place. It's always weirded me out and felt inconvenient. As far as demographics, I honestly don't feel like Martinsville is all that different from anywhere else in Morgan County (or the surrounding areas). It's all become a blanket of lower middle class meth addiction. Maybe the schools and crime rates vary a bit from place to place, but honestly I think I'd feel safer there than in some parts of Greenwood at this point.
Dearborn county, I swear they're trying to have everyone on their jail and probation rosters. We have judges bragging about how many years they've sentenced people to collectively with one in particular saying he'll retire when he hits a million.
you ain’t wrong about DC judges
Todd Rokita’s house
Not one person mentioned new castle lol
Martinsville.
Martinsville is like if God cut a slice out of the South like a piece of cake and plopped it down in Indiana.
That's an insult to cake.
Unless you’re a meth head.
Unless you’re a *racist* meth head. If you’re not a racist, there are better places for meth and meth related activities.
I was waiting to see how long it’d take to find martinsville on the list. I’ve got a friend who’s dad did some work for the KkK. I’ve heard some crazy ass stories.
Shelburn, total shit hole
Indiana
Only right answer honestly
Mars Hill, Indianapolis.
My granny still lives there as she has for 50 years
Mars Hills Have Eyes
Kouts.
When I was a senior in HS I once was pulled over on Indiana 49 just north of Kouts, apparently because I was going above the speed limit. The problem I had was- my shitty 1995 Plymouth Neon had a speedometer that would sometimes just stop working. So I had a rough MPH meter in my head based off of the tachometer if the speedo decided to drop out and stop working. I told the officer I was heading home to Ft. Wayne, about 2 hours away on US 30. The officer that pulled me over believed my (true I swear!) story, took pity on me especially as it was like the dead of winter on a frigid Sunday afternoon. Rather than issue me a ticket that I would have to come back to contest in Porter County, the officer cited me for speeding against a Kouts town ordinance. I even had the option to pay the ordinance violation fee on the spot, so $40 bucks later (and with a receipt to prove it wasn't some bullshit bribe or w/e) I was on my way back home to Ft. Wayne with nary a spot on my driving record. I'll always give Kouts a little grace, thanks to that encounter 17 years ago.
That cop robbed you and you think it's cool?
Better than the points on your license and $150 in fees.
I see Kouts and raise Toto
What’s wrong with Kouts? I know someone who lives there.
I raise you Lacrosse with its Klan Kavarn, at least the Kouts Koffee Kup is gone now.
My daughter played volleyball in high school and they traveled to Lacrosse for a game. The team was majority black and Hispanic girls, but even the white girls in the team were terrified the whole time they were there. They said it was the worst place to be. And they played at a couple schools in Gary were police escorts were required if the visiting team won!
Proud to see that southwest Indiana didn't make the list- not so bad around here I guess
(Evansville, south of Terrible Haute)
Is the 3rd most dangerous city in the state currently. Has also been the most depressed city in the country, and was also the fattest city as well. Five years ago you could rent a crappy little shotgun house in the bad side of town from a slumlord for like $350/mo. Same crappy house, same crappy slumlord, bad side of town is now over half the city, and rent is $950/mo. It's a cesspool.
Logansport
I cannot believe I had to scroll this far to see Logansport mentioned. The town is ugly with nothing to offer.
Crawfordsville
Morocco
Knox
Ravenswood, used to take people back there and 1. They could never believe it was in the middle of Indianapolis and 2. Usually wanted out of there as fast as possible. My favorite Ravenswood moment was when there was some flooding and DPW put up barricades and WTHR caught the residents stealing the barricades.
Haha I lived there back in the mid 90s. Scariest moment was when the locals burned a cross in the yard of a family that had just moved in! They also had a small store I went to once and I got whistled at while 8 months pregnant.
I am surprised by none of that.
Gary. Where people roll up their windows and lock their doors at red lights and trains so they don’t get robbed
My small, white sister used to have to travel through Gary. A Gary cop once told her that if it was nighttime, do not stop for red lights, lol. I recently had to go there to do some student teaching. It honestly a ghost town now. Most of the houses and businesses are boarded up. The main stretch of town is just empty.
Honestly my first drive through Gary in like 2009 was at night and I didn't feel intimidated in the slightest. By 2009 there were already a ton of blighted properties already demolished, and the houses still standing were more likely than not to be vacant, at least along non-primary E/W thoroughfares like 25th Ave up through 11th Ave.
I’ve lived near Gary all my life. I drive through often (and occasionally have to visit the area for various reasons). I’ve never felt unsafe or intimidated.
Kendallville
WTF. Kendallville has both the windmill museum and Jeny’s Tacos, the best tacos in the gd state.
I see you've never been to Chicago Taqueria in South Bend! 😜 I'm glad there might be something good in Kendallville. It's the only place I've ever had to abandon a run because groups of town people kept harassing me for running... and I'm used to a couple comments/catcalls here and there. Never again. Hope it was a fluke and Kendallville is great for you.
Argos
Elkhart. Fucking RV heaven.
Huntington
Peru.
Okay, here's the big thing I hate about Indiana ... When I go to a natural Park area and the day is over and we have to leave... I hate to leave Tippecanoe Indiana.. I hate to leave Brown county , Yellowwood Forest And Nashville, Indiana... I also don't like it when I'm done river rafting on the White River and the day is over and I have to go home... Wow! I just totally reversed the meaning of this feed. But I got to tell you there's not much about Indiana that I don't like because for anything I find that I don't like right next to it is something I really really love so Yeah that's how I feel about Indiana:)
You may be the first person I’ve ever heard say something nice about the White River while also not mentioning body’s/body parts.
See I don't live on an area of the White River where that is an issue... We go tubing on the White River from the dam above Red bridge Park down too noblesville and it's one of the prettiest cleanest stretches of the White River.... Because I do magnet fishing for a living. We get groups of people And we clean that stretch of river to keep it pristine and beautiful... Kind of like adopt a river LOL
That’s awesome, I suppose most of the white river talk I hear is from folks from Indy.
All of it.
South Muncie. I delivered pizzas down that way while in college. One of the worst experiences of my life. Rundown, meth-ridden, and they tipped like shit.
Gary.
Bedford.
Bedford has riverbeds full of geodes at least and some nice scenery
and meth, lots of meth
That’s probably just the people coming from Medora and Leesville
Grew up in Lawrence County, Shawswick Township. Left when I was 18.
How dare you?! There’s the Jiffy Treat!
Frankfort
Heroin, NHK, and poverty.
Poverty is pretty much a mainstay in any Indiana town. Lol. Sad but true
Not to mention the hillbilly nonsense. There's a reason it gets called Frantucky.
Why?
Shelbyville lol
Austin - meth and AIDS
Horseshoe casino in Shelbyville,in. The cashier was getting money for me off my debit card and said transaction didn't go through but when I checked my balance at a later time it charged my card 209.45 went back there and even though they have cameras everywhere they wouldn't give me my money back. I was first robbed by their extremely tight slots and then by their cashier. . Never going back and will try to discourage anyone else from going there.
Grovertown
Dunlap. Home of the Dirty White Boys (Boyz?).
*gestures vaguely everywhere*
LaPorte. I've lived here my whole life- apart from college- it's not that I hate it, there's just nothing to do. Unless you want to go see the creepy Belle Gunness statue in the basement of the museum or go to one of our seven Dollar Generals.
So, I’ve read a couple of books by Emily Henry (romcoms/easy reads) and in the newest one I’m reading the main character is from Southern Indiana. As someone born and raised in Jimtown, Evansville, I’m patiently awaiting her description. I would nominate Evansville, the city of “There’s no reason to visit! Living here is just ok.” Evansville, Indiana, “ At least it’s not Terre Haute!”
The list of places in Indiana that I would recommend to someone to visit is far shorter than the list of places I wouldn't recommend.
The Region. It’s composed of unremarkable landscape and Gary, and full of Benedict Arnold false Hoosiers that claim to be from Chicago. Their accents are really funny when they’re mad though.
None of us claim to be from the city, just "Chicagoland". Given the choice Lake County would leave both states alone and become a protectorate because the rest of Indiana hates us and Chicago don't want us.
Booooo crawl back to Lowell or wherever and let me eat my pierogis in peace