I Choose Indy!

Returning to Indianapolis back in 1979 was fairly easy for my wife and me, but we did it with crossed fingers. We had both grown up in Indianapolis, but went to college in the Twin Cities and had spent a summer during law school at a clerkship in Chicago. But Indianapolis was still home and we regarded it as a comfortable, generally good place to start a family and build a practice. We recognized that the city didn’t have the panache or the excitement of other metropolitan areas, but we opted for the familiar…and have never regretted our decision. We’ve marveled over the years as the city has transformed itself from dowdy Naptown, with almost no activity downtown after dark to the vibrant, active city it has become. Indianapolis has been able to strike an enviable equilibrium by providing the advantages of major city life without sacrificing the easy friendliness and accessibility of the midwest. The city provides tremendous opportunities for young people to get as involved in civic, professional, and political activities as they wish, without having to navigate hierarchical bureaucracies or imposing old-boy networks. While Indianapolis is charmingly modest about its many advantages and accomplishments, it’s been interesting to note the subtle shift over the years in the perception others have of the city. We’ve shed the “Indy-a-no-place” moniker and developed a well-deserved reputation of being a safe, clean town with a lot going on. At the risk of sounding too much like a promotional brochure, we really do love this city.

–Dan Emerson