Hamilton County Offers Value For Retirees

For anyone on the fence considering retirement, I would highly recommend it.

As I have mentioned before, seeing our son more than a handful of times per year entered into my wife and I choosing to move to Noblesville. That said, it was only one of many reasons.

Hamilton County remains in the top tier of any place to live in the country. Thus far, I have experienced little to defy that claim. It still ranks high among national affordability when considering all factors of housing, taxes and day-to-day cost of living.

Not wanting to lecture but just stating fact, think your taxes are high here? They aren’t compared to your western neighbor where my property taxes were twice the amount that I pay now and I was two hours outside of Chicago. Got a lot less in return there versus here as well.

Also, I am not saying Greater Indianapolis is void of problems because it’s not. Everyone who has been here much longer than me pretty much knows what those are; but the good more than outweighs the bad in my humble opinion.

From a person who no longer has to worry about the Monday through Friday rat race, this area provides everything we were looking for in our Golden Years.

My wife and I were never snowbirds and we still like to experience the seasons’ change.

As my better half likes to say, “we are simple people” (maybe even boring) and don’t need a lot to make us content and happy.

A happy retirement for us is sleeping in from time to time, taking long walks at Dillon Park, eating lunch and dinner out at some surprisingly good local eateries and visiting the great farmer’s markets that put the one’s in central Illinois to utter shame.

We haven’t taken in the day or early evening train rides yet from Noblesville but plan on it. Hamilton County and Greater Indy are ” festival central” with something it seems going on every weekend. Potters Bridge is already on my wife’s annual calendar for the foreseeable future. Summer camp for the Colts in Westfield is only weeks away and a short trip down Route 32.

For just me, my favorite fishing hole is only a short drive or a three block hike from my house and Morse Reservoir is less than a four-dollar drive if I choose.

Free summer and early fall concerts are everywhere it seems, to say nothing of the first class outdoor and indoor entertainment facilities in Noblesville and Carmel that would have required a hour drive in a previous life.

Indianapolis is within an hour or less to experience about anything you want and IMS is great to watch all types of racing without 300,000 others if you pick the right days and times. I’m also no longer investing what use to be a six hours on the interstate to see anything at 16th and Georgetown, but call me spoiled now.

Community fathers must know that more like me are coming as housing for us retirement types is on the rise in the county. Westfield, Noblesville and Fishers are developing more in retirement housing and that as they say “ain’t all bad.”

Even though retirees don’t work 40 to 60 hours anymore, they tend to be a plus for any community.

Some of us tend to get bored, so we make great and dependable part-time employees and bring lots of life experiences to any gig.

Look around and you will see the 60- plus crowd volunteering at hospitals, food and clothing banks, schools, driving a bus, taking the elderly to the doctor or various other appointments.

Speaking of doctors, one at IU Health probably saved my life less than one year ago by properly diagnosing a condition that had been missed in Illinois.

Besides just me, retirees keep pharmacies and doctors’ offices busy. We are one of the reasons that CVS and Walgreens seem to have a facility every two blocks in Hamilton County, so our demographic keeps that part of the local economy humming.

Granted, you’ll still have to listen to us complain and hold up lines over a dispute on any price whether it be at the grocery or drug store even over a few cents. We’ll also be the ones making you wait for a seat at your favorite weekend breakfast haunt because our group has been drinking coffee since 7 a.m. and we refuse to be in a hurry.

On the plus side, we never will cause a major problem that requires a call to local law enforcement, unless it’s over a dispute at the BINGO game.

For our few faults, be tolerant of us. We really love living here and appreciate everything central Indiana affords us.

Life really couldn’t be better. You appreciate the things here that add to the quality of life for everyone.

Go Noblesville! Go Hamilton County!

– Rick Nolan is retired and moved to Noblesville from Illinois. He has a background in the newspaper world and has worked in news, sports and business.