The Krishnayyas

My wife, Meghan and I closed on our home from Martindale on the Monon in January 2008, so we’ve been residents of this area for approximately six months.  Although the “honeymoon” period is coming to a close, we can unequivocally say that our decision to build our home here was one of the best decisions of our lives.

Let me explain the basis for that statement.  First, a little about us:  Meghan and I both went to Purdue University.  She graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and I with a degree in genetics and biochemistry.  We ended up moving to Chicago where I went to law school and Meghan worked for a chemical processing facility and then moved on to environmental consulting.  After having worked as an attorney in the Chicagoland area for some years, always in the public interest sector, I decided to join an LL.M. program in international human rights at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.  Meghan has continued to address environmental issues by helping major corporations implement sustainability programs to make them good stewards of the environment.  It’s like being married to Al Gore, only Meghan is better looking (in my mind anyway). 

When I arrived in Indianapolis last year, neither one of us had any intentions of permanently settling in Indianapolis.  But one day while attending class I met a future Martindale resident, Julien.  Julien was in the process of designing his home.  What struck me was the flexibility of the floor plans and how simple the process seemed for Julien.  So Julien and I would spend our Saturday class periods mulling over the Martindale website and the different floorplans and at times paying attention in class.  Also realize that at that time, Chicago was starting to feel the pinch of the “mortgage meltdown” so Meghan and I hadn’t really given much thought to purchasing a home, let alone moving from our suburb.  But as the year passed, we grew to love Indianapolis.  There will always be a soft-spot in our hearts for Chicago but the practicalities of living in the suburbs of Chicago are becoming anything but.  So we decided to explore what Martindale had to offer.

It is no overstatement to say that after our first meeting, we left wondering whether “developers” could be that nice.  What was the scam and ploy?!  Now granted, I’m an attorney so I’m always sniffing for the “angles.”  The truth is, there are no angles.  At our first meeting, we met Cindy Higbee and Dani Bauman.  Our two main concerns were: (1) what exactly is the process for buying a home in the area (read, how much do we write a check for and when), and (2) what about the issues of gentrification?  Having seen Chicago’s rapid development, we were keenly aware of the problems associated with people feeling “pushed out” in order to make way for yuppies like us trying to live closer to the city.

We were assured that no such plan was in place.  At a subsequent meeting, Mike Higbee showed us a map of the plots owned by the Martindale Brightwood, LLC.  He pointed out how each plot had been abandoned or had an absentee landlord.  They also took us on repeated drives throughout the neighborhood.  What struck us was that as we would cruise the streets, between Mike and Cindy, they could name most of the residents and seemed to know something about each one of them.  Furthermore, we kept hearing about plans to rebuild the neighborhood and it was not just fluff, a developer trying to clinch the deal.  The reality is that since we’ve moved in, the Higbees have been instrumental in converting an old abandoned warehouse into a charter school.  There are plans to build work-life studios for artists and yes, there may even be room for a couple of attorneys.

This idealism about community matched our own.  Meghan and I are at a point where we want to expand our family and we wanted to be part of a community, not just another house in another suburb.  Six months later, that is exactly what we have.  We have bonded with our neighbors and have taken opportunities to get involved.  And for people who want their children to learn about the diversity of living in a community, this is the place to be.

More practically, what makes living here a wonderful choice is how close we are to all the different places and activities that give life to a city.  We’ve enjoyed hiking down the Monon Trail and riding our bikes into the city.  The added benefit being that with the cost of gas, we’ve actually saved on our costs because we don’t need to drive as much as before.  Consider that in light of the fact that every time we wanted to go to downtown Chicago, we were looking at an hour-fifteen, minimum, each way, if we were lucky.  Now, we can ride the bus, walk, or ride our bikes.  Plus we’ve discovered some of the museums and parks, which are very accessible.

But we would be remiss if we did not mention our builders, Main Street Homes run by Eric and Michelle Withem.  Having more than overcome the taint about “developers” with the Higbees, after signing on the dotted line, we were worried about the actual building process.  We thought our blissful trip in selecting a lot and learning neighborhood development would soon turn south.    We each had our own personal experiences, through our families, with how horrible the building process could be.  We learned that promises about what could be done were, essentially, meant to be broken.  Not so with Main Street Homes.  Actually, very much to the contrary.  I would challenge anyone to find a better builder. 

They worked with us at every stage and were very accessible.  To satisfy the “Al Gore” in both of us, we requested energy efficiency utilities, such as a dual-fuel furnace and tankless water heater, and received great assistance in finding the appropriate appliances and making these modifications to our house design.  Everything we wanted was incorporated in our house.  Every call, if not answered immediately, would be returned within the hour.  Every question answered to our satisfaction.  We do not see the Withems as our builders anymore but count them as our near and dear friends.

If I’ve painted a rosy picture about building a home with Martindale on the Monon, the Higbees, and the Withems, it’s because it is.  Every rose, however, has a few thorns and it would be lie to say that everything has been 100 percent problem free.  It hasn’t but the truth is that in purchasing our home here we gained way more than we could have imagined.  It is evident for us when we come back from traveling and we open that front door and feel like we’ve come home.  We truly now understand the difference between having a house and having a home