If you enjoy viewing holiday decorations and lights, make a night of driving past some of these extravagantly decorated homes, as voted on by Indianapolis Star readers.  For a cheap dose of Christmas spirit, pack the minivan with cookies, a thermos of hot chocolate and a passel of kids, then take a drive.

And if you want to enjoy looking at the lights and not at the road, several local limousine companies offer special packages for limo tours. Companies include: Carey Indiana Limousine, (317) 241-6700; Hoosier Connection Limousine, (317) 359-5466 and Advanced Limousines, (317) 716-1201.

This is by no means a definitive list, but it includes the most popular areas recommended by readers in an informal Indianapolis Star survey.

1. Village Farms, Westfield

This neighborhood has the cul-de-sac with the most nominations. There are more than 20,000 lights synced to music. It runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on weekends.
» Located north of 146th Street off Spring Mill Road. Turn right onto Greyhound Pass, and Senate is the first left.

2. Harrison Park, Fishers

The main street into the neighborhood has several lighted homes, but 8440 Harrison Parkway stands out with its lit penguins.
» Neighborhood is on the east side of Allisonville Road, just north of Conner Prairie.

3. Princeton Park, Fishers

Several homes on Eaton Court; the house on the corner of Salem Drive and Eaton Court also has lights timed to music.
» Neighborhood is north of 106th Street on Eller Road. Entrance to neighborhood is Manchester Drive; turn at the first left, and then right onto Salem Drive.

4. Broad Ripple, Indianapolis

» The home is on the southwest corner of Broad Ripple Avenue (62nd Street) and the entrance to Broad Ripple Park. The owners of this display have been known to give out hot cocoa and cookies to onlookers.
» Gladden Drive: The award-winning houses are at 6027 and 6065 Gladden Drive. Located north of Kessler Boulevard and east of Meridian Street.
» 55th and New Jersey streets.
» 45th and Delaware streets.

5. Oakforge Woods, Indianapolis

Cul-de-sac is decorated in a Christmas Village style and is said to be unique.
» Located at 6042 Maple Forge Circle. Neighborhood is on the southeast corner of 59th Street and Georgetown Road. Take Oakforge Lane or Oakforge Drive. They both will lead you back to Maple Forge Circle.

6. Woodcreek Farms, Avon

Cul-de-sac on Walnut Creek Crossing.
» Neighborhood is on the north side of County Road 200 North, west of Dan Jones Road. Head north onto Woodcreek Drive and turn left at the first intersection.

7. Pheasant Run, Southwest Indianapolis

This light display twinkles from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. For more information, go to www.indychristmas.com » The neighborhood is on the south side of Mills Road between Mann and High School roads. Turn south into the neighborhood and go to Alcott Lane; turn right onto Raritan Drive and then left on Lippan Way.

8. Oak Meadows, Greenwood

Several homes are decorated on both sides of Averitt Road.
» Averitt Road between Main Street and Smith Valley Road.

9. Bel Moore, Southeast Indianapolis

This display runs from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, go to www.southsidechristmas.com
» Neighborhood is on the south side of Stop 11 Road, just east of Five Points Road.

10. Hogan Drive, Cumberland

House is at 2131 Hogan Drive, which is on the north side of 21st Street, between Mitthoefer and German Church roads.

 Source:  IndyStar.com

Type:  Traditional

Age:   Built in 1895

Location:   Muncie, near the Ball State Campus

Square footage:  2352 square feet

Rooms:   This home is separated into two units and has a one-car detached garage.  Unit A has four bedrooms and two baths on two levels.  Unit B has one bedroom and a full kitchen. 

Details:  This house is a Ball State University investment property typically rented to BSU students.  The owner can rent both units out for a total gross income of $1725 per month with an investment under $75,000.  It is located on Riverside which is a main road through Ball State University.  Due to the close proximity to the university, this home could add some stability to your investment portfolio.

Price:  $75,000

Fishers and Carmel will have their community tree lightings this Saturday, the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Fishers:  6:30 to 8.p.m. Saturday. Town Hall, 1 Municipal Drive. Includes costumed Dickens carolers, music from the Fishers High School choirs and cookies and punch. Free. (317) 578-0700 or www.fisherschamber.com.

Carmel:  4:30 to 6:30.p.m. Saturday. 1 Civic Square. Lighting of the Giving Tree and holiday lights is at dusk or approximately 5:45 p.m. Jugglers, carolers, balloon artists, reindeer and other North Pole animals. Holiday entertainment provided by Clay Middle School Choir, Carmel Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet and Central Indiana Dance Ensemble. Refreshments provided by the CFD Auxiliary. First 400 children will receive goody bags. In event of rain, held at the Carmel Fire Department Headquarters Fire Bay. Bring unwrapped gifts, no plush toys, for the Gazebo Giving Tree. Free. (317) 571-2400.

Source:  IndyStar.com

Type:   Traditional

Age:   New Construction

Location:   161^st Street and Carey Road

Neighborhood:   Oak Manor offers a community pool and clubhouse.

Square footage:  5065 including 1720 in the finished basement

Rooms:  This four bedroom home has a main floor office, upstairs bonus room, finished walk-out basement with a full bath and room for a home theater, master suite with sitting room, pond views, and a three-car side-load garage.

Strengths:  This is a builder’s spec home that has never been lived in.  It is an attractive value and could not be rebuilt for the same price.  In my opinion, the property tax cap will help these suburban neighborhoods immensely and may improve the monthly payment by as much as $500. 

Challenges:  There are vacant lots in the neighborhood so a potential buyer will have to deal with future construction traffic.  The supply of area homes in this value range has forced builders to price homes aggressively.  Home resellers need to keep close tabs on the builder market to price their home competitively. 

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $495,000

Age:  Built in 2000

Location:  Fort Myers, Florida

Neighborhood:  Reflection Lakes is a modern gated community in south Fort Myers that offers tennis courts, a workout room, a community pool, clubhouse, and lake views.

Square footage: 2400 square feet

Rooms:  This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home has an open living area, tall ceilings, a lake view, pool, over-sized lanai, kitchen with granite counter tops, and paver driveway. 

Description:  This is an upscale south Fort Myers gated community with an abundance of amenities.  This house would have sold for $675,000-700,000 just a couple of years ago and is now listed at a bargain price.  Fort Myers is growing south and this home is in a prime location and only a 15-20 minute drive from the beach. 

Price:  $415,000

Type:   French Country  

 Age:  Built in 2002 

Location:  Near the intersection of Keystone and Main Street 

Neighborhood:  A quaint wooded community with 39 custom homes. 

Square footage: 3050 square feet with an additional 1845 square feet in the partially finished basement. 

Rooms:  This four-bedroom home has a main floor master suite with a view of the woods and creek and includes one of three fireplaces.  Two of the upstairs bedrooms share a Jack and Jill bath while the third is used as an office with French doors.  The partially finished basement walks out to the wooded lot.   

Description:  This bank-owned home, currently listed at $359,900, is a great deal for the buyer that is willing to deal with a repossession situation.  This home was modeled after an award winning design from the west coast and is conveniently located just down the street from Carmel High School and the new Arts and Design District with quick access to Keystone.  A wooded lot adjacent to a creek is a rare find, especially with a four-year-old property.  Similar lots without houses in Carmel have sold for over $150,000. 

Remember, with a bank-owned property, the bank will do little or no repairs to the house.  The reduction in price reflects the risk of purchasing the property.  Since there is more risk associated with the home itself, the purchase price for a bank-owned property should be lower than the purchase price of a privately owned home. 

“What parents need to look for are communities that have the resources to promote physical, social and cognitive development,” says Dr. Margo Napoletano, a San Diego-based psychologist with 20 years of experience specializing in children and their families. “This includes a strong school system that provides after-school programs.”

In Depth: America’s Best Places To Raise A Family

It’s qualities like these that landed Hamilton County atop Forbes’ list. Ozaukee County, Wis., and Johnson County, Kan. came in second and third. All earn high marks for their low cost of living, reasonably priced homes and short commute times. They also offer terrific schools, one of the most important characteristics to consider when choosing a place to raise a family

Behind The Numbers
Forbes’ rankings are skewed toward counties with good school districts. Using research provided by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group based in Washington, D.C., we started with a list of the nation’s counties with populations over 65,000. To eliminate under-funded school districts, we isolated 97 counties where more than half of per-pupil spending comes from property taxes.

Next, we knocked off all the counties with average SAT scores under 1,050 (math and verbal combined) or average ACT scores under 22, leaving us with 51 counties.

Raising a happy family requires more than just a good school system. With that in mind, we ranked the remaining counties using 10 data points: cost of living, graduation rate, standardized scores, home price, property tax rate as a percentage of median home price, percentage of homes occupied by owner, per-capita income, air quality, crime rate and commute time.

A long commute “can certainly contribute to stress on a family,” says Napoletano. “If you come home and the kids are already in bed, that detracts from family life, both psychologically and economically, especially considering today’s gas prices.”

Some of the most posh counties in the nation didn’t make the cut because their rankings were tainted by outrageous home prices or lengthy commutes. Westchester County, N.Y., home to ritzy enclaves like Chappaqua and Scarsdale, was sunk by a 31-minute average commute time and a median home price approaching $600,000. Fairfax County, Va., suffered a similar fate.

What do you think makes a good place to raise a family? And where? Weigh in. Post your thoughts in the Reader Comment section below.

Other swank suburbs made our list. Because of an outstanding school system and abundant employment opportunities, Marin County, Calif., cracked the top 20 despite a whopping median home price of $901,900. Montgomery County, Pa., famous for its sumptuous Main Line suburbs and the King of Prussia Mall, made the top 10 with solid scores across the board and a median home price less than a third of Marin’s.

There are, of course, scores of other, more personal factors to consider: political atmosphere, religious climate, proximity to friends and family, and community personality, to name a few. But don’t forget the obvious ones.

“Consider parks, consider recreation programs, consider shopping malls,” says Napoletano. “Teenagers love to hang out with their friends at shopping malls. That can promote social development too.”

Source:  Zack O’Malley Greenburg; Forbes.com http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/06/27/schools-places-family-forbeslife-cz_zg_0630realestate.html

Take this private tour of a $520,000 luxury home in Hamilton County near Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, and Noblesville, IN.  Whether you are just interested in viewing a luxury home or you are in the market to buy, please view the link below. 

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