Indianapolis: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

LKLyudmila Kovalevamila_kovaleva · Oct 15, 2011Read

On the morning of June 30th, we woke up around 10 AM and headed straight to the Port Authority. We found a supermarket there, bought some cookies and mineral water, since their other food didn't really inspire much confidence in us) Our departure was at 3 PM, so we had plenty of time, but nothing to do, and we were carrying luggage too. As luck would have it, there were no benches or chairs anywhere... though Americans don't really worry about that; they can sit anywhere: on the steps, on the grass, and even on the floor! Getting tired, Aseka decided not to worry either and settled on the floor near an outlet to charge her phone. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but then I sat down next to her too... well, we had to get used to American life) Around 2:20 PM, we headed off to find our gate (the gate where our bus was waiting). At 2:40 PM, boarding for the bus began. Well, what can I say, they were just regular buses... except for the unreal cold from the air conditioners. These Americans are strange; they'd rather be cold than hot. It's a good thing I had heard about these 'climatic conditions' on the bus beforehand, so I put on a bunch of clothes and made Aselya do the same. Our first destination was Baltimore... then Rs Midway, Pittsburg, Columbus, Dayton Trot, Indianapolis, Garlingston, Burlington, Des Moines, Blumington, Omaha, Cheyenne, Lexington, Brush, Casper, Lovell, and a bunch of other towns we passed through. In almost every one of these cities, we had to transfer to other buses. Of course, spending 3 days on a bus isn't easy, but I would do it again without hesitation! After all, while we were traveling, I saw so many cute towns and buildings... basically, we drove across half of America! We ate cookies for all 3 days because our bodies simply rejected that artificial American food. On the buses and at the stations themselves, we saw a lot of strange people (believe me, you wouldn't see that back home). What I found funniest was how many guys (particularly African Americans) prefer to wear their pants so low that half of their backside is on display (in their underwear, of course)) We also met two nice Americans around 35 years old on the way, one of whom offered me a drink (probably so I'd sleep better)) And as we were approaching Wyoming, we met a charming Spaniard who taught me a few phrases in his language... To my great disappointment, he was heading to Montana (a state located just past Wyoming). Our last stop before Cody was the town of Lovell. There, a small bus picked us up... the fact that the only passengers were me and Aseka, honestly, made me a bit nervous... only one thought was spinning in my head: 'God, what kind of hole am I taking us to! Aselya is going to kill me!'

AAlexsadus · Oct 18, 2010Read

As you may have noticed, I'm late with the blog update because so much has happened and I haven't had the time, or rather, nowhere to write =( I apologize. Business trip! Today I got a call from work telling me to get ready for a 3-day trip to Stamford and to bring my driver's license!!! A Russian professor and his wife are moving from there to Chicago. Note* the thought of brain drain abroad crossed my mind…. We took this route to Stamford: Chicago – Indianapolis – Columbus – Cleveland, then to Stamford through the state of Pennsylvania. On the way back, I was entrusted with the car! The one we used to get to the base where we picked up the truck, which is in Indianapolis. Highways in the USA are very good, but let's not forget how much it costs taxpayers! For the whole trip, we spent about $200 on highways!!! And I can add that there are also alternative roads similar to our highways =D I mean with one lane, not with potholes and other nastiness. And by the way, there are very few cars on these roads, so if you want to save some money and see nature, take the non-highway routes. Along the way, I noticed a lot of traveling retirees, there are whole buses full of them! I'm posting photos of the landscapes and everything we saw along the way. J Having safely arrived in Stamford and loaded the truck to the brim, we were about to leave, but the professor asked us to stop by his son's place on the way to pick up a TV. I didn't like this idea at all! Still, we fulfilled his request. And upon arriving in Chicago, when we unloaded all the things and furniture, picking up the TV we discovered…..oooooooooo…fuck! The screen was cracked!!! The price of the TV is $1300, and for this job, we were paid $2200 - gas - lodging - highway - TV = 0!!!!!!!!fuck!!!!!!!!! But I still got paid my $400))))))))) PS In the USA, they really value labor and encourage it in every way, with bonuses, tips, etc. They even paid us $20 a day just for showing up to work, so you've already earned that money regardless of whether the order is canceled or other force majeure circumstances occur)

ААндрейminsk_8186 · Oct 31, 2009Read

August 2nd. Our day always starts the same way: work begins at 10 a.m. Since the fair doesn't start until the 7th, our workdays are quite relaxed, although the bosses never tell us when we'll finish, and unexpected new tasks often pop up at the last minute. That's why I didn't know until the very end if I'd make it. I was also worried about the potential lack of tickets, since there were none for the concert in the city after Indianapolis. Work went well, and we were able to head out at 6 p.m. After taking a bus to downtown, we had no idea where we were or where to go; all we had was the intersection of two streets to look for. After 15 minutes of searching, we accidentally stumbled upon one of the streets we needed: New Jersey Street. We met a guy and a girl there with a rock 'n' roll look, decided to follow them, and as it turned out, we didn't regret it—they were going to the concert. The concert was held in a building that looked like a museum or a theater; it didn't feel like a club at all. There were about 50 people outside, many with hairstyles like Mike Ness's =) The atmosphere was very friendly. Right in front of the doors were turnstiles dividing people into 3 lines, and several security guards checking pockets. When we approached them, we immediately asked if there were tickets and where to buy them. The answer was, 'Yes, right here.' I was happy. On the day of the concert, tickets were sold for 30 dollars. After buying 2 tickets and getting inside the building, we moved on. Monumental staircases, ceilings—very unusual. Going up to the second floor, we saw people selling merch. Besides Social Distortion, 2 other bands were announced: The Strangers and Crivet; I hadn't heard of them before. Looking at the merch, I noticed one Social Distortion t-shirt, and damn, the fat Americans only had men's shirts starting from medium size; I needed a small. Hoodies cost 50 bucks, t-shirts 25, a sticker pack 10—in short, too expensive =( I didn't buy any merch. The hall was a large room with a sound booth in the center, alcohol sold in the back (too bad not for us), and a large stage. In general, a perfect venue for concerts of this kind. At exactly 7 (I was pleased with the punctuality), The Strangers started their set. They didn't stand out to me, and I don't want to spend time on them. After a 10-minute break, Crivet took the stage, and this band turned out to be... all-female. And they played amazingly—fast punk-hardcore, tight, well-played, effective. I was impressed; I didn't think girls could play like that. The hall was waiting for Social Distortion... A couple more security guards were pulled up to the stage. The tech crew cleared the first two bands' gear, brought out guitars, and started checking microphones... The pause dragged on a bit; classic 50s rock 'n' roll played in the background, then the lights began to change, and suddenly details that weren't noticeable before started to appear: license plates hung around the stage, car headlights, a projection of an old American car on the back wall with dates (1979-2009), moving toys. And then Social Distortion walked onto the stage. I don't remember the name of the first song, then 'Another State of Mind', 'Mommy's Little Monster', 'Sick Boy', 'Highway 101', 'Don't Drag Me Down', then a couple of new ones I hadn't heard before, 'Reach for the Sky'... In the front rows, people were listening and clapping, shaking their hands and heads; a bit further back, there was a mosh pit. We were standing in the front rows on the side, 3 meters from the bassist. Mike Ness was in the middle but often came to the corners; at the beginning, they jumped around quite a bit. In general, I realized that their set was built so that the first half had faster songs, and the end had calmer ones. Then they put down their guitars and left. The hall was screaming and singing, and they came back out to play 5 more songs. The guitarist constantly changed guitars, and Ness alternated between 2 Gibso

ААндрейminsk_8186 · Oct 31, 2009Read

June 30th. Finally, I can sit down and write about the events of the past week. We moved to a new place again, and the living conditions here are a bit worse: at first, the lack of Wi-Fi was a bummer. However, the internet finally appeared today. The last 4 days were a break, or rather, you can't really call it a full break, we were constantly doing small things. As it turns out, our job has many pros and cons. Pros: 1) Working in the fresh air; we spend 90 percent of our time outdoors, which means healthy sleep and a good appetite. 2) We have housing. 3) We have a job, and that's really cool, because right now jobs in the USA are hard to come by, and many people simply can't find one. 4) We are traveling. All the cons stem from the pros: 1) Since all the fairs are not in the cities themselves, we can't really explore, we have to ask for rides if we need to go to stores or malls, and we haven't had any fairs in big cities yet. 2) The living conditions are definitely not urban; very squeamish people wouldn't be able to live here, but we're fine with it. The only thing that's annoying is that when we arrived, there were only spots in two rooms, one male and one female, so Yulia and I were put in different rooms. 3) We have to entertain ourselves, we drink a little. I live with a cool rocker, it's never boring with him. By the way, one evening I was sitting with my rocker neighbor drinking beer, and I started saying to him: "Ell, you love country, you love rock-n-roll, but do you know a music style called Rockabilly? It's like a mix of those styles." He said he didn't know it and asked for an example of a band. I told him "Stray Cats," he swore, said it was one of his favorite bands, that he listened to them in his youth, and asked me to burn him a CD with their albums. So, he's a really cool guy. Time flies here very fast, the rhythm of life is very different from ours. America changes you, and it changes everyone. I judge by myself, it's cool that changes are coming into life. The next couple of weeks promise to be tough, there will be a lot of work. At the end of the month, we planned a trip to Chicago, we want to hang out there for a couple of days and meet up with our old friend. Then there will be a few hellish weeks in Indianapolis, that's where the hardest work will be, BUT... the Americans said that this city has some of the coolest music stores!! I can't wait to get my hands on some guitars. Almost forgot, the day before yesterday, Yulia and I were detained by cops. It went like this: We were walking slowly through a clothing store, and it's so big you can get lost. I walk slowly, then I go to the checkout, meet Yulia, we pay for our purchases, leave the store, and I see... a police car driving slowly, I would even say rolling. I thought, "Is it for us?" =) And it really was! A cop gets out and says in a strict voice in English, "Get in the car." We replied, "Ok, ok, no problem." We got in, I managed to look around a bit: leather seats, a grate in front of us, a bit cramped, a computer and camera in the front seat. The cop opens the door and says that the store manager called them because we stole something, and that he has the right to detain us for some time. We waited calmly, because we knew we hadn't stolen anything. They searched us, Yulia's backpack, then told me to get out and put my hands on the car—basically, they searched me like a bad black gangster. Then they said everything was okay, we could go, because they had nothing on us. The cops were actually pretty normal, but the managers who came out of the store didn't even apologize. When we were leaving, the cop said something approving about the print on my hoodie (I was wearing a Strike Anywhere hoodie, it had something about the police written on the front). And so we left safely. Later, the Americans said that this happens to them sometimes. Conclusions were drawn: 1) Always carry your ID (at that time we didn't take them with us). 2) Don't be shy about yo

ААндрейminsk_8186 · Oct 31, 2009Read

The flight went well, even though it was my first time flying. Then came the transfer to the bus to Indianapolis, which was exactly where our job offers led us. The road was long, about 20 hours, but we were in high spirits because we were in America. We took lots of photos through the window: there was so much to see, as the route went through Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus, and countless small towns, plains, and hills. We greedily soaked it all in. In Indy, another transfer awaited us to the town of Marion, another 2 hours of travel that flew by very quickly, and finally, we were there. The scene we saw is something none of us will ever forget: 6 a.m., the rising sun, a plain with sparse vegetation, a light breeze, an empty highway, a lonely gas station, and an Indian man who, upon seeing us, said: "Welcome to America." Then came a few hours at that gas station waiting for the boss who was supposed to pick us up, with long thoughts about "maybe we got scammed with the job and became participants in a reality show called 'The Dumbest Scams'." But everything turned out fine, it was just a small misunderstanding, and by lunchtime, we had arrived at our new workplace.

TZTatiana ZubarevaFeb 1, 2015Read

The last day in Myrtle Beach, which has already become my home and my favorite place! I'm walking around with my brand new iPhone, filming everything I see: the Ferris wheel, my route from work to home! Well, goodbye, Myrtle Beach, I'm going to miss you! I spent the whole night trying to pack! It's so hard to stuff all my new purchases into a suitcase! I don't know if there are other people like me who bring CURTAINS from America! But I liked them, they will fit perfectly into the interior of my room in Russia, and I don't care that the suitcase won't zip up! The shoes with the huge platform didn't fit in my luggage, well, I'll fly like a star in full regalia! At 4 a.m., Sardor comes in: "What, is everyone asleep? Tanya, let's go watch the sunrise?" Of course, let's go! The last sunrise on the ocean in Myrtle Beach! Sardor took pictures of me against the backdrop of the sunrise sky and ocean waves, and we drank champagne for my departure! At 8 a.m. we went to our house, I needed to finish packing, and Sardor lay down to sleep! Two hours later, I barely managed to wake him up so he could take me to the airport as promised! I went through check-in, I'm waiting for boarding and I don't understand where the other passengers are... I approached a woman standing near the gate where I was supposed to go to the plane to ask what was wrong, and I got the answer: -Honey, your plane will take off in two minutes! Boarding is finished! -WHAT? -Look at your ticket! Departure is at 11:00! And then I realize that my inattentiveness and irresponsibility have just reached their maximum level! In tears, feeling resentful towards myself, I trudge back to check-in for my luggage! The airport staff generously, albeit with a dissatisfied look, gave me a ticket to Baltimore for the next day absolutely free of charge, at the same time: "Just don't be late!" Thank you, dears))) I call Kolya to tell him I'll arrive tomorrow! I don't know how he held back his emotions! He must be very kind, since he didn't scold me! This was my extra last day in Myrtle Beach, I spent the whole day sunbathing, swimming in the ocean, walking) I arrived in Baltimore, Kolya met me with flowers in a convertible) Oh, that's so sweet) He showed me all of Baltimore! A charming city with a beautiful downtown! I drove through 22 states from one coast to the other with one "wonderful young man," as he modestly calls himself, visited Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, Atlantic City (New Jersey), Columbus, Chicago, Indianapolis, Yellowstone National Park, and Portland, from where I flew by plane for 8 hours to the last point - New York. I will fundamentally not tire you with a long description of my emotions and impressions regarding everything I saw – it is better to see once than to hear about it a hundred times! I am sure you will have your own first impressions, even better than mine) I will just say two words about each city and attach photos) Yes, I have thousands of photos left!))) Washington - the majestic capital of the states with the Capitol, the White House, and memorials) Philadelphia - a city I fell in love with! Cozy, yet modern at the same time) Everything breathes a healthy lifestyle, everyone is running and smiling) Atlantic City - a city of endless luxury casinos)) Probably the second city after Las Vegas where people come to leave a lot of money) Columbus - the capital of Ohio with a beautiful embankment and various attractions) Chicago - the Windy City! The most memorable thing for me was going up the Willis Tower, a 442-meter-high tower with glass ledges above the ground! I barely dared to stand on the glass) Yellowstone National Park - something incredible! I have never seen such beautiful nature before! I am very impressed! What didn't I see there: mountains, geysers, waterfalls, and a canyon) From the animal world, we met bison, deer, mountain goats, chipmunks, squirrels, eagles) Super) Portland - a magnificent city that is located in two states at once (Or