I’ve lived in both Indianapolis and Charlotte. My parents currently live in Columbus. So I should be able to give you a lot of comparisons and contrasts between the cities. However, I can’t. The problem is that they’re remarkably similar.
All three are nice places. They have a lot of the big city amenities (e.g. theatre, symphony, museums, airports, etc.) without the overwhelming feel or issues (e.g. traffic, crime) of some larger places. Economically, I think all three are doing quite well. Now that I live in Baltimore, I’m surprised how clean all three cities seem when I visit. They don’t have the small town feel of a town of 2,000, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
There are nice places to live and good schools in all three. The north side of Indianaoplis and the south side of Charlotte seem to be the nicest and have the best schools. I don’t recall offhand where the best areas in Columbus are. Indianapolis and Columbus seem to have more vibrant downtown areas, but Charlotte’s is nice too (even though they called it “uptown” for some reason when I was there). I agree that you should avoid the IPS school district in Indianapolis. The Washington Township schools (on the north side) were good when I went there (of course, that was in the early 80s and things may have changed). I wasn’t in school in Charlotte or Columbus, so I don’t know which places to avoid and which are good there.
All three are big into sports. Columbus is huge into OSU (particularly football). You would think Indiana University was in Indianapolis (instead of in Bloomington an hour or so to the south) for all the fan fever you get there. Charlotte people are divided between UNC, Duke, and a few other schools–but they are hugely devoted fans and you can’t escape knowing when a Carolina team is playing.
Charlotte has the nicest weather. On the flip side, if they get 2" of snow the city goes into panic mode (it makes sense that they’re not as prepared for something they don’t get as often). Columbus can get a foot and it’s no big deal. Indianapolis is somewhere in the middle. The Charlotte climate seems the best for growing things. I swear the entire city goes into full bloom in spring. The flowers are amazing. However, Indianaplis and Columbus have nicer autumns. Though all three are still very nice.
Charlotte has a bit more southern feel. However, it’s not all that strong. There are a lot of northern transplants and the natives are very welcoming, so you won’t feel like an outsider. All three have very nice people and it’s easy to make friends in any of them.
Cost of living is similar in all three from what I’ve seen.
You shouldn’t have trouble with clerical positions in any of the three. I don’t know about social services.