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Here is a link to the physical address location of where southlake mall is located. For those who may want to plug it in there car navigation and go there, plugging in hobart won't pull it up. You have to put in the correct physical address which is in Merrillville.
Westfield - Traveling By Car (http://westfield.com/southlake/gettinghere/ - broken link)
When you drive to Southlake, before you get to the entrance it says: WELCOME TO HOBART. The mailing address is what is used for the directions. The PHYSICAL ADDRESS is what is used for tax purposes. Let's move on PLEASE!!!
Last edited by Northwest Indiana; 01-28-2011 at 12:14 PM..
Reason: added information
We're leaving the city proper (Northside) and looking at Ogden Dunes (downside is the schools and despite being our favorite area, will most likely keep us away.) and Chesterton. We would like to have considered St. John, Valparaiso, Crown Point, Lowell and Hanover Township, however the resistance to building a South Shore extension is keeping us and our tax money away.
We're looking in Indiana to be closer to family. However, a lot of Indiana's politics (resistance to public trans and the recent DOMA legislation for example) are starting to make us think we might be better off staying in IL.
ETA: We have young children, so we are not willing to add any more time or money to our commutes than we have to. Access to a train cuts the time in half and the expense by 75%. So for us, no train = not on the list.
Last edited by windycitygigi; 04-22-2011 at 10:34 PM..
Reason: Clarification.
I wouldn't consider NWI to be necessarily cheaper in any meaningful aspect. Sales taxes are cheaper so gas is cheaper. But, If you have to commute to illinois regularly that means more driving and kind of cancels out any savings. Plus expensive interstate tolls both ways. You may save some on property taxes. But that usually comes with less services. Less snow removal, road conditions, less public transit, street lights, etc. Home prices in the better areas of NWI such as munster, schererville, and st john are no more affordable than nearby illinois burbs such as tinley park, homewood, orland park, frankfort, olympia fields, oak forest, new lenox, and flossmoor.
I've been saying this forever. It really doesn't make sense, especially if you work IN and/or travel to IL all the time. On that note, if I HAD to, I mean HAD to move to IN, I would check out Schererville.
I've been saying this forever. It really doesn't make sense, especially if you work IN and/or travel to IL all the time. On that note, if I HAD to, I mean HAD to move to IN, I would check out Schererville.
Illinois is a better option for those who prefer public transportation BUT for those who need to travel by car, Indiana is just as viable of an option as any of the south suburbs. If you go to Bing maps and look up the travel time from Dyer to lets say Soldier Field it will give you a travel time of 38 minutes under ideal conditions. Go from Homewood to Soldier Field and you get a result of 35 minutes under the same conditions. A blazing 3 minutes sure isn't that much of a difference. Throw in the fact that IN property taxes will be about half of IL on a similar home and you can see why so many people have chosen IN.
Illinois is a better option for those who prefer public transportation BUT for those who need to travel by car, Indiana is just as viable of an option as any of the south suburbs. If you go to Bing maps and look up the travel time from Dyer to lets say Soldier Field it will give you a travel time of 38 minutes under ideal conditions. Go from Homewood to Soldier Field and you get a result of 35 minutes under the same conditions. A blazing 3 minutes sure isn't that much of a difference. Throw in the fact that IN property taxes will be about half of IL on a similar home and you can see why so many people have chosen IN.
Not sure, but I know the train stations around my house are jam packed during the rush hours. Gas prices are way up and for commuting downtown, there isn't anything close to being comparable to the metra electric in NWI. An express train will have you downtown in 35 minutes. Campare that to the only in town public transit option from dyer, which is the easygo bus. It takes anywhere from an hour and twenty minutes, to an hour and forty-five minutes from dyer to downtown chicago. And this is on an uncomfortable bus, not to mention when there might be heavier traffic do to an accident on the expressway. Sure, for leisure it's probably not that big of a deal to drive to the city from NWI regularly to hang out during non rush hours. Although expessway access from NWI is heavily taxed with ridiculous tolls. The chicago skyway to indiana now charges a toll of $3.50 . Unbelievable!
Without a doubt direct access to I-57 or i-94 is a much more convenient route to get to chicago. Less than 10 minutes further from downtown than living on the far southside from country club hills, olympia fields, matteson, homewood, flossmoor, etc. During leisure hours without traffic, it's less than 30 minutes to downtown. Not to mention anywhere south of downtown is about 15-20 minutes or shorter. About 15-20 minutes to sox stadium, hyde park, beverly, china town, bronzeville, chatham, south shore, etc.
Illinois is a better option for those who prefer public transportation BUT for those who need to travel by car, Indiana is just as viable of an option as any of the south suburbs. If you go to Bing maps and look up the travel time from Dyer to lets say Soldier Field it will give you a travel time of 38 minutes under ideal conditions. Go from Homewood to Soldier Field and you get a result of 35 minutes under the same conditions. A blazing 3 minutes sure isn't that much of a difference. Throw in the fact that IN property taxes will be about half of IL on a similar home and you can see why so many people have chosen IN.
I can understand why people would like IN, but I'm just not one of those people. The commute tradeoff is just not worth it. What about going somewhere like Sugar Grove? Deerfield? Why would I torture myself trying to drive that long?
Not slamming those that are moving to and are already in IN, but no thanks. I am not taking the thread off topic
I can understand why people would like IN, but I'm just not one of those people. The commute tradeoff is just not worth it. What about going somewhere like Sugar Grove? Deerfield? Why would I torture myself trying to drive that long?
Not slamming those that are moving to and are already in IN, but no thanks. I am not taking the thread off topic
Commuting to the western suburbs is an entirely different comparison. Obviously the south burbs have more convenient access for rush hour travel or leisure to the western burbs. My uncle has commuted to oak brook from homewood for over 10 years. Direct access to I-294 from the south suburbs is a very convenient commute to the western burbs. And when the long overdo i-294/i-57 interchange finally gets built, the access to the western suburbs will be even more convenient. And vice versa. Access to the southern suburbs will be greatly improved also.
Last edited by allen2323; 04-25-2011 at 11:45 AM..
Indianas tax based is just structured different - I have mentioned before
but most counties in Indiana has a local county option income tax
this tax is added on top of your state tax.
For the extra commute time its not worth it to me as you will waste it in fuel.
Everyone just needs to look at your total tax in Indiana plus other things in Indiana are higher like plating your vehicle...
I know I have friends over there and it just is a shift of the tax it is not that lower if at all.
Believe me the grass is not greener on the other side unless you have a job in Indiana and you do not commute to Chicago or the other burbs
Nothing against our neighbors across the border its just not that much lower
when you look at the big picture of everything . not just property tax but everything.
Not sure, but I know the train stations around my house are jam packed during the rush hours. Gas prices are way up and for commuting downtown, there isn't anything close to being comparable to the metra electric in NWI. An express train will have you downtown in 35 minutes. Campare that to the only in town public transit option from dyer, which is the easygo bus. It takes anywhere from an hour and twenty minutes, to an hour and forty-five minutes from dyer to downtown chicago. And this is on an uncomfortable bus, not to mention when there might be heavier traffic do to an accident on the expressway. Sure, for leisure it's probably not that big of a deal to drive to the city from NWI regularly to hang out during non rush hours. Although expessway access from NWI is heavily taxed with ridiculous tolls. The chicago skyway to indiana now charges a toll of $3.50 . Unbelievable!
Without a doubt direct access to I-57 or i-94 is a much more convenient route to get to chicago. Less than 10 minutes further from downtown than living on the far southside from country club hills, olympia fields, matteson, homewood, flossmoor, etc. During leisure hours without traffic, it's less than 30 minutes to downtown. Not to mention anywhere south of downtown is about 15-20 minutes or shorter. About 15-20 minutes to sox stadium, hyde park, beverly, china town, bronzeville, chatham, south shore, etc.
A lot of this discussion is under the assumption that those living in NWI need to commute downtown into the loop daily. A vast majority either work in NWI or in Illinois outside of the downtown area. Are there some of us that work in the loop? Absolutely. Those of us that do that find ways to make it work, whether it be by train, carpool, etc. A lot of my neighbors and I that make the commute into the loop daily have a maximum 1 hour commute door to door, across many different methods of getting there. It's definitely possible. If 1 hour is too long for some people, then they won't move here. However, several people see the more reasonable cost of living with a comparable standard of living, and find it very inticing and potentially worthwhile for a bit longer of a commute.
So, to say that the the transit into the city isn't good enough only accounts for a small portion of residents. For those not working in the city that would still like the close proximity to Chicago during non-rush hours for pleasure, NWI to Chicago is a breeze.
Now, regarding the comment about working in Deerfield? No, I would never recommend anyone to live in NWI and work in Deerfield or elsewhere in the North Suburbs. That would just be crazy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays
Indianas tax based is just structured different - I have mentioned before
but most counties in Indiana has a local county option income tax
this tax is added on top of your state tax.
For the extra commute time its not worth it to me as you will waste it in fuel.
Everyone just needs to look at your total tax in Indiana plus other things in Indiana are higher like plating your vehicle...
I know I have friends over there and it just is a shift of the tax it is not that lower if at all.
Believe me the grass is not greener on the other side unless you have a job in Indiana and you do not commute to Chicago or the other burbs
Nothing against our neighbors across the border its just not that much lower
when you look at the big picture of everything . not just property tax but everything.
You also have to factor in more than just taxes in my opinion. The actual real estate prices in NWI (although they have increased significantly in the last 10-15 yrs, due in large part to people from Illinois crossing the border) are still lower than comparable suburbs in Illinois. This is aside from taxes. Also, those of us that have lived in Illinois and currently live in Indiana would probably vehemently dispute this claim that the taxes even out.
However, if you feel this way, please list out the taxes that one would be charged in both states so that there is support for your claim. I would hate to have someone read inaccurate information on these boards, so please itemize out all taxes or charges that you feel "even out" between the two states. Thank you.
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On that note, if I HAD to, I mean HAD to move to IN, I would check out Schererville.
I am not taking the thread off topic
