Looking into moving to fort wayne and need advice (Chandler: new house, purchasing)

[elmplove]

Ok there is a good chance that we may be moving out to Fort Wayne. We are really excited we saw that this city falls 18 on the list of 100 cities for a family to live at. We live in AZ so LOL I'm not looking forward to COLD weather, but would trade in the ugly desert any day.. Here are my concerns in looking for a new house

1. We are in a excellent school District currently. We have 3 kids from kinder and up. One of our children has a learning disability and is currently in resource, and receiving other interventional help. What district, and schools would be most helpful? Also is kinder all day or half day out there? Do you have a calender school yr system or year round?
2. I have read a lot of opinions about sides of towns to live in,,, Im a little torn, and confused. Our range is 150-230ish. I found one house I did like but it appeared to be around a train track,, is this a issue? Also we would not mind horse property either but don't want to be too far out. I don't want this to totally dissuade opinions from the "best" areas either.
3. I hope to attend Community College as soon as I'm considered a resident. How ever long that is. Is there a college I can attend out there thats not to far from the "select" areas of town?

Whatever advice I can get I totally appreciate!!

[Mike Dunn]

Here are a couple of websites that would help you with school information.

Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.


GreatSchools.net

Good luck on the move!

[belovenow]

Regarding your children and school you have a few choices. Southwest Allen County (SW Fort Wayne) has excellent public schools (among the very top in Indiana). If you go the private route, there's plenty of excellent Private schools in Northern Fort Wayne but fewer in the SW vicinity (however, the very best private school and most expensive is there; Canterbury School where many of the kids go on to Ivy League institutions upon graduation).

Regarding train tracks - it is a non-issue for most locals. However, if you are accustomed to peace and quiet all night long, then I would reconsider living right next to them as the trains do blow their whistles in Fort Wayne at train crossings (and they do tend to come through late at night). My family and I are now used to them and it is rare I ever hear anything; but upon the birth of my first child I realized that my baby heard the whistles quite clearly so I ended up purchasing a white noise machine to help drown out the noise at night (to ensure my wife and I got a sound night's sleep).

[CindyM]

My 2 cents on the train issue. We visit my mom in FW every year. She lives half a mile from the train track that runs near Bass Road in SW FW. I hear it if we're sitting out on the screen porch, but not in the house.

[Ghostgecko]

Growing up with the trains...I miss them! When I lived in Hawaii and came home, I was like cool...trains! Same with Key West... You get used to it eventually, like anything else...

Residency for Indiana is the same as most...1 year. I was born and raised in Fort Wayne, but to come back and go to school I would also have to wait one year. It sucks, as Key West has just become too expensive to consider working and living and going to school...

[fabumom07]

For your price range, living next to train tracks or not will be entirely up to you. My husband does not feel comfortable with train noises ( or ceiling fan noises or any weird humming noises, darn OCD!) and we have had two houses in this area of SW Allen. VERY distant trains.

Country- ei. horse properties might be more likely to be near trainsl. As nice as SW Allen is, It is harder to find acrage in this area for your price range. You could also try NW Allen, which is really good if it is Leo or Carroll schools, and you can own more land and are closer to IPFW. I know lots of posts are positive on SW Allen, but it is not for everyone. I have friends who do not like coming to my area due to the aggressive drivers(comparitively speaking, nothing dangerous) and the "attitude". These are their opinions, lots of great people here.You will get more laid back attitudes in other areas, and more land for sure. Hope this helps somewhat!

[fabumom07]

PS: We have school from late August until the very end of May- summers here are for outdoor play and fun for kids.You will get more resource for your children in SW or NW or Leo schools because there is $$ available for funding, teachers, etc in higher income areas. Private schools are an alternative that may offer learning disability programs and customized education.

[juliestephen]

Please don’t dismiss FWCS. My son went to Northrop and received an excellent education. He took several AP classes and had very goods grades as well as high SAT and ACT test scores. He was in the top 12% of his class and received a full tuition academic scholarship to college. There are so many opportunities in FWCS that are not reflected in some of these school websites.

You can find some nice areas to live around Northrop ( Woodland Lake, Lincoln Village, North Pointe Woods) and there are also some nice areas around Snider (Arlington Park, Chandlers Landing, Tamarack). The North Side area has some beautiful homes in their area, and North Side High school itself had a beautiful remodel several years ago.

FWCS offers school choice, so you can go to a school fair in January or February and speak with all the principals and many teachers. Some noted elementary and middle schools in the district are: Croninger (5 star), Towles (Montesorri magnet ), Weisser Park (music), and Memorial Park (Fine arts magnet).

Good luck on your move here, I think you will find Fort Wayne to be very friendly and
a great place to raise a family!

[windfarmer]

Living in Michigan I have had many a reason to pass through Ft Wayne on the way to Indy and everytime I'm there, I love it. I really like northern Indiana – very family oriented and good vibes. Good places to find antiques too. Though please beware of some smelly factories in parts of the state. Yeeech!

[wh15395]

If you are looking for great schools you should live in Southwest Allen County. The easiest access to the city from here will be in the aboite township or Southewst Fort Wayne. And by the way Harrison Square is a great idea.