NEED OPINIONS -Moving to South Bend/Elkhart/Misaha/Granger Area (Mishawaka: for sale by owner, real estate)

[Victor7]

I am planning on moving up to that area mentioned in the title. I am looking for an engineering position and would like to get opinions on which area is best for schools, children, work (who pays more), nightlife....I was also considering Wakarusa....please help this rookie figure out a good place to live. I liked Blair Hills and some parts of Elkhart on the water seemed nice. They say Granger is the best place, but not sure of that. Is there anyplace that is up and coming? I heard that they are redoing downtown Elkhart, not sure if it is true. I'm trying to find a place that if I invest in a house it won't be worth the same amount 10 years from now....all opinons welcome...thanks. Also anyplace up there to ride ATV's? Parks? Fishing? Outdoor Activities? thanks agian

[domergurl]

Granger is the best for schools, unless you want to go private. But Wakarusa feeds in to the WaNee school system, which is also very good and smaller than Penn Harris Madison (Granger). But it's a very small town, not much in the way of nightlife.

[sgear]

Definitely no night life in Wakarusa unless it's your own! I live there now, and definitely love the town. But it is only 6 miles to Nappanee and 9 to Elkhart. There is Zero Crime... It was actually exciting for the town cops when our dog got loose one night. The schools are amazing, very close nit community. Although the houses are all very old, many MANY Century old homes in heart of town, however, they are all Immaculately kept! Walking around the town I am amazed at the well manicured lawns and upkept landscaping in EVERYONE's yards. No junk cars or rusty lawn furniture in this town. There are a lot of younger couples moving in as the older population is dying off-sadly. Our grandma is pushing 83 and lived here her whole life. It is a GREAT town for kids, they can ride bikes anywhere, and there isn't a single bad area in town where they could get into trouble. Only reason we're looking to move is we want to be closer to work in South Bend, it's about 25 min drive now. Good luck finding a house, prices are slightly higher, and rarely are real estate agents used, Majority of homes are For Sale by Owner. I am in my cousin's house right now though, that I could get you a HECK of a deal on for about $145,000 when we move out though!

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by Victor7

I am planning on moving up to that area mentioned in the title. I am looking for an engineering position and would like to get opinions on which area is best for schools, children, work (who pays more), nightlife....I was also considering Wakarusa....please help this rookie figure out a good place to live. I liked Blair Hills and some parts of Elkhart on the water seemed nice. They say Granger is the best place, but not sure of that. Is there anyplace that is up and coming? I heard that they are redoing downtown Elkhart, not sure if it is true. I'm trying to find a place that if I invest in a house it won't be worth the same amount 10 years from now....all opinons welcome...thanks. Also anyplace up there to ride ATV's? Parks? Fishing? Outdoor Activities? thanks agian

I would not move here if you dont have a job first. Its not a very large area and jobs seem quite slim. My husband was offered a job and we moved here from Detroit. I have yet to find a job in my line of work. If you have children I would suggest Granger. We lived in Mishawaka for a year. When we decided to purchase we focused mostly on Granger. Mishawaka has its charms but crime seems to be on the rise. The slow economy could be the reason. I do find people in the area to be quite friendly. Investing in real estate is never a sure thing especially now but I would say Granger is your best bet because of its popularity. When we were looking most sellers would not consider much of a price reduction. Values seem to hold steady here. I have heard Potato Creek park is quite nice.

[jodyrose]

Originally Posted by Victor7

I am planning on moving up to that area mentioned in the title. hey say Granger is the best place, but not sure of that. Is there anyplace that is up and coming? I heard that they are redoing downtown Elkhart, not sure if it is true. I'm trying to find a place that if I invest in a house it won't be worth the same amount 10 years from now....all opinons welcome...thanks. Also anyplace up there to ride ATV's? Parks? Fishing? Outdoor Activities? thanks agian

Victor,
I agree with one of the other posters, I would not move here unless you have a job already waiting for you. Granger is good, lots of newer constructed homes, the schools are good too. Elkhart is struggling and will continue to struggle until they come up with some new jobs to replace the RV/Auto jobs lost. But despite all that...this whole area is a great place to live. No place is perfect, each area has its ups and downs. If you have a family though its pretty easy to raise one around here. The thing as for real estate is the values here raise veryyyyyyyy slowly.... Basically, we sell the same # of homes in Elkhart county every year. Other areas of the country where you have large influxes of people moving, like CA, FL, AZ, TX, etc. the values went up way high because of the numbers coming in. They are also the ones that have suffered the greatest loss of value.
So I wouldnt look at your home purchase here as something thats going to make you a ton of money when you leave...especially if you only plan on being here a few year.

Oh yeah, in my neighborhood, I have an all brick ranch, which backs up to a new county park that has walking trails, fishing from Cobus Creek (brown trout) and a pond (blue gill) and the price..when the market was good...$150K....you cant beat it for the price of housing here

If you need any other info, please get in touch, be glad to help. I also work part time at Northpoint Elem School in Granger, so I am familiar with that area as well.
Jody

[Future Trooper]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Granger is the best for schools, unless you want to go private. But Wakarusa feeds in to the WaNee school system, which is also very good and smaller than Penn Harris Madison (Granger). But it's a very small town, not much in the way of nightlife.

Granger beat us for the first place title in the state competition for the Interscholastic- Social Studies Bowl in 2007 and 2009. We beat Granger for Interscholastic- Interdisipciplenary Bowl in 2008 and 2009. Their pretty good.