Starke County Advice (South Bend, Merrillville, Knox: insurance, mortgage, credit)

[JLT]

I've already gotten a little info from other threads but I have some unique questions concerning relocating to Starke County / Knox. 1st of all, I am 45 and kids are grown and gone so I don't care if they even have schools there. LOL.
Now, most concerning, I would be moving from south Louisiana where the mercury dips to 28 degrees about 10 nights a year and the last snow we had was in 1978. I'd have to learn a lot of preparation techniques and safety precautions that I am in the dark about. But first of all I'd like to know just how many days I could be snowed in and if you have to spend months a year stuck in your house or exactly what kind of lifestyle / activities you can have / do during thw winter months.
Secondly, taxes. I hear descriptive terms here but they are all relative. I need actual numbers to use to negotiate my salary. I currently pay $600 a year on a $120,000 house. How much do you pay on yours, or what number can I expect there?
Lastly, but still important to me, I have a couple of hobbys but the one that I am concerned about being tranferred to that area is I am a musician for Rock-n-Blues bar bands here in the Baton Rouge area. Is there even any bars in that area and any bands / live music. I see South Bend isn't far away from Knox. Of course Chicago is only 80 miles, but I don't want to drive 160 miles every time I have a gig. BTW, my other hobby is motorcycling but I guess I could substitute snow mobiling for that one! LOL
Thanks in advance.

[JLT]

I guess I should have said Starke County Indiana and the city of Knox to clarify.

[JLT]

One more thing. My wife has asthma and allergies, mostly asthma. Where we live in LA. is the worse. In our travels we have discovered that Wyoming, Montana, S.D., Utah was the best and some states like Colorado wasn't any better than LA. Just wondering how much asthma/allergy suffering goes on in NW IN.

[domergurl]

Indiana is pretty bad for allergy sufferers. Indiana can be pretty humid and the pollen counts can get pretty intense. There was a poster on here a month or so who claimed that they could smell the mold from the interstate. Not sure about that. Maybe this might help ...
Allergy Map - American Lung Association site

[treeman68]

TRY grantcounty

[JLT]

Thanks for the link, but humidity ......... I think South Louisiana can top Indiana oh .. about ... 365 days a year by an average of 26%. Just add 26 to whatever your humidity is and that's where we will be. Pollen counts ... hmmm, can't say that for sure because I couldn't find comparable data since Starke county wasn't included in that study. But for about 3 weeks every spring here I can wash my truck and within minutes you can see green and yellow particles collecting. By the next day it is covered and you can actually see it running down the driveway when I wash my truck again. Regardless, I saw your post on several other threads and you always seem to have good info and a level head, so, any other info on my other questions?

[domergurl]

You're right about Louisiana! Luckily, I don't suffer with allergies or asthma, but friends who have allergies tell me that Indiana can be pretty bad

[Angelala]

I live in Starke County and the tax rate for Starke County is approx. 1.8, so a house worth $120,000 would be about 2,100.00 a year minus depreciation, mortgage and homestead exemptions. We don't get snowed in very often maybe a couple days a year, the snow plows are really good about getting the roads cleared. My daughter has allergies and allergy medicine takes care of that. As far as bars I can't help you there I don't go to them. If you have any more questions let me know!

Angela

[JLT]

Thanks Angelala. My wife finally got in touch with someone in Knox via the cell phone and got the "final" tax amount after all the exemptions, credits, etc. It wound up being around $1,000 - $1,200 which is 2 and a half times what it is here but still lower than the majority of the nation. Plus, you get a whole lot more for your money there in Starke than you get down here. Actually, about 2 and half times as much on that side as well. I will have the advantage of getting to spend a lot of time up there before I have to make my final decision. My wife will have to decide if she can handle the distance from her family and we will have to decide if we can handle the long winters. But we both grew up in and prefer rural areas and the Baton Rouge metropolitan area has swallowed us up and we hate it. Traffic, Overcrowding, Crime, Inflation, Insurance, etc. Did I mention traffic? I'm ready to either roll back 40 years of so called "progress" or else move.

[Angelala]

Knox is not a bad town at all and it is very close to Bass lake, which is very nice. I really don't ever hear of anything bad happening around there and it is small townish. When you want to go shopping just head west to Merrillville and they have just about anything you want. That's where I Christmas shop every year. The winters aren't so bad once you get use to it and the change of the seasons is absolutely beautiful!

Angela