Is Peru Indiana A Good Place To Raise Kids ? Need help ASAP! (Kokomo: real estate market, 2013)

[Evelyn Guzman]

Hi :] I'm From NYC Looking To Get AWay FRom The Changing Areas & Price Hikes Out Here and considering a life change to Relocate to Peru Indiana .There is not much on the web about the neighborhoods and crime areas there. Can anyone tell me if PERU is good area to reside in and if it's in anyway a drug or high crime area? I don't want to move into a getto area . Also can anyone tell me if PERU HS is good or low grade? I live in a good middle class area in NYC and want the same there. PLease Give Me A Heads Up :] TX Evelyn

[Broadrippleguy]

Well one thing to consider is Peru is a small town near Kokomo Indiana
Peru is doing ok as a city Mayor Jimmy Walker is trying to revitalize the city and is doing a good job at it. New Theatre is being built in town. its called the Roxy i believe.
Crime wise Peru has crime like any city however the south end of town across the Wabash in the trailer parks is the worse area of peru with crime. Other areas of the city are much safer.
Peru HS does ok for a school. its not terrible but its not omg jaw dropping great either.
Heck my mother graduated from there and its shrunk a little bit too as Peru has had to deal with a revitalization effort across town due to manufacturing not being as powerful as it was before.
If you like the Circus though omg Peru is the BEST for the circus. Its the Circus capital of the world
All in all depending on if you want a small town/city with those amendities and kind of lifestyle Peru would be a good fit but i would HIGHLY recommend visiting the city before making any commitments to buying. Cost of living will also be much much lower in Peru or anywhere in Indiana over NY state
Also i met Mayor Walker too great mayor i have to say.
Also if you do decide to relocate to Peru and i hope you do keep in mind youll have the amendities of a small city with 12,500 people. However Kokomo Indiana which is about 20-30 minutes south and has over 50,000 people would have anything Peru Doesnt however crime is more of a problem in Kokomo especially recently with shootings downtown. Plus US 31 in Kokomo which is the main commercial corridor for the area gets really congested.

[Evelyn Guzman]

Great Info THank You You said that south end of town across the Wabash in the trailer parks is shady .Where is that located In Peru ? I was looking in the neighborhoods surrounding one mile around PERU HS .Are they good ?

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by Evelyn Guzman

Great Info THank You You said that south end of town across the Wabash in the trailer parks is shady .Where is that located In Peru ? I was looking in the neighborhoods surrounding one mile around PERU HS .Are they good ?

its along State Road 19 which crossed the Wabash River.
If you were in Downtown Peru the main North/south road is State Road 19 which is Broadway road.
so if you crossed the River heading south past downtown thats where youll see alot of trailer homes. Its ok during the day cause i went by it then but i wouldnt want to be in that area at night.
Some of my relatives that live there were telling me about the drug bust that go on in that area
the area around the HS is ok. Crime doesnt seem to be a major issue there.
The best areas in town are the northeast side/west side and the north side.
But as i said i highly recommend visiting Peru first.
If the homes look like they are falling apart thats a good rule of thumb to say that neighborhood is not desirable. That is how i would gauge how well a particular neighborhood is.
One nice area that comes to mind though is the area around the Peru Hospital thats very nice and well maintained.

Also FYI i dont live in Peru my grandparents do and thats how i know my information here ill call my grandparents tommorow and mention your information if it helps you out no better way to know for sure than to ask a resident of Peru.

[cdr18]

One question: How did you stumble upon Peru, Indiana? Is there a reason for this, or just random? If it is random, I would look at other options as well. Nothing against Peru, as it has many quality traits for a city, but nothing that makes it stick out either. It WILL DEFINITELY be a change of pace from NYC. Hopefully for the better.

[Evelyn Guzman]

HI :] I have some friends in the state that had moved there from CA a few yrs back.They told me look into this area because It's not too busy & kids can be raised there just fine. I also have been looking at homes online and the prices r GREAT ! In NYC houses go for $400,000 plus even in these terrible times and crime is rising again.I'm going to begin researching homes in this location in person after Christmas.Going to make a trip down there & go look at possible homes to buy. I plan on leaving here by summer of 2013 .I'm looking for a change of pace .It's to crazy here , i've lived here my whole life and it has changed for the worst. The schools are closing all over the city ,teachers fired, crime up everywhere, gas & electric over the top . I pay $400 a month for electric.Every dollar u make here goes to bills and the cost of living is sick now.The time is now to do it . In another five yrs rents here will hit 2,000 -2,400 a month in a not so good area too! After 911 this city / business went down the drain and then the real estate market hit bottom in 2008 across the nation. Are there any other nice areas you can suggest ? TX :]

[ccc123]

I am from Orange County N.Y. about 50 miles north of the city and have lived in Bunker Hill ( a small town about 5 minutes outside of Peru) about 10 years. We like it low crime rate, very low cost of living compared to NY. Plenty of shopping,restaurants etc., hardly any traffic.

[thejoe]

Peru?? Absolutely nothing to do there and in the middle of nowhere! You would definitely have to maintain a good hobby to keep yourself occupied or you'd go insane...

[restorationconsultant]

When we were looking at northern Indiana. I looked at Peru and it was OK. We decided on Logansport (20 miles west) due to its much better historic architecture at affordable prices. I was impressed by the street sweeper coming by every week, the excellent trash pickup, and curbside recycling. They also have an excellent urban trails system on the Wabash and Eel Rivers, numerous parks and people seem to do a much better job of showing pride in their properties. I didn't get that vibe when I was in Peru. Its also larger at 18,000 people so there are some amenities you wouldn't expect, like a Thai food restaurant, the State Theatre Music venue and numerous festival and events. If you look at Peru I'd check out Logansport as well for comparison.

[thejoe]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Nice Thread revival.

One must be forewarned.