Moving From NY to Indiana (Fort Wayne, South Bend: real estate, home, purchasing)

[dartluv5]

Yes, this story is for the record books, but I'll keep it nice and short...I found my true love through Myspace over a year ago and I decided to make the move to Indiana to be with him! I've grown pretty tired of the hustle and bustle of NYC (and the rising taxes) and I feel the only way for me to live the American dream to own my own home is to relocate my place of work to Chicago. I've been doing a bit of research about home prices in Indiana that are within a reasonable distance from public transportation, but still have lots to learn.

For those of you familiar with Chicago and Indiana public transportation, where are the best places to focus my search for purchasing a home in Indiana that will allow me to commute between the two states without taking more than 2 hours to do so? I know it will be a drastic change from being able to walk a couple blocks to catch the train or bus like I do now, but I feel it's worth it to be happy.

so please, anyone with knowlege using public transportation, your help will be greatly appreciated!

[rrah]

The main mode of transportation between Chicago and NW Indiana is the South Shore RR. (I know about 20 years ago there were some shuttle buses between Merrillville and downtown, but have no idea if they still operate.) For some of the stops, Hammond, East Chicago, I wouldn't recommend living there. I would recommend many of the other towns in NW IN--ie Munster, Highland, Griffith, Schererville all would be a reasonable drive to the station. I haven't lived in the area in many years, but the SS train remains much the same.

[domergurl]

Yep, the South Shore is your only train in and out of NW Indiana. One of the nicest cities that is minutes from the south shore is Chesterton ... it's about an hour into the city from the Dune Park station (in Chesterton). You may want to check out Munster, Dyer, Schererville & St. John in northern Lake County (Chesterton is in Porter). Have ridden the train hundreds of times out of South Bend (it's origination), East Chicago, Chesterton.

A great real estate database is Northwest Indiana is Calling You Home! You can search for vacant lots if you want to build.

Congrats on making a life decision! Please come back with any questions you may have.

[dartluv5]

Thanks rrah and domegirl! That info will help me out a lot

Bumping for more responses...

[domergurl]

go to the south shore's website:

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

[Salem22]

Originally Posted by dartluv5

Yes, this story is for the record books, but I'll keep it nice and short...I found my true love through Myspace over a year ago and I decided to make the move to Indiana to be with him! I've grown pretty tired of the hustle and bustle of NYC (and the rising taxes) and I feel the only way for me to live the American dream to own my own home is to relocate my place of work to Chicago. I've been doing a bit of research about home prices in Indiana that are within a reasonable distance from public transportation, but still have lots to learn.

For those of you familiar with Chicago and Indiana public transportation, where are the best places to focus my search for purchasing a home in Indiana that will allow me to commute between the two states without taking more than 2 hours to do so? I know it will be a drastic change from being able to walk a couple blocks to catch the train or bus like I do now, but I feel it's worth it to be happy.

so please, anyone with knowlege using public transportation, your help will be greatly appreciated!

Well, im from Chicago and i have lived in Fort Wayne before and its very different from the big city like that I was used to..Bus service is not really bus service..there is no train.. & everything is closed on sunday..and they dont sell carry out beer on sundays

[goldpolkadots]

I would look into places like Valpo., and Merriville.
They're somewhat close to Chicago and much nicer than most Northen IN places.

[JoeyBLS]

NICE PLACES TO LIVE: Munster, Highland, Dyer, Schererville, St. John, Crown Point, Porter, Chesterton, Valparaiso, Burns Harbor, Ogden Dunes.

BAD PLACES TO LIVE: Hammond, Gary, East Chicago, Whiting, Lake Station, Michigan City

The South Shore Railroad Line is no more than 20 minutes from any of the above places (except about 25 minutes from Valparaiso or St. John). The train from NW Indiana to Chicago varies from 40 minutes to about 1 hr 10 minutes, depending on what station you get on at.