Questions about, Berne, IN/Angola, IN/Lakeville, IN (Indianapolis, South Bend: crime, home)

[fbcoach4life]

Any information on these towns would be greatley appreciated. Good/Bad etc. Moving from Colorado, originally from Nebraska. Thanks in advance.

[domergurl]

All are small-ish towns. Angola has a university (Tri-State). Berne has a lot of Amish in the area. Lakeville is between South Bend and Plymouth and closer to Chicago than the other 2 places. All 3 have major highways if you need to get to Indianapolis.

[Icky]

I grew up just about 5 miles from Berne and my husband was transplanted there as a elementary-school kid. It's very, very small. There's restaurants - DQ, McDonald's, a few pizza joints, and a few local places. It's a very conservative Christian town and there is 1 public school option. It is a good school system, though.

Berne is known for Swiss Village (a huge retirement center), Swiss Days (local festival), Amish and Amishville (campground), and EP Graphics (publishing company). There are two hospitals about 20-25 minutes away (in Decatur and Bluffton). It's about 30-40 minutes away from the interstate. The closest "big" towns are Ft Wayne and the Muncie/Marion area for shopping/movies. Berne has a few gas stations, a local grocery store, a car dealership, some local businesses, a library, churches, a bar, a bowling alley...not a lot.

I'm not trashing Berne. It can be very different than what a person expects. I lived there for a bit, I like it. I happen to like tiny towns with not a lot to do. People who've lived in the area all their lives are from a German-Swiss background. There is very little ethnic diversity. It's quiet and safe. Crime is very very petty - more like high school pranks. People don't lock their doors, the kids are safe to play outside.

Housing is cheap in this part of the country too!

Hope this helps,
Jenny

[Bernite]

haha I didn't even know Berne had a forum! That's great I'll have to show everyone... Besides that, Berne is a great place to live. Where else can you step outside and within an hour see at least 5 Amish go by? The school, although public, is as close to a private Christian school as you can get. Too bad I didn't find this in January... Ah well.

[HoosierRN]

Here is a link to the website for Berne.

Welcome to Berne, Indiana (260) 589-8080

If you are used to the larger city life, Berne is not it. I am not trashing it either, but you need to be aware of that it is a very small town. Berne is in Adams county, which is home to a large community of Amish.

Angola has a lot of lakes around it, and it a bit hilly compared to the Berne area. Angola probably gets a lot of summer visitors because of the lakes. There is a nice state park too near Angola that has a toboggan run that is open during the winter.

Good luck to you, wherever you end up calling home.