SoCal to Granger (or thereabouts) (South Bend, Elkhart: for sale, real estate, rental)

[Tricia 2]

We're moving from Southern California to the Granger/South Bend/Middlebury area and any advice would be much appreciated.

We've got an almost 2 year old, so we are looking to rent for a while before buying a home (give us time to assess neighborhoods, find schools, all that good stuff.) Hubby grew up in Michiana but I'm native Cal - so what kind of culture shock should I expect? And what should we look out for?

Thanks in advance ~

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by Tricia 2

We're moving from Southern California to the Granger/South Bend/Middlebury area and any advice would be much appreciated.

We've got an almost 2 year old, so we are looking to rent for a while before buying a home (give us time to assess neighborhoods, find schools, all that good stuff.) Hubby grew up in Michiana but I'm native Cal - so what kind of culture shock should I expect? And what should we look out for?

Thanks in advance ~

Since hubby is a native, he should be able to ease the transition for you. That will help. Be prepared for weather changes, obviously. Lake effect snow is just lovely! Humidity!!!

Schools in the Penn Harris Madison district (Granger) are very good. And the schools in Middlebury are growing like wildfire and are a bit smaller than the Granger schools.

From the dept. of ed's website (a great resouce btw)
Search for Schools
Search for Schools

[Jakehorror]

Culture shock...yes, you will be shocked. I want you to have a pleasant experience so I will painfully refrain from going into one of my depressing rants.
Put it this way, SoCal and Indiana are like...like...Apples and rusty steel, Cotton Candy and Old gasoline,...VERY different. I see you have a child and THAT will help you alot actually. Michiana is a great place to raise a family as it is financially a breeze and rents are dirt cheap in comparison to SoCal. The exchange is you will be dealing with about 6-7 months of not-so-desirable weather...but you can buy alot of stuff because it's so cheap to live here.
I'm stepping out on a limb here, but I assume you are heading toward the "raising a family" direction? If so, and assuming the weather wont bother you, YOU WILL DO GREAT HERE!!!
Culture shock: We are about 6 months to a year behind in fashion. Places like Elkhart and Goshen are even 10 years behind in some parts. People here seem to be very content and "comfortable" as in SoCal many are career oriented and always reaching for more. Kinda funny, wife and I (lifelong proud emptynesters) are moving TO SoCal March 1st
Sorry if I didn't directly give you the answers you wanted, hope I helped a little anyways. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ronzou]

Granger, Indiana (IN) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

According to this Granger is a very upscale place it seems!

[Tricia 2]

Thanks for the links and culture comments.

At the moment, we're having a really hard time finding a house to rent. Tons of stuff for sale but we really want to look around, check out schools, find the right neighborhood before we buy.

Any suggestions on finding a rental house? We're willing to live in the general area of Granger (hubby's job is in Middlebury) - I've been told that there are some kind of yucky neighborhoods to avoid in Elkhart and South Bend. Any comments on Osceoloa? We actually had one realtor send us the Craigslist stuff - ummmm, not quite as helpful as we were hoping. What we'd like is 3-4 bedrooms, a landlord that will take our very sweet family dog (Irish Setter), hopefully a fenced yard on a not busy street. We figures a rent about $1000-1500.

JakeHorror - funny coincidence! Where in SoCal? If you're looking to rent near San Diego, boy do we have a house for you ..... lol.

[Ronzou]

I'm looking out in the San Diego area! However, I doubt I could afford anything at the moment, because I'm still searching for jobs!

Here are a few more links

MyGranger.com - Granger's Online Newsletter
City of Granger, Indiana : Information Resources for Granger Residents and Visitors.

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by Ronzou

I'm looking out in the San Diego area! However, I doubt I could afford anything at the moment, because I'm still searching for jobs!

Here are a few more links

MyGranger.com - Granger's Online Newsletter
City of Granger, Indiana : Information Resources for Granger Residents and Visitors.

Hey, Im looking out there too. What good is it being inexpensive here if you cant find or keep a job here?

[Ronzou]

Originally Posted by nebulous1

Hey, Im looking out there too. What good is it being inexpensive here if you cant find or keep a job here?

Well my problem is Indiana isn't technological. So there isn't really a reason for me to stay here. If I had chosen a different career I might stay, but I kinda shot myself in the foot lol.

Need a roommate?

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by Ronzou

Well my problem is Indiana isn't technological. So there isn't really a reason for me to stay here. If I had chosen a different career I might stay, but I kinda shot myself in the foot lol.

Need a roommate?

This sounds like a great reality show!

[Jakehorror]

Hahaha! There's no WAY I could afford a house in San Diego! We're moving to L.A. and then in a year or so we plan on trying to buy a home in the Ontario or Fontana area. Renting to start.