Terre Haute... A "Cut" Above? (Evansville, Bloomington: crime, credit)

[blogger1776]

I've been living in TH for almost two years now. I've lived in several states and cities throughout my life. I'm writing this today to hopefully warn others who may be thinking of moving here to STOP, TURN AROUND and move ANYWHERE else! Unless your idea of a "cut above" is horribly maintained streets, dubious local government, shady government, meth suppiers on every corner, prostitution usually a block away and the STINK! I don't know what they pump into the air here, but there are days when it stinks of rotting maggot crap that I can hardly see the road because my eyes are so watery. There are no decent jobs here. I work online thank GOD! When I first came here the only job I could find paid $6.50 an hour. I came from a $45,000 a year income. What a shock. But then again it led me to find my own way online. I've even had other people tell me they can feel the blackness of this town as soon as they arrive. I agree. I'm not sure what or why, but there is some sort of weird black cloud thing in terms of feeling. There is a very clear and defined line between the two types of people living here. There's the rednecks "hoosiers" as they liked to be referred to and the whitenecks. Hmm... whiteneck would be the people making $19,000+ a year "somehow" and driving the biggest SUV they could beg the dealer into letting them buy on credit. Apparently 98% of the population is on meth and/or crack. I'm telling you, it is this bad. I lived in St. Louis for YEARS and never seen so much filth, disgust and drugs. Terre Haute is just a cut above hell itself. Besides, in five years the population has seriously DEcreased. What does that say? Either people are moving or the cancer rate is as high as they say... probably from the toxic crap they pump into air. A few years ago they had a Mayor that wanted to clean the town up, beautify it, get rid of the 600+ crack houses, get rid of stink and just try to improve things. They ousted in from office! That's what Terre Haute thinks about improvements. They want to stay in the 70's ere but will allow all of the crankers in the world to come here. Revenue reasons? Who knows? I can't wait to get out of this town and away from all of it's BS crap! What a nightmare!

[irnag]

Terre Haute had potential to be a great city, but constant mismanagement of the city has left it in perpetual decay. Fifty years ago, this was a great town. It had two very large theatres and was able to attact national shows. With the prostitution and gambling, the place was Vegas before there was a Vegas. But they "cleaned" up the city and in the process, took away its identity. Look at the Terre Haute House. It is the biggest eyesore in town and stands next to the plaque that promotes that intersection as the crossroads of america. I spent 13 years in that town and I can't say they were all bad, but I could not understand the lack of vision of the native Terre Hauteans. One example was I was the original brewmaster of the Terre Haute Brewery. I thought with the nostalgia aspect, the brewery had great potential. I thought I was investing my money in the project, but the owner didn't seem to think so. He thought I was just doing it as a hobby. Essentially he wanted something for nothing. Basically he wanted to run a nightclub where he could have his cronies come in and play music and the quality of the beer was an afterthought.

[Southside Shrek]

I always felt a downer driving down to Terre Haute. not my idea of a nice place to live and work. My welcome to the town was a speed trap set up to the north of town and I drove right into it. My joy and anxiety of wanting to visit the town for the first time made me step on the gas pedal a little too hard.

[zimmerdj]

Could not agree more with blogger on TH. I grew up about 45 east of TH and would either go through or stop in occasionally and as he stated, you really do just feel this weird ass vibe. The stink is incredible. I live in West Lafayette right now attending Purdue, who also has a stink due to a dog food rendering plant, but TH is even beyond comprehension depending on which way the wind is blowing. The meth use is out of control and has since spread out of TH into the rural areas and small towns nearby. The crime is ridiculous. My sister attends Indiana State University in TH and her roommate one day went to the grocery store, put his groceries on the porch to walk up stairs to unlock and open the door, when he walked back down to the porch to carry his groceries up, they were gone!! I had never heard of such a thing. I had two other friends get broken into and robbed, one at gunpoint. Another friend had a beautiful restored Trans Am that someone put a brick through the windshield simply because it was the nicest car on the street. So yeah, stay away from TH if you have absolutely any choice at all. Plus, there is a big cat rescue area in Centerton (near TH) that has lions, tigers, panthers, etc. They have had a handful of animals escape the last couple years, some have never been found. So there is something else to think about if you live outside of TH to the east.

[domergurl]

I've only heard of one escapee from the Feline Rescue Center. I don't think you will be gored by a wild animal in TH.

[zimmerdj]

I didnt mean you would be gored by a wild animal in TH. A cougar wouldn't go into the city limits but one would take a dog or livestock.

[M TYPE X]

Terre Haute is indeed a depressing area. Been through there once, but not again.

[moving007]

All that I have read here is terrible. Is ther anything good to say? If I take a job there what are the best areas to live in? What about smaller towns outside of TH? PLEASE REPLY.

[rsh085]

When I think of Terre Haute, I think I always wince a bit...the town is a dump in every sense of the word. The town is decaying thanks to inept government and it's a shame that surrounding cities in S. Indiana like Evansville and Bloomington are like polar opposites.

There's pretty much no surrounding towns, moving007, of note. Just lots of farmland.

[dodeca]

I guess I'll have to step in an defend Terre Haute. The posts above certainly refer to the problems, but I think terribly exaggerate the situation. Terre Haute is a poorer, slow growth town. Housing is reasonable, the schools are generally good, and there are two major universities, and two smaller colleges in town or the surrounding suburbs. The government has its share of problems, but that might be changing. Downtown has seen better days, but recently significant new investment has been announced.

For a city its size, Terre Haute has good shopping for the middle of the road. There are good restaurants - chain heavy - but many good local "American" restaurants. It is certainly not as international as Bloomington or other Big Ten towns, but Indiana State does attract a fair number of international students.

The smell is definitely a problem, but not nearly what it was 20 years ago when I was growing up there. The city is actually much more attractive than it was then,and downtown has started to fill in; ISU's campus is also much improved. Meth - it's a problem too, but crime is not bad. I am never afraid to walk outside, though I would be more cautious in some neighborhoods.

Terre Haute would probably not be an exciting place to live for a new college graduate, but for young families, retirees, there is plenty to do. There are excellent neighborhoods around Collett Park, Ohio Boulevard, Farrington Grove is slowly improving, and the surrounding suburban areas - especially immediately south, and the northeastern and northwestern countryside is very scenic. The area is more heavily forested than its northern Hoosier neighbors, and Bloomington, Indy are only an hour away; Chicago is about 3.5 on a very clear highway.

Im not saying that TH is for everyone, but there are opportunities there. If you need manufactured fun, then you might look somewhere else.