What's it like to live in indiana? (Hammond, Schererville: best neighborhoods, house)

[SWGal]

We live in Oak Lawn, Illinois and we'd like to move to Indiana. We've heard the housing, taxes, cost and quality of living are much better in Indiana. We'd like to move to Indiana and live as close to the Indiana/Illinois border as possible since my husband will be commuting to Midway Airport on a daily basis. We have 4 children and really need more home for the money, if that's possible. We'd like to know some personal opinions about the best neighborhoods, schools, crime, demographics, where to look and what areas to stay away from; generally, what's it really like to live in Indiana and raise a family? Thanks to everyone for your help!

[bluidmc]

You might try the St. John or Dyer area. It's just about on the border of Illinois. I really like St. John, it's small town in some ways but it's also another suburb of Chicago. Taxes are less then Illinois according to many web sites. I have a cousin who went to the High School there and really loved it.

[rrah]

Your best options for towns are Munster and Dyer. Munster schools are outstanding, but home prices are higher than Dyer in general. The western areas of Schererville or Highland might work also. I'm recommending these towns because they are the closest and safest to the IL border. Hammond is technically closer, but the schools are not as good. From these other places your husband could drive west on 30 or Ridge Rd. and hit the Bishop Ford in a couple of spots. Depending upon his preferences he could merge with the Dan Ryan or use the TriState. I did a similar commute years ago. It took about an hour (leaving by 6:00 am and returning around 3:30). There are some "back ways" to go that one learns about pretty quickly when the TriState is backed up, etc. Is he up for the daily commute?

I think you'll find living in Indiana is similar to Oak Lawn except quieter and slower. I do believe you'll find more house for the money in IN, but I don't know what prices are currently like in Oak Lawn. My parents made this same decision (IL versus NW IN) decades ago and never regretted it.

[SWGal]

Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it!