anyone with info on South Bend, IN? (Mishawaka, Goshen: sales, low crime)

[JstmeinVA]

Hubby has put in for several job offers and one was for South Bend IN, was wondering how the area is. Housing, sales tax, schools? any info would be great, just trying to do some research on the area. Thanks for the help.

Darlene

[JstmeinVA]

Anyone Please? Or any of the surrounding areas? Thanks.

Darlene

[I-miss-Ind]

You need to research the area very carefully. There are several less than desirable places to live and raise children in and around So. Bend. If you stay to the north and east of town or if travel time is not a problem then Mishawaka or Goshen may be better areas to live. The schools are average but most are very large once you get to HS level. You also need to be carefull if you chose to live outside the city limits in the country or small towns. Most of these locations are nice and peacefull while some are breeding grounds for trouble. Don't just trust realtors or the local news as they will paint a picture that will make a sale or attract veiwers, talk with some of the people in and around the neighborhood you are looking at.
Don't get me wrong, in general the location is a good place to raise families, live and work but with the economy the way it is you need to be extra carefull where you chose to move to. You may want to take the time to visit whatever areas you have job offers from just to get a feel of the people.
Good luck

[JstmeinVA]

Thanks for the info, I am trying to be careful as much as possible, I have three children one out of HS, one still in HS, and one in middle school, we have turned down postions in Utah, Texas, and New Mexico after much reasearch, we want to move to a nice area, country, low crime, good schools...of course, the job that has called my hubby is in South Bend so if we need to commute from outside that city will be fine. thanks for the help.

[dbrewer73]

You definitely need to look at Mishawaka, Granger, and Goshen. South Bend schools are horrible and are continually changing. Mishawaka City schools are decent, Penn Harris Madison Schools are very good, and from what I hear Goshen Schools are good too.

[domergurl]

Penn Harris Madison schools are the best in the area if you don't want to go private. With Penn, you can live out in the country and still be within the school boundaries. You can look in a rural community called Wyatt if you want country living.

Another community you could look into is Plymouth. It's south of South Bend on US 31, straight shot into the city about 30 minutes-45 minutes. It's a smaller school system, but still very good.

[thejoe]

Originally Posted by JstmeinVA

Hubby has put in for several job offers and one was for South Bend IN, was wondering how the area is. Housing, sales tax, schools? any info would be great, just trying to do some research on the area. Thanks for the help.

Darlene

Notre Dame's there.

[stefanie83]

hello! sorry i don't know a whole lot but i want to try to help. i am a ND student and I live in the river park neighborhood in south east south bend. i love that neighborhood. it is close to the river walk which is absolutely beautiful. the schools in south bend have a poor reputation however but since my child is only 1 that's not an issue for us. mishawaka is right next door to south bend and Penn High school has a very good reputation around here. someone mentioned granger so i will tell you that MANY notre dame professors live there, and my guess is so their kids can go to good schools. most people think south bend is pretty horrible but i don't have much to compare on other than evansville indiana, which i think is better than south bend. but, like i said, mishawaka or granger might be good for you. good luck!

[claremarie]

Housing is extremely affordable. The city of South Bend has seen better days, and there are a lot of poor people there, which is reflected in the dismal performance of the city's school system. There is also a lot of petty and not-so-petty crime, such as homicide, in some South Bend neighborhoods. However, Granger, which is a few miles away, is a largely peaceful suburban/country community with a wide range of housing options (most on well and septic rather than city water/sewer) and reasonably good schools. There is plenty of big-box shopping along Grape and Main Streets in Mishawaka, and virtually no traffic issues except on Notre Dame football weekends. Folks here will complain about traffic, but they have clearly never lived in a major metropolitan area. If you want to live way out in the country, it's very easy to commute into a job in downtown South Bend or near the Notre Dame campus.
People here are extremely friendly -- from the agents at the BMV to the Home Depot employees who actually know what their store sells and can find it for you. And speak English at the same time!

[DLK55]

Another small town between South Bend in Plymouth is Lakeville. It's a very small town about 10-11 miles from South Bend, less than 1,000 people and would qualify as country. I'm not terribly familiar with it though. I know the housing is affordable but I can't speak for the quality/age of it and I don't know anything about the school system.