Best Part Of Rural Indiana To Live? (Indianapolis, South Bend: renting, mobile home)

[xWNYer]

My family & I are interested in a possible relocation to Indiana. We currently live in the Upper Great Plains with long, brutally cold winters (-20 to -35 w/o windchill ) with an occasional blizzard or two and very short summers. I've traveled through northern Indiana a number of times on I-80/90. I'm interested in a rural area of the state to live in. I would like to be within a 30-45 minute drive to a large town/city for shopping & work. My wife and I like the outdoors (walks, sight seeing, finding antique shops, fishing) and my kids like to swim and bike ride. I'm looking to keep my life simple and cheap. I'm interested in (most likely renting) a small house or a mobile home (not in a mobile home park). As far as jobs, my wife works in the healthcare field and I have done both technical & non-technical work (truck driver, forklift driver, lab tech & environmental scientist). Any help would be appreciated.

[Grandma(in waiting)]

Try the area around Bloomington. There are lots of really nice rural areas surrounding it and you won't have to experience the brutal cold you are describing.

Bloomington isn't a huge city, but there are employment opportunities in healthcare. It's also only a 45-60 minute drive to Indianapolis (traffic and weather depending).

[domergurl]

I'd say somewhere in southern indiana ... bloomington included (Grandma ) Brown county is very very rural and you'd have plenty of access to brown county state park. There are areas around Trafalgar Indiana where you can get to the hospitals in and around indy or Columbus easily.

[cdr18]

I honestly think the area around I 80/90 would be ideal for you. The little towns in Elkhart County are rural enough, but not so rural that you have nothing by you. You have two decent sized towns in Elkhart and Goshen, and then those are connected to South Bend and Mishawaka. Plenty of jobs are becoming available within the RV industry, as it is beginning to rebound. I think you will enjoy the charm of the small towns around Elkhart. Look up information about Middlebury, Wakarusa, Nappanee, Bristol and the countryside around them. There are beautiful ranch houses and mobile homes around this area.

Also, you still get the snow which I am sure you like, but not as windy with blizzard conditions as you probably experience now. I think you will enjoy the small town pace that many of these communities offer. There is also a large Amish presence here in northern Indiana, which in return gives you nice little shops and antique stores in towns such as Shipshewana, Middlebury, and Nappanee.

Ask if you have any more questions!

[xWNYer]

Thank you for your posts. I lived in Western NY for a number of years and we had quite a sizeable Amish population there. It's an area that is very flat and just farm country (dairy cows & corn) - my family & I loved it there but the cost of living was (and still is) outrageous! We're trying to find a home in the $40-60k range with an acre or two of land with taxes under $1000/year. I love the Midwest especially the IN/OH area . BTW, what are some of the differences (if any) between north & south IN? I ask this because when I tell people I grew up in NY they think New York City right away. I grew up in the Catskill Mountains and it's all country. Just as NY has areas as different as night is from day, I assume IN maybe like that as well? Please let me know your thoughts.

[domergurl]

northern indiana is flat, which southern indiana is hilly ... glaciers stopped and receded just south of indianapolis, that's the main difference. It's prettier down here.

[cdr18]

The only Amish in Indiana are mainly concentrated in Elkhart and LaGrange counties. With some scattered here and there around this area. It is a very sizable Amish population here as well (I think 3rd largest in the country??) THe cost of living is very cheap around here, however, some of the rural parts may be a little more expensive than the actual city. The difference between southern and northern indiana is quite noticeable, however, not as noticeable as the difference between NYC and Upstate New York. Here are some differences that I can think of:

-Southern Indiana tends to have more of a southern accent than does Northern Indiana.
-Northern Indiana is more populated than Southern Indiana, but not by too much
-Areas of Northern Indiana (La Porte, St. Joseph, and Elkhart counties) get more snow than anywhere in Indiana, because of lake-effect. Southern Indiana probably gets around 25-30 inches per year while parts of N. Indiana get 70-80 inches.
-Northern Indiana is very heavily reliant on manufacturing goods (RV, auto, furniture), however, all of Indiana is heavy on manufacturing, with Indianapolis (central indiana) the most diversified by far.
-These are the immediate things that come to mind.....

Let me know if you have any more questions!

[cdr18]

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Elkhart County has the 2nd largest 4H Fair in the entire country! It is definitely an experience.

[rrah]

There is also an Amish community in Daviess County, IN in the areas of Washington, Odon, and Montgomery. I sometimes see them shopping in Bedford. It's not unusual to see a buggy along Highway 37 in that area. Less frequently I'll see them shopping in Bloomington. Several families consistently bring their produce to the Bloomington Farmer's Market during the summer. Their work in house building, woodworking, cabinet making, etc. is well known in Bloomington.

[BenjaminF]

I like the area around Turkey Run. I vacation there yearly, camping and such. I live in northwest indiana so the scenic views down in that area of southern indiana are remarkable. And I think there's a noticeable difference in air quality compared to the area up here. The "country" area does have better air than the city area :-)