Single 37 year old living alone....where around South Bend? (Elkhart: cul-de-sac, real estate) - City-Data Forum

dreamer1q · 03-29-2010, 07:10 AM

I am a single 37 year old guy with 3 kids that are all out of the house already or with their mother. I have been offered a very nice position in the South Bend area if I am willing to relocate. I currently live about 1.5 hours north in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and have lived in Michigan my entire life. I could stay in Michigan and just move south, but the benefits of Indiana residency outweight those of Michigan when it comes to taxes, DMV costs, and property taxes. So I want to cross the boarder for my relocation.

Where would be a good place to look for a rental home? I dont mind neighbors, but would prefer they are not on top of me. Simple subdivisions are nice, just not the newer ones that are all brand new. I prefer a little character in my neighberhood. I would be looking for something with a garage and at least 2 bedrooms. While it may only be me, I like a large home and I have my kids coming over all the time as well.

So what areas would satisify my requirements for no further than 20 minutes to South Bend for work, not a run down crime riddled area, and maybe something with some ruralness to it still. I grew up in Northern Michigan for 23 years. I am not afraid of trees, rivers, lakes, or small towns. As long as I can get to a city without too much trouble, besides I will be back to Grand Rapids a few weekends a month anyway.

domergurl · 03-29-2010, 07:22 AM

Madison Twp is very rural and close to SB. You could also go west into North Liberty or Walkerton.

dreamer1q · 03-29-2010, 07:37 AM

It would be nice to be in an area that I can have a fire outside again. Havent had that since I was a kid in North MI.

So is there a specific town in Madison Twp, or is that how the area is listed as?

fallingwater · 03-29-2010, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamer1q

It would be nice to be in an area that I can have a fire outside again. Havent had that since I was a kid in North MI.

So is there a specific town in Madison Twp, or is that how the area is listed as?

Domergurl will have good advice for you. I relocated here from metro Detroit 2 yrs ago and you are correct on a huge difference regarding MI's taxes vs IN's taxes. We briefly entertained the thought of picking a small town in southern MI but we could get so much more house for the money in Indiana. We rented a home in Mishawaka for a year. We lived in the older part of town where the houses are very close, postage stamp size lots and the houses were very old. Although I love the character of older homes we wanted something newer and more space. We ended up in Granger which I love but I was looking for the newer house on a cul-de-sac, good schools because I have a younger child. Even though I am in a newer sub, most of the homes here are on well and septic so the lots are good sized. I have about a quarter of an acre. We have fires outside all the time. Since you do not have to worry about schools and that sort of thing you will have a lot of options. Just from being here for a while, it seems Granger holds its real estate values quite well. When we were putting in bids on houses, no one wanted to budge on price!

Most of the area seems to be from our generation. Most that I have met seem to be in the 30-40 age group. Good luck!

domergurl · 03-29-2010, 09:50 AM

Woodland and Wyatt are about it as far as towns in Madison Twp. bonfires? hecks yea! reminds me of when I was growing up!

cdr18 · 03-29-2010, 10:40 AM

I think you are going to want something a little different than Wyatt and Woodland, those are hardly towns. To stay within twenty minutes of South Bend, I would look into the Wakarusa area, which is in Elkhart County and has beautiful homes with character. I live right outside of Wakarusa (which is a small town) and know of a lot of people who commute to South Bend or Mishawaka for work. It is about a twenty minute drive.

Wakarusa is due east of Madison Township. Other places I would consider are some established neighborhoods in the northern part of South Bend, Granger, mainly anywhere in Mishawaka with the exception of a couple, some established neighborhoods in Elkhart, and Goshen.

Goshen is bigger than Wakarusa (pop. 32k) and has actually maintained their inner city very well. They are known for having a unique downtown with an occupancy rate of about 95% throughout the recession. If you know anything about midwest downtowns during the recession, you can appreciate that statistic.

Let me know what you find out. But I would definitely recommend taking a weekend to travel around the Michiana area and see what you like the most.

domergurl · 03-29-2010, 11:32 AM

I'll second wakarusa.

But you have to admit, Breakfast at the Woodland Inn and dinner at the Wyatt Beef and Brew! C'mon man!

cdr18 · 03-29-2010, 01:18 PM

Haha. I'm not sure a man coming from Grand Rapids will be able to appreciate those restaurants.

dreamer1q · 03-29-2010, 01:44 PM

Exactly my plan, to come down and look around. You guys have given me some good ideas to look at when I am there. Thank you

dreamer1q · 05-03-2010, 08:31 AM

Anyone have any leads for finding rentals in the area? I have googled searched numerous ideas, but I dont find alot of info. Surprising, up here in Grand Rapids there are ALOT of things for rent. Any leads would be great, just need a 3 bed with a garage.....pretty simple.