Looking to move possibly to Northwest Indiana... (Hammond, Lafayette: home, transfer)

[peachkitten]

My husband and I are thinking of moving back to northwest Indiana.

We are in our mid-twenties and looking for a more laid back FRIENDLY community than the city suburb we are currently in.

Are there any communities that are similar to this? We went to Valparaiso University for college, although didn't really think about moving back later on. We love the area around the dunes...but really looking for a younger area since we are only in our twenties. We do plan on having a family in a few years.

Any suggestions for finding a place to live? any communities that stand out?

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by peachkitten

My husband and I are thinking of moving back to northwest Indiana.

We are in our mid-twenties and looking for a more laid back FRIENDLY community than the city suburb we are currently in.

Are there any communities that are similar to this? We went to Valparaiso University for college, although didn't really think about moving back later on. We love the area around the dunes...but really looking for a younger area since we are only in our twenties. We do plan on having a family in a few years.

Any suggestions for finding a place to live? any communities that stand out?

Are you going to be commuting to the Chicagoland area or looking at getting a job in the Northwest Indiana area? As you know, Porter County has been growing in population and is now turning into another suburban area of Chicago. However, the individual towns in the county still strive to preserve their character. Portage is a growing suburban town but the population is around 30,000. Chesterton is a smaller community with around 15,000 people. The towns near the Dunes are going to be more exclusive and the home values there will be a lot more compared with some other towns. Valparaiso is growing as well and the area has had more suburban sprawl related growth recently. I hear from a friend that their are some new construction related projects going on at the University as well. The town is great, and I attended Valparaiso University before transfering to another school. The annual popcorn festival in the fall is still a huge deal there. If you are looking at a more rural town I would try Boone Grove, Kouts, or Hebron. These towns would all have under 5,000 population and are located in the southern part of Porter County.

[artemis]

Where will you be working?

LaPorte County is nice too, lower cost of living.

[peachkitten]

We don't have jobs yet...its just a vague inclination to get out of the fast paced area we are currently in. I personally have a two hour total commute/day.

Thought I'd do a little research first on communities and then on corresponding jobs and try to find a few places that fit the bill. Is that a good way to go about it? I don't think getting a job will be an issue.

[valpoguy]

Make no mistake, NW Indiana is part of suburban Chicago, though you're right that it's slower-paced than many of the burbs on the Illinois side. (Depending upon which one you're in currently.) I personally find that to be a drawback, not a benefit. I'd prefer to live in the city, but my job is out here and I hate commuting. If you're currently commuting two hours, though, your commute from here to downtown Chicago would be shorter than your current one, for sure.

I personally haven't found anything in NWI geared toward young people....and I'm in my early 30's. I would think if I were in my 20's it would be even worse, unless you want to hang out with VU students. I'm a little too old for that crowd, but a little too young (at heart, anyway) for the surban-family-churchy type crowds that are the primary demo here. Since you went to VU fairly recently, you should have a pretty good idea of what you'd be getting into by moving back, and whether you'd like it or not. I don't, but everyone is different.

[valpoguy]

Originally Posted by peachkitten

We don't have jobs yet...its just a vague inclination to get out of the fast paced area we are currently in. I personally have a two hour total commute/day.

Sorry, I just realized you said two hour TOTAL. (I was thinking each way.) In that case, your commute from most of NWI to downtown would be similar, unless you lived in one of the closer-in Indiana burbs like Hammond.

[wendyjane]

I hear Munster is a nice town and people who live there really seem to like it. Someone I know who lives there said he will call friends in the north suburbs to meet them downtown and he will get there in 20 minutes and have to wait for them since he would arrive well before they will!

[plantlover]

I grew up in Lafayette Indiana. I consider it to be in northwestern IN. It was a great place! I moved to south Florida due to getting a job down here, but I loved Lafayette.

[valpoguy]

I think most people would consider Lafayette to be Central Indiana. I've normally heard NW Indiana refer to the 5 counties that are part of the Chicago metro. Lafayette is only an hour from Indy, which is central.

[domergurl]

My Whiting born and raised husband contends that the region is Lake County only. I beg to differ. I include Porter County too. But the true region rats are those from northern lake county.