Is Gary, Indiana Really That Bad (Merrillville, Hobart: apartment, home, university)

[JoeyBLS]

DON'T MOVE TO GARY!!! Go to Crown Point, Schererville, or even Valparaiso.

[sweetana3]

When I was there a long time ago, they stole cars out of the fenced parking lot right next to the front door of our building during the day. We almost had a serious incident when one manager went out in the afternoon and ran into someone stealing a car.

I had to go downtown once and it was old, dirty and depressing. Most of the area was not very pleasant. About a 180 degrees from some of the similiar towns around Chicago.

[rjim]

I dont live in Gary, but I do work there quite often, Mostly in the worst of neiborhoods and in the middle of the night. Gary, is not the ideal town too live in but one thing is always over looked by outsiders, Gary has a lot of good people in it. Yes I mean it! I never been robbed there are had any real problems. I was sent to an address to look at something, when I got there I didnt even slow down, Yeah, it was a very bad drug spot, but if you not there to buy or sell drugs or cause trouble no one usually bothers you at all. If I were single and not married I would buy a house there tomorrow, because its cheap enough that any one even with a minumem wage job could afford a house if they save just a little. I am not saying take the town for a joke, but just that there are alot of GOOD people there ........... just few oppotunities

[prairiestate]

And how does the fact that there are many good people in Gary keep you from being hit by stray gunfire?

[carenab]

Gary is bad!! Gangs, high crime rate, abandoned buildings with broken windows and graffiti, drug dealers on corners, etc.

Thankfully the crime in Gary doesn't really overflow into the neighboring communities. It is cut off from the rest of NW Indiana. I live pretty close and while I don't live in the best of neighborhoods, I feel safe. I grew up in Crown Point which is VERY safe.

[tycobb2522]

Gary is worse than your worst nightmare; believe it. It is a stinking hole, as bad as any town, anywhere, in the U.S.

[LIS123]

It would not come as a big surprise if some of the problems in Gary spillover to the bordering areas of Merrillville, Griffith and East Chicago (which isn't all that by itself).

One nice thing about NWI is that you do not need to be wealthy to live in a nice community. I wouldn't recommend Gary when there are so many communities that are much nicer and still affordable.

[Avengerfire]

Yes it is.

[carenab]

Oh, and I forgot to mention the whole "murder capital" thing. I don't think it is anymore, but a few years ago Gary was declared the murder capital of the nation because it had the most murders per capita. Even today, the murder rate is 8.75x the national average. It frequently ranks as one of the top dangerous cities in the US.

[Capt. Dan]

Dont listen to these people! Gary is a wonderful city! Palm trees. Beautiful blonde women everywhere. You dont even have to lock your doors at night! Its the only drug free city in America. Move there! You'll love it!