Schererville (Gary, Chesterton: crime, appointed, moving)

[Crocostimpy]

After having finally completed the house thing and the move thing, I thought I'd follow up here with some comments.

We ended up buying a house in St. John, not very far from Schererville. So far it seems like a nice place. The few people we've met so far are very nice. The schools turned out to be very good. I have a child at Kolling Elementary and one at the new middle school Clark. My drive time to work is about 45 minutes, although with the construction on 294 now it sometimes takes a little longer. I'm experimenting with a backroads shortcut that takes 101st street out to 394, instead of going up 41 to 30 and out to 394. So far it doesn't shave much time, but I'm moving most of the time anyways.

For anyone moving to NW Indiana from another state, here's a few things you can classify as "What the heck!? Nobody told us about that!" It's probably because it's just second nature to residents and they don't think twice about it.

First, if you have a nice, shiny new car, sell it and buy a beater. The state charges you an excise tax on the value of your car every year. It goes down every year, but not by much. I'll have to pay close to $300 this year to register my two year old car. And next year I'll do it all over again.

Second, don't let your jaw hit the floor when the school tells you that you have to pay to rent your child's textbooks. Emphasis on rent. I've lived in two other states and never have I had to pay for my kid's books at a public school. That's what my property taxes are for, or the school levy, or whatever. The charge at my daughter's elementary school is $150 for third grade. Fortunately we only had to pay half of that because she will only be there a few months of this school year. I hear from a neighbor that the high school is upwards of $250. And now with the property tax reform, the schools are already talking about rising costs and cutting programs, so I look for those charges to go up next year.

So anyways, those were our big surprises. My real estate lady couldn't understand why I was so upset when I heard about the tax on the cars every year. She's had to pay it every year of her adult life so it didn't seem like such a big thing. In the end these little extra expenses will probably make up for the money we saved off of SW Chicago suburb property taxes. But we still got a bigger house for the money.

Incidentally, I hear that Illinois schools also charge you to rent your childs books for the year, so if you're debating between living in IN or IL I don't think you can get away from it.

[artemis]

Depends on the school system in Illinois. When we lived there, we had to buy the kids books.

About the car tag prices ... I had a friend who bought a brand new Cutlass back in the early 80's. I remember her being shocked when she had to pay over $350 for her tags. I have heard that some of the casino $$ have made prices better than they used to be. I sure don't miss that. Mine cost me $79 per year now. :-)

I hope that Lake County has their property tax mess straightened out now. Some people took a real beating in the last 5 yrs or so. Seems the Assessor's office was total chaos for a while.

[Chuckity]

The worst thing about car tags in Indiana is that your renewal date is based off of your name instead of date of registration.

So, if you're a multiple vehicle family, instead of having it spread out throughout the year it's due all at once. We have 3 cars + a trailer and I think this year we'll pay out $600+ all at once.

It sucks.

[domergurl]

These two issues have been covered on previous posts ... sorry 'bout that Chuck.

Our sales tax just went up to 7% too. But I still think that food and medicine are exempt from sales tax, which is nice. Can't remember what state you moved from, but when we moved back to Indiana from Illinois, we immediately felt the property tax dip in our favor.

Shake it off, it's just a shock to the system. You'll be fine, welcome to Indiana.

[Crocostimpy]

We moved from Pennsylvania, and thought that state couldn't keep their hands out of your pockets. Our property taxes are about $1000 less here, so that's good.

You're right, it's just a shock. We'll get used to it. I told our agent that she should tell people who are moving from out of state just so they're aware of it.

[domergurl]

Or they can come to City-data!!! I hope you are enjoying the Region!

[Luv4ThePaws]

I don't even know if people will read this... the thread seems to be older, but thanks for all the info that everyone forgets to tell you about!! I thought NC would be much cheaper than CA, but when I moved here... Low and behold... We have that stupid "car tax"/"buy your plates" garbage that no one told me about. It's supposed to help pay for the roads, but if you saw the roads........ I don't think the money goes to repairs... So, my husband and I pay about $650/year in car tax for two cars, plus you have to have your vehicle inspected every year (another $40/car) plus several hundred dollars to do the DMV transferring when you first move. I really wish someone had told me before I moved, so thanks Croco for the info! I would have been mad, thinking I escaped all that garbage, only to find it in IN..... Guess I'll start saving for the car fund...

[WildWestDude]

Welcome. In a year or so we can call you a Hoosier.
Yes, the license plates are expensive but they are much cheaper than they were some 10-15 years ago. As stated, some of the casino $ from the state have been going to decrease those fees.
How do you like the overall feeling of the area?

[Luv4ThePaws]

Thanks for the welcome, Wild West, but we aren't Hoosiers yet! Sorry my post went on a rant there... It was me being angry that IN had car tax too and here I thought I might escape it when we move there.... Silly me for thinking that! But, we are currently in NC, visiting the Valpo/Chesterton area in two weeks. It makes me nervous moving out there, reading the Gary threads and the spillover of violence and crime... But, we are excited to check it out and hopefully we will find a nice place out there to raise our kids!

[WildWestDude]

Originally Posted by Luv4ThePaws

Thanks for the welcome, Wild West, but we aren't Hoosiers yet! Sorry my post went on a rant there... It was me being angry that IN had car tax too and here I thought I might escape it when we move there.... Silly me for thinking that! But, we are currently in NC, visiting the Valpo/Chesterton area in two weeks. It makes me nervous moving out there, reading the Gary threads and the spillover of violence and crime... But, we are excited to check it out and hopefully we will find a nice place out there to raise our kids!

I was welcoming the OP, Crocostimpy, but the welcome is extended to you also whenever you make it out here!
Anyway, I believe that the spillover from Gary to Valpo/Chesterton is overstated, though I have not been there lately. You should be safe there. It has always been a great city to raise a family.