Relocating to NWI, Possible Valpo or Cedar Lake - Thoughts on Neighborhoods / Schools (Hammond: for sale, real estate)

[Google_VP]

Hi All-

My family and I will be relocating to NWI in the coming weeks...Maybe Valpo or Cedar Lake(looking for smaller public schools.) Any thoughts or suggestions from the forum on neighborhoods? Looking for 4-5 bedroom, 1/2+ acre lot, family friendly, $300K+-. Will be commuting to the Hammond area for work. May relocate again in 2-3 years so will need to be somewhere where homes will have an appreciable resale value.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by Google_VP

Hi All-

My family and I will be relocating to NWI in the coming weeks...Maybe Valpo or Cedar Lake(looking for smaller public schools.) Any thoughts or suggestions from the forum on neighborhoods? Looking for 4-5 bedroom, 1/2+ acre lot, family friendly, $300K+-. Will be commuting to the Hammond area for work. May relocate again in 2-3 years so will need to be somewhere where homes will have an appreciable resale value.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi and welcome...

I don't think you'd have any problem finding what you're looking for with a $300k budget in either of those towns, although it may be a little tougher to find it in Valpo I would presume. We have a few real estate professionals who post regularly on here who may be able to help more on that.

As far as school size, are you looking for smaller size of school corporation, # of kids in the building, or # of kids in the classrooms? Valpo is one of the larger districts in the area. Cedar Lake feeds into, with a few small exceptions, the Hanover School district. Hanover is smaller as terms of the district's student population (2124 students whereas Valpo is 6,171). However, I think most would agree that Valpo schools are the more highly regarded of the two... although Hanover school aren't not bad by any means.

[PJSaturn]

Welcome to NWI, Google_VP. I moved to Valpo in 1987 and never looked back. It is a wonderful city to live in; family friendly and with very good schools. There are tons of great city-sponsored activities for families. You can definitely find a nice home on a good-sized lot for around $300K.


The housing market in Porter County is good right now. New subdivisions are going up and most homes seems to sell rather quickly.


Valpo has a thriving downtown with excellent restaurants, small shops and its Central Park Plaza. It's only a 20-minute drive from the south shore of Lake Michigan, including Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Great beaches and hiking. It's also a 20-minute drive to the Dunes Station for the South Shore commuter train to Chicago (it stops in Hammond). It's also less than an hour's drive to SW Michigan's "Harbor Country" with its beautiful scenery and wineries.


Feel free to direct-message me if you'd like to chat about Valpo.

.

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by Google_VP

Hi All-

My family and I will be relocating to NWI in the coming weeks...Maybe Valpo or Cedar Lake(looking for smaller public schools.) Any thoughts or suggestions from the forum on neighborhoods? Looking for 4-5 bedroom, 1/2+ acre lot, family friendly, $300K+-. Will be commuting to the Hammond area for work. May relocate again in 2-3 years so will need to be somewhere where homes will have an appreciable resale value.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like your basics are looking at a few possibilities in the Cedar Lake Area:


Cedar Lake has a few subdivisions with the High $200's being the price tag. I live in Centennial and love how the subdivision is shaping up to be. Olthof Homes (the builder) has quite a few models for sale. 4-5 Bedrooms available. You're looking closer to 1/4 Acre lots though. Hanover Schools


Robin's Nest Subdivision by Shilling has a few homes for sale with similar spec's as above. Some of these homes are going for less right now as the subdivision is built out and some are being auctioned at the moment. Crown Point Schools


I would also check out Havenwood and Monastery Woods in Cedar Lake. Hanover Schools


Gates of St. John - St. John Indiana - There's a few builders with a varying home pricing and a decent selection. Hanover Schools


Crown Point has a LOT of degrees of homes, many in your price range. Crown Point Schools are well regarded and not in the mega-size like Lake Central is.


Just a few ideas from the western part of your search. Happy Hunting

[Google_VP]

Thank you for the information...Looking for smaller schools, not necessarily smaller district. I understand that some of the Valpo schools can be quite large, I am potentially interested in a home that would allow my kids to go to Union Township Schools.
This is also the reason I am not considering Munster, or Schererville/Dyer/St John....Munster has a large high school and Lake Central High is even larger.

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by Google_VP

This is also the reason I am not considering Munster, or Schererville/Dyer/St John....Munster has a large high school and Lake Central High is even larger.

Keep in mind that not all of St. John goes to Lake Central.


There's a pretty large portion in the Southern part of town that goes to Hanover.

[valpofan11]

I live in Valpo and it's fine, but to decrease commute time, I would consider either the southern portion of St John that is in Hanover Twp, thus Hanover Schools, or either side of Cedar Lake. The side west of Cline Ave goes to Hanover, but east of Cline is in Center Twp, which means Crown Point Schools, which are quite large (& getting larger) but the district is highly regarded. If you want an older home closer to Hammond, look at Hobart, Merrillville, Portage, Griffith, southern Hammond or Highland. All communities are quite affordable and relatively safe in my honest opinion.

But in regards to your post look at Shorewood Forest in Union Twp. Union Twp (Wheeler) schools which are quite small and within proximity to Valpo & Merrillville.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by Google_VP

Thank you for the information...Looking for smaller schools, not necessarily smaller district. I understand that some of the Valpo schools can be quite large, I am potentially interested in a home that would allow my kids to go to Union Township Schools.
This is also the reason I am not considering Munster, or Schererville/Dyer/St John....Munster has a large high school and Lake Central High is even larger.

Munster's high school is about 1500 students. If that's too large for your taste and high school size (and not elementary or middle school size) is what you're concerned about, then you can cross off Valpo and Crown Point High Schools from your list as Valpo is over 35% bigger than Munster and Crown Point is nearly double the size of Munster High.

Union Township would work as Wheeler High is 579 students. Hanover Central High has about 700 students.

[Google_VP]

Any subdivisions besides Shorewood Forest with Union Township Schools? Not too optimistic I can purchase a home for $300K in Shorewood...

Some folks familiar with the area around Cedar Lake mentioned Havenwood Subdivision...They had concerns that the HOA wasn't enforcing any restrictions...Boats, trailers, and RV's can be parked in driveways with no recourse...???...

Also, at first glance it appears homes located in St. John but with Hanover Schools exceed my budget.

What are thoughts on Lowell?

[Daze55]

Originally Posted by Google_VP

Any subdivisions besides Shorewood Forest with Union Township Schools? Not too optimistic I can purchase a home for $300K in Shorewood...

Some folks familiar with the area around Cedar Lake mentioned Havenwood Subdivision...They had concerns that the HOA wasn't enforcing any restrictions...Boats, trailers, and RV's can be parked in driveways with no recourse...???...

Also, at first glance it appears homes located in St. John but with Hanover Schools exceed my budget.

What are thoughts on Lowell?

Lowell is ok. It's very rural, so if you like that kind of setting, you should consider it. You could get a pretty nice house for your budget out there. But actually, you should also be able to afford a decent house within St. John's Hanover side. Olthof Homes' Saddle Creek subdivision (which has Hanover schools) seems like a good fit for you IMO. Most of the lots there are around a half acre, and the housing prices start at about $250,000 (obviously it would be closer to $300,000 once you add in upgrades). You would have to be willing to wait a few months though for your house to be built, unless a house in that subdivision comes on the market (there are none currently).
Here's some more info on Saddle Creek if you would like:
Olthof Homes | Saddle Creek in St. John, Indiana. New homes for sale, single-family homes for sale, model homes, and move in ready homes available.