Schererville vs Valparaiso (Hammond, Merrillville, Munster: houses, high school, college)

[Istanbul]

Greetings! My husband is going to be working in Crown Point and we were looking at living in either Schererville or Valparaiso. We have school aged kids so school is a big factor in choosing the right place. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[OPSMAN]

Originally Posted by Istanbul

Greetings! My husband is going to be working in Crown Point and we were looking at living in either Schererville or Valparaiso. We have school aged kids so school is a big factor in choosing the right place. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Just out of curiosity, have you considered living in Crown Point as well? It's a very nice town and you're still close to shopping, restaurants, great school system, etc. Just a thought....

Regarding Schererville vs. Valpo, it really comes down to what type of town you want to live in, because those two towns are very different from each other. Schererville has much more retail/shopping/restaurants in close vicinity, but is also more congested or busier than Valpo. In Valpo, you have more of a quaint, small town feel, even though the town itself is a good size.

I would also consider Saint John if you are considering Schererville. You will get a little more for your money, same school system and the housing is very similar to Schererville.

OPSMAN

[LIS123]

Schererville would be a shorter drive to CP than Valpo (in most cases).

I agree with Opsman. Once you decide what is important to you, the distinction between S'ville and Valpo is obvious. If you want a more generic suburbia town (chain restaurants, bog box retail, newer housing than Valpo) that is closer to Chicago, S'ville is the better choice. Valpo, of course, has some of the chains, etc but it still seems to have more of the loosely-defined 'character' that some people value. S'ville gives more access to Chicago.
Saint John is a good choice. It maybe relatively affordable for now, but that will change soon. Might as well get in before it becomes overpriced and overcrowded as well.
Schools will be fine either way: it's mainly up to you and your children if they are to succeed in life (not the school).

[enyawla]

Originally Posted by Istanbul

Greetings! My husband is going to be working in Crown Point and we were looking at living in either Schererville or Valparaiso. We have school aged kids so school is a big factor in choosing the right place. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Valpo absolutely!! Porter county=lower taxes, nowhere near Hammond, still has great shopping without the mess of being near Rt.30 / Merrillville chaos. Downtown Valpo is absolutely awesome. Very quaint, great Restaurants, outside eating, ice cream shop, BW3. Honestly, we have lived all over NW Indiana and wouldnt leave Valpo for anything. Go and check out the downtown area, the Ski slope, sledding hills, Rogers/Lakewood Park on Cambell Street. High School is the best around as well as all of the gradeschools.

[Markxxx]

Schererville definately feels like a suburb of Chicago while Valpo with it's college feels removed from Chicago. I always liked Crown Point itself. Merrilleville is nice but is getting built up and Schererville will be like that soon.

Munster is a bit farther but is definately the most "yuppie" of all the NW Indiana suburbs

[LIS123]

Schererville is already built-up quite heavily. The traffic and congestion has gotten worse. The new 'lifestyle' mall being built on 41 (between Main and the Lowe's store) will make things worse than they already are. We're still much better than many areas in the IL side of the Chicago suburbs, but congestion is getting worse.
Different people have different preferences, but S'ville and Valpo are quite different. I certainly wouldn't choose Valpo just b/c it's cheaper. It's cheaper for a reason (further from the city, etc).

[artemis]

Valpo is cheaper?

Have you ever driven thru Sylvan Manor?

[LIS123]

I didn't have the raw data, but figured Valpo would be less on average than S'ville since it's so much further from the city and land it not as scarce there. I'm not certain which is cheaper, on average. Keep in mind, S'ville has Briar Ridge, which is not exactly cheap itself.

[Chuckity]

Valparaiso hands down. Great schools. Low taxes.

[domergurl]

When we looked at houses in Sylvan Manor years ago, the homes were overpriced and old.