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Old 09-21-2008, 02:20 AM
 
Location: In a county not as interesting as Lake county...
17 posts, read 102,175 times
Reputation: 27

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I'm just curious is Michigan City a good place to live? How are the majority of the neighborhoods? Does MC have a low crime rate? How about shopping and things to do? What about schools? Overall how liveable is Michigan City?

BTW, Michigan City is considered Northwest Indiana... right?
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Old 09-21-2008, 01:41 PM
 
Location: Turn Left at Greenland
17,763 posts, read 39,573,247 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by missteacherlady View Post
I'm just curious is Michigan City a good place to live? How are the majority of the neighborhoods? Does MC have a low crime rate? How about shopping and things to do? What about schools? Overall how liveable is Michigan City?

BTW, Michigan City is considered Northwest Indiana... right?
Michigan City is NW Indiana as far as I'm concerned.

It has a great outlet mall! It can't be that bad of a place
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Old 09-21-2008, 02:36 PM
 
4,176 posts, read 6,306,100 times
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MC is considered part of NWI, but it's still a bit of a hike from some of the 'core' communities that come to my mind when I think of The Region (S'ville, Munster, M'ville, etc.)

Whether MC is a nice place will depend on what you're looking for. It's definitely affordable and the crime rate is not that high. I don't know much about the schools or neighborhoods, though. As with most other places, it's going to be a great fit for some people and a poor fit for others.
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Old 10-01-2008, 01:39 AM
 
Location: Indiana but getting ready to relocate to Ft Richardson AK
9 posts, read 57,017 times
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I live in Michigan City and have my whole life. Like any other city it has its good and bad points.
The better areas to live in are of coarse anywhere by Lake Michigan. Long Beach, Sheridan Beach, Duneland Beach. I live about 2 blocks from the lake and love it. Take your pick they are all great but they are also very expensive. Not sure if you're looking to buy or rent but there is a community called Beachwalk which is beautiful but extremely expensive. My brother lived there for a few years and his biggest complaint was that the houses were too close together.Beverly Shores is also another area that you might want to look into. There's also Trail Creek which is basically a city inside Michigan City. A little further east is New Carlisle and Rolling Prarie. They are cute little towns and only about a 30 minute drive (maximum) to MC. Chesterton is about 30 mins west of MC and thats a nice area too. There are also alot of nice areas in Springfield and Coolspring townships.Also New Buffalo, Michigan borders MC and it only takes minutes to get there. It's another cute, little town.
Not sure what your occupation is but jobs can be difficult to find for some. Being a nurse, I can tell you that there are quite a few jobs in the healthcare field. There are factories, and retail jobs as well. The riverboat casino in MC and the casino in New Buffalo provide alot of jobs to this area. Laporte is about 20 minutes from here too, so that's another place to look for employment. Indiana State Prison and Westville Correctional Facility also provide numerous jobs. Westville is about 15 mins south of MC.
Crime in MC is not bad.
As far as the schools go, there are issues with the public schools here. I have 3 children that attend them and I don't have any problems. I think alot of the issues are lack of parental involvent in childrens educations. But that's just my opinion.
Shopping here is GREAT! You really couldn't ask for much more. The Lighthouse/Outlet mall is HUGE and the prices are really good.There are over 120 stores there. There's Coach, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Aeropostale,Gap, Hollister, Childrens Place, Limited Too, Gymboree,Bath and Body Works, Yankee Candles, Zales, I mean the list goes on and on
There is also Marquette Mall. Sears, Carsons,and JC Penneys are pretty much what keep that place alive though. Of coarse there's a super Wal-Mart and a Meijers.

Last edited by sonshine0924; 10-01-2008 at 01:47 AM.. Reason: fix links
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Old 10-01-2008, 08:07 AM
 
Location: Hoosierville
16,814 posts, read 14,206,341 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sonshine0924 View Post
I live in Michigan City and have my whole life. Like any other city it has its good and bad points.
The better areas to live in are of coarse anywhere by Lake Michigan. Long Beach, Sheridan Beach, Duneland Beach. I live about 2 blocks from the lake and love it. Take your pick they are all great but they are also very expensive. Not sure if you're looking to buy or rent but there is a community called Beachwalk which is beautiful but extremely expensive. My brother lived there for a few years and his biggest complaint was that the houses were too close together.Beverly Shores is also another area that you might want to look into. There's also Trail Creek which is basically a city inside Michigan City. A little further east is New Carlisle and Rolling Prarie. They are cute little towns and only about a 30 minute drive (maximum) to MC. Chesterton is about 30 mins west of MC and thats a nice area too. There are also alot of nice areas in Springfield and Coolspring townships.Also New Buffalo, Michigan borders MC and it only takes minutes to get there. It's another cute, little town.
Not sure what your occupation is but jobs can be difficult to find for some. Being a nurse, I can tell you that there are quite a few jobs in the healthcare field. There are factories, and retail jobs as well. The riverboat casino in MC and the casino in New Buffalo provide alot of jobs to this area. Laporte is about 20 minutes from here too, so that's another place to look for employment. Indiana State Prison and Westville Correctional Facility also provide numerous jobs. Westville is about 15 mins south of MC.
Crime in MC is not bad.
As far as the schools go, there are issues with the public schools here. I have 3 children that attend them and I don't have any problems. I think alot of the issues are lack of parental involvent in childrens educations. But that's just my opinion.
Shopping here is GREAT! You really couldn't ask for much more. The Lighthouse/Outlet mall is HUGE and the prices are really good.There are over 120 stores there. There's Coach, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Aeropostale,Gap, Hollister, Childrens Place, Limited Too, Gymboree,Bath and Body Works, Yankee Candles, Zales, I mean the list goes on and on
There is also Marquette Mall. Sears, Carsons,and JC Penneys are pretty much what keep that place alive though. Of coarse there's a super Wal-Mart and a Meijers.
I have a question for you!

What, if anything, is being done to revitalize the downtown area that's just east of the outlet mall? We were just over there this past weekend, and I find it so strange that it's almost entirely deserted - mainly because it has the potential to be such a cute boutique-ish/nice restaurant area that is SOOOO close to the lake.
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Old 10-03-2008, 05:00 PM
 
Location: Indiana but getting ready to relocate to Ft Richardson AK
9 posts, read 57,017 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckity View Post
I have a question for you!

What, if anything, is being done to revitalize the downtown area that's just east of the outlet mall? We were just over there this past weekend, and I find it so strange that it's almost entirely deserted - mainly because it has the potential to be such a cute boutique-ish/nice restaurant area that is SOOOO close to the lake.

They claim they are working on that, but I'll believe it when I see it . That area used to actually be closed to through traffic years ago. It was called Franklin Square. They thought if they opened it that it would help the businesses but it hasn't. They always claim to be working on it though lol. I'm getting ready to move to Alaska and probably won't be back here for at least 2 years so I can't wait to see what they do with it in that time.
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Old 10-06-2008, 08:27 PM
 
Location: The Land of Lincoln
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I always think of Michigan City as more related to Harbor Country and Michigan than NWI. It's a bit more of a drive from downtown Chicago.
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Old 11-22-2008, 01:18 AM
 
35 posts, read 150,228 times
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Remember, this is a prison town, and the job opportunitys are not too diversified.
I've visited Michigan City all my life. I've seen it go from it's 'hey day' to what it was in the 60's & 70's when it was closed to thru traffic. At that time, the Library was constructed in the middle of Franklin Street, as was the Police Station & The News-Dispatch building, thus re-routing northbound traffic to Pine Street, north to the lakefront. The Projects along Michigan Boulevard have been removed a few years back. This was a major move in order to have any possibility of improving this City. THe plan is to make Michigan Blvd the gateway to the Lake. Michigan City has not made much improvement until just recently, The summer of 2008, I've noticed some of the downtown buildings being renovated and a new restaurant put in the old Yacht Club bldg along the harbor. Plans are to knock down the old train station which houses Swingbellys restaurant, on the harbor, and build MORE Condo's. There had been some building of a Ice Cream Parlor near the Lake, but construction has been halted. There is now a downtown drug store, called Fagan's in a store which once housed a furniture store, and more recently, Dr. Burns had offices & physical therapy in the building. However, Fagan Pharmacy was vandalized a couple weeks ago. The front door was kicked in. There are numerous homeless people who hang in this City. Several churchs provide temporary shelter to them, and there are daily soup kitchens. Across the side street, from Fagan's once was the Spaulding Hotel. That was a wonderful place to stay for a week-end or a month. It had the Domino Room which served drinks and food. Room service was available 24/7. It was a fabulous place. Visiting the beach from the Spaulding Hotel was very convenient. The Warren Building downtown needs to come to life.
My Grandparents & parents were from Michigan City & Chesterton. I'd lived in Southeast Michigan, north of Detroit. Believe me, it's much nicer to visit MC than it is to live here. I bought a brick home and moved to a nicer area of the City. Called Edgewood.
Some of the City Officials are difficult to get along with. It's made worse by some people in the area who apparently live here, (Michael Martin) who keeps calling the Police & City Officials. They go along with his crap. John Pugh, City Planner, Mr. Siegel & his cronie, Connie - and two Cops who more recently got fired by the Federal authoritys. ( Mark K & his half brother Mr. Dickey.)
This City has many facilitys for people who arn't wrapped tight. Swanson Center, Madison Center, Dr's who deal primarily in people who need mental attention. Several years ago, they had the old Walter's Hospital made into a facility for themselves to make money on these people.
The Dr's in this area arn't fit to be in practice. Dr. Kora - Dr. Chawla, & Dr. Umalo who has been sued for malpractice. FRANKLIN CLINIC
Others are : Dr. Nasr, Dr. Weldon Cook, Dr. John Kelly in Westville.

Washington Park & the lakefront area are beautiful. Along Lakeshore Drive, Sheridan Beach, Long Beach, and Duneland Beach. Mayor Daley has a home in Grand Beach, Michigan which is a short drive just beyond the Michigan line. New Buffalo is only a short drive on U.S.12. It has a constant boom in construction. VERY expensive to live there. Many condo's at the north end of town and along the Harbor. It has the 4 Winds Casino which far surpasses the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. New Buffalo is a beautiful quaint lil City. I knew it when it had the corner drugstore, my Uncle had been the Mayor. If you like small town America, other areas of Berrien County, Michigan which have quaint lil towns are Bridgman, Stevensville, Coloma & Watervliet. Weko Beach & Warren Dunes State Park along Red Arrow Highway are beautiful The tax base in Michigan is much higher than in Indiana, but if u can afford Michigan Harbor County, it's well worth buying a home in Michigan. With the impending collapse of the Auto Industry, I expect the tax base to get lowered. The current Govenor will possibly take a position with the new administration in Washinton.
If you enjoy shopping, Michigan City has Lighthouse outlet Mall, which is pretty at Christmas time. For indoor shoppers there is Marquette Mall, located at the south side of the City. A few chain restaurants along south 421 and 3 locally owned places for lunch.
It's a better retirement community, if you like living in a City. Lake front living is spectacular in Long Beach.
I wouldn't recommend anyone moving here.
Schools are much below the standards of schools in Michigan.
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Old 12-02-2008, 09:58 AM
 
3 posts, read 29,811 times
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Default Resident of Michigan City

The schools are bad. Check the state tests to see that we aren't even close to the state averages.

There is a lot of corruption here. No one talks about it because of what might happen to them.

Medical is so awful that my employer's insurance company will not cover the local hospital or any of its subsidiaries.

Most of the jobs are low-pay and the people don't care if they get fired.

Personally, I would move if I could afford to do so.
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Old 12-02-2008, 03:14 PM
 
4,176 posts, read 6,306,100 times
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I agree with the above post, though I'm not that familiar with MC itself. It seems like an OK place to live, but there are preferred communities in the area for those with appropriate means. I didn't know the Medical care was that bad, though.

As with many other parts of IN, you'll need to strengthen the local economy if you want to see real improvement. Riverboats aren't going to do it. That is the tough part, as many parts of the state lack the workforce, universities, etc that are associated with the more robust local economies throughout the nation.
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