Advice for Valparaiso (Merrillville, Washington, Chesterton: for sale, home search, neighborhood)

[summer22]

Grady,

The Duneland area is great. Chesterton and Porter are "towns" whereas Valparaiso is a "city"... that might explain some of the price difference as well as the feeling of the community.

Remember too although the real estate downturn has not affected Porter County as much as its affected many states and cities, it is having some effect here, and you may get some savings as a result.

It's a good choice if you'll be going back-and-forth to Ohio. You'll save over an hour on your drive by living east of Chicago, instead of in Illinois. If you're going to Toledo or Cleveland, its especially convenient because of our proximity to the toll road. It's 200 miles to Bowling Green from here, where I used to go to school To see an Indians game would be a little longer of a ride.

The beaches are great year round (only warm in summer, though.)

The South Shore in my opinion is about 30 years past its prime... personally I can't believe that they spend money repairing it and are even considering expanding it. Transportation technology has come a long way since 1950-something, and no one in this region seems to have realized it or wants to acknowledge it. I think this region fell asleep at the wheel for a couple decades and decided not to update anything for a period of time. For a while, we were so far behind the south suburbs in terms of amenities, transit, and services. Things have improved since 1995-2000, with the school construction, Ameriplex technology center, new retail in all 3 major Porter County communities, and some other municipal construction in the county, as well as the expansion of US Hwy. 6.

That being said, the train is doable. You can sleep or get work done on the train, and it is safe, and it will get you there and home fairly close to schedule every day. In time, I hope they replace it with something better. Personally I prefer just driving. See what suits you, plenty of people choose either option. You may want to drive some days and take the South Shore on others.

Good luck getting acquainted with your new home.

[tekka-maki]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Thats all fine and dandy, but Chicago and most of Northwest Indiana were built up way before San Antonio (although SA is a much older city) was and built up rather quickly as well as far more densely. Thousands of homes had to be demolished to make the highways in the Chicago area. There are a number of reasons the highway infrastructure of this area might not be as good as San Antonios.

Don't forget corruption.

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

You also forget about the challenges of building a highway system that is affected by a rather large pond,I mean lake.

How does that play into things other than lake effect precipitation. Heck, I'm not even talking about NW IN 90/94 which is a dump of a highway for a lot of reasons. In IL they toll the hell out you, yet you see little infrastructure improvement (other than the recent work on the Dan Ryan) on Eisenhower, Kennedy, and others... yet the city has a ton of scandal (e.g. truck hiring scandal, Cicero, casinos etc.) every time you open the tribune. I was merely stating that for a larger city, the highway should be a little more accommodating. 2 1/2 hours for a 23 mile drive that you're tolled on is ridiculous, wouldn't you agree?

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

SA:650,000 in the 1970 census to an estimated 1.3 million in 2008 (1.9 metro area).
The Chicago area has had around 6 million people since at least 1950.

I find no reason to brag about a city that is getting larger very quickly that has "superior" roads and no public transit to speak of. The oil cartel loves you.

Actually there is a pretty decent Via Bus system so don't know where you got that tidbit. Also plans in the making to create a commuter from S.A. to Austin. With the excellent double loop system though, rail isn't vital here. Nevertheless, I wasn't bragging in the least. Any implication otherwise is baseless. I also mentioned Tokyo which blows Chicago and SA out of the water in terms of mass transit. Chicago has a lot going for it... so no need to get your pants in a knot. I miss it too, although certainly not the brutal cold.

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

I by no means am trying to say my city is better than yours, but I think your comment was unnecessary

Over and out.

Well, isn't that the beauty of 'public forums' I love Chicago dearly, but the highways there suck, plain and simple. BTW, I was born and raised in South Bend, IN.

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

given the true nature and reasons for the differences in roads.

Yeah, I know, density and age. That seems to only add stock for my argument.
Chicago hasn't even a single highway upper level unless you count street level on Wacker/Michigan and the like with sub levels but I'm not even speaking of downtown. With the amount of revenue the city/state brings in tourism, income and property tax, tolls, and casinos, there should be something better to connect the suburbs... at least in the works... the EL is loud and dilapidated; the Metra looks like it's from the 70s. I often wondered where all the $$ was going but after reading more on Daley and all the scandal surrounding him (and others), I pieced it together.

my .02.

[Luv4ThePaws]

Hi everyone!!

My husband and I need some help from all you kind posters out in IN. We are wanting to be closer to my mom in ID but we need a big city for my husband's job (he's with CBS Sports- need major sports teams for his job!). So, we looked at Seattle first but we are turned off by all the people who say how hard it is to make friends and form relationships. We are looking to have kids in a couple of years and would like to meet kind families to do bbqs and get-togethers with. Then, we looked at Kansas City, MO and everyone was extremely kind and it looks wonderful, but my husband hasn't had much luck with jobs, although they do have some major teams there and something may open up eventually. So, someone told us about the Chicago suburbs and mentioned Valpo. It is only about a day and a half drive from my mom in ID, which wouldn't be bad considering it's 4 days each way now and so we only fly. Is it too good to be true?? I checked out the town website and there is actually a quaint little downtown!! Wow!! It seems family-friendly and nice. So, how bad is the commute into Chicago and how horrible is the weather? I have been looking at statistics on-line, but I would like to get it from a real person! I mean, is it hard to do simple things like take your dogs out to go to the bathroom? Will they blow away in the snowstorms? I don't mean to sound naieve, I just want to know how bad those winds are blowing off the lake! My husband went to school at Syracuse and he is used to those bitter cold and windy winters, but I don't know anything about them! Also, any tornadoes? We are tired of the Southern humidity, but mostly tired of Charlotte crime and poor schools. Also, what kind of grocery stores do you have there? Anything natural/organic like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods?

Any info helps!!!!! We are hoping to visit in July if my husband can get time off work!!

Thanks!!!!

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by Luv4ThePaws

So, someone told us about the Chicago suburbs and mentioned Valpo. It is only about a day and a half drive from my mom in ID, which wouldn't be bad considering it's 4 days each way now and so we only fly. Is it too good to be true?? I checked out the town website and there is actually a quaint little downtown!! Wow!! It seems family-friendly and nice. So, how bad is the commute into Chicago and how horrible is the weather? I have been looking at statistics on-line, but I would like to get it from a real person! I mean, is it hard to do simple things like take your dogs out to go to the bathroom? Will they blow away in the snowstorms? I don't mean to sound naieve, I just want to know how bad those winds are blowing off the lake! My husband went to school at Syracuse and he is used to those bitter cold and windy winters, but I don't know anything about them! Also, any tornadoes? We are tired of the Southern humidity, but mostly tired of Charlotte crime and poor schools. Also, what kind of grocery stores do you have there? Anything natural/organic like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods?

Any info helps!!!!! We are hoping to visit in July if my husband can get time off work!!

Thanks!!!!

Hi there ...

My husband and I moved out here about 7 years ago from Illinois - we have two daughters and love Valpo. It's a very family friendly place - and the schools and the community support the kids get are out of this world.

To answer your questions ...

Weather. We just had the snowiest winter in a LONG time. And our dogs have always survived. We don't typically have constant snow on the ground all year ... it's pretty much snow, thaw, snow, thaw, rain, snow, thaw. It's all I've ever known really, but we like the change of seasons.
As for lake effect, Valpo really isn't in the lake effect snow belt, but we have been known to get dumped on from time to time. Eh, and it's not really windy either. And yes, tornados have been known to come around - but that's what basements are for. (And it's not tornado alley.)

We have a Wiseway (local family owned) grocery here in town - 2 actually - and their selection of organic is getting bigger. But it's nothing comparable to what you might find very near Chicago.

Let me know if you have any other questions - I'd be happy to help.

[Luv4ThePaws]

Thanks so very much, Chuckity, for your great post!! It gives us a lot of info that we haven't found yet about the area. Good to know that the dogs don't get lost in snowbanks! The more we research it, the more excited we get! I think my husband is tired of me talking about Valpo!! It just seems so great! We are excited to hopefully visit this July!

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by Luv4ThePaws

Thanks so very much, Chuckity, for your great post!! It gives us a lot of info that we haven't found yet about the area. Good to know that the dogs don't get lost in snowbanks! The more we research it, the more excited we get! I think my husband is tired of me talking about Valpo!! It just seems so great! We are excited to hopefully visit this July!

Well ... I do have a black dog so he's quite easy to see in a blizzard.

I'm a huge advocate of Valpo ... the community, the schools - I'm always amazed by the amount of people who've moved back to Valpo to raise their kids. When we went to parent orientation for the middle school last year, the principal asked parents to raise their hand if THEY went to the school when they were kids - a solid 1/4-1/3 of the room raised their hands. Amazing.

Anyhow, you should be around for the Porter County Fair if you're coming mid to late July. I think you should find some info about that if you google enough.

Oh, and for housing stock - our local MLS can be found here.

And continue to drive your husband crazy ... isn't that what they're there for? LOL

[Luv4ThePaws]

I love county fairs, so that would be great if we made it out during that time. Is a Chicago commute doable from Valpo? I read conflicting reports on here, and although my husband said he doesn't mind an hour commute each way, I want to know how bad it is. Also, are the roads kept pretty clear and safe in the winter? I know here in Charlotte, snow and ice is a huge deal and people don't leave their house when they see snow! I know, pretty sad, but the freeways are such a danger during winter with people who don't know how to drive in it. Any problems like that there?

Thanks again for all the info! We so so so appreciate it!

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by Luv4ThePaws

I love county fairs, so that would be great if we made it out during that time. Is a Chicago commute doable from Valpo? I read conflicting reports on here, and although my husband said he doesn't mind an hour commute each way, I want to know how bad it is. Also, are the roads kept pretty clear and safe in the winter? I know here in Charlotte, snow and ice is a huge deal and people don't leave their house when they see snow! I know, pretty sad, but the freeways are such a danger during winter with people who don't know how to drive in it. Any problems like that there?

Thanks again for all the info! We so so so appreciate it!

The best thing to do to commute to downtown would be to take the South Shore train line from Chesterton. The time to drive to the station would definitely depend on where you lived in Valpo - I'm on the south-west side and it would probably take me 40 min. If you lived on the north side, it could be as quick as 15-20 min. If your husband plans on driving, I can make it from my house to downtown in a little over an hour.

I *think* that Valpo has or will have buses that go directly from downtown Valpo to downtown Chgo ... I don't work in the city, nor does my husband, so maybe someone else can jump in here with better info.

You'll always have idiot drivers in the winter no matter where you are - and they're are some really stupid ones here who think that driving on a snow covered road, while it's snowing isn't a reason to slow down - those are the cars you'll see in a ditch later on. Side country roads can stay snow covered longer of course, but main roads have plows and salt regularly. I grew up in Chgo where the roads were always pretty clear because of plows and constant traffic - if you expect the same you'll be disappointed. There's open areas and snow does blow across the roads and plows just can't keep up at times ... but that's how life is in a more rural setting.

[domergurl]

Most Valpo to Chicago commuters drive up the the Dune Acres train station on Chesterton. There's also share a ride vans that meet at the toll road off state road 49. There are a lot of people leaving Chicago for Valpo and Chesterton, your husband won't be the only one!

I can't remember his name, but a former Chicago Cub lived in Valpo when we lived there from 2000-2002. We loved it there and would move back in a heartbeat if a good job presented itself. The schools are fantastic too.

If you need a realtor recommendation, let me know and I'll dm it to you.

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by domergurl

I can't remember his name, but a former Chicago Cub lived in Valpo when we lived there from 2000-2002. We loved it there and would move back in a heartbeat if a good job presented itself. The schools are fantastic too.

Oh I'm going to drive myself nuts trying to remember his name ... off to google!




ETA: Mickey Morandini!! Whew. Thought I would drive myself to drink for a while there.

And I think he actually lives in Chesterton - but close enough!