Merrillville-chicago marriage (Gary, Hammond, Portage: apartment complex, rental, violent crime)

[meena]

Hi,
I am going to work in Merrillville and my husband works in Chicago. So we were trying to search for a safe city which would be easy on both of us. He plans to take the South Shore train from Gary or Hammond.
I was looking at a couple of places on the map - Griffith and Merrillville and Munster.

Are Griffith and Merrillville safe enough or does crime from Gary spill over ?

Would a commute from Munster to Merrillville be practical? How much time would it take ?

Can anyone tell me of some good places to rent in these places ? I was looking onilne at Mansards in Griffith ...

I would appreciate the info really. Thanks.

[artemis]

I'd look in Munster or Highland. And Griffith too, but I would avoid the Mansards. Getting to the South Shore station would be about a half hour from Munster or Highland.

Merrillville has traffic woes, and strip mall hell.

[meena]

Thank You So Much Artemis. But all the reviews of apartments in all these places paint a hellish picture. I plan to drive down there tomorrow and take a look. Thanks again.

[rrah]

Meena, I grew up in Griffith. During that time period The Mansards were very nice apartments. My understanding is that the part of the complex south of Ridge Rd. are not so nice anymore. I think the North side was, and is nicer. The last time I drove past was during the winter. I would also recommend looking for a rental house. You might be surprised at how inexpensive it is. While there is some crime in Griffith, like anywhere, according to my family that still lives there, it tends to be the same sleepy little town it was 30 years ago. Not a whole lot of violent crime. If I had to choose today I would choose Griffith over Merrillville. My husband and I lived in an apartment complex on a golf course in Merrillville at one time--probably 20 years ago. At that time I felt it was safe. I think there are pockets of Merrillville where crime is more of an issue.

[artemis]

My father-in-law lived in the Mansards on the North side of Ridge Road. We moved him out of there nearly 8 yrs ago. It was becoming dangerous then, I can only imagine what its like now.

I would not recommend the Mansards, North or South.

[rrah]

Artemis--sorry to hear that. I used to babysit for a couple that lived in the North Mansards decades ago. At the time, I thought it was a very cool place. I stand corrected.

[artemis]

It was a very cool complex.

He had a beautiful apartment, right next to the main building with the pool. He has had 2 bypass surgeries on his heart, he needed to swim every day, year round. It was the perfect place for him. He hated the thought of moving, but it became necessary. :-(

[paul87920]

Consider Chesterton. The South Shore runs through there. It's a little further from Chicago, but the extra time spent on the train is worth it. Even the Northside of Portage would be good. They are close to the Ogden Dunes station.