Northwest IN advice needed! (Hammond, Merrillville: homes, YMCA, schools)

[midwest1]

Oh and Porter is nice too, right next to Chesterton.

[GraniteStater]

Valparaiso is a good town as well, but the commute to the Chicagoland area would also be longer than compared with Portage, which is in northwest Porter County. Overall, Valparaiso is a rather interesting town with a University, a neat downtown, older neighborhoods, suburban sprawl, and rural areas with corn fields closeby.

[Katiana]

My daughter went to college at Valparaiso U for two years. I have spent a lot of time there. It has a "cute" downtown, but I don't know if you can buy anything you need there. I got the impression people mostly go to Merrillville for shopping, other than food and stuff you can get at Target or Wal-Mart. I thought most of the housing in town was kind of run-down looking. The "suburban" areas do look nice, IMO. It would be quite a drive to Chicago, too.

[Highlander76]

Originally Posted by stacykb

Hi Everyone-Im joining this hoping many of you can give me some good advice.
We live in a small community in Southern IA. My husbands company is moving him to a plant in Hammond, IN. We do not want to live that close to Chicago and we are looking at the other communities in NW IN. Ive been to the area once and Valparaiso and Crown Point are pretty. My husband plans on a 30-45 minute commute to work--I dont want him to have to be on the road much longer than that though.
From what I have seen on the net-the closer you are to IL the higher the cost of housing and taxes. I dont know much about Portage or Chesterton or Hobart. What can anyone tell me about these communitites?
Where should we be looking for our new home? We are looking to spend under 200,000 and need a 3 br/2ba. From looking on some of the realty sites--looks like you get more house for your money in Portage and Chesterton.
All your comments would be greatly apprecitated!

I don't know if you found anything, but I found a great 4 bedroom home on the southend of Highland in your price range. Seems like a good town, close to Hammond, right off of Cline Avenue (State Route 912) on the map. It's a real comfortable place, with a two parks nearby and one bike path that does go on to Crown Point. Neighbors are really helpful, like stuff you see from the 1950's. People take care of their homes, no one is rich, but we are a bunch of working stiffs. Planning a block party soon. We drive to the National Lakeshore-Dunes along the Lake Michigan is cool. Gary Airshow seems like fun. Police seem to have a handle on everything here. New Construction goes for 250k at 2 bedroom.

[nickyb]

Hello everyone, My son was in a private school in illinois. Can anyone suggest a good public school in merrilville, preferably with a gifted program? I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank You..nickyb

[rw2006]

Is Beverly Shores that nice? How long's the commute in and out of rush hour?

[domergurl]

Beverly Shores is full of weekenders from Chicago. There's actually a South Shore train stop there too. It would probably be 45 minutes to an hour maybe???

[artemis]

Beverly Shores is a nice area.

Commuting to Hammond could be done via the Indiana toll-road, which is better than 80-94 any day. 80-94 tends to turn into a parking lot quickly.

[FedUpInFtMyers]

My parents and I are originally from NW Indiana, and we are no longer living there. However, parents are aging and ill in Alabama and wish to return "home". Since we have Hammond roots, we don't want to be too far away from family there; however, they would like some distance. Also, driving is becoming more difficult for them so I'm wondering how close is the nearest South Shore Station? They could always drive to that and ride a train into Hammond to be with friends and family. I've looked at stats online in LaPorte, cost of housing, etc., and am wondering what those born and raised there or still currently living there think of it.

Can anyone tell me how to help my parents find a safe neighborhood there? Is there any rule of thumb? Looking at homes online on the following streets: D, E, and J - - what is your opinion of the lettered streets there? What about the numbered streets? 4th Street? How about the tree streets such as Spruce or Maple? Then there is Kingsporte Ave., Indiana Ave., Weller Ave., E. Jefferson, Porter, and Pulaski. Could someone please provide some guidance? Any helpful comments would be greatly appreciated as I am trying to help my parents from another state myself. Thank you so much!

[goldpolkadots]

Originally Posted by FedUpInFtMyers

My parents and I are originally from NW Indiana, and we are no longer living there. However, parents are aging and ill in Alabama and wish to return "home". Since we have Hammond roots, we don't want to be too far away from family there; however, they would like some distance. Also, driving is becoming more difficult for them so I'm wondering how close is the nearest South Shore Station? They could always drive to that and ride a train into Hammond to be with friends and family. I've looked at stats online in LaPorte, cost of housing, etc., and am wondering what those born and raised there or still currently living there think of it.

Can anyone tell me how to help my parents find a safe neighborhood there? Is there any rule of thumb? Looking at homes online on the following streets: D, E, and J - - what is your opinion of the lettered streets there? What about the numbered streets? 4th Street? How about the tree streets such as Spruce or Maple? Then there is Kingsporte Ave., Indiana Ave., Weller Ave., E. Jefferson, Porter, and Pulaski. Could someone please provide some guidance? Any helpful comments would be greatly appreciated as I am trying to help my parents from another state myself. Thank you so much!

Hellos
My parents and I have lived in laporte for our most of our lives. I'm pretty sure that the nearest South Shore station is about 20-25 minutes away, but it's an easy drive. From the looks of it, the eastern side of town (near Wal Mart and Howmet) have gone downhill. There is still an ol' beat up (shut down?) factory that has put a damper on most of the houses near it. Going farther west into town, Indiana street still has some of La Porte's most fancy homes, which are quite expensive. There have also been subdivisions that have been built out by Kesling Middle School and the Fire Department's Main Station, the homes there are also very nice looking and seem safe. In my opinion, I have always like the homes/location/feel of Weller Avenue. It's close enough to town that you can walk to some restaurants and a little shopping plaza, and Wal Mart and Kmart and the library are only a 5 minute drive. Keep in mind that these streets can get pretty busy (they are by the lake). Now, the west side of town has started to go downhill, like the east side, but not as bad. This is where the Kmart is located.

I'm not sure how far your parents are wanting to travel, but just 15 minutes away from La Porte is the little town of New Carlisle. It's pretty safe and has a friendly feel. Currently, there are 4 diners, a bank, two gift shops, a dollar store, hardware store, 2 auto shops, 2 gas stations, a cvs, a doctor's office, a vets office, and 2 grocery stores all located in town. If you can't find a home for sale in town, try the homes on count line and timothy road (the closer to town the better). If you prefer New Carlisle, try to stay away from Hudson Lake, it's also becoming a bit run down.

Hope this helps