Moving to Fort Wayne (Evansville, South Bend: apartments, new home, neighborhoods)

[What's snow?]

The title says it all. I recently interviewed with a company that has plants in both Fort Wayne and Auburn. What I'm looking for are some suggestions on apartments in the area that are pet friendly and in nice neighborhoods. My wife and I don't have kids yet, so schools aren't something we have to worry about right now. We're both active people and would like an area that's safe for jogging, or reasonably close to a gym.

Edit: I realize there have been quite a few of these moving to Fort Wayne threads, but most of the ones I've looked at have been 2 or more years old. Maybe the info is the same, but I'd appreciate any input you can offer.

[Julie_Truly]

There are several "nice" areas of Fort Wayne that would offer much for you. The Fort has a bit of everything, honestly... so you should find all that you enjoy here. The north and southwest areas have seen BIG growth in recent years, so they have the abundance of new and exciting offerings.

Southwest keywords: Jefferson Pointe, Covington, Aboite

North keywords: Pine Valley

Between Fort Wayne and Auburn are smaller communities like Huntertown and Garrett. Huntertown has been growing rapidly for a while now...

Ironically, I sing the praises of the area but... I and my family are looking forward to LEAVING Indiana soon. But my kids are college-bound and my hubby and I have different priorities than you do (and we did at your age).

I can no longer tolerate extreme weather conditions here (hot and humid in summer; cold, snow and ice in winter). But I WILL miss the abundance of lush green grass, trees and flowers in summer here. The awesome sounds of tree frogs, crickets, and cicadas/locusts on summer nights. The smells of freshly cut lawns, peonies and lilacs; burning leaves everywhere in Autumn.

And yes, there are good and kind people here, too.

Best of luck to you! )

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by Julie_Truly

There are several "nice" areas of Fort Wayne that would offer much for you. The Fort has a bit of everything, honestly... so you should find all that you enjoy here. The north and southwest areas have seen BIG growth in recent years, so they have the abundance of new and exciting offerings.

Southwest keywords: Jefferson Pointe, Covington, Aboite

North keywords: Pine Valley

Between Fort Wayne and Auburn are smaller communities like Huntertown and Garrett. Huntertown has been growing rapidly for a while now...

Ironically, I sing the praises of the area but... I and my family are looking forward to LEAVING Indiana soon. But my kids are college-bound and my hubby and I have different priorities than you do (and we did at your age).

I can no longer tolerate extreme weather conditions here (hot and humid in summer; cold, snow and ice in winter). But I WILL miss the abundance of lush green grass, trees and flowers in summer here. The awesome sounds of tree frogs, crickets, and cicadas/locusts on summer nights. The smells of freshly cut lawns, peonies and lilacs; burning leaves everywhere in Autumn.

And yes, there are good and kind people here, too.

Best of luck to you! )

problem with moving down south is dangerous heat and hurricanes/several weather (Tornado Hitting Raleigh NC this spring). When i retire ill remain in Indiana however i have considered the Indy area due to being a big city it means easier to remove snow/more neighbors to care about you and the abundence of state of the art medical facilities.
However if i couldnt take the cold i could consider retiring to Evansville. For 3 reasons first the mildest Winters are in Evansville. Also if it snows there the area isnt shut down for a week (See Atlanta last Winter) 3rd i can still enjoy the low taxes and low cost of living which in this economy is a MAJOR advantage. Flordia may not have income taxes but the Property taxes easily make up for it. Hence why Flordia isnt ranked the best place to retire anymore.

[cdr18]

Let's move the conversation back to the original post. Definitely the areas you would be interested in are in the north and southwest. Southwest, as mentioned before, belongs to the richest zip code in Indiana. Yes, that was not a typo. Mansions (big houses ) literally dot the area, but cost of living here is down as well. North has the same, but not as clustered. Many new homes in the area. The Dupont Road corridor (look it up) is the road that I would try and stay north of. The Dupont Road corridor has many new home construction just to the north of it. That corridor crosses I-69 as well as Lima Road (SR 3) which is where the bulk of the commerical activitiy is on the north side of the city. It has a very suburban setup. The regional medical center is about to open next year, which is going to be home to one of the largest medical parks in Indiana, when it is all said and done. You have two hospitals within this area, Dupont Hospital and Parkview Regional Medical Center. Shopping is abundant, with the majority of the chain stores along the Coliseum Blvd area. By the way, if you don't have to travel that section very often, it will bode well for you You will know what I am talking about. Coliseum is a six lane state highway, but definitely not a freeway. It connects the northside of town with New Haven and the east side. The Glenbrook Mall is located on this corridor. Anyways...

Dupont Road also has a recently built YMCA with a jogging trail around the entire property. If you are looking for apartments, check out (Reserve at Dawson's Creek or Avalon at Northbrook), homes are dotted everywhere from cookie cutter subdivisions to suburban homes in the woods. Anything and everything. Lima Road is also a six lane highway (NOT a freeway though) that is very heavily traveled and also has numerous retail outlets. I am more familiar with the north side of the town and evertyhing i have mentioned has been about the north side. For the southwest side,

Basically the same thing except they have Jefferson Pointe, which is an outdoor mall with unique shops and an IMax theatre. They also have some different types of restaurants/stores for more upscale shoppers (Von Maur, Biaggis, Eddie Merlot). Each area has numerous parks. The commute is much friendlier downtown from the southwest (take either Illinois or Jefferson) than the north (Lima, Coldwater) Do you know where you would be working? Where are you coming from? Have you been to Fort Wayne before?

I am not from here, but moved to Fort Wayne, and fell in love with it! Also, there are numerous churches, from traditional to modern (small and mega) as well. Not sure about the religion aspect, but that is a pretty big deal here. Nothing out of the ordinary, but Fort Wayne is known to be the city of churches (common moniker however among cities )

[What's snow?]

Thanks to you all for your responses. I have been to Fort Wayne once, during my interviews, along with Auburn, though I didn't see much of the Auburn area. As far as where I'll be working, I'm not which plant they'll want to put me in, but driving from Auburn to Fort Wayne during my interview only took about 20-25 minutes. The Fort Wayne Plant was off of Commercial Rd, which if I remember correctly was off of Bluffton, which was near Broadway. I passed by Mad Anthony's on my way to the FW plant thanks to my GPS. After my interviews I had to go back and try the beer. They had some good brews, which will definitely help my transition.

I am coming from Chattanooga, TN, so in reference to Julie_Truly I know about extreme conditions, at least in the summer. Dealing with the cold will be another thing entirely. As my forum name should give away, we don't get much snow down here.

I should find out more this week where they'll want to put me. Either way I'm sure I'll be happy.

[Julie_Truly]

There's also a Mad Anthony's in Auburn, and Auburn has a few upscale areas as well. I've lived in both Auburn and Fort Wayne (been in this area my entire life), and both have a lot to offer.

[cdr18]

Snow up here in Fort Wayne isn't really that bad. Last year was definitely an exception, as the city received about 46 inches. The average is 32 inches, so not terrible. Not even close to South Bend (about 60 miles northwest) who averages 72 inches a year. So the job is close to the airport if it is in Fort Wayne. If you go to that plant, I would suggest living in the southwest part of the city. If your job is in Auburn, I would suggest the northern suburbs of Fort Wayne.

[What's snow?]

Thanks again for your responses. I will take you advice under consideration when I go apartment hunting.