Relocating to Indiana, Possibly Fort Wayne Area (Woodburn, Grabill: apartments, condos)

[cdr18]

If you would visit the area once before you came, I think you would prefer the Leo-Cedarville-Grabill area. Quaint little town with a great park, Metea Park. The great part about Leo is that since a major highway does not go through the city, it is able to keep it's small town charm, while still providing a suburban lifestyle to many that commute to the city. I think this makes it an ideal location for young families. In addition, Leo isn't completely suburban and there are plenty of rural hosues surrounding the city that would give that ruralness that you are looking for. Broadband/DSL is pretty much available everywhere in Indiana, especially northern Indiana.

[DocJames]

I have lived in Fort Wayne most of my life and raised 9 children here. It is a great place for families, with plenty of things to do. I've lived NE, NW, and S-SW... personally I prefer the SW or S-SW area of Fort Wayne. For someone wanting to be close to shopping, good schools and the airport (which is on the S-SW edge of Fort Wayne), SW or S-SW might be best. If you are still considering a smaller town near Fort Wayne, you might want to consider Ossian, Roanoke, or possibly even Bluffton or Decatur... probably in that order... and housing is very affordable in these areas, too.

[kbat]

I've been looking in all of the suggested areas and have found some possibilities. I hope to be able to visit and see both the towns and the homes before making a final decision. It's complicated by the fact that we still don't have an exact move date or even a ballpark estimate. It's "maybe a few months."

We found wonderful house in Markle. Are you familiar with that town?

[alspringer]

kbat, one area you may want to consider is Churubusco. You can get a good bang for your buck there, and it is closer to Fort Wayne than Columbia City is. The school system is definitely not as nice as Leo or one of the Zanesville school systems. Zanesville is split into a couple different school systems, Northern Wells and Southwest Allen County Schools. Southwest Allen is considered by many one of the top 3 school systems in the area along with Northwest Allen and Leo. Northern Wells is a great system as well but is more of a rural feel. Zanesville is very small and doesnt really have many businesses. Churubusco has restaraunts, groceries and other things that make the small town convenient. I am familiar with Markle, I grew up about 10 mins away. Markle is a nice little town. It is right off the interstate so it is easy to hop on and get to FTW. Probably about 15 minutes to the south side of FTW. Markle is also split into 2 school systems. Part Northern Wells & part Huntington Community. I am a Realtor with Coldwell Banker here in Fort Wayne. When you make it to the area and want to check out some homes, shoot me an email (alspringer@gmail.com). I can also start populating some listings for you before you come if you would be interested. Best of luck with everything!

Adam Springer

[adh0513]

I am 29yrs old and a single parent of a 10yr old daughter. We live in Chicago and the city is becoming overwhelming with the cost of living. Not to mention my current employer is about to go out of business. Can any one offer me some advice about empoyment, housing and schools in the Fort Wayne area?

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by adh0513

I am 29yrs old and a single parent of a 10yr old daughter. We live in Chicago and the city is becoming overwhelming with the cost of living. Not to mention my current employer is about to go out of business. Can any one offer me some advice about empoyment, housing and schools in the Fort Wayne area?

Indianapolis and Fort Wayne are the job hotspots in Indiana.
I would recommend using a website like Careerbuilder.com search around a little about how many jobs are registered on that site see if you like them and ask us about the company if you have narrowed down your choices Also Welcome to Indiana!

[kbat]

And we're caught in limbo right now. We still don't know if/when my husband will be transferred. In the meantime, someone has snatched up that wonderful little house. But there seems to be plenty of nice, reasonably-priced houses on the market there.

How has winter been in the Fort Wayne area this year? In South Dakota we've been bouncing between unseasonably warm and savagely cold, sometimes dropping or climbing by huge amounts in 24 hours. (61 degrees and sunny one day, 18 the next, with windchills below zero).

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by kbat

And we're caught in limbo right now. We still don't know if/when my husband will be transferred. In the meantime, someone has snatched up that wonderful little house. But there seems to be plenty of nice, reasonably-priced houses on the market there.

How has winter been in the Fort Wayne area this year? In South Dakota we've been bouncing between unseasonably warm and savagely cold, sometimes dropping or climbing by huge amounts in 24 hours. (61 degrees and sunny one day, 18 the next, with windchills below zero).

First major snowstorm of the year was today and thats actually very late.

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

First major snowstorm of the year was today and thats actually very late.

Ummmm, not quite. For those in this area, we had one hades of a major storm Nov 30th; my normal ~40 minute drive home that night took me instead 3 hours, including the ½ hour to walk ½ mile, after stranding my car in a neighbor's drive [the last ½ mile requires a 90 degree curve up a hill, which was not going to make - took all could do to make it that far, safely]… counted over 14 vehicles in ditches that night, and my car twisted & turned over every little hardened snow-packed bump, going 5-15 mph for much of that journey. Next morning, after rewalking that ½ mile, took ~45 minutes to unbury the car, and dig path out of their drive to get back onto the still snow encrusted county road. Yea, that storm will be with me for some time - was definitely in the top 3 of worst driving conditions I've had.

This past week, there was another pretty good snow storm - didn't get much, but it was quite treacherous. However, these are the rare conditions, don't usually last too long… further north you get from FtW proper [but, you don't have to get too far - Churubusco, Auburn, etc areas, for example] the more lake-effect snow you will get. With that all said, winters here [like most other places] are quite fickle… can be like you (kbat ) said, one day mild to warm, couple days later be fighting snow or ice. The worst however is the bitter cutting wind… seems that sometimes no matter how many layers you put on, it'll knife right through, and chill ya to the bone. Painting a pretty picture am I? Seriously, its not that bad,,, just that I'm not a fan of the coldness of winter's wind in these parts. The snow and ice and low temps I can take, but damn that wind!

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by ShadowCaver

Ummmm, not quite. For those in this area, we had one hades of a major storm Nov 30th; my normal ~40 minute drive home that night took me instead 3 hours, including the ½ hour to walk ½ mile, after stranding my car in a neighbor's drive [the last ½ mile requires a 90 degree curve up a hill, which was not going to make - took all could do to make it that far, safely]… counted over 14 vehicles in ditches that night, and my car twisted & turned over every little hardened snow-packed bump, going 5-15 mph for much of that journey. Next morning, after rewalking that ½ mile, took ~45 minutes to unbury the car, and dig path out of their drive to get back onto the still snow encrusted county road. Yea, that storm will be with me for some time - was definitely in the top 3 of worst driving conditions I've had.

This past week, there was another pretty good snow storm - didn't get much, but it was quite treacherous. However, these are the rare conditions, don't usually last too long… further north you get from FtW proper [but, you don't have to get too far - Churubusco, Auburn, etc areas, for example] the more lake-effect snow you will get. With that all said, winters here [like most other places] are quite fickle… can be like you (kbat ) said, one day mild to warm, couple days later be fighting snow or ice. The worst however is the bitter cutting wind… seems that sometimes no matter how many layers you put on, it'll knife right through, and chill ya to the bone. Painting a pretty picture am I? Seriously, its not that bad,,, just that I'm not a fan of the coldness of winter's wind in these parts. The snow and ice and low temps I can take, but damn that wind!

Winter could always be worse. Look at Nome Alaska.