This interesting little town known as "Fort Wayne" (Indianapolis: best towns, insurance)

[duck_fur]

Hello All,

I currently reside in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As a life-long Hoosier who grew up in the Indianapolis area, I've been well acquainted with the city. I moved to the area back in 2003 after my job was outsourced. I've noted some interesting things about this town that are simply "odd" (but in a good way). These items are a bit random, but here goes:

- This town seems to defy the "Six Degrees of Seperation" rule. I'm astounded by the the number of people I've met from all over the country (and world) that have some connection to this town (job, lived here, are originally from here, have family here, etc.). More on that in a moment...

- Is a place of some social contrast:
- Conservative yet can be annoyingly liberal in attitude. Indianapolis is conservative and snobby. If you're not tied to the central Indiana corporate "donut" that encircles Marion County, then you're a nobody. There are two Indianas - the Indianapolis 9-county MSA and the rest of the state. Alas, that's another thread.
- Is exceptionally diverse (ethnically) for a city of its size (very heavy Burmese and other Asian ethnic groups). Ran into quite a few Eastern European groups as well (Croation, Bosnian, etc.). Was at a Vietnamese grocery recently and while standing in line, met a man from Kenya buying some seafood. I see quite a few Indians as well. Fort Wayne Community Schools is one of the most ethnically diverse school corporations in America (some 85 different languages are spoken). I enjoy seeing how the Amish folks pimp out their buggies with colorful LED lights, and see the horse stalls set up for them at Meijer and Walmart. And no, I'm not making that last part up!
- A huge amount of churches and the seeming requirement to balance that with "gentlemen's clubs".
- Lot's of "old money"...amazing homes that rival the North Meridian neighborhood in Indy, and right next to some of the most impoverished areas of the city.
- A blue-collar town with extensive ties to multinational corporations, particularly the defense industry.

- Local radio isn't appreciated as it should be by the locals. All other radio markets I've visited around the country (Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, Portland, Denver, etc.) all sound the same. Fort Wayne's radio market hasn't been trashed by the likes of Emmis or Clear Channel. There's a REAL classic (as in Bach or Mozart) radio format station in town (one of the few left on the radio dial). I'd like some smooth jazz, though!

- We have awesome data communication infrastructure: Comcast, Verizon FiOS and downtown city-provided 802.11 wireless. Every part of the city is wired with fiber to the home. In fact, you can't even ORDER DSL...you're ONLY option is cable, wireless, or FiOS. I love my 20 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up fiber optic triple play for $125/month. Can't get that anywhere else in Indiana. Can't believe how fortunate we are to have these options.

- One of the local television stations actually has a segment called "Good News" that highlights what is actually RIGHT with the world. That's so refreshing!

- The local chinese community is larger and more tight-knit than my wife's group back in Indy.

- After six months of looking for work ALL OVER THE US back in 2003, I found a job in this little place. Found a second, better paying and higher responsibility position six months later. I'm at the best place in my career ever. My wife just found a full time job, that utilizes her MBA and Mandarin/English translation skills...in Fort Wayne (not some big city) and in this recession. We are so thankful and are truly blessed!

- Great Christian community. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a church home in the "city of churches" (over 400 in the city limits alone), and this in a city of only 250K. Yet, so many churches are making an impact around the world. I know of churches that are outreach hub locations for other churches in this region of the state, that then ship those goods overseas. The community is so responsive to need. The food banks and missions are still helping people. I'm surprised at the spirit of giving I see in the community.

- Back to the Six Degrees thing. My Chinese wife met a chinese woman recently. My wife lived in the city of Shinzhen (around 6 million people) many years ago. This person she met is now the wife of a local attorney and they were COWORKERS in China! Before meeting my wife, she knew of Fort Wayne because she met up with a missionary while still in China. Guess where that missionary was from? Yep...Fort Wayne. There are so many similar stories, but I won't bore you with them. Suffice it to say that whether I'm on the West Coast or Texas, people somehow (good or bad) have some sort of a connection to this place.

I'm not saying Fort Wayne is the end all place to be, but I simply find it amazing that this town in NE Indiana has such a connection with the rest of the world. I hear the insults from others and I hear about how us who live in "fly over" country are backwards and uneducated. If any of you have spent any time around Asians, you know the place education and career hold in the Eastern mind. I find it interesting to hear their take on Fort Wayne. They like the city and it provides world-class job opportunities for those who come here from the other side of the planet. Us Americans (and residents of this town) don't appreciate what that mindset truly says of our community. These are people who have relocated with (or started) their families from a region of the world that's eating our lunch in terms of growth and econmomic development. They could have chosen many places to put down roots. I find it interesting that this town seems to have such a connection to that part of the world.

Anyway, I've droned on enough. I find Fort Wayne to lack a lot of what I would want from a city, however, it has been good to me and my family. I guess I won't ruin it by longing for what other places seem to offer. I think I'll grow where I'm planted and enjoy the biggest small town in the world. I remember thinking when I moved here what I was giving up. There was a real sense of loss that first year or so. I don't think that anymore. I now have options, ideas, and cultural interaction that I didn't have before relocating here. My children get to hear Mandarin spoken at home, interact with 85 different ethnicities at school, and deal with rednecks in the neighborhood, and all in the same day. I may not get my jazz radio station, but they DO have live jazz every Friday night all summer at the outdoor Jefferson Pointe mall. It is indeed an interesting town.

So, what say ye? Does anyone else note these interesting points as well? Is it my lack of world travels that leads me to the conclusion that Fort Wayne is just a little unique in these contrasts and life attributes here in Indiana?

[Signora]

Thank you for your observations on Fort Wayne. We are actually considering a move there. Bloomington is also a possibility.... You wouldn't happen to have some insight on Bloomington....

[ShadowCaver]

Good post, honest review... yea, Ft Wayne is indeed a good place. Not great, but there is much here to be offered. btw, there is jazz @ few stations, depending on your antenna and location... and if you are at home, w/ your hi-speed i'net acces, catch it there too.
Radio Stations in Fort Wayne IN
WBNI 94.1 FM/WBOI 89.1 FM = good NPR station too.

[NicePolishBoy]

I, too, am considering a move to Fort Wayne. I'm just waiting to see if I have a chance. I visited for a few days, and it seems like a great place.

[Future Trooper]

Love your review of Fort Wayne!

[Interpol76]

No. I find Fort Wayne to be a hopelessly normal place with nothing much to offer. It's concrete, and grey. And FULL of ugly box stores and strip clubs everywhere you look. People tend to be kinda on the abrasive/aggressive side also. Of course, this is a generalization and not true of everybody. And to Signora...I would definitely choose Bloomington over Fort Wayne. One of the best towns in the midwest.

[belovenow]

The OP is a great review of Ft. Wayne. Fort Wayne has an incredible amount of things to offer and from what I can tell it is weathering the poor national economic situation better than most other cities (at least for this snapshot in time). I've lived all over the country and no where else have I found such affordable housing, insurance, taxes, and yet moderate weather conditions, all the restaurants, entertainment venues and retail businesses anyone could ever want, and genuinely nice people. My wife and I moved out here right after 9/11 from NYC and we've never been happier. Especially if you're looking for a place to raise a family, Fort Wayne is excellent.

[juliestephen]

Since you enjoy jazz- Northrop High School has a wonderful Jazz festival on 03/14/09.
THe FWCS high schools have awesome jazz programs in their schools!

I am a tranplant for CHicago area, and I am glad that I have stayed here over 20 years.

[mumzim]

great review..we are relocating to Fort wayne in June, we are Zimbabweans with 2 young children...so we are are particular about diversity, schools, safe neighbourhoods etc. My husband and I are both in the medical field..what are the best schools that you could recommend?

[brainiac138]

Originally Posted by mumzim

great review..we are relocating to Fort wayne in June, we are Zimbabweans with 2 young children...so we are are particular about diversity, schools, safe neighbourhoods etc. My husband and I are both in the medical field..what are the best schools that you could recommend?

What do you do in the medical field? There is an excellent private school called Canterbury, but it is very expensive and both you and your husband would have to make very good money to send your children there. The Lutheran religious private school system is fairly good, and they have a decent high school called Concordia. There is a smaller Catholic school system with two high schools. Decent public high schools are Snider, Northrop, Southside, and Northside. If they are not yet high school age, the elementary and middle schools in the districts feeding into those high schools are probably decent.