moving from michigan to indiana (South Bend, Elkhart: apartments, rental, homes)

[tat960]

hello i need a little help im currently looking into moving from michigan to indiana my husbands job was transferred to new paris indiana and we have no idea where to start our new life we have two children 5 and 6 yrs old that are gonna need a good school and neighborhood to live in. I am willing to be about 40 mins outside of where my husband works. please help me im looking for reasonable rental properties i want to stay away from apartments. what are some good areas?

[rdwoelfe]

In my humble opinion the best schools, other than private in the 40 minute area you mentioned, are going to be in the Penn Harris district. That puts you right at the maximum limit of the 40 minute trip, Google maps will probably show the Penn Harris School district (north east Mishawaka and Granger, but look at the actual school district map the lines can be a bit blurred) as around 40 to 50 minutes from New Paris, but it can be more like 35 min. depending on traffic.

The Penn Harris district will be a bit more expensive as far as renting a home goes. The Mishawaka and Elkhart, considerably closer than Penn, school districts are serviceable, but not nearly as good as Penn, but the homes less expensive; again there is always going to be a trade off.


I do not know about any of the other districts other than Penn, Mishawaka, Elkhart, and South Bend, stay away from South Bend schools.

[baileyvpotter]

Indiana has a school voucher system, so you have a choice which school (public or private) your
children can attend (there are private schools in South Bend that receive high rankings). As for
renting a home, you can look at Osceola, Mishawaka, Granger, New Carlisle (careful about basement flooding)
and yes there are some nice areas in South Bend too.

Indiana Choice Scholarships | IDOE

[ischyros]

Everyone is sending you a long ways away from New Paris. Sure, Penn schools are probably the best public schools in the area but does your husband really want to drive close to an hour just to get to work and then an hour to get back home? During the winter especially that sounds horrible. Look in Goshen. The south side has really built up over the last several years with some newer homes. Downtown has really been reborn as well. And if you're on the south side, your husband could be within 5 minutes of work.

[baileyvpotter]

What about New Paris for the OP?

New Paris Elementary Schools - New Paris, IN | GreatSchools
//www.city-data.com/city/New-Paris-Indiana.html

[ischyros]

Nothing wrong with living in New Paris, I just figure there would be a lot more homes to rent in Goshen than New Paris.

[dreamer854]

Concord Community Schools are very good, as are Middlebury Schools.

[cdr18]

I would highly recommend looking into Warsaw, Goshen, Wakarusa, Jefferson Township (north of Goshen), and suburban areas of Elkhart. All have great schools and nice, safe communities.

[Vastthickcutdude]

Yes, move to Indiana, it's an excellent state!

[fallingwater]

I moved from Michigan to Indiana. You will be pleasantly surprised by the lower cost of living, especially with property taxes. I live in the Penn-Harris-Madison school district. I have been pleased with it for the most part. Depending on where you are coming from there are some things that will take some getting used to between the two states. Let me know if you want more info.