Requesting Info on South Bend

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Accurate, in 2011 we saw 109 inches of snow. Average snowfall here is about 70 inches, thanks in great part to our proximity to the Lake which produces Lake Effect snow. 35 miles south of here they are hardly affected by it, and about 45 miles east of here they are hardly affected also.

109 inches. Thats more than an inch day thru an entire winter season, that is, if you figure approximately 90 days per season. Even 70 inches of snow sounds like a heck of a lot of snow. I know it's more than I would want to deal with on a frequent basis thru out the winter, especially if I was the one that had to get up early every cold winter morning in order to shovel the snow that fell over night out of the driveway so I could go to work.

With that much snow, I can only assume the city of South Bend does an outstanding job keeping the city streets safe and clear of snow asap after it falls. If I lived there, as a taxpayer, I would expect nothing less from the city street department.

[MtnHiker55]

Wow, I did not realize the crime was so bad on the west side. Even more concerning is that I would be working just off Lincoln way west near the airport.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by MtnHiker55

Wow, I did not realize the crime was so bad on the west side. Even more concerning is that I would be working just off Lincoln way west near the airport.

One thing you have to understand about most of the crime in South Bend, it is not random crime, for the most part. Many of the aggravated assault, murders, shootings, and even burglaries are against people who know one another. In other words, it is mostly family vs family and gang vs gang activity. I work at the airport myself, the area immediately south of the airport is okay, anything east of the airport is pretty bad and should be avoided when it comes to living in. I drive down Lincolnway West every day, and I don't fear for my life driving down the road, I'm not fearful of carjacking or anything like that, I just know the neighborhoods themselves are not nice places to live.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by Max_is_here

Am I misunderstand this map that shows almost the opposite being true?

Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Also, as I said previously, I was driving right through the center of town on 931 less than 1000 feet from Notre Dame and it looked like an awful place to me. Looks can be deceiving, and maybe 1000 feet away there were rich folks, but I couldn't tell from where I was. The map linked shows the immediate area around the campus as being "alright" but anything around it is not so great, with some of it the worst in the city.

Fort Wayne is like this too in places. Foster Park is the OLD money in the town, but only IMMEDIATELY on the park. The surrounding area is some of the worst property in the city.

I cannot speak for what the map shows, or what year that data is from, but I'm telling you from firsthand experience that well over 70% of the crime in South Bend happens between the airport and Downtown, east of Downtown accounts for very little crime. The only area I can think of on the east side is about 7 or 8 blocks south of Notre Dame on Eddy Street, there's a short stretch there when you're going north towards Notre Dame that is pretty rundown looking. Otherwise I'd walk down almost any street in the city that is east of downtown.

The neighborhoods immediately south and south east of Downtown are pretty gritty too, they really don't start to become okay again until you get south of Ewing street.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by MtnHiker55

Wow, I did not realize the crime was so bad on the west side. Even more concerning is that I would be working just off Lincoln way west near the airport.

Have you found a place to live or rent yet?

[MtnHiker55]

I was looking at a place just off Lincoln way west. That's what concerns me

[claremarie]

Because there isn't much traffic in the South Bend area, you don't need to live right on top of your workplace. Decent apartments in safe neighborhoods are very affordable -- you might consider expanding your housing search to areas that are less marginal.

In general, you can be pretty sure that if the price is considerably lower than elsewhere in the area, you don't want to be there.