Bloomington transplant....info needed (Highland, Bedford: crime, homes, best schools)

[muncie21]

I'm starting a job in Bloomington, but am currently struggling with where to live. A bit about me: 35 year old, single professional, with a 9-year old daughter. I'm used to having the convenience of a big city minutes away, so Bloomington is taking a bit of getting used to.

I'd rather not live near/around the university, so here's the options I'm considering:
North/South of town
Pros-Better housing prices, larger lots
Cons-May not have the best schools, longer commute, away from city activities and entertainment
Indy
Pros-Large city conveniences, more activities, more people in same situation as myself
Cons-Longer commute, crime?, schools?, need to move to outskirts to get more reasonable housing prices.

Thoughts, suggestions?

[rrah]

Have you found a place yet? We live in the far southern portion of the county, but downtown Bloomington is only 20 minutes away. Considering that's a 15 mile drive we think it's reasonable. We were also concerned that the "best" grade schools were close to IU and our children wouldn't be there. We discovered that they did very well in our smaller school. One is currently in MS gifted/talented program, other is in honors classes in HS. They certainly compete and do as well as the students that went to the schools with better test scores.

FYI--Crime is more of a problem closer to the university than away from town.

Ususally get a larger lot away from town, maybe a better price.

I don't fully understand all of your pros/cons regarding longer commutes, etc.

Feel free to pm me. I would be happy to answer specific questions.

[camesquibel]

I lived in Bloomington for seven years and just recently moved. My husband & I have 4 young children and we lived on the south side of town. We lived in the Highlands community. There are Beazer homes built there that are very affordable. Currently it is one of the biggest "communities" that is growing. There are two elementary schools that are within 5 miles of each other. Summit Elementary and Clear creek. This side of town is quieter and there are more families here than "college" crowd. We were content to live there. Good luck . I hope this helps.

[Godsdove]

My husband, son and I are moving to TN in the next couple of weeks. But we have lived in Bloomington all of our lives (well he is from Bloomfield). Anyway, we have lived on the southwest side of town for years and LOVE it. It is far enough from the university that you don't feel like you are surrounded by students. But you are still near everything. We are right near the highway too, so it is really easy to just get on 37 and head north to Indy or south to Bedford. I'd recommend looking on the west side.