How long until Munster turns into Hammond? (Merrillville, Highland: foreclosure, loans)

[My Kind Of Town]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Can't say that with the way Illinois funds its education system. U of I is already feeling the pinch.

Top Public Schools | National Universities | US News Best Colleges

[My Kind Of Town]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Doesn't matter if you can't afford tuition. Saddling yourself with student loans won't work. 2nd there have already been cuts and layoffs there so stay tuned.
Finally its cheaper to go to college in Indiana and pay out of state tuition than pay in state in Illinois

What does tuition cost have to do with performance? Next you are going to try and argue that Harvard isn't on par with IU and Purdue because it costs too much. LOL

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

One thing I will say is this...Compared to other areas of NWI, Munster is pricey. So most folks in Munster in general are not too concerned if a minority moves into most of the neighborhoods because the idea that people have is "well, if they could afford xyz, they can't be that bad". However in many other places where cost of entry is much lower or comparatively lower compared to Munster AKA "anybody can get in", it comes off as more alarming to those residents. I think this is part of the reason why Munster has not had any type of flight from the area as compared to a place like Merrillville as well as north Crown Point and parts of Portage, where it is cheaper. Those places are also further out and to many residents, were "not supposed to change"

I've experienced this first hand with recent home-buyers in my subdivision. Cedar Lake has been growing rapidly (for it's size) in new subdivisions. The percentage of "white flight" from IL is high, so when 1 or 2 AA families move in, there is an automatic "gasp" that I hear about from some of the neighbors. I'm not saying home costs are high in Centennial, but they are higher than the rest of town.


It matters not what ethnicity moves in anywhere in my opinion. It's a great subdivision with that old town "wave at everyone, keep up your home, and be mindful of all the children that are playing in the yards" type of a place. If any of those general concepts are impeded on, anyone is at risk for ridicule.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Njova,

I agree that Munster has good schools. It is also much closer to loop than Valpo. Valpo is ranked 17 on your the link you posted, not 36. Munster is 4.

Can you please acknowledge that University of Illinois Champaign is on par with Purdue and IU? Thanks.

It's better.

[Humboldt1]

Both are good schools. They are rated differently in different fields of study.

IrishIllini,

Your response was not necessary.

I was simply saying that U of I is a good school in the same league as Purdue and IU.

[artemis]

Originally Posted by iidreamtheaterii

I've experienced this first hand with recent home-buyers in my subdivision. Cedar Lake has been growing rapidly (for it's size) in new subdivisions. The percentage of "white flight" from IL is high, so when 1 or 2 AA families move in, there is an automatic "gasp" that I hear about from some of the neighbors. I'm not saying home costs are high in Centennial, but they are higher than the rest of town.


It matters not what ethnicity moves in anywhere in my opinion. It's a great subdivision with that old town "wave at everyone, keep up your home, and be mindful of all the children that are playing in the yards" type of a place. If any of those general concepts are impeded on, anyone is at risk for ridicule.

It's still Cedar Lake. :-/

[Humboldt1]

Purdue and Harvard are very different.

And this is coming from 4th generation Purdue graduate with 2 degrees from there.

I never applied to Harvard but did get into MIT. They even sent me a tshirt that said "home of nerd pride.". Upon receipt of the tshirt I decided MIT was not the place for me and I also was not interested in taking on big loans to go there.

A big part of why I transferred to Purdue from Wash U St Louis was cost. Wash U gave me 50 percent scholarship. Purdue covered tuition and fees 100 percent (I just had to pay for room and board and books).

I like Purdue, a lot but they need to become more selective, which will in turn attract even more top talent.

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Purdue and Harvard are very different.

And this is coming from 4th generation Purdue graduate with 2 degrees from there.

I never applied to Harvard but did get into MIT. They even sent me a tshirt that said "home of nerd pride.". Upon receipt of the tshirt I decided MIT was not the place for me and I also was not interested in taking on big loans to go there.

A big part of why I transferred to Purdue from Wash U St Louis was cost. Wash U gave me 50 percent scholarship. Purdue covered tuition and fees 100 percent (I just had to pay for room and board and books).

I like Purdue, a lot but they need to become more selective, which will in turn attract even more top talent.

All of the state schools in Indiana have been becoming more selective, which I'm guessing is a national trend. IUPUI for example, used to have over a 90% acceptance rate about 15 years ago. It's now around 60%. Purdue and IU have both been rejecting students that used to be admitted with a 2.5 high school GPA, so they are improving too.

[midwest1]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

I honestly thought Munster was getting better.

If the town is at risk of becoming less wealthy in 10-15 years why would anyone want to buy a home there?

.

So getting better means getting more expensive? With more white collar folks than blue collar...?? Can you imagine a scenario whereby a formerly snooty ass area turns into a more diverse, chill, cool area, but for whatever reasons the market determines (fickle as it is) that NOW the same house is worth half the price, and taxes are subsequently cut in half.....but you like the removal of uptight judgemental fearful humans plus an extra 5 grand cause of reduced taxes....

[jvr789]

Originally Posted by midwest1

So getting better means getting more expensive? With more white collar folks than blue collar...?? Can you imagine a scenario whereby a formerly snooty ass area turns into a more diverse, chill, cool area, but for whatever reasons the market determines (fickle as it is) that NOW the same house is worth half the price, and taxes are subsequently cut in half.....but you like the removal of uptight judgemental fearful humans plus an extra 5 grand cause of reduced taxes....

For an existing homeowner, if an area gets more expensive that will generally result in the value of their home increasing which will generally result in more money in the homeowners back pocket. Also, wealthier communities are generally better able to fund schools and other local projects via taxes.

Now with how this all relates to Munster specifically, the schools are great and there is economic diversity within the community. Also, Munster is relatively safe. It is not like some other parts or NWI or Chicagoland in that regard.

I think schools and safety are driving factors in the desirability of Munster. Plus, Munster also has good proximity to the city of Chicago which is a major employment center (that is, you don't have to drive 30 minutes after you get off 94 to get home like you do if you live farther south from 94).

The inference that Munster is a snooty area is kind of laughable to me. I've run in the snooty crowds in the city before moving out here and while sure you can find snooty people anywhere, you aren't going to find a preponderance of them in Munster or anywhere in NWI for what it is worth. Nope, they are holed-up in more economically homogenous communities found elsewhere. Snooty people generally say "Indiana, ewhh...why would anybody live there?" And non-snooty people reply, "NWI has areas with good schools, low taxes, fiscally responsible state government and lower COL." And then snooty people do the eye-roll.

As a Munster resident for about 2 years now, from meeting my neighbors and starting to get involved in the local community, I see many residents caring very much about Munster especially the safety of it. If residents continue to care about their community, remain involved and ensure that schools and safety are top priorities, I believe Munster will continue to be a desirable place to live.