Looking for a place near enough to commute to Gary. (Portage: neighborhood, statistics)

[ICE Gary]

Originally Posted by tnant17

I am going to be an engineering intern (21 years old) at a plant in Gary, Indiana. I was hoping to find a place close enough to commute to Gary (15-30) minutes. I want to be in a safe area, and if possible, I would like to be close enough to visit Chicago on the weekends. I just want a small apartment for around $500/month. Any ideas?

Potential rental(s) available - located in Gary - close to expressway and to Gary Metra station.
Rent is within your range - are you still looking for an apartment -

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by Lake County IN

Where in Northwest Indiana is there a "lively scene"

We just go to Chicago, which is 20 minutes away when we want to go out. That's what me and everybody I've ever met from this area pretty much does, especially when we were in our early 20s.

For this reason I find it odd that so many people suggested places to this kid that are 20-30 minutes in the opposite direction of the city, when he could live in the city and be 30 minutes from Gary with a lot more going on.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by Plzeň

For this reason I find it odd that so many people suggested places to this kid that are 20-30 minutes in the opposite direction of the city, when he could live in the city and be 30 minutes from Gary with a lot more going on.

Cause it cost alot more to live in Illinois.
Property Taxes arent capped at 1%
Income taxes are higher
Gasoline Taxes are higher
Crook County Sales Taxes are higher
You also have to file alot more during tax season due to living and working in a different state.
Illinois is in horrible shape both fiscally and politically.
Illinois will probably raise taxes soon to fill in the gap in the state budget. Heck Cigarettes are taxes 1$ more in Illinois than Indiana now with a new tax increase signed into law.

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

Cause it cost alot more to live in Illinois.
Property Taxes arent capped at 1%
Income taxes are higher
Gasoline Taxes are higher
Crook County Sales Taxes are higher
You also have to file alot more during tax season due to living and working in a different state.
Illinois is in horrible shape both fiscally and politically.
Illinois will probably raise taxes soon to fill in the gap in the state budget. Heck Cigarettes are taxes 1$ more in Illinois than Indiana now with a new tax increase signed into law.

And how many of those things apply to a kid who is only going to be here for the summer? Even if they did, many people will pay a little more to live where the action is. Having lived in Both NWI and Chi., I know where I'd want to be if I was a 20-something kid here for the summer.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Your best source will be asking someone at U.S. Steel in the HR Dept
They deal with this type of housing issues constantly.

You will probably find a great deal right there in front of you in the HR Dept.

There may even be some former employees who have a rental home near by.


Valpo is a great area and very family oriented.
If your looking for someplace a little more urban try the Munster area Highland area.

Across the state line you could look at Homewood , IL which has a nice atmosphere reasonable commute to Gary and reasonable commute to the city..

Hammond, IN has some decent homes in the right neighborhood as well.


Just dont overlook the Illinois cities and villages .

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Your best source will be asking someone at U.S. Steel in the HR Dept
They deal with this type of housing issues constantly.

You will probably find a great deal right there in front of you in the HR Dept.

There may even be some former employees who have a rental home near by.


Valpo is a great area and very family oriented.
If your looking for someplace a little more urban try the Munster area Highland area.

Across the state line you could look at Homewood , IL which has a nice atmosphere reasonable commute to Gary and reasonable commute to the city..

Hammond, IN has some decent homes in the right neighborhood as well.


Just dont overlook the Illinois cities and villages .

Good suggestion overall..but to clarify, by "urban" do you just mean busier than most suburbs? Because in the aspect of being pretty busy suburbs then yes, but overall these two towns are very suburban in character. Even much of south Hammond is pretty suburban in character. I would say downtown Valpo is more urban than Munster and Highland in regards to amenities, living options, and busyness.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

By Urban I mean the feel of say ridge road in Munster.
Not the sub divisions.


For the most part I would consider a sub division Suburban but people do look at these two characteristics different.

Obviously I am not talking about big city high rise urban rather surburb urban (lol)

On street parking, tree lined streets, side walks, bike lanes , older homes, close to stores and transit.
Not subdivsions without sidewalks etc.

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

By Urban I mean the feel of say ridge road in Munster.
Not the sub divisions.


For the most part I would consider a sub division Suburban but people do look at these two characteristics different.

Obviously I am not talking about big city high rise urban rather surburb urban (lol)

On street parking, tree lined streets, side walks, bike lanes , older homes, close to stores and transit.
Not subdivsions without sidewalks etc.

Ridge Road in Munster (west of Calumet) is the "downtown area" of town and there is no on-street parking until you get into Lansing...If you are basing "urban" off of your criteria above, then a better comparison would have been Crown Point and Valpo which have on-street parking and more vibrant cores. Also, most of the neighborhoods off of Ridge (east of Calumet) do not have sidewalks or bike lanes, and are really not walking distance to stores. Maybe right off of Ridge in the Hollywood Manor area of Munster, but even then, downtown Crown Point and downtown Valpo are much more walkable than Munster and Highland. Highland is a tad bit more walkable in their downtown area, but not as vibrant.

I know you are not talking "high-rise" urban. But Munster fits the definition of typical mature suburb with not more more room to grow. Valpo and CP, while having much room to grow, still has a more rural AND more urban feel than Munster while still having the suburban "middle" to it.

[summer22]

There is no town or city in NWI that truly caters to the needs of 20-something single professionals or creatives.

Prices for rentals in NWI have gone upwards at the same level as Chicago area rentals. It is very hard to find anything under $700 in Valparaiso, for instance. There are few if any buildings that were built as studio apartments.

It's one of the blind spots that the political leadership and developers of NWI have. In any of the university towns in either state (Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington, West Lafayette, Muncie) you will find a variety of buildings that include studios and 1-bedroom apartments. You don't find that at all in communities such as Valparaiso, Chesterton, Porter, Portage.

You can find some small apartments in Valpo but generally they are near VU and in run-down buildings. You might have some luck in New Buffalo, MI as that community has a larger downtown and there are apartments above the downtown storefronts. Hobart and Chesterton have small downtowns and there is some chance of finding a rental on the upper floor of a downtown building. Michigan City has some affordable housing but the safety is questionable.

Indiana has a "brain drain" of college graduates and this is a problem they have not resolved and it seems that no one is intending or working on resolving. Part of the problem is the affordable housing issue. If you have nowhere to live that a college intern or recent graduate can afford, how can you expect any of them to stay/settle in the area and build a life?

Young people are not attracted to the selling point of "low taxes", low services, or inflated housing prices. People want to have fun, make friends, have good public transportation, walk to things, and have some nightlife. NWI doesn't offer much for a recent graduate. The best selling point is the beach.

[summer22]

Miller Beach has the potential to be a success story if Gary ever makes an effort to attract well-planned commercial development to that area and convinces people (with solid statistics) that the Miller neighborhood is safe. Portage could benefit from the same strategy if they master-planned along the west side of their community boundary with Gary.