Jasper or Pulaski County

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by ranosb

svillechris;

What do you mean? I didn't want to be too far from Walkerton, In or Chicago, IL or too close to Gary,In so Jasper was a choice.

Have you thought of Valparaiso or Chesterton? Those are roughly a halfway point between Chicago and Walkerton, and neither have seen crime spillover from Gary. You may need to reevaluate your home desires or price point but these are great, safe, kid friendly towns that you may want to consider. You don't have to move to Jasper county to be safe. Despite the image that Gary has given the area, most of Lake and Porter counties are very safe.

[domergurl]

Heck, if you want small town and close to walkerton, why not look into kouts or wanatah???

[artemis]

My daughter lives in Wanatah and loves it. They are close enough to Valpo for shopping, but love the small town feeling, plus it's very safe.

My son lives a little further up Rt 421 in between Westville & Wanatah, and has a new(ish) house on acreage. It's awesome.

[summer22]

I would push you toward the Hebron area (nearest larger city is Crown Point), or Jackson Township (nearest larger towns are Chesterton and Michigan City.) More opportunities and nicer surroundings generally. In Hebron you are a short drive from two or three shopping areas and there is a new high school built in the last ten years. Hebron has good schools. In Jackson Township, you are close to Lake Michigan and all the outdoor opportunities it offers. I think even the air feels better when you're within 10-15 minutes of the lakefront.

Starke and Pulaski Counties are something else. Those two counties are kind of a backwoods mess, in terms of government, services, health care, education, culture, economic opportunity.... I could go on.

But, it might be to your taste, so if it is I won't rail about it. North Judson in town limits, or Winamac in town limits could be liveable for the right person and there are some nice brick homes. In North Judson there is a better community feeling and cohesion than in other parts of Starke and Pulaski. It can be pleasant if you just want a simple life.

But you will still have crime, and you have to remember that these two counties are very distressed economically and have been since about the 1980's farm price crash.

Even if you do like it in Starke/Pulaski, the three things I would be very concerned about are health care (30-60 minute drive to the major hospitals), the roads, and the lack of things to do for your teenager.

Where are you moving from? North Judson-San Pierre is one of the better high schools in Starke/Pulaski. There would still be major adjustment issues for your son/daughter if you're coming from a larger school district. If your teen is into football, basketball, band, or FFA the adjustment might be slightly easier. North Judson-San Pierre and Winamac have a few more sport offerings than the smaller schools and you should check the school websites to make sure if you have one of interest. If soccer is important, Winamac might be the only one that offers it.

Also, Pulaski County is an extremely low population and is losing population. Starke County is slightly larger and is closer to Valparaiso (30-40 minute drive.)

[ranosb]

Thanks for the replies!
Well I will have to rent before I find a home, Valparaiso is also on my list of possibilities, but it has a lot of college students so apartment living might night be very quite around that area. Maybe a area away from the colleges?
It seems the norm is around $800 a month for a 2 bdrm apt, would this be about right?
Demotte seems like a possibility for a home purchase as well, just have to drive a bit to look at homes I would be interested in. Anyone live in Demotte and how is that water project going there?
I think city water would be a big plus for that area!