North Shore Chicago to Northwest Indiana? (Indianapolis, Valparaiso: home, good schools, property taxes)

[saverchic]

We are contemplating a move from the northern suburbs of Chicago to either Indianapolis or Northwest Indiana. While we like where we live, I grew up in southern Illinois, and I'm looking for an area that's a little more friendly and down-to-earth than where we are right now. We are also attracted to the lower home prices and property taxes.

Our two big concerns are safety and good schools. Our children are toddlers right now, and we'd love to live in a family-oriented area. There's also a strong chance we will send our children to a Catholic school. We both work from our home, so location isn't a big issue.

We would like to find a home with a large backyard and 4-5 bedrooms. We would prefer to spend between $400-$500,000.

Right now we are just in the "research" phase. If anyone else has made a move from the northern suburbs to Indianapolis, I'd love to hear your perspectives too. I'm also going to post something similar on the Indianapolis board.

[svillechris]

You can find what you're looking for in any of the following towns (listed in order of proximity to Chicago):

Munster
Dyer
Schererville
St John
Crown Point
Chesterton
Union Township (Wheeler)
Valparaiso

All are safe, family friendly towns with very good schools where you should be able to find a larger sized lot if you look for it. Let us know if you have any specific questions and we'd be happy to help you out!

[Bluefox]

I agree with svillechris. I will also add that you will get more bang for your buck in Indianapolis, but with your budget you will certainly find what you're looking for in Northwest Indiana as well, and the trade off is that you will still have Chicago and all its amenities in close proximity.

[saverchic]

Thank you for your advice! I think the next step for us will be a weekend roadtrip to check out all of these communities in the Hoosier state. :-)