Can someone give me some information on St. John Indiana and surrounding areas! (Gary: rentals)

[celestens829]

My husband has a job opportunity which is located in St. John. I have lived all over the US, but have only driven trough that area. Looking at the Stats and Forums, I'm getting a not so great opinion about it. Hoping for some positives or just the blatant truth. In in Ohio currently for the last 6 months. We have no kids. We will be renting. Which is weird that I'm finding no rentals in St. John. So basically I'm hearing that NWI is in decline, or is super snobby and over priced, that there has been numerous "White Flights" (wth?), its polluted, there's lots a corruption. I've lived in Ohio, Miami, the Keys, California, and the mountains of Colorado. Is there any positives about this area? How convenient is it to Chicago? Is Chicago as cool as I hear? Where do we we look for safe but not so pricey areas to rent? Are the people good hearted working class like Ohio and Colorado? Just need some input, before I go running back to my mountains. This job would be a possible game change for my husband and myself. Thank you! Oh, an please don't get offended! Like I said I have never been there and have only looked up stuff on this forum! If I'm totally wrong, I will be stoked!

[carol5519]

I live in Crown Point which is about 15 minutes away from St. John. The St. John area is a very nice middle class area and is safe, centrally located, and only a 45 minute drive to Chicago. You should be able to find a nice place to rent in St. John or Schererville that's affordable. I own a duplex in Schererville... 2 bedroom/ 2 bath bi-level with a fireplace, fenced in yard, and garage that rents for 895.00. Both sides are already rented, but there are several similar places available that are nice if you are looking in the 850.00 -1200.00 range. Good luck!

[celestens829]

Thank you! I read Crown point is kinda cool!

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by celestens829

My husband has a job opportunity which is located in St. John. I have lived all over the US, but have only driven trough that area. Looking at the Stats and Forums, I'm getting a not so great opinion about it. Hoping for some positives or just the blatant truth. In in Ohio currently for the last 6 months. We have no kids. We will be renting. Which is weird that I'm finding no rentals in St. John. So basically I'm hearing that NWI is in decline, or is super snobby and over priced, that there has been numerous "White Flights" (wth?), its polluted, there's lots a corruption. I've lived in Ohio, Miami, the Keys, California, and the mountains of Colorado. Is there any positives about this area? How convenient is it to Chicago? Is Chicago as cool as I hear? Where do we we look for safe but not so pricey areas to rent? Are the people good hearted working class like Ohio and Colorado? Just need some input, before I go running back to my mountains. This job would be a possible game change for my husband and myself. Thank you! Oh, an please don't get offended! Like I said I have never been there and have only looked up stuff on this forum! If I'm totally wrong, I will be stoked!

Yeah, it's tough finding rentals in general in the nicer areas of NWI online. Keep in mind St. John is still a pretty small town of about 15k. Do you have to live in St. John or would a nearby city like Schererville or Dyer suffice? They are on par with St. John. It just might help expanding the scope of your search.

Some areas of NWI are declining, but St. John/Dyer/Schererville are all pretty solid.

Those cities have pretty much exploded in population as they are seen as an affordable alternative to the Illinois suburbs, but in my opinion they are catching up in COL. Pricey? Well that's relative. They aren't pricey compared to Miami or much of California, but maybe pricey compared to Ohio, certainly pricey compared to the rest of Indiana. It's 100% because of the proximity to Chicago. And yes, they are very convenient to Chicago - easy weekend or even day trip. And yes, Chicago is a phenomenal, world-class city and you should absolutely take advantage of your proximity to it if you move to St. John. For someone like you and your husband who have been all over, I think you'll appreciate its cosmopolitan aspects and what it has to offer. It's one of the greatest cities in the country, after all.

I think St. John used to be more working class than it is now. Now, I think it really draws more white-collar people and it's become more of a bedroom community of Chicago. But I'd venture to guess there are plenty of working class people who call St. John home as well.

All in all, St. John is a very nice community and I doubt you'd regret moving there. I know a few years ago it was ranked as one of the top 100 places to live in the US by CNN. And if you don't like it, move somewhere else! It doesn't look like it's been a problem for you guys in the past.

[Bluefox]

Oh, forgot to address the positives of the area. Those kinds of questions are subjective of course, but here's my $.02 for me personally:

Like I said, proximity to Chicago is probably the biggest positive. You have access to so many cultural experiences, museums, incredible restaurants, and general fun times living so close to such a huge city.

It's close to the lake. I'm a big fan of Lake Michigan. Indiana Dunes is a short trip away for hiking and beaches and some rare natural beauty in the Midwest. Southwest Michigan is very accessible as well for the same things, plus wineries, cute/quaint little shore towns, spas, etc.

Very safe area. And like I said, St. John was ranked highly for quality of life recently.

Microbreweries! Three Floyds, which at this point is a world-renowned brewery, is in nearby Munster, and new ones have been popping up like dandelions lately. This area definitely has a growing craft beer scene.

Did I mention Chicago? :P

[celestens829]

Thanks Bluefox!! That actually got me pretty excited! I love to travel around and see new things! We definately have gypsy hearts! When I first started reading about Gary, I kinda freaked... Like "Mass exodus, what"???? Then I realized the job was in another town. Really hoping this job works out. It would be a huge help to my husband, and then he could be closer to his father which was most the reason for him moving me to the midwest! Really thanks for the response, MADE ME SMILE!

[svillechris]

I think Bluefox really nailed it. One thing I would add too is that Northwest Indiana is a unique place in that each town can be VERY different from the next. There are towns in the area that many people believe are in decline. I don't care to list them, but St. John and the surrounding towns in Indiana are certainly not on that list. In my view, you have some declining NWI towns, a few that are stagnant, and quite a few that are growing, becoming more desirable, etc. I would put St. John in the latter category. You mentioned Gary and the mass exodus, and that's true.... but Gary and St. John are polar opposites in just about every way. In my opinion it's hard to describe if Northwest Indiana as a whole is progressing a ton or is in decline, because you have to drill down from town to town.

To paint a bit of a picture for you if it matters at all, St. John is around 15k people, average household income between $85k-90k, and about 90% Caucasian. It's a pretty conservative town where people go to raise a family in a safe area with good schools, be close to work/amenities in Chicago and the surrounding areas, all while having a little bit of elbow room. It's doesn't really have a rural feel, but rather more of a further out suburb feel that has experienced A LOT of residential construction in the late 90s through 2007. It has a nice mix of more mature older homes as well as plenty of newer construction (many 8+ years old now) subdivisions with larger McMansion houses. It's a nice place overall and certainly one of the better towns in the area in my opinion.