moving
My family is planning on moving in January (bad timing, i'm sure) from California. I have 3 kids, 2 are in elementary school. I'm hoping someone has some advice on finding a good neighborhood/school. Also any tips on preparing for and surviving the winter would be greatly appreciated being as we are native Californians.
Anastasia
Welcome!
Just did it last year from Mexico : )
I would ask first where do you want a leave... city or country? Near your work; Plymouth or SouthBend???
Preparing for winter well I would go to Goodwill to see what you can find at good price because wow it can be really expansive to start for the all family!
welcome!
We just made the move from Idaho last Thanksgiving. We love it here. I love Penn Harris Madison schools. They're amazing. Two of my kids attend Bittersweet elementary and love it there. Great teachers and opportunities. Good luck. I'm sure you'll love it here.
pack your boots!
Pack up your heavy winter coat and snow boots :) Oh, and get a good shovel or invest in a nice snowblower!
As far as schools, my kids are 4 and 1, so we have another year before we make a decision about where we will send our kids, but we do currently live in the Penn district. Do you or your husband already have jobs in the area? Do you want to live in a neighborhood, city limits, close to shopping, in the country, small town near South Bend/Mishawaka, small or large school?
Welcome to MichianaMoms.com, and welcome to the area!
Jessica
~ Mommy to Luke and Shawn
anywhere safe
I'm going back to school, but not until next fall, at IUSB. So I'll have plenty of time to settle in. I'm pretty much open to living anywhere as long as it's possible to commute in the winter. We're coming from silicon valley and it's not unusual for people to have a 3 hour commute; so I'm guessing anywhere is going to seem like a small town for awhile. I'm just looking for a safe neighborhood. I looked online and it seems the crime stats vary too much to get any real idea.
Bremen
We moved to Bremen from SOuth Bend 3 years ago because of the schools. Its a small town there is only about 4600 people in it. They have great school. My son is only in Preschool but we are very close with our neighbors so we have been to the school for different things. Bremen is about 25 minutes from IUSB and about 20 minutes from Plymouth so its kinda in the middle.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Bremen-Indiana.html
Here is a website that will tell you about everything in Bremen. You can also type in a different city to find out there information.
I have heard Penn Harris is a good school as well but its huge. We were looking for a smaller school, for more one on one when he went to school. There isnt alot here. We have 3 gas stations, one little family owned grogery store, and a couple fast food places, oh and we only have 2 stop lights. But we love it and have thought about moving because of gas but we cant bring ourselfs to do it.
If you want small town there is also Bourbon and Argos which are even smaller in Bremen and about anouther 10-15 minutes futher south. Oh if you are looking for houses. www.nciar.com is a good website if you are looking in the Marshall county area. My mother is also a realtor if you need one.
crime
Oh about half way down on that website is the crime rate.
And make sure you buy heavy coats, gloves, scarf, boots, snow pants, and a shovel. New tires for your car if you need then the road can get bad at times. You will get use to it.
Welcome
We love our subdivision and small town, but we're close enough to South Bend that we don't miss out on any culture, entertainment and local attractions. Our crime rate is featured in the South Bend Tribune weekly. We are located in Granger in the Harris Crossing subdivision. PHM are our schools and we mostly love the opportunities this area provides. There are a few homes for sale and one pending two doors down. Enter the name in any realty site and read away. The snow tires are a good suggestion. Ask your neighbors were to go and what items you really need. We look harder for winter bathing suits for open swim than we do for snow pants:) Your family will love it here. I've been a Hoosier all my life. Lynn
Welcome . .
We live in Mishawaka and we love it as well. This area (Michiana) is about 2 hours from Chicago (when the traffic is good!) so you can have the "big city" experience when you need it. There are plenty of fun things to do and restaurants around here. All you have to do is ask on this site and we'll share lots of ideas! We hope you feel welcome!!!
Monica
Mom to Brian, Wesley, and Curtis
Wife to Lavon
www.MonicasBooks.com