Illinois To NWI Migration (Gary, Carmel: 2015, renters, home)

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Blue fox

Lots of burbs fit that criteria. Here are a few:

St. Charles
Geneva
Lake Forest
Libertyville

Many others, especially in Lake County Ilinois

Lake Forest and Libertyville are definitely suburbs, 40-45 minutes to the Loop. St. Charles and Geneva are exurban and overall nice but I don't see what makes them superior to Valpo.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Blue fox

Lots of burbs fit that criteria. Here are a few:

St. Charles
Geneva
Lake Forest
Libertyville

Many others, especially in Lake County Ilinois

Agree... I'd also add Crystal Lake, Batavia, Gurnee, Lake Zurich, Barrington, etc. and as soon as you come in a little closer, the flood gates open up.

The housing stock, shopping, restaurants and amenities on the Illinois side are far superior to anything in NWI.

Valpo isn't a bad place, but I don't feel it's in the same league. Search for homes with 1+ acre in Valpo and then do the same in St. Charles. The difference in housing stock and schools are night and day.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

Agree... I'd also add Crystal Lake, Batavia, Gurnee, Lake Zurich, Barrington, etc. and as soon as you come in a little closer, the flood gates open up.

The housing stock, shopping, restaurants and amenities on the Illinois side are far superior to anything in NWI.

Valpo isn't a bad place, but I don't feel it's in the same league. Search for a $500K home with 1+ acre in Valpo and then do the same in St. Charles. The difference will be night and day.

Again, all those places you listed are suburbs and many have outrageous property taxes. Valpo and Chesterton are exurbs even if they feel suburban in places. It's apples to oranges. Comparable places would be places like Humboldt mentioned and places like New Lenox, Plainfield, Oswego, etc. where you are going to have to drive further for those amenities.

Plus Valpo and Chesterton are super close to SWM which has nicer beaches and is prettier than anything on the IL side. It's crawling every weekend with people driving hours from IL.

[WildWestDude]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Blue fox

Lots of burbs fit that criteria. Here are a few:

St. Charles
Geneva
Lake Forest
Libertyville

Many others, especially in Lake County Ilinois

On the other hand, the number of suburbs in IL vs IN does not allow for a fair comparison.

[Northwest Indiana]

Like I stated before - it is a minority of Chicago area residents that live in the most uniformly affluent suburbs west and north of the city. The vast majority live in more modest suburbs (some with affluent neighborhoods) and those folks are largely the ones whom have considered or have moved to Indiana. If I were in Illinois and living in some of the most desirable suburbs, I would stay they because money would clearly not be a barrier. But if it were between the average Chicago suburb and the average NWI suburb, I would choose NWI not only for the cost savings and comparable/better schools per dollar, but also because we are catching up in amenities. I do know some folks whom moved from the north shore to Munster, but again, you don't see that as much. Many of the residents in suburbs like Naperville enjoy the amenities but not at the ever growing cost to maintain them and many people are weighing the costs of staying or leaving.

[WildWestDude]

Originally Posted by valpofan11

Illinois residents continue to migrate to NW Indiana due to more manufacturing jobs, affordability, lower taxes, and sometimes better schools. But I ask in 2016, where are most of them coming from and what economic class are they in? Are we seeing wealthier southwestern suburbanites moving to places such as Crown Point & St John right now? Or is it a continued trend of middle to lower middle class south suburbanites and Chicago residents migrating to various places in The Region? Are we seeing lots of Illinois blacks and Hispanics coming across the border, and if so, are they going straight to the larger cities (Gary, Hammond, EC), or are they headed to smaller burbs with "better" schools? Give me your Illinois to NW Indiana migration thoughts, including any current trends or your prediction of future migration trends/patterns.

It would be interesting to see the responses if this was also posted on the Chicago/Chicago suburbs forum

[midwest1]

As a Millerite, I see a more urban connection to Chicago. I'd say at least
1/3 (or more?) residents here have strong Chicago connections, many still maintaining residences in the city. The gay community of the northside neighborhoods in places like Andersonvile, Uptown, Lakeview are often aware of Miller Beach. This connection is growing rather rapidly, even if those in the "still afraid of Gary" Region mindset are unawares.

[Humboldt1]

Especially for working and middle class. If access to work is not an issue definitely makes sense for those making less than 100k, possibly for those making less than 200k per year. Above 200k it is much easier for folks to live in more expensive affluent Illinois suburbs (not places like Plainfield, Oswego, or New Lennox).

The abundance of cheap housing stock does concern me as this makes the less affluent parts of NWI prone to white flight. When you can buy home for 200k and taxes are cheap this is great for affordability but also does not price out the riff raff. We see this in less affluent suburbs of Chicago (ie Westchester, an area that was decent 20 years ago).

Miller Beach is getting the artists (ie gay) type and may see more yuppies in the future, but it is a small area surrounded by blight. An area to visit but not sure I would buy there, especially with Gary politics trying to push more poor into the area. Would love to see it improve as it would be much closer than Michigan.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

Again, all those places you listed are suburbs and many have outrageous property taxes.

No argument there. Taxes are certainly an issue, which fuels my internal struggle. We want to move back, but have a real hard time justifying those taxes. I've looked hard at NWI, but I'm just not feeling it. Low taxes alone will not attract people used to the lifestyle/amenities of the Chicago suburbs.

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

The abundance of cheap housing stock does concern me as this makes the less affluent parts of NWI prone to white flight. When you can buy home for 200k and taxes are cheap this is great for affordability but also does not price out the riff raff. We see this in less affluent suburbs of Chicago (ie Westchester, an area that was decent 20 years ago).

Bingo. We've seen this movie before and it does not end well. When you build loads of cheap housing stock near a major metro, you are setting yourself up for disaster. Especially if you're already in close proximity to blighted areas (South Side of Chicago/Gary and the Chicago South Suburbs).

[Humboldt1]

I am from southeast Indiana and spent a lot of time in Indy growing up and worked there prior to moving to Chicago for a better paying job and more options.

Way more commercial banking opportunities in Chicago than Indy and pay is much better.

I have looked at coming back to Indy but the jobs just are not the same. I would practically have to run a bank in Indy to make the kind of money I can get in Chicago.

Munster is pretty nice but not very good train access to the loop and no core to the town.

Some on here are excited about Nordstrom Rack coming, which shows you how limited shopping options truly are.

At least Indy has Keystone at the Crossing, which is smaller version of Oakbrook Mall.