small towns

[vantexan]

Originally Posted by skgentry88

Thanks for all the input! We will be looking into these places you named. Our biggest concern is safety and drugs for raising our children.

I first came across Madison and thought it sounded so nice but then saw the drug problem is very prevalent there? A quick Google will lead you to many many articles. Might not be a concern if you are retiring..

I Googled it and while there are some articles about Madison the town, most seem to be about Madison County, which isn't the county Madison is in. Not certain, think Madison County is Indianapolis area. I've been asking questions about West Virginia, which has been at the center of the opioid crisis. People on that forum are saying unless involved you probably won't notice anything. Yes I wonder about that because of high property crime issues in many towns. But violent crime in these small towns seems to be at a lower rate than the national average. Opioids are a national issue, but even the areas most affected are still spread over a very large area. So I will focus on places I find attractive, and Madison is extremely attractive IMO.

[PJSaturn]

I live in Valparaiso, IN and it's a slice of heaven! It's near the northwest corner of the state. Crime is low; I feel perfectly safe walking alone even at night. The downtown is beautiful and vibrant and very family oriented. People are friendly and there are lots of activities for people of all ages, year-round. The school system is very good, although I know several families who home-school, so you would be in good company in that regard. Housing costs are reasonable and the cost of living in NWIN is lower than that in much of the country. Homes in Valpo range from modest starter homes to upscale neighborhoods. https://ci.valparaiso.in.us/

"Valpo" is about a 1.25-hour drive from downtown Chicago. Public transportation to Chicago is available by daily bus or train (station is about a 20-minute drive north of Valpo). Porter County, in which Valpo lies, is on the south shore of Lake Michigan and includes beautiful sand dunes and parks along the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. https://www.bing.com/search?q=indian...&setlang=en-US

Valpo has four distinct seasons. It can be hot and humid in the summertime and very cold and snowy in winter, but temps can vary quite a bit even in the same season. We've been in a stretch of gorgeous, mild weather the past couple of weeks.

If you want more info, feel free to send me a direct message. I love to talk about my town.

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[Veniceman]

Madison County is about 20- 30 miles north of Indianapolis. Anderson is the county seat.

[junebug_77]

I'm from the midwest originally and lived in Denver a few years ago before relocating to the Indy area a couple of years ago.

I loved a lot about Denver but I won't miss the traffic nor the cost of living. Can you elaborate on specifically what you're looking for and what 'small town' means to you?
With limited info, you might take a look at Bloomington. It's artsy (for Indiana). It's a super cute town though and located more downstate. Not as scenic as Brown County, but it's not a far drive to some very pretty parts of southern IN and southern IL.
As has been previously mentioned, the more desolate, the more you tend to see meth use. It's super rampant in the part of Southern IL I am from. It is fairly isolated to those of very low economic situations. The problem is, those guys like to steal so the affects from the meth use aren't just for those who use it.

[OneDawg]

Originally Posted by sheerbliss

Colorado transplant here. Indiana is less sunny than Colorado, but it's still mostly sunny. It's also more humid. Whether that's good is bad is personal preference. Winters here are a lot colder, but it isn't very windy any time of year.

Indiana is much lower elevation wise, which is partially the reason why it's so cloudy.

Meth labs tend to be in rural areas; opioid use is correlated with low socioeconomic status. That said, if your kids are determined to use drugs, they'll use them no matter where you live.

Drug use in general is higher in NW Indiana and near the major schools - Lafayette, Indy, Terre Haute, Bloomington. Meth cookers are more popular in out of the way towns (off grid).

I think Carmel would offer most of what you're looking for: safe, pretty, low in crime, and family-oriented.

Carmel or Fishers aren't small towns anymore. Depending on the OPs needs for jobs or schools, there are dozens of towns that would fit the need.

[vantexan]

Are there any other similar sized towns comparable to Madison worth looking at for retirement? We're coming over this weekend to look around.

[skgentry88]

I see very detailed articles about the town of Madison itself FYI.

Anyway--a small town as in it has a downtown center, family events, parks, easy to know people. Bonus points if it is at all walk or bikeable.

But yes, safety and drug use are very important to us--we are wondering if we should focus elsewhere since indiana seems to be struggling with the drug war due to location

Thanks for all the replies!

[PJSaturn]

I have visited Madison a number of times and it's a charming small town on the Ohio River. It's just a short drive from downtown to beautiful Clifty Falls State Park. I haven't been to Madison for about 10 years, but I suspect it's pretty much the same as before. Friendly people; quaint shops; touristy. I highly doubt drugs are a big problem there or in the vast majority, if not all, of the smaller cities in Indiana.

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[Max_is_here]

I can't speak for any specific small town, but as an Indiana resident of around 38 years, through all of the bumps in the road in the economy and what you read all the time about drugs and crime, my experience is that if you don't go looking for it it's not going to magically appear in front of you.


I've never had anyone proposition me to buy drugs and I wouldn't even know where to look if I wanted to attempt to buy any. There are areas of higher and lower general crime, but the maps pretty clearly illustrate that data. Of course I, and virtually everyone else who lives long enough, have been a victim of a petty crime (petty theft) at one time or another... I don't believe it's any worse here than anywhere else. Eventually someone is going to go down your street trying car doors to steal loose change no matter where you are.