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I'm curious to know people's perception and experiences with the greater Lafayette area? My wife and I are considering moving (from our current location south of Indy) up there to assist with a church plant later this year potentially. We drove through the city a couple of weeks back and were pleasantly surprised at how quaint the downtown looked. Granted, it was winter and things generally look dead during winter in the mid-west (for the most part haha). We are a young family (early 30s) with two young boys and my wife home-schools them (so schools aren't an issue but finding home-school communities would be important). I know the area is very college oriented (on the West Lafayette side specifically because of Purdue). Is the area growing in the young professionals segment? East Lafayette seems much more blue collar (or so I've heard). People have also brought up crime in the past but I suspect it's much like Indy's crime (happens in pockets mostly among those who are already involved in shady business). General thoughts about the area and its growth?
I must admit that I love the Lafayette area. I grew up here, attended Purdue and immediately after graduating, I moved down to the Miami, FL area for my career. I moved back 'home' to Lafayette 18 months after retiring. I compare this area to where I was living in Florida..... life is so safe, comfortable, filled with friendly, welcoming people. I find living here to be comfortable, cozy.
I am providing a link to a publication about the area. You can read the latest, winter, issue of Greater Lafayette Magazine.https://www.greaterlafayettecommerce...mhO9GCcqGaCpTU to learn of the latest news of the area. It is a booming town with lots of job opportunities.
I must admit that I love the Lafayette area. I grew up here, attended Purdue and immediately after graduating, I moved down to the Miami, FL area for my career. I moved back 'home' to Lafayette 18 months after retiring. I compare this area to where I was living in Florida..... life is so safe, comfortable, filled with friendly, welcoming people. I find living here to be comfortable, cozy.
I am providing a link to a publication about the area. You can read the latest, winter, issue of Greater Lafayette Magazine.https://www.greaterlafayettecommerce...mhO9GCcqGaCpTU to learn of the latest news of the area. It is a booming town with lots of job opportunities.
Thanks, good to hear. I'm surprised there hasn't been more feedback!
Thanks, good to hear. I'm surprised there hasn't been more feedback!
I think the lack of feedback might be partially due to the lack of people in this area knowing about and utilizing City-Data. The reason I found out about this site was because I wanted to move out of south Florida and my sister told me about City-Data - many years ago.
The year before I moved back to Lafayette, I took a road trip (2015) up here from Florida. I had not been up here since 1978! My goodness, how the area had grown during those years! Some things hadn't changed, though. Still present was friendliness, good, polite drivers, hardworking and large middle class, lots of restaurants (more than 400!) ... some of the same ones were still in business. If you are on FB, look up things like City of Lafayette, Visit Lafayette/West Lafayette. Lafayette has always had a large middle class. Lots of manufacturing businesses, including the only Subaru manufacturing plant outside of Asia.
Thanks, good to hear. I'm surprised there hasn't been more feedback!
Indiana as a whole isn’t really a big draw state so we don’t get a lot of attention on these Indiana related forums. Lafayette overall is positive from what I hear. Purdue has always been an economic anchor. I don’t know if the Big 3 auto plants ever had factories in the area. The more UAW jobs lost in an area, the harder the economic crash. The city does have a Subaru plant which pays decent wages, but not historic UAW wages when inflation is factored in.
Also, I’m not sure of Popcorn247 life history, but while they rave about the area, they are viewing that after having been gone for maybe decades. And they got to spend those years in a state that has a lot more to offer than Indiana as a whole. Also, if one comes with nice wealth to Indiana, much easier to live like royalty and thus the quality of life is going to be that much better.
Indiana as a whole isn’t really a big draw state so we don’t get a lot of attention on these Indiana related forums. Lafayette overall is positive from what I hear. Purdue has always been an economic anchor. I don’t know if the Big 3 auto plants ever had factories in the area. The more UAW jobs lost in an area, the harder the economic crash. The city does have a Subaru plant which pays decent wages, but not historic UAW wages when inflation is factored in.
Also, I’m not sure of Popcorn247 life history, but while they rave about the area, they are viewing that after having been gone for maybe decades. And they got to spend those years in a state that has a lot more to offer than Indiana as a whole. Also, if one comes with nice wealth to Indiana, much easier to live like royalty and thus the quality of life is going to be that much better.
I had a big laugh and am still laughing about your comment regarding me living like royalty! I worked in the horticulture department of a botanical garden in Miami. Yes, I worked there 41+ years but our huge 2% annual raises amounted to not much! For years, I was living paycheck to paycheck. I lived in Homestead (22 miles from work) because it was cheaper. After living in FL 20 years, I was able to put a down payment on a small house...... only because of the insurance payment on my deceased parents mobile home when it was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. Twenty three years after that, I had retired and put my little house up for sale.
You may be asking why did I leave the Miami area? Well, I did not 'fit' in. Here is a description of Miami:
When I tell people that I am moving out of Miami, some people ask why would I do such a thing. Well, here is a very good description of the people down here: (I AM NOT THE AUTHOR).
"People who love it down here always reference the same things. Nightlife, beaches, South Beach, blah blah blah. People who have money and are into those things love it down here. For the other 86% of us it's miserable.
This place is a cesspool of rudeness, ignorance and stupidity.
The people are self-absorbed and rude, which carries over to the way they drive. They'll cut you off, fail to use blinkers, sit in the middle of intersections with no regard for anybody else, not let you in when you're trying to change lanes, etc etc etc. People down here are "floaters", zombies with no regard for anybody around them. They'll leave their shopping cart in the middle of the aisle so that you can't get by. They'll sit at the RedBox for 25 minutes and read the description of every movie in the machine. They'll beep at you the second the light turns green.
People down here lack wittiness and a sense of humor. They're quiet, awkward and don't like to speak up. They'd rather not step out of their self-indulged bubble. Make a quick witty joke or use a little bit of sarcasm and they look at you like you've got three eyeballs. Most aren't even intelligent enough to comprehend a witty remark in the first place.
People down here also lack substance. Unless you're talking When about the club, the gym, reality TV or trends then they're not interested. The girls are all interested in club hopping and being Instagram "models" and the men are only concerned with posing and flexing their false machismo. Never in my life have I been in a city with more posers than Miami. People will run to the nearest Mercedes dealership and lease/finance the lowest model Benz they can find just to portray an image. Down go the windows, up goes the reggaeton/rap music, and they'll grip the wheel like it's gonna run from them if they don't hold onto it. Every chick's ambition is to drive a lower end BMW while carrying a Michael Kors purse with a lap dog inside. The women go to Publix/Walmart in heels and typical club wear. "
I moved up here, stayed in a hotel for 7 weeks ($$) while I looked for a house and waited for the closing. I purchased a $146,000.00 home in a vinyl village (subdivision) just east of the city limits of Lafayette. I love the area and have enjoyed 4 seasons living.
Lafayette has never had any Big 3 auto plants. Lafayette is not and has never been a 'rust belt' city/town!! It has always been a good mix of industry, agriculture and education (Purdue University). If you would take the time to read the links that I posted earlier, you would learn about the vibrancy of the area.
Last edited by popcorn247; 02-16-2022 at 08:40 AM..
I had a big laugh and am still laughing about your comment regarding me living like royalty! I worked in the horticulture department of a botanical garden in Miami. Yes, I worked there 41+ years but our huge 2% annual raises amounted to not much! For years, I was living paycheck to paycheck. I lived in Homestead (22 miles from work) because it was cheaper. After living in FL 20 years, I was able to put a down payment on a small house...... only because of the insurance payment on my deceased parents mobile home when it was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. Twenty three years after that, I had retired and put my little house up for sale.
You may be asking why did I leave the Miami area? Well, I did not 'fit' in. Here is a description of Miami:
When I tell people that I am moving out of Miami, some people ask why would I do such a thing. Well, here is a very good description of the people down here: (I AM NOT THE AUTHOR).
"People who love it down here always reference the same things. Nightlife, beaches, South Beach, blah blah blah. People who have money and are into those things love it down here. For the other 86% of us it's miserable.
This place is a cesspool of rudeness, ignorance and stupidity.
The people are self-absorbed and rude, which carries over to the way they drive. They'll cut you off, fail to use blinkers, sit in the middle of intersections with no regard for anybody else, not let you in when you're trying to change lanes, etc etc etc. People down here are "floaters", zombies with no regard for anybody around them. They'll leave their shopping cart in the middle of the aisle so that you can't get by. They'll sit at the RedBox for 25 minutes and read the description of every movie in the machine. They'll beep at you the second the light turns green.
People down here lack wittiness and a sense of humor. They're quiet, awkward and don't like to speak up. They'd rather not step out of their self-indulged bubble. Make a quick witty joke or use a little bit of sarcasm and they look at you like you've got three eyeballs. Most aren't even intelligent enough to comprehend a witty remark in the first place.
People down here also lack substance. Unless you're talking When about the club, the gym, reality TV or trends then they're not interested. The girls are all interested in club hopping and being Instagram "models" and the men are only concerned with posing and flexing their false machismo. Never in my life have I been in a city with more posers than Miami. People will run to the nearest Mercedes dealership and lease/finance the lowest model Benz they can find just to portray an image. Down go the windows, up goes the reggaeton/rap music, and they'll grip the wheel like it's gonna run from them if they don't hold onto it. Every chick's ambition is to drive a lower end BMW while carrying a Michael Kors purse with a lap dog inside. The women go to Publix/Walmart in heels and typical club wear. "
I moved up here, stayed in a hotel for 7 weeks ($$) while I looked for a house and waited for the closing. I purchased a $146,000.00 home in a vinyl village (subdivision) just east of the city limits of Lafayette. I love the area and have enjoyed 4 seasons living.
Lafayette has never had any Big 3 auto plants. Lafayette is not and has never been a 'rust belt' city/town!! It has always been a good mix of industry, agriculture and education (Purdue University). If you would take the time to read the links that I posted earlier, you would learn about the vibrancy of the area.
There is a lot of projecting going on here. Look, I live in Indiana, and I obviously like it for the most part. People make generalized complaints about Indiana/Midwest all the time, be it here or other avenues of the internet and real life. Some concerns are valid, but often it is someone projecting their own anger/ignorance onto a location because it is an easy out.
I don't know you, but your description of South Florida does not align at all with my own experiences at all. In recent years, some of my extended family has migrated to South Florida. Some closer into Miami-Dade, some further north into Palm Beach County. Are there superficial people in Miami? Of course there are. Are there superficial people in Indiana? Um, hello, people complain about "Carmel people" all the time.
We can't as a group of Midwesterners complain about the generalizations people make about our region while also doing the same to other regions. I've found South Florida to be really nice, and I've been spending more time down that way of late. Yes, traffic is crazy down there. Traffic is crazy a lot of places, not just Miami. If you don't fit into South Florida, the problem is you. Period. Same as any other place. There are rich superficial people in South Florida, there are ordinary people in South Florida. Same as any other place. Same when people say they can't fit in in Indy or Indiana or Cleveland or wherever.
I wouldn’t necessarily agree that if you don’t fit into South Florida the problem is you.
I find it somewhat suffocating. Too many toxic people, bugs, reptiles, humidity, etc. It offers none of the things I like and offers a lot of things I don’t like. I don’t think I could ever live the most authentic and realized version of myself in a place like that, though I understand that other people could.
So hey, if West Lafayette does it for the OP, more power to him.
I wouldn’t necessarily agree that if you don’t fit into South Florida the problem is you.
I find it somewhat suffocating. Too many toxic people, bugs, reptiles, humidity, etc. It offers none of the things I like and offers a lot of things I don’t like. I don’t think I could ever live the most authentic and realized version of myself in a place like that, though I understand that other people could.
So hey, if West Lafayette does it for the OP, more power to him.
If you don't like the climate, that is one thing. That is not the comment I was responding to though. If you are in a metro area of 6 million people and say don't fit in with the people, that's on you.
I wouldn’t necessarily agree that if you don’t fit into South Florida the problem is you.
I find it somewhat suffocating. Too many toxic people, bugs, reptiles, humidity, etc. It offers none of the things I like and offers a lot of things I don’t like. I don’t think I could ever live the most authentic and realized version of myself in a place like that, though I understand that other people could.
So hey, if West Lafayette does it for the OP, more power to him.
It's funny because we were actually seriously considering moving to Tampa for a while. We are now looking at the Lafayette area mostly due to this church plant. We like Indiana as a whole but the midwest has it's downsides for sure.
Florida wouldn't actually be such a bad place to live if so many people weren't also moving there at the same time. We love the idea of living in Florida but once we started figuring in the astronomical cost of housing and insurance and all the bugs, snakes, gators, fire ants, and other critters (as well as how crowded many areas are getting). We decided it was best to reconsider the "move to florida" idea. Many people are still doing it (obviously) and loving their experience. For our family I'm not sure it would be the best fit.
I'm not saying Lafayette will be the "best" fit, but it (as of right now) probably would be better than Florida.
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