Good area for new couple in South Bend area? (Mishawaka: 2013, crime rate)

[DLK55]

The areas with more septic issues in St. Joe county are Gilmer Park, south of South Bend and older areas of Granger east of Bittersweet Road and north of the toll road from what I remember.

Jimtown/Baugo is getting more into Elkhart so that would depend on where in SB you'll be working and how much of a commute you're willing to deal with. Relative to SB, PHM is a good school district. Granger schools are generally considered the best around here, then Mishawaka, then South Bend.

With a budget of $250-$300K, you can pretty much pick and choose among areas that have a more laid back, "rural" feel and you can find as much as house as you can handle or need in either Granger or Mishawaka. In our area to the SE(Reverewood), one can be had for $90-$140K but even though we're just north of a farm I wouldn't describe our area as rural, it's more suburban. You're more likely to get that feel in the northeastern part of Mishawaka or Granger. Mishawaka does have city water though so no septic worries.

If you can, take some time to visit before you make the leap. SB/Mish/Granger is fairly concentrated so you can take a pretty good tour of the area over the course of just one day. Location sounds like it may be a determining factor for you because cost shouldn't be an issue and just driving along you may go through an area and think "This is it".

Best of luck to your young family!

[key4lp]

There was an old gasoline dumping site in Granger....and was in the news several years ago.
I would suggest having the water tested since there have been problems and they are
also starting to install sewers in certain areas. I'm not really that familiar with Edwardsburg
in Michigan which is pretty close to the Indiana state line....some people have been
relocating there.

[claremarie]

f you like a neighborhood in the Granger area that is zoned for the South Bend city school system, keep in mind that you can enroll your (as yet, nonexistent) children in the PHM school system as nonresident students, with no tuition fee.

P-H-M welcomes applications from non-resident students | Penn-Harris-Madison Schools

[Riley09swb]

Check out the Southside as well. Twycenham (terrible spelling) Hills or areas near Jackson Road. Check out the Catholic schools too. You don't have to be Catholic to attend (or you didn't when I attended). Great education if you don't like the public school choices.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by claremarie

f you like a neighborhood in the Granger area that is zoned for the South Bend city school system, keep in mind that you can enroll your (as yet, nonexistent) children in the PHM school system as nonresident students, with no tuition fee.

P-H-M welcomes applications from non-resident students | Penn-Harris-Madison Schools

so no tuition for out of district students? wow ... that school system is big enough without taking in out of district students!

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

Baugo is 3A and ironically my class has over 165 students. how is that tiny?
LaVille is tiny. If we are going to make a comparison.

165 students for a graduating class is pretty small. The classes in Plymouth High School, a town of only 10,000 people had classes well over 200 routinely.

South Bend Public schools are not the best, I would avoid those if you could. St. Joseph and Marion are the two private and catholic schools in the South Bend/Mishawaka area, both highly rated schools with great academia.

The south side of South Bend is very suburban feeling, not too "cityish" at all, very quaint and small town feeling. Then Granger is probably the quintessential collection of subdivisions and upscale shopping outlets. Penn School district is one of the better performing schools in the state, and certainly the best public schools in the area.

I would also avoid Mishawaka public schools, they are ranked lower than South Bend schools in most categories. The city of Mishawaka is very nice and safe, the Grape Road and Main Street area have everything you could ever want in terms of restaurants and shopping.

In South Bend I would say the central area and the west side are the last places you'll want to go looking for a house, the south side and north side are far nicer, and the east side has its good areas as well. Almost ALL of Granger is pretty upscale, and most of Mishawaka is nice too.

Twyckenham St. in South Bend has a nice collection of upscale and older homes, or if you're more into subdivsions you'll find those off of Ireland Road, Ironwood Dr, and Kern Road.

[Riley09swb]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

165 students for a graduating class is pretty small. The classes in Plymouth High School, a town of only 10,000 people had classes well over 200 routinely.

South Bend Public schools are not the best, I would avoid those if you could. St. Joseph and Marion are the two private and catholic schools in the South Bend/Mishawaka area, both highly rated schools with great academia.

The south side of South Bend is very suburban feeling, not too "cityish" at all, very quaint and small town feeling. Then Granger is probably the quintessential collection of subdivisions and upscale shopping outlets. Penn School district is one of the better performing schools in the state, and certainly the best public schools in the area.

I would also avoid Mishawaka public schools, they are ranked lower than South Bend schools in most categories. The city of Mishawaka is very nice and safe, the Grape Road and Main Street area have everything you could ever want in terms of restaurants and shopping.

In South Bend I would say the central area and the west side are the last places you'll want to go looking for a house, the south side and north side are far nicer, and the east side has its good areas as well. Almost ALL of Granger is pretty upscale, and most of Mishawaka is nice too.

Twyckenham St. in South Bend has a nice collection of upscale and older homes, or if you're more into subdivsions you'll find those off of Ireland Road, Ironwood Dr, and Kern Road.

St. Joe & Marian are the two high schools. If you need elementary or middle school St. Matthews or St. Jude' s are your options on the south side.

[Riley09swb]

Originally Posted by key4lp

There was an old gasoline dumping site in Granger....and was in the news several years ago.
I would suggest having the water tested since there have been problems and they are
also starting to install sewers in certain areas. I'm not really that familiar with Edwardsburg
in Michigan which is pretty close to the Indiana state line....some people have been
relocating there.

Edwardsburg is quite the drive to South Bend and while it's a nice place as it has Diamond lake I would not make that drive in the winter.

[chevere33]

If you don't mind the commute*, I would suggest Plymouth. It is clean, safe, and the schools are consistently ranked high. We have a state-of-the-art fitness center, an awesome community park, lots of sports teams and other activities for the kids and quite a few good churches.

I teach at one of the schools. We have been here nearly ten years and it's a good place to raise a family.

For $250K, you can get pretty much a mansion here (check it out on realtor.com).

Commutes aren't bad around here, either---there's virtually no traffic.

If you really need to stick closer to South Bend, I would for sure consider Granger. It is upscale, clean and has lots of amenities.

Best wishes to you, and feel free to PM me with questions.

P.S. -- You will be wowed by the property tax rates! SO low!

[fallingwater]

I live in Granger, feel free to PM me. I relocated to the area 6 yrs ago. The homes out here are on well and septic. I find the people that say things about water quality generally dont live out here. Granger is an area that people love to hate. When you buy a house it is required by law that the water be tested. I personally do not like being on well and septic. Well water tastes awful and I dont drink anyway. The water in the general area is pretty terrible and it is hard. I find it interesting that people say a lot about Granger but barely mention the superfund site in Osecola. They have city water out there because the land is contaminated. Getting info can be a task. Also, every city around here is technically well water, just the areas with city services process it.

You have to adjust your lifestyle somewhat being on septic. Space out laundry and running the dishwasher. Dont go crazy using bleach and so on. There was a slight buzz about putting in sewers but its mainly for the downtown area (there really isn't a downtown, its the business district on US 23) and its because businesses were moving out because they didnt want to deal with septic maintenance issues. Can't blame them. Granger was farmland at one time and experienced the building boom in the 90s. I will agree with the argument that the planning was a bit poor.

I live in a planned sub and have almost an acre lot. I like the well for our irrigation system, cant imagine what a water bill would cost me if I had city services. The school district is pretty good in my opinion. I have found my son's teachers have gone above and beyond. My son has the opportunity to earn an associate degree while still in high school if he wishes. A lot of great programs and opportunities. The school district has some kind of partnership with Ivy Tech Community College. The high school is massive though, the largest I have ever seen. The school district borders are a bit odd. You really have to make sure you know what district you are in. There are parts of Granger that belong to the Clay school district.