Terre Haute - possible relocation (Indianapolis, Bloomington: apartments, foreclosure, rentals)

[coffeebean]

My husband did his interviews this past week and as long as everything goes well, it's very likely we will be calling Terre Haute our temporary home for the next 6 months - 1 year.

We live in IA currently, and from what I've read of the town, it sounds a lot like our current place, except TH has 6,000 less in people.

We homeschool, we do not vax, we like starbucks, and have kids that are 7 and under.

We are hoping TH would be a nice place to be for a fair bit of time, despite a few things (er many) I've read here.

I'm trying to find some recommendations, as if he gets this promotion, we will be moving in a very short period of time.

- First we'd like to rent a townhouse, is there any around?
- Where should I look for a good rental, if no townhomes, what about home rentals? Is there a good site you'd recommend, or landlord sites, and so forth?
- Does TH have a Target? Or one near it? What about local shopping and malls?
- What is there for family entertainment? Any fun in the area for a family? Museums? Recommendations on what we can do while in the area? I would be interested in longer commutes too. We basically want to take advantage of the states surrounding while we are there.

But first and most importantly is where to live, what neighborhoods do you recommend? Is there a nice newer construction townhouse? Where to find such a thing? And anything else in this regard would be very much appreciated.

[mkat321]

I am in Terre Haute 2x a week for work and have a few friends in the area in addition to my client list. We also use the YMCA in Terre Haute for our family's fitness activities between 2-5x a week depending on weather/road conditions. I will answer the questions I feel comfortable answering, and leave the rest to those with more knowledge in those areas


- Does TH have a Target? Or one near it? What about local shopping and malls? No target unfortunately. There are 2 super-walmarts though. One on the more northeast side of town and the other on the more south side. There is a mall, it's smallish for the size of the area it serves but it seems to do a good bit of business. There are several shopping centers. The one next to the south end walmart has a Kohls, Bed Bath & Beyond and that sort. Other major retailers include Toys R Us, Hobby Lobby, Big Lots {2 of those} Petsmart, Petco, JoAnn's Fabric, Burlington's Books A Million, & Old Navy. There is one Sam's Club, but no Costco. There is a Pier One that does a pretty good bit of business in the same shopping center as the Petco. There are also a Menards & a Lowes for that sort of thing, but no Home Depot yet, and a local chain farm & home store with a couple stores in the area. Kroger is well represented in Terre Haute for grocery shopping, with 3 locations I can think of right off my head. Starbucks has a few shops in TH, not sure if any of them are on the closing list though.

- What is there for family entertainment? Bogey's Family Fun Center for go karts and that sort of thing, a live action theater, children's science museum which is moving to a new larger facility in the spring, two Keresotes theaters, a weath of beautiful parks with great equipment and walking trails, a dog park with agility course is featured at the Humane Society. TH has a lot of fairs and festivals, most tied in with the presence of ISU and it's athletics. And I'd be remiss if I didn't include the Clabber Girl bakery and it's museum & gift store, and ISU's performing arts center which hosts a full variety of live entertainments. In the last two years we've seen everything from small-budget playtime stuff to big name comedians and muscial acts perform at the Hulman Center, and also at Fairbanks Park, where the Y is located as well as a freshwater tank fish breeding facility. The Air Fair used to be a huge draw but was scaled back and re-named this year and from what I heard {I was out of state at the time} didn't draw quite the crowds it had in years past. There is also an airboat tour of the river available from the launch at Fairbanks that is very cost-effective and amuses and educates my kids every time we take it.

Any fun in the area for a family? Outside of Terre Haute itself, big name fun in the form of the Indianapolis Zoo, Childrens Museum of Indianapolis, Discovery Lab Childrens Science Teaching Center in Bloomington, Billie Creek Village in Rockville and Holiday World & Splashin Safari are all less than 2.5 hours away. Brazil Indiana is about 20 minutes away and hosts a whole nother bunch of entertainments including the annual popcorn festival, a huge drive through Christmas lights display in the park, and a larger production including a symphony/classics fireworks display complete with live music. Greencastle, where I reside currently is 35-40 minutes away depending on where in TH you are coming from and how you feel about interstates vs. highways and how well you like speed limits & backroads. Here we have Depauw University for guest lecture music and arts series, a weekend of sidewalk chalk arts for kids, and hands-on activities during farm awareness week that includes handling freshly shorn sheep and their coats. In the summer months there are several local farms and u-pick type orchards and such within an easy half hour commute from TH.


Museums? Clabber Girl Baking Center museum, the childrens science museum, Discovery Lab {Bloomington, IN} Childrens Museum, Eitlejorg Museum of Native American Artifacts, Indianapolis Museum of Art {all in Indianapolis} and the Kids Commons in Columbus {about 2 hr drive more or less depending on season/route} come to mind, but I'm sure to be missing a few.

Recommendations on what we can do while in the area? hopefully I covered the big stuff, but there are many state & local parks, wildlife preserves, county and city fairs & festivals, classic car shows, tours of bikes and all sorts of memorial and historical activities within easy reach of and right in Terre Haute.

I would be interested in longer commutes too. We basically want to take advantage of the states surrounding while we are there. you could easily fill up an entire year or more exploring the many natural and man-made wonders and lessons in life, work, history and nature all within your reach in the Terre Haute area.

With regard to homeschooling and non-vax Do we know each other? I post on a couple major AP parenting boards as well as here at CD and the way you laid it all out there in the open impresses me greatly. I have seen an increasing number of AP families in the area in recent years, though I know many who have always been around as well.

Indiana as you probably already know is the easiest state to homeschool in. Your choice to submit a statement of intent or not, though most do simply for the sake of having it on record just in case. Immunizations are a bit trickier, as we don't have an ethical or philisophical exemption on the books just yet. Only religious and medical are currently accepted by the public schols and government offices. We claim religous and are almost never questioned. The most active homeschooling network in the area is probably one of the many that cover brazil & greencastle, though I'm sure Terre Haute has a pretty sizeable one as well> I know that prior to the flood they had a few classes just for them at the Y, but I've not seen any fliers up recently. You could easily do an unschooling approach in the Terre Haute area or other life-related learning approach and never run out of hands-on learning options in a short distance from home.

I have to go take my own kids to karate in a few minutes but I hope I've at least been of some assistance.

[coffeebean]

Thank you so much for the wealth of information! I will be keeping this list so we can take advantage of the location while we are there!

As for posting on other forums, I visit MDC from time to time.

It looks like I just need to figure out where to look for housing next. I've been checking craig's list, and I can't find a townhome at all, starting to wonder if they exist in TH. Seen a lot of newer construction homes for rent... and wondering if that is common or a risk of foreclosure that people are renting their homes out to get their payments paid?

We could be moving before Thanksgiving (though I'm hoping after wards to have the holiday with family), so I definitely appreciate all the insight people have to share on this.

[coffeebean]

We got the offer! Looks like we are moving ASAP. I really would like some insight on neighborhoods to avoid and so forth.

[mkat321]

I post on MDC as well.

There are some larger apartments and what not but a quick search of the Tribstar website only shows 1 townhome listing and it's a 2b/2ba. I know there are some newer, nice looking complexes toward the south end of town and IIRC at least one of those communities advertises townhomes available. I'll do some digging with my friends in the area and see what I can dig up.

Okay here's what I have so far. It's election night so alot of my friends are out watching results and not in front of the computer tonight.

Garden Quarter has 1,200 sq ft townhomes that are 3/2's


If you aren't set on townhome style living, you can get some nice housing options from Raideye Properties from what I hear. But they mostly deal in apartments/duplexes and houses.

[coffeebean]

Thank you for the information! We are moving there on Dec. 1! I'm checking into both of the recommendations, and would happily accept more!

What area of town would you say is the best? Is the area near the mall a good place?

[mkat321]

This is just my opinion as someone who visits friends in the area but the area around Seventh street from downtown out toward Regional hospital has a run-down 'feel' to large sections of it, as does alot of the area east of Union Hospital/ISU dorms. Most of the new construction/older home areas near the airport, the Marine reserve center, and out south toward Sullivan have a whole different air to them. The apartments/homes near Fairbanks park for the most part, I feel safe in that area but not sure about further south from there towards 70/mall.

All of that to say I guess that terre haute is a mixed bag much like any city it's size or larger. I do know I wouldn't feel safe raising a family on 7th south of US 40 until the I 70 overpass, or from the intersection of Maple and Fruitridge to the intersection of Fort Harrison and Fruitridge, on west to about Third street except in pockets around the university and even then it's touch n go, kwim?

[coffeebean]

So the mall area isn't very nice then? I found a few places that look ok in photos, but photos don't really tell everything.

[breer23]

The mall is just south of the I-70 overpass, and the area around it is just fine, but mostly commercial. I think the area the previous poster is talking about is just immediately south of the ISU/downtown area. I lived on Farrington & 41 when I first lived in TH, and the area does need some attention. But there are some hidden pockets that are perfectly fine.

It seemed to me that the eastern end of town had a bit more to offer w/regards to housing, but I haven't lived there in a few years, so that may be inaccurate.

[coffeebean]

What about this location -
Heritage Trail Apartments
4201 Locust St.