Not bad, not good
-
8/2/2007
The good stuff:
Traffic is excellent, with a crosstown commute taking 30 minutes or less at rush hour. Housing costs are low. There are some things for kids to do, the Children's Zoo is particularly good.
IPFW (the IU PU branch campus here) is improving dramatically. They have been moving away from a community college atmosphere to a more traditional 4 year college.
The neutral stuff:
The weather is pretty typical of the midwest. It gets cold in the winter, it gets hot in the summer, and it's very pleasant in the spring and fall. Sure, there are long stretches when it stays cloudy in the winter, but that's the midwest and it's just like that. If you have dreams of building a wind farm to generate power, think of this area...
Education varies dramatically based on your location in the city. If you live in the far NE or SW corners, you will be sending your children to some fine schools (those located around Snider HS and Homestead HS.) If you live in the middle... well, don't live in the middle.
Crime - see education
The bad stuff:
There really isn't a lot to do here for families. The city tries (very hard, in my opinion) to have an active family oriented summer season, with numerous weekend festivals and the like, but they tend to be poorly attended craft shows, by and large.
There aren't many jobs here. Plain and simple, unless you're in healthcare or education, expect to work in the service industry. It's a sad fact of life.
It's flat as a pancake and unless you like deer hunting, there isn't much to do as far as outdoors are concerned.
Jason | Fort Wayne, IN