Great place, unless your a POC or ABC Mafia
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3/10/2021
I am a white 29 year old male and have lived in Fort Wayne my whole life. I have had it pretty easy all things considered raised in a middle class household. Income around 100K.
I will do my best to give a well rounded summary.
Summary:
I would not recommend Fort Wayne if you are LGBTQ, POC, or of a liberal mindset.
If you support Trump you will be treated like family and fit right in.
My fiancee and I are considering moving to another state or potentially emigrating as we personally do not want to start a family here.
Pros:
Super cheap housing
Great place to raise kids if you if you're white and make >60K.
Amazing parochial school system
Healthcare is top of the line (but expensive)
Side note on healthcare: - We have two main Healthcare players: Parkview and Dupont Hospital. They maintain their "non-profit" status by expanding outward absorbing small practice. Their range extends roughly 50 miles outside of Fort Wayne. With the expectation of therapists, PCP and specialists will almost always be under the umbrella of Dupont or Parkview. I predict this trend to continue because $$$ and they are monopolies. You have two options.
Downtown is "Ok" but it's nothing to write home about
Good restaurants
Great breweries
Indiana has an amazing Governor that is not afraid actually do his job. This of course changes frequently.
Cons:
Overbearingly religious population. Almost everyone is Catholic or Christian and you are ostracized if you are not. They are not accepting of LGBTQ and are have, until recently, silently racist. That of course is not everyone, but it's the majority.
Almost everyone, especially those with influence, are hardcore Republicans and will not budge on their beliefs. Do not expect dialog. It has gotten progressively worse over the last ~10 years.
Those two variables are what define the mindset of the politics and direction.
Subpar public school unless you live in the outskirts which are funded by the rich who send their kids to those schools. There are some ok public schools but you really have to try.
Racism against minorities is commonplace. If you go south of Downtown the majority make <$~40K and are POC - or considered "poor". Upkeep is seemly non-existent due the socioeconomic status, not the lack of desire.
Don't expect much more than minimal wage at jobs entry level jobs.
South of Downtown is commonly referred to by the "Ghetto"
Overbearing police force that abuses it's power, especially against minorities
Fort Wayne is a "hub" between Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Cincinnati which is the justification for increased police militarization due to "drugs" (an excuse)
Indiana in general relies on the federal government, about ~30% of their budget is from the Feds.
Hope that helps!
Chris | Fort Wayne, IN