<p>What are considered the nice places to live in or near Terre Haute? Not wealthy neighborhoods, but middle-class, clean, low-crime, with fairly good public schools? Or nice small towns that offer a safe, slow-paced, but not entirely boring lifestyle?</p>
<p>Specifically, I’m interested in places that are reasonable commuting distance from Paris, Illinois, and I’m told that Terre Haute is the place most people choose, but I don’t know where to start looking. Thanks for your suggestions.</p>
<p>It has been a long time since I have lived down there, so I am not sure about the high schools. In my day, there were good high schools in Terre Haute and Brazil on the Indiana side. I would avoid going north to Clinton, however. You will not find the AP classes, etc.
In that part of Indiana/Illinois, it is a little harder to separate out the great schools. Look at number of AP classes offered, the chance to take dual-credit classes at ISU, etc. Indiana is not great for education funding, IMHO (as a resident). Here is a link from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce that compares performance versus funding:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.indianachamber.com/media/pdf/IndianaBestBuy092.pdf[/url]”>http://www.indianachamber.com/media/pdf/IndianaBestBuy092.pdf</a></p>
<p>Taxes will be cheaper in Indiana.</p>
<p>Great link, thank you.</p>
<p>I’ll have to balance taxes against the cost of commuting. I’ve lived in both states, just not in this area, and Illinois taxes pi** me off!!!</p>
<p>The politics in Indiana may drive you a little nuts as well, but they keep the taxes low. For Terre Haute, live near the mall, apparently. I grew up in a small town north of the area. Wonderful people, just not a community that embraces a lot of change. There are cultural events due to the location of three colleges, and people routinely travel to Indianapolis, Chicago and beyond for entertainment.
Things have improved since I lived there. There is Thai, Chinese, Sushi and a few modern bistros in the area. Terre Haute is not known as a beautiful city, but you can find most amenities.</p>
<p>slim pickin’s in that part of both states! good luck!</p>
<p>I asked because I was expecting to have a job opportunity there, and sure enough, I just got confirmation that I fly out Sunday and interview Monday. I am kind of excited to see what the area is like, even though I’m prepared not to be excited, based on what most people have said. Wish me luck.</p>
<p>I wish you luck! I grew up in a small town north of Terre Haute, and there are wonderful people there. Of course, I ran off to California at my first opportunity, but now live in Indiana again. The pace is slow, hard work is expected and, for the most part, we Hoosiers tolerate each other pretty well. Good luck. I know you were also looking at nursing schools, so I hope you can check out ISU nursing school while you are there.</p>
<p>Good luck, mantori!
Keep an open mind…</p>
<p>Something my H and i realized when he was considering a job move was, how little we actually used our big-city amenities on a daily basis. Most of our life is at work and at home.pWe get up and go to work, and come home and do things around the house. On a general daily basis, we didin’t take advantage of the big city amenities.</p>
<p>We discovered that we actually liked the low-hassle factor of living in a smaller city, and really enjoyed going to the big city as more of a destination.</p>
<p>In favor of the smaller city: less trafffic, less time lost communiting, lower prices with more money for fun remaining in our pockets.</p>
<p>We use that extra money so that when we go to the big city, we actually spend time at the museums/shows/restaurants/shopping. We actually DO these things instead of just thinking about them.</p>
<p>Terre Haute is close to Chicago and Indianaoplis.</p>
<p>Thank you. The nursing school is for my wife. If this goes well, we’ll make another trip back up there to scout for homes and schools for her and my daughter.</p>
<p>We live in a city about three times the population of Terre Haute now, and yes, the light traffic and relatively low cost of living is very nice after 10 years in Chicago! We like Indy; we lived in Indiana years ago and used to venture to Indy for weekends. It’s a good size, big enough to offer just about everything, but spread out enough not to feel overwhelmingly crowded.</p>
<p>We decided on Charleston, Illinois, one hour south of Champaign and one hour west of Terre Haute. It’s a tidy little college town of about 10,000 year-round residents plus another 10,000 or so students of Eastern Illinois University. I’ll have a 40-minute drive to work along a two-lane country highway; I test-drove it last weekend and found it to be very pleasant. (I may not think so when it snows!)</p>
<p>I love college towns. They feel so alive to me, with all the young people walking around with their books and school sweatshirts. And if EIU doesn’t have enough of that, UIUC is only an hour away.</p>
<p>Thanks again to all who advised.</p>
<p>How nice! I love college towns too. I hope you make the trip to Champaign to see the a cappella groups. It’s a strong tradition on that campus, and you’ll see a very fun show.</p>
<p>Best wishes, mantori, on success in your new home!</p>
<p>Yes, good luck with the move. You might want to look into motels near your work. Snow storms can close roads in that area. People have died from monoxide poisoning after being stranded.</p>
<p>On a lighter note, you will see fantastic fall color at the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke Co. The bridges are really fine.</p>
<p>I didn’t know so many people had ties to that part of the country. I lived for a while in Olney, Ill and we would go to Terre Haute to shop.</p>
<p>I grew up thinking I would go to EIU. I liked the town of Charleston and I liked the school. But they didn’t have my major.</p>
<p>Enjoy Charleston. It is a great town. Mattoon isn’t very faraway and has most things you will need. Otherwise just hop on 57 or go up route 130 to Champaign/Urbana. Terre Haute is also close. You will find many options. As for Paris-not a great place. Good luck.</p>
<p>I love Charleston! When we were moving back to care for my mother, it was on the short list for us as well. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, all!</p>
<p>Gille94, I’m curious about why you say Paris is not a nice place. I know there’s not much to do there, but it looks pleasant enough. But I also know that a lot of rural towns that look okay on the surface have underlying problems, such as meth production.</p>
<p>mantori, </p>
<p>Good luck on the new job.</p>
<p>H and I live in IN, but work in IL, in the Chicago area, so your situation will be the opposite of ours. I believe you will wind up paying State income tax in both states–3.9% in IN, and then the difference, 1.1% to IL. Years ago the two had a reciprocal agreement, but no longer.</p>
<p>gloworm, for 2011 IL tax is now higher, so you will get credit paid to IL on your IN taxes. Unfortunately, you will be paying more taxes overall since IL tax is 6%. It is not reciprocal but the credit is available on form 6G of the IN return.</p>
<p>6%? When did that happen? It just went to 5% on 1/1.</p>