Lafayette is a good place to raise a family. Homeownership and rentals alike are both affordable, with a diverse housing selection throughout the city and the greater metropolitan area. In addition, Lafayette County’s public school system is highly lauded, and there are plenty of parochial schools as well. Add into that an excellent public library, a high number of youth-oriented sports and recreation programs, a growing economy, and a low-ish crime rate, and you have all of the charms of a rural midwestern community combined with amenities of bigger cities that you typically get with college cities and you have a great spot for a young family.

The divide between Lafayette’s lifelong residents and its student population, which is mostly in West Lafayette, is real. This is true of many college towns, and it is felt keenly in Lafayette due to the political divide between its more conservative native population and the more liberal and ethnically diverse population of Purdue University. This, in turn, leads to arguments over the perception of the town, with the student population often describing the crime rate as being greater than it is, and the lifelong residents greeting students with hostility. Please be aware of this before you make your move. 

In A Family Way

LookyLOO Review of Lafayette

Lafayette is, in many ways, a sleepy countryside town. Outdoor activities are the primary pastime, with canoeing, cycling, hunting, fishing, and gardening especially popular. Combined with the local love of Purdue’s athletics programs, you have a town that gathers together eagerly despite its differences in a basketball or football game. That being said, for those for whom these activities hold no interest, there are more artistic options such as the Haan Mansion Museum of Indiana Art and the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. And for those desiring bigger city options, Indianapolis and Chicago are within driving distance.

Check out the Lafayette [calendar of events](https://www.homeofpurdue.com/events/) for a flavor of what goes on during the year. 

We highly recommend visiting Lafayette and staying in the community in a [VRBO](https://vrbo.com/affiliate/p4JS4ZC) rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can also receive discounted travel fares via our [partnership with Expedia](https://expedia.com/affiliate/9NZ8LBQ).

Lifestyle

Lafayette is home to a diverse and growing economy. [Purdue University](https://www.purdue.edu/) and the [Ivy Tech Community College](https://www.ivytech.edu/) provide work for academics, administrators, and facilities workers. The city also has numerous manufacturing operations, such as [Arconic](https://www.arconic.com/), [Caterpillar Large Engine Division](https://www.caterpillar.com/), and [Subaru of Indiana Automotive](https://www.subaru-sia.com/) employ thousands of workers. This, in addition to Purdue’s esteemed engineering program and legacy of having produced multiple astronauts, makes Lafayette an excellent home for scientists and engineers. 


Worklife

If you are a student, a scientist, a young family, or simply want a quaint farm town with bigger city amenities, Lafayette may prove an excellent option for you. In Lafayette you get the benefits of a college town without the prices of the pricier spots like Columbus or Ann Arbor.  


College Amenities / Small Town Prices

Why You Should Move Here Now

**Anonymous**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

This is a fairly nice place to live. The weather is much nicer than Florida or Georgia. People are nicer too. You will need a decent car with good tires for the occasional snow.

The biggest benefit is having a major university in the metro area, it makes it seem like a bigger city without the drawbacks. The students are an asset to the town.

Lafayette is also growing at a good rate and there are some big chip manufacturing plants planned for the area and surrounding region, so things are on the upswing.

People complain about real estate house prices increasing, but that's a nationwide thing and it hasn't been as bad here as other places.

For more reviews of what living in Lafayette is like from locals, check out [The Reviews](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/lafayette/reviews).

Reviews of Lafayette from Locals

Downtown is the place to live for young professionals looking to walk to work or walk to play at night. It's the heart of the entertainment district with a combination of cafes, bars, restaurants, live music, art galleries and theaters making weekends simple without a car. Living options include renovated loft spaces and modern apartment/condo buildings at much lower prices than other midwest college towns. 

The architecture of downtown is historic 19th/early 20th century brick and stone but the food and drink culture is thoroughly modern. The neighborhood plays host to events throughout the year. These include outdoor festivals, farmers' markets, and holiday parties. They've also done a good job building public parks and green spaces so you can grab a java from a local cafe and relax in the sun if you prefer. 

Young Professionals

Downtown

The Ninth Street Hill neighborhood is an historic district on the east side of Lafayette. The city's original wealthy families lived here and built large beautiful homes in Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Victorian and Craftsman styles. The blocks are tree-lined  and the sidewalks are wide so the kiddos have plenty of room to run and bike. The neighborhood association is active and a steady pace of local events throughout the year creates a strong community vibe. 

Families

Ninth Street Hill

Located just south of downtown is the Ellsworth-Romig neighborhood. The area is a mix of older historic homes in the Ellsworth District, smaller cottage and craftsmen homes, and split level homes and apartment building options for those seeking rentals. In addition to plenty of housing options the area also is centered around Triangle Park. A popular place for kiddo and community play throughout the year. Additional neighborhood attractions include the Red Crown Mini-Museum, the Tippecanoe County Public Library and the headquarters of the John Phillips Sousa Foundation. 

Ellsworth-Romig

Highland Park is another Historic District neighborhood catering to families. The area's high-style Victorian and Craftsmen homes date from the 1890's to the 1920's and are on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The neighborhood was built around a triangular park (hence the name) and it still serves as the primary meeting place for community gatherings and events, in addition to being a great place for the kids to play. The blocks are long and beautiful with tall trees and wide sidewalks. Highland Park has a strong neighborhood association that runs events throughout the year and represents the area to the mayor and city government. 

Calendar of events: highlandparklafayette.com/event/

Highland Park 

Lafayette

**ExMorgMD**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉

I moved here about 6 years ago from out of state. And overall, I’m happy and I have no plans to leave.

Pros-

Strong economy - Farming/manufacturing/Purdue/Healthcare Access to metro areas. 1hr from indy, 2 hrs from Chicago. Food/Nightlife/culture - a lot of great bars, clubs, restaurants. City and cultural events, vibrant downtown. Outdoors- Wabash river, Lakes freeman and Shafer. Low crime - I saw some list that had lafayette listed as a high crime city. I don’t know what they are smoking but I moved here from NE Ohio and saw shootings and stabbings in the ER nightly.

People are generally friendly.

Cons

-housing prices have gone up significantly. What used to cost 250k 6 years ago costs 450k today. A lot of people are buying in the smaller outlying towns and commuting in for work.

Lafayette tips a bit blue because of Purdue but there are way more Trump supporters than I would prefer.

flat flat flat. Cornfields and soybeans. Not much in the way of geographic diversity until you head into southern Indiana.

**joel484848**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

I moved here in 1984 when I was 25. I have stayed since. Has some big town amenities and a small town feel. West Lafayette and Lafayette are quite different due to Purdue. Diversity is mostly accepted. There are a number of social organizations and arts at Purdue and the surrounding area. Indianapolis is an hour away and Chicago is 2 hours away. I have worked in the schools and else where as a therapist. This is a nice community!

**Anonymous**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

This is a fairly nice place to live. The weather is much nicer than Florida or Georgia. People are nicer too. You will need a decent car with good tires for the occasional snow.

The biggest benefit is having a major university in the metro area, it makes it seem like a bigger city without the drawbacks. The students are an asset to the town.

Lafayette is also growing at a good rate and there are some big chip manufacturing plants planned for the area and surrounding region, so things are on the upswing.

People complain about real estate house prices increasing, but that's a nationwide thing and it hasn't been as bad here as other places.

**Touring Lafayette/West Lafayette**

In today’s video, I headed northwest from central Illinois across corn and bean fields into western Indiana to the city of Lafayette. The region had been snowed on a few days prior, but today was rare winter day when it was clear, with temps in the mid 40s. 
 
It was Saturday December 21st, 2019 at 10 am. 
 
The greater Lafayette area is a somewhat charming region. It's separated by two sides, Lafayette, on the east and West Lafayette in the west. The two communities are separated by the Wabash River. The entire region is anchored by Purdue university in West Lafayette. That's where we'll start, and then we'll drive through campus, over the Wabash River and into downtown Lafayette. 
 
We’ll pick things up on West State Street in West Lafayette, which goes through the heart of the Purdue campus. We’ll take State Street east through campus and into the part of town where most of West Lafayette’s retail and entertainment is located. AKA the bar scene.
 
I spent a number of years living here, and grew to really like the place. It’s a charming place, Lafayette is, filled with friendly people where you make new friends quite easily. A lot of people are involved in the community, and crime and the cost of living are actually not all that bad. The only downside to living here, really, is the lack of things to do OUTSIDE of the greater Tippecanoe County area. For some real fun, you have to drive an hour southeast to Indianapolis, which isn’t really all that exciting, or two hours north to Chicago.

The area off in the distance at the bottom of the hill near the Wabash River is practically brand new. It’s full of fancy new apartments for Purdue students.

We’re now making our way towards downtown Lafayette. To the left is a region called Wabash Landing. It’s also full of new retail and restaurants. 

And I accidentally took the roundabout twice.

We’re now crossing over the Wabash River into downtown Lafayette. 

Off to the right you can see the Tippecanoe County Courthouse.

Downtown Lafayette has more bars and restaurants per capita than any other city in Indiana. Up and down Main Street are several dozen options for dining and drinking. I spent a number of years here, and I can attest to the sheer number of drinkin holes. There’s actually not a lot to do in the greater Lafayette area for fun except belly up to a bar, especially in the long winter months. 

On the left is the famous Lafayette theater, where apparently Lloyd Ave, Latin night and PAULY SHORE are coming?? Big time. 

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Lafayette, Indiana

Boilermakers

Looklyloo Score: 87