Lafayette, Indiana

ExMorgMD
1y ago
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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
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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
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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.