Indiana

[The Ponzzz]

So, the girlfriend got a job in Indiana and looks like we're moving there. We have extremely short notice seeing we found out two days ago she got the job and starts in 8 days. Luckily we found a townhouse and have it on the 31st. I'll be staying here in Rochester NY to pack and get everything in order while she starts work and get shit straight there. The place where we're at right now in NY required a 3 month notice, so we're totally getting screwed on that.

Anyways... Anyone from Indiana that can give me some pointers. I've only driven through there once. Never actually stopped anywhere outside a gas station. We'll be in the South Bend area, like a rock throw from Michigan.

Also, we went out and bought a Tomtom for her because her job involves a lot of driving (works for the state). We got this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8512031&st=tomtom&lp=4&type=product&cp=1&id=1186006186875

Any pros/cons. It's unopened still, and bought in haste...

Thanks for all the advice.

[LMingrone]

What cell phone service does she have? It might be cheaper to upgrade to a GPS enabled phone.

[The Ponzzz]

Verizon. We need something that tells us the street name out loud, not "turn left in 100 feet." We need "make a right at John St."

Cash really isn't concern, it's more if it is a good model. We don't need it to play MP3s or anything like that.

[diethx]

I spent a little time near there, or a couple of towns over really, in Elkhart. From what I remember of the area (I was pretty wasted the entire week I was there), it was a shithole. No clue if South Bend is at all similar because even though I know I was there, I don't remember it.

Doesn't Toob live near there? Or at least he used to? MAYBE YOU GUYS CAN HANG OUT!!!!!!!!1111

[The Ponzzz]

WHO IS TOOB?!

[Methais]

The place where we're at right now in NY required a 3 month notice, so we're totally getting screwed on that.

Tell her to tell her company to pay for it.

[The Ponzzz]

Tell her to tell her company to pay for it.

They're already paying for a week of hotel expenses, foodage, rental car and airfare. We're lucky they are paying for all that...

[Methais]

Tell them anyway.

[Jenisi]

Well, I actually live in South Bend. LOL. So anything you want to know or she wants to know feel free to ask me :)

[Trouble]

Anticor lives in Indiana, but I don't think he reads these forums anymore. You could try a PM maybe...

[Tsa`ah]

Well for facts about South Bend, outside of being Notre Dame central ... talk to Jenisi.

Taxes are a bit cheaper.

Don't forget to mind your speed if you're coming out of MI to IN.

The roads aren't that great. In winter and early spring they suck, so when you get new tires, get the insurance.

You're pretty much in small town USA once you step outside of South Bend. People like to refer to these small towns as "shit holes" but you'll never be mugged, stabbed, or shot in them.

The closest "big" city is Gary, which may as well be a Chicago burb ... an hour away.

Northern IN, particularly the IN/MI border is more woodland than farmland. If you have this uncontrollable urge to see nothing but corn/soy fields, go south.

[ThatDamnTep]

All you need to know about Indiana is this: You're going to be buying my cigarettes before you come up to visit us in Michigan. For serious. Indiana is so much cheaper than Michigan on smokes.

[B2]

OMG Mario!! We're SO having a hurler welcome party.

I vote to have it at the Quaker Steak.

[Ambrosia]

All you need to know about Indiana is this: You're going to be buying my cigarettes before you come up to visit us in Michigan. For serious. Indiana is so much cheaper than Michigan on smokes.

LOL old times. When I lived in Michigan about 8 years ago, my step mom used to drive down to Indiana to buy cartons of smokes every weekend. Her teeth showed it too.. nasty.

[Hips]

How does Indiana equal south? :(

[Sean of the Thread]

How does Indiana equal south? :(

Well it's not technically "south" but it sure as hell is more redneck than Florida.

[BigWorm]

How does Indiana equal south? :(

south from michigan

[Hips]

He said in another thread that he was possibly moving south from Rochester.

Nevermind. -.-;

[Skeeter]

Not much to do in that area. Join a WoW raiding guild.

[Apotheosis]

I'm moving from Michigan, but I can say for sure that most of the area sucks..

[TheEschaton]

Jenisi is a South Bend TOWNIE?

I go to South Bend pretty regularly to watch BC kick ND's ass in football.

[diethx]

WHO IS TOOB?!

Oh, sorry, Tabor.


You're pretty much in small town USA once you step outside of South Bend. People like to refer to these small towns as "shit holes" but you'll never be mugged, stabbed, or shot in them.

rofl

Dude, i'm FROM a small town, and trust me, that's not what makes Elkhart a shithole.

Maybe it was all the meth heads. The friend I was visiting with was kind enough to show me that side of your "small town USA".

[Sthrockmorton]

The closest "big" city is Gary, which may as well be a Chicago burb ... an hour away.

Don't go to Gary, and if you do, don't get out of your car. I'm pretty sure it used to be one of the murder capitals of the world, and is still pretty high on the crime rate list.

Wish I could tell you anything about South bend, but all my time in Indiana was spent at IU, Purdue, or Indianapolis. The people I've met from that area are all great. At least you'll be able to catch some Notre Dame games.

[The Ponzzz]

Awesome, thanks for all the advice. Seriously is a big help.

Hahah, yea Tep. When I saw the map, I was like, holy shit, Lansing is REAL close! So we'll totally get together a bunch and put on some sort of HURLERCON that we were doing when Becca moved to Chi-town for like 4 days. And possibly you guys can show me how to get to Brad and Chris' place!

Jenisi, I'll totally hit you up on info sometime when I know more where I'll be! I just heard the place I'm moving doesn't have a buy option on the town house. So just renting it. I must have got this place confused with another. But if you can let me know what companies to look at in terms of good sale-oriented companies or newspapers to look at, that would rock. because I will be going in jobless! Granted I'm staying behind in Rochester NY for a bit to fix my shit here.

Uh, that Gary place scares me. And I been hearing I'm going from COLD to OLD. Hopefully the difference won't be huge. Comcast is my cable company and I hear they have a better broadband cable connection than Time Warner, that sounds awesome. And I look forward to catching a few Norte Dame games too, though I heard ticket price is rough.

Hmm, I don't think Tabor and I would get along at all. Haha. Ok, I'm done responding to everyone.

[Tsa`ah]

I'm from small town USA ... if the population is over 5k, it's not the small town I'm referring to.

That aside, ya ... Gary is a bad place. If you have the look of having more than a buck in your pocket ... you're in trouble. There's Chicago mugged where you may end up with an injury or lacking some clothing, and there's Gary mugged where your next of kin comes to ID the body if they ever find it.

If you're not white and there's a cop around ... you're in trouble.

The best advice anyone can give you about Gary is to just not stop there ... ever. Just keep driving until you're in Chicago.

Also, unless things have changed in Indiana since I lived on the Illiana border, make sure you have the fridge stocked with beer on Saturday because your SOL on Sunday ... as I said, unless things have changed.

[The Ponzzz]

I normally keep a case of beer in the fridge. Please tell me I can get Labatt there.... PLEASE!

[Lucas]

Remember, if it's for work, you can get a tax write off for it effectively making it free.

[Sean of the Thread]

don't get too close to Jenisi unless you want the herp

[TheEschaton]

Dude, Ponzzz. Labatt isn't the same as it is in upstate NY/Canada. The Labatt we DO get here in Boston (and I know of only one liquor store which carries it) is all skunked out, ALWAYS.

[The Ponzzz]

Dude, Ponzzz. Labatt isn't the same as it is in upstate NY/Canada. The Labatt we DO get here in Boston (and I know of only one liquor store which carries it) is all skunked out, ALWAYS.

http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/media/2007/05/darth_vader_nooo.jpg

[ThatDamnTep]

I wouldn't worry too much about beer Mario. Before we come down to see your new place, I'll talk to my beer reps and snag a few 5 dollar thirty packs. Nothing like a thirty pack of beer that ends up costing you 2 bucks after you take back the cans.

[BigWorm]

Don't go to Gary, and if you do, don't get out of your car. I'm pretty sure it used to be one of the murder capitals of the world, and is still pretty high on the crime rate list.

Wish I could tell you anything about South bend, but all my time in Indiana was spent at IU, Purdue, or Indianapolis. The people I've met from that area are all great. At least you'll be able to catch some Notre Dame games.

Damn, that's right, you went to Idiot U. Boiler Up FTW! ;) The Hoosiers snuck out the football game this year, but I guess I'll let it slide since Purdue sucked and your coach died from brain cancer.

Anyway, back to Mario. Indiana is kind of a strange place. They are proud to be hoosiers there, they'll talk about it on the news and shit. Being from St. Louis, I find this very amusing, because Hoosier means loosely the same thing as urban redneck here. You can probably get LaBatt's if you search for it, but for most of my time in Indiana, we were mostly looking to score Keystone, or, if some rich motherfucker was around, maybe some Bud Light.

I do recommend you go to see a Notre Dame football game some time while you are in South Bend. Even if you're not into football or hate the Irish like I do, it's a really great experience. I've been to a lot of college football stadiums, and nothing compares to Notre Dame's field. It's like seeing a game at Lambeau or Wrigley or the Montreal Forum. It's a really a shrine of the game.

[The Ponzzz]

Hahaha, nothing says love like some Natty Ice or some Beast. I'm all for cheap 30 packs. And I can live with Keystone Light... I should just try more beers, I just like my Blue... Not much for dark beers...

And yea, I'll be going to see the Fighting Irish a few times within my first year. I use to go the Buffalo being a Dolphins' fan, so I don't mind hating a team to watch some football.

My biggest fear is I'm going to be time travelling back to 1993. I hear IN is like a decade and a half behind the times!

How about the GPS unit I had in the top post. Anyone with experience with a good unit have any pros/cons to talk about with that unit. Or and recommendations for a GPS unit? I can still return this one.

[Sthrockmorton]

Damn, that's right, you went to Idiot U. Boiler Up FTW! ;) The Hoosiers snuck out the football game this year, but I guess I'll let it slide since Purdue sucked and your coach died from brain cancer.

Anyway, back to Mario. Indiana is kind of a strange place. They are proud to be hoosiers there, they'll talk about it on the news and shit. Being from St. Louis, I find this very amusing, because Hoosier means loosely the same thing as urban redneck here. You can probably get LaBatt's if you search for it, but for most of my time in Indiana, we were mostly looking to score Keystone, or, if some rich motherfucker was around, maybe some Bud Light.

I do recommend you go to see a Notre Dame football game some time while you are in South Bend. Even if you're not into football or hate the Irish like I do, it's a really great experience. I've been to a lot of college football stadiums, and nothing compares to Notre Dame's field. It's like seeing a game at Lambeau or Wrigley or the Montreal Forum. It's a really a shrine of the game.

Yeah, in football you have to give us one season every decade, its only fair. Especially since that's what we do for you guys in basketball (the only sport that matters in Indiana).

Worm's got a point about the Notre Dame game. It's amazing there. I just moved to Milwaukee and I'm working on trying to score some Broncos/Green Bay tickets sometime in the next 10 years so I can get the Lambeau experience as well.

[Sthrockmorton]

How about the GPS unit I had in the top post. Anyone with experience with a good unit have any pros/cons to talk about with that unit. Or and recommendations for a GPS unit? I can still return this one.

Tom Tom One is a good choice. It's probably one of the most reasonably priced units, and it'll definitely give you the bang for your buck that you need. (I used to work at RadioShack during college, and that's the unit I always pushed on people). It'll have no problem getting you where you need to go, especially in South Bend. I highly recommend playing with the bluetooth feature on it to sync it with your phone for the Tom Tom Plus Services, the traffic updates are crucial, especially if you're going to take any trips to Chicago (or any other big traffic city).

PS. You'll be able to get Labatt there without a problem.

[The Ponzzz]

Tom Tom One is a good choice. It's probably one of the most reasonably priced units, and it'll definitely give you the bang for your buck that you need. (I used to work at RadioShack during college, and that's the unit I always pushed on people). It'll have no problem getting you where you need to go, especially in South Bend. I highly recommend playing with the bluetooth feature on it to sync it with your phone for the Tom Tom Plus Services, the traffic updates are crucial, especially if you're going to take any trips to Chicago (or any other big traffic city).

PS. You'll be able to get Labatt there without a problem.

Rock! Thanks Mr. S.

[Kyra231]

Don't go to Gary, and if you do, don't get out of your car. I'm pretty sure it used to be one of the murder capitals of the world, and is still pretty high on the crime rate list.




Dear god have you SMELLED Gary, IN? I imagine the stench from whatever pollution is being pumped out there has rotted all their brains & they're probably killing each other as a mercy homicide so they don't have to smell it anymore.

South Bend...well it ought to be about as interesting as a trip through the ghetto if you're in town or watching corn grow if you're out of town. Good luck with that Mario.

~K

[The Ponzzz]

Dear god have you SMELLED Gary, IN? I imagine the stench from whatever pollution is being pumped out there has rotted all their brains & they're probably killing each other as a mercy homicide so they don't have to smell it anymore.

South Bend...well it ought to be about as interesting as a trip through the ghetto if you're in town or watching corn grow if you're out of town. Good luck with that Mario.

~K

Thanks K! Hopefully it will be a good change from NY for me. Never was much for farm land, but maybe I'll start lovin' it!

[Stanley Burrell]

This is sort of irrelevant but are there actual human beings who drink non-Light, regular Coors?

[BigWorm]

This is sort of irrelevant but are there actual human beings who drink non-Light, regular Coors?

In Colorado, where Coors is brewed, this is common. My friend Ben drinks Coors Heavy, but he just does it to be a douche. In St. Louis, not many bars carry Coors Light, much less the heavy stuff. That being said, its not that bad, but I do prefer Coors Light.

[The Ponzzz]

Coors Light is skunky here and in Syracuse. Most bars offer $1 Coors Light during Happy Hour as well or during other busy times.

I know people who drink it often here because it's cheaper than Labatts and they feel it is better than Keystone Light...