We moved here in late May of 2008, loved it, and bought a house a year later.

What I like about Michigan City (no particular order)

- walking distance to Washington Park and the lake
- being on the eastern edge of the central time zone
- the weather (yes, winter too!)
- the library
- the potential of the downtown
- Giorgetti's Pizza (New Buffalo)
- craps at Blue Chip
- Oriental Pearl Chinese restaurant
- El Bracero Mexican restaurant
- Hammer's restaurant
- the South Shore line
- seeing the trains on 11th St.
- proximity to several interstate highways
- the antique shop at 8th or 9th and Franklin (can't remember the name)
- proximity to the Red Arrow Highway in Michigan
- US12 between Michigan City and New Buffalo
- the diversity of people
- free digital TV from both Chicago and South Bend (well, at night, anyway)

There's something else I can't quite describe, a certain unique charm, which I guess I'm hoping to never really understand (given how understanding something sometimes wrecks it).

I guess the only thing I don't like is it's too cigarette smokey indoors (although of course that's Indiana in general). It would be nice to check out a bit more night life, but I just can't hack (pun intended) the smoke anymore.

Welcome to the board and to Michigan City! We'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on any of those places and anything else you have experienced here!

Thank you!

I just now remembered another thing I love about Michigan City: it seems very "right sized" and such a place unto itself. I could be wrong, but it seems to have exactly one AM station (WIMS) and one FM station (WEFM - I love their self-promotional jingles.. the ones that go, "We Ef emmmMAHH!"). They both keep the stories very local (from what I've heard), and I swear outside places act as though Michigan City doesn't even exist. For example, we'll sometimes find ourselves in South Bend or Three Oaks, and when we say we're from Michigan City, the reaction is like, "oh.....".

What is that? Some kind of jealousy? High-horse-edness? Is Michigan City considered to be in some "no man's land"... not "Illiana", not "Michiana"...?

Nice to hear some fresh perspective about M.C.

We don't really fit into any group. We aren't really a part of "The Region" even though we are mostly closely aligned to them. I am not quite sure why, though I would guess it has more to do with demographics than anything else.

We definitely don't fit into Michiana, because our orientation is much more towards Chicago than anywhere else. We are on Chicago time, and get more Chicago news, weather, and sports than anything else. Plus lots of our people work in Chicago, and even move here from the Chicago area, or vacation here.

Welcome! May I add "Breakfast at Mary's Country Kitchen" to your list? You won't be disappointed!

Welcome to the board Dusk! Glad to have you and look forward to your future postings. Please don't limit yourself to this thread. We have lots of discussions about a variety of happenings in 'City!

Welcome Dusk! To the board and to M.C.

If you aren't familiar with it, go venture out on highway 12 between M.C. and Gary. I think it's a lot more interesting and beautiful than going the otherway.

Welcome aboard!

Thank you for the welcome.

I haven't found the "between M.C. and Gary" space as interesting or beautiful as "the otherway". But, admittedly, there could be vast yet hidden psychological factors at work.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Wisconsin, and thus was somewhat conditioned to despise Illinois (tolls, relatively reckless drivers - at least, that's what I heard), and Illinois is in that direction.

Or maybe it's because I lived near NYC for 15 years, and Chicago seems to be so much less to me, and Chicago is in that direction.

Or maybe it's because, having driven 12 to 90 many times, and sometimes having continued on 12/20 into Gary, it just all seems so ugly and ruinous that I'm "braced" for that display of "entropy gone wild" the entire way, and thus miss out on the beauty before Miller (or is it Miller Beach? I thought it was the latter, but Google Maps tells me it's merely "Miller").

Then again, we somehow imagined Benton Harbor to be something other than the wasteland it appeared to be when we finally drove through it late last year. So clearly "the otherway" isn't wart free.

Glad you like it here. Welcome

To Dusk, et al,

I think I like MC because it is becoming home. I haven't experienced it that much as of late, so it is nice. I want to find a church that has good liturgy. Coming from the Chicagoland area, experiencing Indy, it would be nice to find that "feel" again.

There are so many wonderful things about MC, (a few concerns) but overall, I only see promise and growth.

The city by the lake...indeed! A grossly overlooked treasure. I guess, MC is like the beach around here. If you only look at the surface you see all kinds of things, but when you slow your pace, let your eyes catch a sparkle, move away a few grains, there buried are treasures, I guess you could say a diamond in the rough, or is that beach glass?

Welcome to the site as well! It is nice to see many new people around these parts. More people makes for better discussions!