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Three counties, one winning combination.

Northwest Indiana is a funny, wonderful region: dunes on one side, cornfields on the other, and Chicago on the horizon. Lake, Porter, and Newton Counties each have their own flavor, their own charm, and their own great starter homes. Here is the tour, with all the good stuff.

Lake County

Seat: Crown Point

Lakeside, lively, and connected.

Lake County is the most populous corner of this region and the second most populous county in Indiana, home to roughly 499,000 residents per the 2020 census. It is a mix of Lake Michigan shoreline, brick-street downtown squares, and bedroom communities that feed the Chicago commute.

  • County seat: Crown Point, with its historic square and courthouse.
  • Towns include Hammond, Gary, East Chicago, Hobart, Merrillville, Schererville, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Dyer, St. John, and Lowell.
  • The western edge of Indiana Dunes National Park reaches into Lake County.
  • I-80/I-94 and I-65 put much of the county within an easy drive of Chicago.
A quiet leafy suburban street in Crown Point, Indiana at late afternoon with front-porch homes

Local favorites for the open-house circuit

Holly's honest take

My favorite kind of Lake County afternoon: an open house, then the brick-street square for coffee while you talk it over.

Porter County

Seat: Valparaiso

Dunes, college-town energy, and prairie breeze.

Porter County is the heart of the Indiana Dunes country. It is home to Indiana Dunes State Park, with roughly 2,182 acres and three miles of Lake Michigan beach at Chesterton, and most of Indiana Dunes National Park, the state’s only national park, shared with neighboring counties. About 173,000 people live here per the 2020 census.

  • County seat: Valparaiso, a college town with a walkable downtown.
  • Communities include Portage, Chesterton, Porter, and Hebron.
  • Indiana Dunes National Park was authorized in 1966 and redesignated a national park in 2019.
  • The South Shore Line stops nearby, making a car-free run to Chicago possible.
Rolling golden dune grass leading to the sandy beach and blue water of Lake Michigan in the Indiana Dunes

Local favorites for the open-house circuit

Holly's honest take

Coastal Indiana is real, and it is wonderful. Weekends here mean dunes hikes, pier walks, and dinner somewhere that smells like campfire.

Newton County

Seat: Kentland

Quiet, wide-open, and generous.

Newton County is the most agricultural of the three, with roughly 13,800 residents per the 2020 census and ten townships of farmland, grain elevators, and country roads. It sits just south of Lake County, which means small-town prices with big-city work still within reach.

  • County seat: Kentland, the county’s largest town.
  • Small communities include DeMotte, Morocco, Brook, and Goodland.
  • The most agricultural county of the three: corn, beans, and wide horizons.
  • Dark country skies, county fair season, and front porches with real distance between neighbors.
Golden-hour farmland in Newton County, Indiana with a red barn, grain silo, and cornfield rows

Local favorites for the open-house circuit

The local favorites here are the ones you make: a porch swing, a county fair Saturday, and a sunset on the back forty. Ask me about the quiet corners worth knowing.

Holly's honest take

Newton is where you go for square footage, quiet nights, and the kind of backyard where the neighbor waves from a quarter mile away.

Local favorites

Some of my favorite spots around Northwest Indiana.

These are the places I recommend to relocating buyers and longtime locals alike: ice cream at golden hour, lakes in the fall, market mornings, and playgrounds where the kids rule. Consider it your unofficial neighborhood tour.

Sunset over the lake at Dairy Belle in Northwest Indiana

Dairy Belle at golden hour

Lemon Lake ringed by autumn trees in Northwest Indiana

Lemon Lake in the fall

A hand holding a box of fresh donuts at Parlour Donuts

Parlour Donuts, obviously

Shoppers loading their vehicles at Bailey's Discount Center

Bailey's Discount Center

The Lucrecia patio with tables and colorful umbrellas

Lucrecia patio days

Crown Point's historic red brick courthouse with a clock tower

Crown Point courthouse

Chesterton's European Market logo

European Market Saturdays

Aerial view of the colorful Valplayso playground

Valplayso playground

Aerial view of the YMCA with outdoor pools and water slides

The YMCA, pool days

The Bugaboos deck with picnic tables and a lake view

Bugaboos deck

Holly Brumm Furdo at a bakery stall at the Chesterton market

Market mornings

Getting around

Chicago on the horizon, home on your block. Best of both worlds.

Northwest Indiana is officially part of the Chicago metro area, and the commute is real for a lot of buyers. That is part of why starter homes here are such a good deal: the city is close when you want it, and your weekend is your own when you don't. City lights, country nights, same zip code.

  • The South Shore Line runs electric rail service from Northwest Indiana into downtown Chicago, with stations across Lake and Porter Counties.
  • I-80/I-94, I-90, and I-65 funnel drivers around the south shore of Lake Michigan and into the city.
  • Where you land depends on your commute, your budget, and how you feel about dune grass. I help you match all three.

Official links worth your time

Not sure which county fits?

Good news: we don't have to pick yet.

Tell me your commute, your budget, and what you want your Saturday mornings to look like. I'll point you to the corners of Lake, Porter, or Newton County that match. Consider it a matchmaking service for you and your next zip code.

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