Valparaiso : Indiana

Valparaiso, Indiana, is the county seat of Porter County with a population in 2012 of about 32,000.  It has a vibrant downtown with small town ambience and includes a historical district with several buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The city is the the site of multiple colleges and universities including Valparaiso, an independent Lutheran University, Purdue University North Central, and a regional campus of Ivy Tech.  Another of the town's claim to fame is Orville Redenbacher, a former resident who built a popcorn factory here.  Picture of Memorial Opera House courtesy of Wikipedia and Andy Seibel.

According to City-data.com the median sale price of a home in Valparaiso was about $190,000 in late 2013.

Valparaiso has a lot going on with an active downtown full of shops, museums, restaurants and the college crowd.  The town has a new Central Park Plaza that hosts concerts in it's outdoor amphitheater along with other special events.  It is also full of parks and recreation sites along with golf courses and bike trails.

Valparaiso does experience winter with an average snowfall of 39 inches.

Those who want a college town with a lot of outdoor activity along with a vibrant, walkable downtown.

Economy  is driven by manufacturing and education.

The average January temperature is 24 degrees, and the average July temperature is 73 degrees.

Valparaiso is home to Memorial Opera House and Central Park Plaza which offer concerts and theatrical events, and if that isn't enough Valparaiso University's Center for the Arts has a full schedule of art, music and plays. The city also has museums, a historical district, and more than a dozen parks.  Festivals are held throughout the year with the most popular being the Popcorn Festival which honors Orville Redenbacher, who once lived in Valparaiso.