St. Joseph Valley- O

The Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley2009

Welcome (Back) to St. Joe Valley

Congrats on your graduation! While your time as a Notre Dame student may be over, you are still very much a part of the Notre Dame family, and the ND Club of St. Joseph Valley is here to help you stay connected to Notre Dame and get adjusted to the next phase of your life.

Having already spent four years in the South Bend area, you may already be familiar with many aspects of the area or you may have stayed in the Notre Dame bubble. Regardless of your exploration of the Michiana Area, there are many things to be aware of in St. Joseph Valley that you may have missed while in college. This is a guide with information that you may not know.

South Bend 101

• History: In 1673, Father Marquette, thought to be the first European to discover the St. Joseph River, reached the waterway approximately two miles from South Bend. In 1820, Pierre Navarre was the first European to settle permanently in the area as a representative of a fur company. The first industry in South Bend was developed in the in the late 1830s. In 1842, Fr. Sorin founded the University of Notre Dame.

• Population (as of 2000 census)

– South Bend- 107,890, Mishawaka- 46,557, St. Joseph Co.- 241,617

– South Bend: fourth largest city in state

– Michiana area (11 counties) population: 959,700

• Largest Employers (December 2008)

– University of Notre Dame: 4,707

– Memorial Health System: 3,545

– South Bend Community School Corporation: 3,212

– AM General: 2,400

– Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Inc.: 2,123

– City of South Bend: 1,361

– 1st Source Bank: 1,257

• The Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley (NDSJV) is a regional club for alumni, family, and friends of the University. The club offers members an opportunity to interact and network with ND alumni and friends through events that develop camaraderie, catholic spirituality, community service, and continuing education to support scholarships for current students.

• The Club helps run the Blue-Gold Game each spring, and proceeds benefit the Club’s scholarship fund.

• The Club also runs the men's basketball and football banquets.

• Join the Facebook group to keep up with what is going on:– http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43134334624&ref=search

• The Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley has the second largest number of Young Alumni of any club.

• President: Kelli Kalisik, 574-631-7206, kkalisik@nd.edu

ND Club of St. Joseph Valley

How to Find an Apartment or House

• You may already be a pro at finding rental properties in the South Bend area, but if you are living farther away from campus or just want to get out of the student housing market, there are a variety of resources to help you.

• There are various free apartment finding services located online. These are just a few.

– http://www.apartments.com/Indiana/NorthernIndiana/SouthBend&Vicinity

– http://www.rent.com/rentals/indiana/south-bend-and-vicinity/south-bend/

– http://www.rentals.com/Indiana/

• Be very specific of your “absolute highest price” – which should include rent + car, or just rent based on your situation.

• Be very specific about distance away from work/school. Make sure you try your commute during the same hours you will be commuting each day before you agree to an apartment.

• With all services, you can search on their site based on neighborhoods, rent requirements, amenities, lease start dates, etc.

• Start looking early to make sure you find someplace to live by move-in date.

Moving Checklist

• Inform Contacts of Change of address• Credit cards, student loans, cell-phone, ND Alumni Association

• https://moversguide.usps.com

• Setting up internet, cable and phone• After signing on your apartment or house, get started on setting these up so

they will be ready the day you move in (can take up to a month!!)

More things in the South Bend Area:of course there is always Google, but here are some links to save you time

• Home decorating ideas: http://www.rentaldecorating.com/

• Hair stylists/salons: http://www.insiderpages.com/s/IN/SouthBend/Hairstylists

• Health clubs and gyms/ working out:– http://www.healthclubdirectory.com/health_club/clubResults/IN/Ind

iana/South%20Bend/

– http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Health+Clubs/S-IN/T-South+Bend/

– Beautiful jogging paths along the St. Joe River

Car Information

– Change of Driver’s License for Indiana:• BMV website for License: http://www.in.gov/bmv/5078.htm• Also changes your voting registration at the same time!

– Change of License Plates and Registration for Indiana:• BMV website: http://www.in.gov/bmv/4762.htm

– Change of Title of your Car for Indiana:• BMV website for Title changes: http://www.in.gov/bmv/4545.htm

– Michigan license and registration info:• http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-50050---,00.html

Medical

• This depends very much on your healthcare coverage.

• The Alumni Insurance Program, sponsored by the Alumni Association is one option to look into whether looking for temporary health coverage or more long term plans.

– http://www.alumniinsuranceprogram.com/iv/index.asp?assnID=448

Downtown South Bend

Things to Do and See

• College Football Hall of Fame– 111 S. St. Joseph St., South Bend, IN 46601 (574-235-9999)

• Center for History– 808 W. Washington St., South Bend, IN 46601 (574-235-9664)

• Morris Performing Arts Center– 211 N. Michigan St., South Bend, IN 46601 (574-235-9190)

• Studebaker National Museum– 201 S. Chapin St., South Bend, IN 46601 (574-235-9714)

• Blue Chip Casino & Hotel– 2 Easy St., Michigan City, IN 46360 (888-879-7711)

• South Bend Museum of Art– 120 S. St. Joseph St., South Bend, IN 46601 (574-235-9102)

• St. Joseph County Parks– Various sites for canoe rentals, hiking, disc golf, X-C skiing, tubing and more– sjcparks.org, (574-277-4828)

• Notre Dame events– Various concerts, plays, movies, sporting events, etc on campus

• East Race Waterway and Riverwalk– Shot the rapids yourself or walk along the river and watch as others give it a shot

Day Trips

• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore– http://www.nps.gov/indu/

• Warren Dunes in Michigan– http://www.michigandnr.com/ParksandTrails/Details.aspx?id=504&type=SPRK

• Benton Harbor, MI– http://bentonharborcity.com/visit.html

• Casinos in Michigan City, Gary and New Buffalo

• Amish communities in Elkhart and LaGrange Counties– http://www.amishcountry.org/

• Wineries in SW Michigan and northern Indiana

• Chicago

St. Joseph Valley Sports

• Fighting Irish (of course): und.com– Football and basketball of course, but there are 26 varsity teams

overall, many with very cheap or free admittance.

• Silver Hawks: silverhawks.com

• Nearby Chicago- home of 2 MLB teams, NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, and MLS teams

• Indianapolis, a little over 2 hours away- home of NFL, NBA, WNBA teams; also home of the Brickyard

Catholic Churches

The Michiana Area has an abundance of Catholic Churches. While you are always welcome to continue to attend mass at the Basilica on campus, there are many others to choose for a new parish home. Below are just a few. Also, check out the website masstimes.org for a more complete listing of churches and mass times.

• St. Joseph Catholic Church- 226 N. Hill Street, South Bend, IN• Holy Cross Church- 920 Wilber St, South Bend, IN• Little Flower Church- 54191 Ironwood Rd, South Bend, IN• St. Pius X- 52553 Fir Rd, Granger, IN• St. Thomas the Apostle- 1331 N Main St, Elkhart, IN• St. Vincent de Paul- 1108 S Main St, Elkhart, IN• St. Mary’s of the Lake Church- 605 N Plymouth St, Culver, IN• Our Lady of Perpetual Help- 458 W Walnut St, Nappanee, IN• St. Mary’s Church- 219 S State St, Niles, MI • St. John the Evangelist- Main and Monroe, Goshen, IN

RestaurantsJust a Taste of Many Choices

Italian:Carmela’s – 214 N Niles Ave, South BendNParisi’s – 1412 S Bend Ave, South BendOlive Garden- 6410 Grape Road, Mishawaka 3003 Brittany Court, Elkhart 4441 Franklin St, Michigan CityCarrabba’s- 210 W Day Rd, MishawakaPapa Vino’s- 5110 Edison Lakes Pkwy, Mishawaka

Steak Houses:Ruth’s Cris-902 E University Dr, Granger, Outback- 4611 Grape Rd, MishawakaOld Chicago Steakhouse- 222 S. Michigan St, South Bend

Sushi:Hanayori- 3601 Grape Rd, MishawakaMatuba- 2930 McKinley Ave, South Bend

Mexican:Hacienda- various locationsLocos- 3801 W. Western Ave, South BendJulio’s- 1724 N. Ironwood, South Bend

Pizza:Bruno’s- 2202 Mishawak Ave, South Bend

119 N. Dixie Way, South BendRocco’s- 537 N. St. Louis Blvd, South BendMarco’s Pizza- 52750 IN-933, South Bend

Upscale:LaSalle Grill- 115 W. Colfax, South BendSorin’s- at the Morris InnTippecanoe Place- 620 W. Washington, South BendTrio’s Jazz Club- 129 N. Main St., South Bend

Important Times in St. Joe Valley

• Dyngus Day- April 5, 2010

• Blue/Gold Game Festivities- April

• Sunburst Marathon/Races- 1st weekend of June

• Leeper Park Art Fair- late June

• Mishawaka Summerfest- late June

• St. Joseph Country Fair- early July

• National Baton Twirling Association’s America’s Youth on Parade- mid July• College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival- mid July

• Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival- late August

• Football season

Radio Stations

ID Frequency Genres

WVPE 88.1 FM Public Radio

WROI 92.1 FM Adult Contemporary

WNDV 92.9 FM Top 40

WLRX 95.7 FM Adult Contemporary

WZOW 97.7 FM Classic Rock

WSMK 99.1 FM Urban Contemporary

WBYT 100.7 FM Country

WSBT 960 AM Sports/Talk

WHFB 1060 AM Talk

WSJM 1400 AM News

WDND 1580 AM Sports

More Miscellaneous

• Check out exploresouthbend.com for many other resources on the South Bend area

• There are a good number of resources available at the Young Alumni website:

– http://youngalumni.undgroup.org/site/c.hnKHIQNqEiG/b.3532311/k.BCC0/Home.htm

• If you have any questions or need help or advice with anything, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask. There are tons of fellow Alums in the St. Joseph Valley area who would love to help. Also, feel free to contact the Notre Dame Alumni Association to find out about the many services they offer.

• Good luck!