kitsa961

Phil, My biggest advice would just be to stay away from stadium-area housing on the north side of campus. That area can get quite raucous come game-time. If you're looking for a house with an actual yard, you won't be too likely to find anything within walking distance, as those houses are generally leased to undergrads who don't care about such things. However, I do suggest looking south of campus. Bloomington has a pretty good public transportation system. It's officially called Bloomington Transit, and I know that most houses have a stop within walking distance, and most rides take no longer than 15 minutes.

I would get on that as soon as possible. As it's a college town, most places rent from August--August, and students start signing leases in late January/early February, though it might be a bit different for grad students.

To answer your second question, I know that most of the professors here at IU send their kids to both of the two public school systems. In terms of private schools, there actually aren't too many. There are a few Christian academies, and then there's Harmony School (k-12), a sort of "liberal alternative" (meaning they don't give out grades), but that's about it. Diversity-wise, I checked online at Indiana's Department of Education website (if you Google "indiana school statistics" you'll find it right away), and it looks like most elementary schools here in town are about 80% white, and the other 20% is a solid mix of everything else. Hope that helps!