I grew up in Fort Wayne in the 50's and 60's, and continue to frequently visit my Dad who is in a nursing home there. I knew the current and previous mayors when they were in high school. I keep somewhat familiar with what's going on there from monitoring the Fort Wayne newspaper site occasionally, and poking around during my visits there.

I may not be the best source on city life today, and I know Fort Wayne has changed a good deal in some respects, but having lived a lot of other places in my life, I can probably answer some questions you might have about what Fort Wayne is like and how it differs from other communities.

I can tell you immediately that Fort Wayne is more family and school oriented than most places, and that the Public Library is excellent and has been singled out as getting the most use, per person in its area, in the country.

My impression is that currently the Aboite Township area southwest of the city, and the Southwest Allen County Schools district, are considered the most desirable, with the northwest townships and the Northwest Allen County Schools second. But I also understand that Aboite Township has recently been annexed into the City of Fort Wayne, over its objections. Whether the schools will go into the city system also, I don't know; also whether or not the northwest townships may also be annexed. There is the precedent of Indianapolis having annexed its entire county.

Within the area covered by the Fort Wayne schools, the areas and schools on the northern fringe of the city are now generally considered most desirable. I think the Fort Wayne schools may still cover some areas north of the city limits; they did in my day.

Here are some links you might want to use:

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/
This is the Fort Wayne Newspapers site. Notice (along the left) the links to Real Estate, Classifieds, Yellow Pages, Shopping, and Living-Home sections, and also to the Discussion Boards which you might use to ask questions of local people.

http://www.ftwaynemagazine.com/
Notice the current issue has people talking about 5 good neighborhoods and what they like about them.

http://www.ft-wayne.in.us/
This is the Fort Wayne Community Net which is loaded with information. If you click on Allen County Profile and then on Education, you will come upon opportunities to view many school-by-school comparisons on test scores and other data. There is also helpful crime and demographic data in the County Profile section that can help you in choosing a neighborhood.