As for Indiana.. Try Goshen - it's an "easy" commute to Chicago from there. And I'm always amazed that places named "Goshen" actually exist. Otherwise, if you want to go further south, there's always Evansville - which is sort of a small-big/big-small town. Lots of industry there, and it's a few hours away from St. Louis, Nashville and Memphis.
Then you could also have your choice of the college towns: Bloomington, Terre Haute, Plainfield, Lafayette, Muncie, Anderson, Elkhart, South Bend, Mishawaka, Valparaiso, Gary, etc., etc., etc...