Chicagoland's view of NW Indiana (Naperville, Palatine: home, construction, taxes)

[WildWestDude]

Chicagoland area and the state of Indiana as we know share a border.
They have much in common, including history and people and a city called East Chicago Indiana.

Due to the heavy industry in the northern part of the the two NW Indiana counties (Lake & Porter) and urban decay, the area has had a bit of a stigma or image problem. Not long ago, Hammond, East Chicago and Gary were very vibrant cities. Today, they are not the nicest places and Gary has to be in the bottom of the list of cities to live in.
However, the areas south of those cities are still vibrant and part of this greater Chicagoland area. Suburbs such as Munster, Highland, Dyer, Scherrerville, St. John, Crown Point, Chesterton and Valparaiso are very attractive and affordable places to live in.
The commute to Chicago is shorter than some Illinois suburbs and taxes are much cheaper.
So, why is there still that image that this area is not a good place to live in?
How long will it be until that stigma is gone?

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by WildWestDude

Chicagoland area and the state of Indiana as we know share a border.
They have much in common, including history and people and a city called East Chicago Indiana.

Due to the heavy industry in the northern part of the the two NW Indiana counties (Lake & Porter) and urban decay, the area has had a bit of a stigma or image problem. Not long ago, Hammond, East Chicago and Gary were very vibrant cities. Today, they are not the nicest places and Gary has to be in the bottom of the list of cities to live in.
However, the areas south of those cities are still vibrant and part of this greater Chicagoland area. Suburbs such as Munster, Highland, Dyer, Scherrerville, St. John, Crown Point, Chesterton and Valparaiso are very attractive and affordable places to live in.
The commute to Chicago is shorter than some Illinois suburbs and taxes are much cheaper.
So, why is there still that image that this area is not a good place to live in?
How long will it be until that stigma is gone?

Things will change fast once 80/94 is completely done. Right now it is such an aggravation to get back and forth into and out of IL that people do all they can to avoid going over there. Once the road construction is over with it will be like opening the flood gates for people to start flooding out there too.

[Lookout Kid]

There's sort of a snobbish idea around Chicagoland that Northwest Indiana is a bit trashy... The powerful imagery of Gary and heavy industry are burned into peoples' brains, regardless of the greater reality. This is combined with the idea that the rest of Indiana is a bunch of farmers and Republicans like Dan Quayle. Most of this attitude is due to lack of exposure to Indiana's good side, which is off the beaten path for most Chicagoans unless they have family there. Also, the north shore has always been considered more desirable, and this carries into the North Side of the city. The South Shore is traditionally working class/poor, and this carries into the South Side of the city (or vice versa).

My Mother's family is all from Hammond originally, but they got the heck out years ago due to better job opportunities elsewhere. If the economy improved down there, I believe the stigma would eventually change as well.

[Drover]

The image you speak of is not confined to NW Indiana alone. It's part of a continuum that extends across much of the south/southwest side of Chicago and many of its south/outhwest suburbs as well. People don't think any more highly of, say, South Holland or Midlothian than they do of Hammond or Whiting. Even tidier white-collar but "old" south-side suburbs like Homewood and Flossmoor get the same short shrift their Indiana counterparts get (such as Munster and Highland).

[Tex?Il?]

NW Indiana is part of "Chicagoland". Look, if people as far away as Palatine, Naperville, Libertyville, etc. are part of Chicagoland and are 30-something miles away. Then everyone within that distance is also part of "Chicagoland".

Or Chicagoland doesn't exist, and there is only Chicago and outside Chicago. You can't just include the nice or ritsy areas within a certain radius and call that part of it, and leave out the rustbeltish areas of NW Indiana within that same radius. Or . . . thats proof that aspects of "Chicagoland" want to distance themselves from the rustbelt so the world will see them as more "coastal." A lot of folks don't want to be reminded that NE Illinois is not that far removed from metro Detroit(inc. Oakland County,Ann Arbor, Windsor) area so they estrange themselves from NW Indiana.

[WildWestDude]

Originally Posted by Drover

The image you speak of is not confined to NW Indiana alone. It's part of a continuum that extends across much of the south/southwest side of Chicago and many of its south/outhwest suburbs as well. People don't think any more highly of, say, South Holland or Midlothian than they do of Hammond or Whiting. Even tidier white-collar but "old" south-side suburbs like Homewood and Flossmoor get the same short shrift their Indiana counterparts get (such as Munster and Highland).

True, some of the southern Chicago area suburbs have even seen a big change in "color" in only the last few years. Not saying that its bad or good by a fact

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

NW Indiana is part of "Chicagoland". Look, if people as far away as Palatine, Naperville, Libertyville, etc. are part of Chicagoland and are 30-something miles away. Then everyone within that distance is also part of "Chicagoland".

Or Chicagoland doesn't exist, and there is only Chicago and outside Chicago. You can't just include the nice or ritsy areas within a certain radius and call that part of it, and leave out the rustbeltish areas of NW Indiana within that same radius. Or . . . thats proof that aspects of "Chicagoland" want to distance themselves from the rustbelt so the world will see them as more "coastal." A lot of folks don't want to be reminded that NE Illinois is not that far removed from metro Detroit(inc. Oakland County,Ann Arbor, Windsor) area so they estrange themselves from NW Indiana.

Greater Cleveland, Metro Detroit, Chicagoland, etc wouldn't exist without industrial base and commerce. You don't get Naperville and Northbrook without Gary.

[HOWELL_STREET]

In a somewhat humorous way, I suppose one could suggest that the 'Rust Belt' of Indiana is caused by the adjacent shore line of Lake Michigan. In fact, that is where the rust belt is located - - due to shut down steel mills.

But if one ignores that somewhat thin rust belt, then a few miles south of that area, has a very positive outlook. That's because everything seems to be cheaper there than the state of Illinois.

With past friends, I have heard people say, "Hey I'm going to Indiana to get cheaper gasoline." Or perhaps, "Hey I'm going to Indiana to play the power ball lottery". And in truth, housing is also cheaper down there.

Of all of the towns mentioned in threads above, Crown Point, Indiana is one of my favorites. Another nearby favorite town would also be Cedar Lake, Indiana. But those two towns are not close to public transporation.

Many, many years ago, Cedar Lake had commuter service on the Monon Railroad system. But it is my guess that if Monon still exists, then it is merely for freight service

One should also consider the novel idea of riding what is equivalent to the old South Shore Electric Railroad. Now someone may accurately critique me by saying that I have mentioned this in other threads. But perhaps 'you' have not seen them?

As a beautiful choice for an Indiana home - - why not consider Ogden Dunes or perhaps Chesterton, Indiana? Then one can 'back pedal' with daily commuter service back to Chciago.

As mentioned, if you are an Indiana resident working in downtown Chicago - - then most all of your costs associated with you home residency seem to be cheaper in Indiana.

Carter Glass

[quickdraw]

Trailers parks and swingers.

[j33]

There is the perception that NW Indiana consists of either ghettos or hicks. That was my impression until I was 18 years old and I had some family that moved there. I have of course grown up a bit and have been visiting NW Indiana pretty regularly for over 15 years and realize that it is just as diverse and nuanced as all of the other areas of Chicagoland. Just this past summer I went to the beach in NW Indiana, most of the people on the beach with me were from Eastern Europe and there was a large Middle-Easern family having a party, complete with an old man smoking a hookah under a tent and women in elaborate flowing veils. Are there ghettos and hicks out there? Of course there are, but there are a lot of other things too. One could say the same things about any of the suburbs here on the Illinois side as well.