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Since this discussion came up in a recent thread where it was unrelated to the thread topic I decided to post my own thread instead of continuing in that thread where the discussion was irrelevant to the topic at hand.
There seems to be a misconception that all of Northwest Indiana is a big "working class" area or a "poor man's Illinois". I'm not sure if this is because places like Gary/Hammond/East Chicago dominate people's perceptions of the region or what, but the actual numbers tell a different story. Places like Munster, Schererville, St. John, Dyer, Valpo, Crown Point, and Chesterton all have very affluent areas. Take a look at this map for example:
Several of census tracts surrounding Valpo proper have a median household incomes in excess of $100k, and most of them have risen in household income between 30-50% between 2000-2013.
Looking at Schererville, you see nearly the identical pattern:
Dune Acres household income has risen by nearly 130% since 2000.
So no, there's nothing comparable to the North Shore in Northwest Indiana. But to say there's no affluence in Northwest Indiana really misses the mark. Northwest Indiana is becoming more and more affluent.
I'm going to be completely honest here. Although a few towns such as Munster, Schererville, and Dyer have a couple "high end subdivisions" aka Briarlake/ ridge or whatever it's called, NWI just doesn't seem all that wealthy to me. Wealthy in my opinion are suburbs like those found along the northshore, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, and Barrington, etc. I know people give Munster a lot of praise, but to me it's really along the lines of Homewood in terms of affluence. Definitely not a working class suburb, but not ritzy one either. Just a nice, slightly above average community for middle class families. I don't know if anyone on here is familiar with the TV sitcom "The Middle", but the Heck family is what the average NWI family seems like to me whenever I spend time in the regions (minus N. Lake County of course) . In fact, the characters on that show could fit in NWI quite well lol.
Here is an honest question, and one which has bothered me for quite some time, as some people in this forum seem to equate affluence and wealth with success and quality of life.
Is one's quality of life thousands of times better if one lives in an affluent area surrounded by high end shopping and 100s of chain restaurants? I've lived in such an area. My answer is no. It's materialistic snobbery at best in my opinion, and elitist at worst. It's also pretty gosh darn boring. That's not how I want to live my life.
I was raised in a middle class, working family in NWI. I've lived, and still do, in a very pricey neighborhood (one would need to be in the top 5% of income to live in my neighborhood). It doesn't make me or my husband a better person. It didn't make my kids better than their friends from lower income families. It's made our life a bit easier, but it's also created stresses that don't exist in more middle class areas. My children were raised to be able to communicate and associate with all types of people from all types of backgrounds. That is what will make them successful in their lives--not growing up in a lovely house with the latest clothing from the most recent "cool" store.
It takes all kinds of people to make the world work and happen. Middle class communities and people are the bedrock of our country.
Here is an honest question, and one which has bothered me for quite some time, as some people in this forum seem to equate affluence and wealth with success and quality of life.
Is one's quality of life thousands of times better if one lives in an affluent area surrounded by high end shopping and 100s of chain restaurants? I've lived in such an area. My answer is no. It's materialistic snobbery at best in my opinion, and elitist at worst. It's also pretty gosh darn boring. That's not how I want to live my life.
I was raised in a middle class, working family in NWI. I've lived, and still do, in a very pricey neighborhood (one would need to be in the top 5% of income to live in my neighborhood). It doesn't make me or my husband a better person. It didn't make my kids better than their friends from lower income families. It's made our life a bit easier, but it's also created stresses that don't exist in more middle class areas. My children were raised to be able to communicate and associate with all types of people from all types of backgrounds. That is what will make them successful in their lives--not growing up in a lovely house with the latest clothing from the most recent "cool" store.
It takes all kinds of people to make the world work and happen. Middle class communities and people are the bedrock of our country.
Alllllll of this. I'm not sure why a lot of people seem to think having a higher income makes you a better, happier person. Mo' money mo' problems and all of that.
Even if I could afford to live in some fancy, exclusive North Shore suburb, I wouldn't want to. I'm sure there are plenty of nice people there, but in my experience, places like that do tend to have a higher concentration of snobby individuals who encourage materialism and who I wouldn't want to hang around. Also I'm more into saving my money than spending it. In that sense, I would say NWI is the smart man's suburb, not the poor man's one.
I'm going to be completely honest here. Although a few towns such as Munster, Schererville, and Dyer have a couple "high end subdivisions" aka Briarlake/ ridge or whatever it's called, NWI just doesn't seem all that wealthy to me. Wealthy in my opinion are suburbs like those found along the northshore, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, and Barrington, etc. I know people give Munster a lot of praise, but to me it's really along the lines of Homewood in terms of affluence. Definitely not a working class suburb, but not ritzy one either. Just a nice, slightly above average community for middle class families. I don't know if anyone on here is familiar with the TV sitcom "The Middle", but the Heck family is what the average NWI family seems like to me whenever I spend time in the regions (minus N. Lake County of course) . In fact, the characters on that show could fit in NWI quite well lol.
You need to see Dean White's house in Crown Point.
Here is an honest question, and one which has bothered me for quite some time, as some people in this forum seem to equate affluence and wealth with success and quality of life.
Is one's quality of life thousands of times better if one lives in an affluent area surrounded by high end shopping and 100s of chain restaurants? I've lived in such an area. My answer is no. It's materialistic snobbery at best in my opinion, and elitist at worst. It's also pretty gosh darn boring. That's not how I want to live my life.
I was raised in a middle class, working family in NWI. I've lived, and still do, in a very pricey neighborhood (one would need to be in the top 5% of income to live in my neighborhood). It doesn't make me or my husband a better person. It didn't make my kids better than their friends from lower income families. It's made our life a bit easier, but it's also created stresses that don't exist in more middle class areas. My children were raised to be able to communicate and associate with all types of people from all types of backgrounds. That is what will make them successful in their lives--not growing up in a lovely house with the latest clothing from the most recent "cool" store.
It takes all kinds of people to make the world work and happen. Middle class communities and people are the bedrock of our country.
Oh absolutely, and I don't think affluence by itself is necessarily a determinative factor into the quality of any place. This was more a rebuttal to those who think NWI is declining or that it is otherwise "undesirable".
Oh absolutely, and I don't think affluence by itself is necessarily a determinative factor into the quality of any place. This was more a rebuttal to those who think NWI is declining or that it is otherwise "undesirable".
Thank you for the explanation Bluefox. We are in agreement. My post was probably in response to those same things.
BTW--Been to the Plaza area in KC for a long weekend following a conference. Loved it and finding all of the fountains and courtyards. I really enjoyed looking at the unique architecture in the area. (and no shopping was done-haha).
Well, we have lived in Illinois and Munster now.
Sure, the N Shore Chicago is among the most affluent in the US, so it's hard to compare that to anything. But, certain areas of Munster are affluent enough. The White Oak subdivision ranks in the top 15% in the nation, accdg to stats. WestLakes, Cobblestones, and Briar Creek are very very nice, as are some beautiful areas of affluence in the north part of town, where the huge trees give a very nice feel. And then there are portions of the town that are average. I have to admit that since we work in Chicago and still associate with the city a lot, I do not have much knowledge about many areas beyond Munster/Dyer/Schererville, as, for my purposes, it gets too far out there. They might be beautiful but if you work downtown, it's hard to live much further out. Maybe with the S Shore extension decades from now that will change but I'm not holding my breath. I don't understand the opposition to this/ this would be a huge benefit to the area. Illinoisans want to move here but feel the train service is not close to where they will live.
Some other things to consider when it comes to wealth is the fact that according to my experience, many people in the region have friends/family with very practical skills and often pay little or nothing for things like car repair, home maintenance etc. A neighbor of mine just fixed my toilet and thought nothing of it. In the wealthy areas such as the North Shore, people routinely spend loads of money on things that in the region are often free or way way cheaper. Add in taxes, cost of living etc and NWI is in my opinion way wealthier than most, including those from the region, think.
I'm going to be completely honest here. Although a few towns such as Munster, Schererville, and Dyer have a couple "high end subdivisions" aka Briarlake/ ridge or whatever it's called, NWI just doesn't seem all that wealthy to me. Wealthy in my opinion are suburbs like those found along the northshore, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, and Barrington, etc. I know people give Munster a lot of praise, but to me it's really along the lines of Homewood in terms of affluence. Definitely not a working class suburb, but not ritzy one either. Just a nice, slightly above average community for middle class families. I don't know if anyone on here is familiar with the TV sitcom "The Middle", but the Heck family is what the average NWI family seems like to me whenever I spend time in the regions (minus N. Lake County of course) . In fact, the characters on that show could fit in NWI quite well lol.
I don't know why you put "high end subdivisions" in quotes. Homewood doesn't have any neighborhood that comes near the affluence of neighborhoods in Munster south of 45th...nor does it have a neighborhood where an acre sold for nearly $500k (in the Park West neighborhood where the homes are over $1,000,000 and is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in town....also, I have never heard anyone who has claimed Munster and other towns with affluence in NWI to compare to the north shore or Hinsdale and Oakbrook. Affluence in NWI is more comparable to some southwest suburbs such as Frankfort, Orland, most of Naperville, and some northwest suburbs..more so upper-middle class. And each of the NWI towns you listed have more than just "a couple" high end neighborhoods and I'm going to be completely honest here..you know that the subdivision you were thinking about is named Briar Ridge but tried to dismiss it as if it was not important enough to be named properly. If the Heck family is what the average NWI family seems like (which is very possible), the same would be for the Bundy family or the Winslow family for 90% of Chicagoland...I hope you don't think that most of Chicagoland would be represented by some affluent TV character. That is the minority of Chicagoland. Comparing Winnetka to Munster is one thing...there is no comparison clearly...But when people try to argue that a place like Orland Park is just "oh so much more affluent" than Munster, Dyer, Schererville, St. John, it is quite funny to me.
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