Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think Orland Park and Frankfort have a lot in common with NWI. I do think these areas are all subject to white flight, which is some thing you do not see in more affluent areas with non-cookie cutter homes. I actually like Munster and Valpo (too far though). My brother actually lives in Laporte in a pretty nice older area but as a whole it is not an area that I would want to move to as much of the town is not the nicest.
Maybe a good comparison would be Munster and Mt Prospect. Orland Park and Frankfort and maybe St Johns and Schererville. No comparison with affluent western, northern and northwestern burbs (ie Long Grove and Barrington).
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.
Whoa clam down there buddy! I know you care a lot about Munster and NWI in general but jeezzz ! The reason for the quotes is because they ARE high end. Especially the gated community on 213th street which I believe is in Dyer. As for the Briar Ridge being named properly comment, there is a community across 213th with the name Briar in it as well so I'm sorry if you taught I was dismissing the community which was not my intention . The reason why I said that I don't consider NWI as a whole to be affluent is because affluent in my opinion, is more than just being upper middle class. I think of affluence as the northshore, Barrington, etc. Now with that said, do I think there are parts of NWI that are upper middle class? Of course I do! But the entire region as a whole (excluding N. Lake Cty of course) ? Hell no. The reason I say that is due to the fact that their are many areas of Munster with homes similar to what one might find in neighboring Lansing, which DEFINITELY is not affluent at all! And yes...I'm familiar with the tear downs going on in Munster but still....
The point I was making about The Middle is that the characters and setting of the show remind me a lot of Dyer, Schererville, and a west suburban area like Naperville. All of which are solidly middle class towns in my opinion that range from working class, middle class, and a small upper middle class. Just because a town has a high end subdivision or two does not make the town as a whole "affluent". Especially if other parts appear more working class. I could see your anger if I compared NWI (excluding Munster and N. Lake Cty) as being similar to a show like Rosanne, but the fictional town and characters on The Middle are just average middle class people to me which is what the majority of NWI is. I wasn't trying to offend anyone with my comment.
Now for your last statement, I'm not sure if you were directing that at me or just in general, but I NEVER said that Munster and the Tri towns aren't comparable to Orland Park. They are; along with Homewood/ Flossmoor. Just like Humboldt stated, Munster and the Tri towns are comparable to Southwest suburbs, however, none of these places are affluent in my opinion. They're solidly middle class, non declining suburbia with good schools, a healthy retail corridor, and are overwhelming white with a small minority presence.
I think Orland Park and Frankfort have a lot in common with NWI. I do think these areas are all subject to white flight, which is some thing you do not see in more affluent areas with non-cookie cutter homes. I actually like Munster and Valpo (too far though). My brother actually lives in Laporte in a pretty nice older area but as a whole it is not an area that I would want to move to as much of the town is not the nicest.
Maybe a good comparison would be Munster and Mt Prospect. Orland Park and Frankfort and maybe St Johns and Schererville. No comparison with affluent western, northern and northwestern burbs (ie Long Grove and Barrington).
Exactly. While there are certainly nice areas in NWI, it's not all that and a bag of chips either
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.
My life is tremendously enhanced by my never having to set foot in a chain restaurant again, unless you mean the really upscale chains like Eddie V's. Most people who live in affluent areas don't go to chain restaurants, they go to ethnic dives and unique chef-run fine dining places.
I think Orland Park and Frankfort have a lot in common with NWI. I do think these areas are all subject to white flight, which is some thing you do not see in more affluent areas with non-cookie cutter homes. I actually like Munster and Valpo (too far though). My brother actually lives in Laporte in a pretty nice older area but as a whole it is not an area that I would want to move to as much of the town is not the nicest.
Maybe a good comparison would be Munster and Mt Prospect. Orland Park and Frankfort and maybe St Johns and Schererville. No comparison with affluent western, northern and northwestern burbs (ie Long Grove and Barrington).
As far as your comparisons, I can mostly agree with it (although the prices of older homes in Mt. Prospect definitely are much higher than the same type of older home in Munster...even with both being remodeled). I know that know comparison will be perfect though and that is fine. As far as for the white flight, my opinion is that any area that has been the recipient of white flight will always be susceptible to white flight especially if the housing stock is more cookie cutter, so I can agree to that. But I will say, when you look at the geography of Munster compared to some surrounding areas (save for Highland), it probably should have had some major flight right now or at least as much White Flight as most of Lansing. But much of the flight has ended and the population is mostly stable and getting more diverse (mostly Asian and Hispanics) through older white residents dying off (one thing is that Munster has a much older population than most region towns).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Blish
Whoa clam down there buddy! I know you care a lot about Munster and NWI in general but jeezzz ! The reason for the quotes is because they ARE high end. Especially the gated community on 213th street which I believe is in Dyer. As for the Briar Ridge being named properly comment, there is a community across 213th with the name Briar in it as well so I'm sorry if you taught I was dismissing the community which was not my intention . The reason why I said that I don't consider NWI as a whole to be affluent is because affluent in my opinion, is more than just being upper middle class. I think of affluence as the northshore, Barrington, etc. Now with that said, do I think there are parts of NWI that are upper middle class? Of course I do! But the entire region as a whole (excluding N. Lake Cty of course) ? Hell no. The reason I say that is due to the fact that their are many areas of Munster with homes similar to what one might find in neighboring Lansing, which DEFINITELY is not affluent at all! And yes...I'm familiar with the tear downs going on in Munster but still....
The point I was making about The Middle is that the characters and setting of the show remind me a lot of Dyer, Schererville, and a west suburban area like Naperville. All of which are solidly middle class towns in my opinion that range from working class, middle class, and a small upper middle class. Just because a town has a high end subdivision or two does not make the town as a whole "affluent". Especially if other parts appear more working class. I could see your anger if I compared NWI (excluding Munster and N. Lake Cty) as being similar to a show like Rosanne, but the fictional town and characters on The Middle are just average middle class people to me which is what the majority of NWI is. I wasn't trying to offend anyone with my comment.
Now for your last statement, I'm not sure if you were directing that at me or just in general, but I NEVER said that Munster and the Tri towns aren't comparable to Orland Park. They are; along with Homewood/ Flossmoor. Just like Humboldt stated, Munster and the Tri towns are comparable to Southwest suburbs, however, none of these places are affluent in my opinion. They're solidly middle class, non declining suburbia with good schools, a healthy retail corridor, and are overwhelming white with a small minority presence.
Anyone would agree that NWI as a whole is not an affluent area, and that is perfectly fine. Yes, affluent/wealthy may be different than just "upper middle class" because having a high-income does not always automatically mean having wealth. So I definitely see your point. But the reason I do get defensive is because many folks judge the region solely by what they see off the toll-road or on 80/94 without getting off the highway and clearly they do not see the whole picture. A lot of flight to NWI these days is from places like Orland and Frankfort to Dyer, St. John, and Schererville. People move for the differences in costs of taxes and properties but I would also think that some similarities in lifestyle (shave for the shopping) would be at least much of the reason for moving. These are folks whom probably 10 years ago would have scoffed at the idea of moving to "hillbilly Indiana". I put hillbilly Indiana in quotes to emphasize the fact that clearly this is not my thought.
The same homes in Munster that are found in Lansing are also found in about every other post-war suburban neighborhoods some much wealthier than others. There are many older homes in Gary, IN designed by the same architects whom have built homes on the North Shore. Clearly this does not take away from the affluence of the North Shore.
My life is tremendously enhanced by my never having to set foot in a chain restaurant again, unless you mean the really upscale chains like Eddie V's. Most people who live in affluent areas don't go to chain restaurants, they go to ethnic dives and unique chef-run fine dining places.
I agree with most of what's being said here, however I don't agree with comparing Frankfort to St. John. Frankfort unlike typical areas that have received flight, did not allow "cookie cutter" expansion to occur. The strict zoning and construction bylaws have made it that most of Frankfort ( not the unincorporated square) to be custom built. There are some amazing builds out here that would easily matchup and as a matter of fact because of the space available would blow away what's in park west. School quality w lincolnway east and 157 feeders is also longstanding non declining quality. Also unlike places like schererville and St. John, Frankfort has significant charm. It has a true walkable core/downtown, I invite all my NWI bretheren (I was raised in Munster) to come check it out. I would compare Frankfort more to Munster and maybe even Valpo/crown point then I would to St. John.
I would also like to point out that Munster hasn't experienced flight is significantly due to Munster community hospital, and all the associated building that has been done under the don powers era, it has caused bc of the demand of staff needed at that monster sized hopsital a huge influx of medical professionals. Of course many commute from city but many have chosen to live in Munster, these high income families kids are in MHs and I feel that has played a significant role in anchoring high income ppl in Munster. Not just MCH but all surrounding NWI hospitals Munster provides solid schools and a place to live. Interestingly if u talk to a lot of staff at NWI hospitals mostly Munster and Franciscan they all live in city, Munster, Frankfort, crown point, Valpo mostly
Another similarity w Munster for Frankfort is the large medical professional community that lives there. The surrounding hospitals such as Olympia fields St James/Chicago heights, riverside in Kankakee, silver cross new Lenox, are living in Frankfort
I've only driven through NWI a few times in the way to Chicago, but here's my take: it's pretty much typical Indiana that happens to be close to Chicago. In other words, you're likely to find a little bit of everything. Some wealthy people, a typical middle class, and some poor people. And of course, the weather is what it is. I guess some of the areas closer to Chicago have the reputation of having more crime.
If I lived and worked in Chicago and could easily commute, I'd think about moving to NWI primarily to save on taxes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
! The reason for the quotes is because they ARE high end. Especially the gated community on 213th street which I believe is in Dyer. As for the Briar Ridge being named properly comment, there is a community across 213th with the name Briar in it as well so I'm sorry if you taught I was dismissing the community which was not my intention 
. The reason why I said that I don't consider NWI as a whole to be affluent is because affluent in my opinion, is more than just being upper middle class. I think of affluence as the northshore, Barrington, etc. Now with that said, do I think there are parts of NWI that are upper middle class? Of course I do! But the entire region as a whole (excluding N. Lake Cty of course) ? Hell no. The reason I say that is due to the fact that their are many areas of Munster with homes similar to what one might find in neighboring Lansing, which DEFINITELY is not affluent at all! And yes...I'm familiar with the tear downs going on in Munster but still....
