Why don't Chicagoans consider NWI part of the Chicagoland area? (South Bend: home, school)

[CHICAGOLAND92]

I'm from NWI, and it always seems that when you mention you're from Indiana to someone from the IL side, they make it seem like you're hours away.

I used to compare NWI to the Chicagoland area like Eastern Illinois to St. Louis, or North Jersey to NYC. That doesn't seem to be the case here; why?

NWI has plenty to offer: South Shore Line to Chicago, relatively cheaper housing compared to the rest of the metro area, cheaper gas, and plenty of big box stores and restaurants.

Has anyone else noticed this? Why is NWI "left out?"

[Drover]

Political boundaries are among the easiest to associate with. That's why it's easy to kind of overlook the Indiana suburbs, especially when 95% of the suburbs are in Illinois. It probably wouldn't get overlooked as much if a larger proportion of the suburbs were in Indiana (see: NYC/New Jersey; Cincinnati/Kentucky; Kansas City/Kansas, etc.). In any case, I think most area residents understand at least on some level that, for instance, Hammond is part of the metropolitan area even if they don't normally give NWI much thought.

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

I'm from NWI, and it always seems that when you mention you're from Indiana to someone from the IL side, they make it seem like you're hours away.

I used to compare NWI to the Chicagoland area like Eastern Illinois to St. Louis, or North Jersey to NYC. That doesn't seem to be the case here; why?

NWI has plenty to offer: South Shore Line to Chicago, relatively cheaper housing compared to the rest of the metro area, cheaper gas, and plenty of big box stores and restaurants.
Has anyone else noticed this? Why is NWI "left out?"

I'm not sure the majority of people from the IL side necessarily do exclude NWI from the Chicagoland area.

Beyond that, who cares? I could care less whether the IL sides recognizes NWI as part of Chicagoland or not. All I know is I'd much rather liver in NWI than IL for some of the reasons you mentioned above and others.

[prairiestate]

I do.

[rrah]

I do think geo-political boundaries are a large part of it, and often people that live in western or northern suburbs have never been to NW Indiana. They don't realize it's actually closer to downtown than many of the IL suburbs. A funny story to illustrate: years ago I taught at a school in a near south suburb and commuted daily from NWI. Based on the reactions from my students and coworkers one would have thought I lived in another country. The truth was that the distance from my Schererville home was less than the distance from my home in a western suburb. If my spouse had not worked in a western suburb we would have stayed in IN, but his commute was 1.5 hours so we had to move.

One further thought: because it doesn't share the same tax and government issues as IL, it is different.

Additionally Lake County, IN is like putting everything one finds in the IL side of Chicagoland all together in one concentrated area. We have our lake front. We have our old manufacturing base and older cities (along with the problems there). We have "newer," urban sprawl communities. All of it's located in a much smaller geographic area.

[css9450]

Originally Posted by rrah

Based on the reactions from my students and coworkers one would have thought I lived in another country.

I bet they were surprised when you pulled out your wallet and showed them they even use good 'ol United States money way over there in Indiana!

[domergurl]

People in Chicago look at Indiana the way New Yorkers look at New Jersey ... when in fact, there are places in Jersey that are closer than Long Island is to Manhattan.

[flyingwriter]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

I'm from NWI, and it always seems that when you mention you're from Indiana to someone from the IL side, they make it seem like you're hours away.

I used to compare NWI to the Chicagoland area like Eastern Illinois to St. Louis, or North Jersey to NYC. That doesn't seem to be the case here; why?

NWI has plenty to offer: South Shore Line to Chicago, relatively cheaper housing compared to the rest of the metro area, cheaper gas, and plenty of big box stores and restaurants.

Has anyone else noticed this? Why is NWI "left out?"

It's not unique to Chicago. Niles, Edwardsburg, Buchanan, and other Michigan suburbs are usually left out of South Bend by those on the Indiana side, despite being obviously connected to the SB area. Whenever (non-Michigan) people talk about SB, it's always the city itself, Mishawaka, Granger, and maybe Elkhart. Michigan cities are forgotten. Other bi-state (or tri-state) metro areas are the same way - Cincinnatians rarely consider northern Kentucky part of their city, and the same goes for Minneapolis and Western WI.

[gaduchman]

Problem exists with most Chicagoans thinking NWI is their playground that they can mess with, then let the Miller, Ogden Dunes & Beverly Shores clean it up. NWI has it's place in history - the most productive steel mills in the country, the birthplace of many educators and sports figures.

[04JETTA]

I look at it as part of Chicagoland *shrugs shoulders*