Living in NW Indiana, do you feel part of the Chicago area or disconnected? (Indianapolis: renting, house)

[midwest1]

the sunrise express is less than than hour from Chesterton to Millenium...but you have to board the train at 6 am...hopefully the various improvement plans will shave even more travel time.

[RegionAire]

Originally Posted by PILMAN

I don't see much of a connection to Chicago at all, Michigan city actually seems like a mix of some Michigan lake town like south haven more so than it does chicago, the rest surrounding is farmland and run down houses, the only thing that remotely feels chicago is the fact that the south shore line goes through Michigan city to chicago, I would refer to nw indiana more like a sleeper town that commutes into the city but that's a very very small part, it's like where I live now in Pensacola, it's close to mobile and while we have a southern culture and atmosphere here, we don't consider ourselves part of alabama, although some joke about the panhandle being part of lower alabama.

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about. Michigan City is certainly not what the OP was asking about. It has more in common with South Bend and LaPorte than Chicago. He wanted quick access to the city. That ain't it.

[sportscrazed2]

I live in Dyer the train station in homewood is about as close as the train station in east chicago. 25 vs 26 minutes. If you are already spending 25 minutes just to get to the train station you might as well drive. But, driving in ****ing january sucks. I feel connected to chicago in the way that i support the sports teams and if there is a decent concert i'll venture into the city but, otherwise i don't feel much influence from the city unless you count getting all the ota channels and getting the tribune delivered. Oh and seeing no advertisements for indiana politicians when it comes to election time on tv

[EddieOlSkool]

It's waaaaaayyyyyyy more Chicago than it is Indiana. Accents are Chicagoan, not Hoosier. Hoosiers speak in Midwestern accents that are more general. NWI people have the nasal Northern, Chicago thing going.

Sports fans root for Chicago teams. Chicago news outlets and radio stations are heard perfectly. Are there rural areas? Yes. Just like there are in Lake County, IL but they're as much Chicago as NWI is. Go to Indianapolis and it's much different. More of a middle America feel down there. NWI is a Chicago suburb.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by FleeTheRustBelt

My dad once worked with a guy who commuted from HANNA to Oak Brook every day for work. Now THAT'S nuts. Of course, this was back when gas was about $1/gallon.

For me the demarcation line between Chicagoland/not Chicagoland is about Portage to the east, Lowell to the south. Hammond, Whiting, EC, Munster, Schererville, Merrillville are every bit a part of Chicagoland to me as Homewood or Berwyn or Park Ridge. LaPorte? Michigan City? Knox? No.

How is Michigan City not part of the Chicago metro? It's officially considered the Eastern terminus.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by PILMAN

I'm not specifically saying Michigan city is a resort town, I'm saying the beach front is similar to south haven Michigan, if anything it looks like there were attempts to develop Michigan city into some sort of resort town yet at the same time an industrial town which would explain the large number of factories and coal fired power plants, Nictd runs right through the residential streets, honestly I have no idea what they were trying to do with the town as its very disorganized, there's a huge state prison literally right nearby, run down neighborhoods, then you head towards the beach and there's nice houses yet some sort of water cooled plant that resembles a nuclear plant right next to the shopping outlet which is rather confusing, some of the locals say it's a extended suburb of chicago and take the Nictd into chicago but as I mentioned, it does not feel or look like chicago, the only similarities are some of the locals from chicago or the suburbs.

One could argue El Paso is part of Mexico because you can see Juarez but they are still separate. That's not taking credibility away but borders define states and countries as well as counties.

Cultural borders are significant still. Going from one country to another is much more difficult than to another state. Michigan City people are as much Chicago as people from Gurnee. The Indiana border is not a cultural demarcation.

[summer22]

Honestly, it depends on how motivated I am. If I have the will for it, the opportunity is there. Its just that the motivation isn't always there when its snowing, raining, or if there's construction on the Skyway or 80/94.

You're looking at a good 35-50 miles for most city and south suburban destinations, and 50-75 miles for the northwest suburbs, so just from the distance factor, there is a disconnect.

It's easier though when you can take advantage of the South Shore.

That hour to 1 1/2 hour commute time means that if you're going to have a night out in the city, you better stay there overnight.

Culturally, NWI and Chicago & suburbs are very connected. The Bears, Hawks, Bulls, Sox, and Cubs... the Chicago museums... downtown... Chicago has a big presence and sphere of influence that is felt for miles around. Everyone in NWI has family, friends, or neighbors that travel to the city every day or at least fairly regularly.

[WildWestDude]

Don't live there anymore, but the demographics are certainly NOT like the rest of the state of Indiana. Ethnic groups like those of the other side of the border are found in NWI as well as people that moved here from the south (more south than IN) for those good steel jobs a few decades ago. I would say NWI has way way more in common with Chicago than not, even more so than say Rockford, IL. Lets not forget that the actual city of Chicago borders Indiana so how much different can NWI be? Personally, I would find myself in the big city a few times a month while living in Munster. I felt very much like being part of the greater area but I would often run into people that thought that Indiana was something far away and not up to par with the rest of the Chicagoland area and wrongly so IMO.

[midwest1]

There are so many ways that IN FACT Northwest Indiana is THE CLOSEST suburban region to Chicago

the role of industry
labor unions
ethnic immigrant neighborhoods
democrat machine politics
corruption
importance of rail/trucking/logistics to economy
largest African American population outside Chicago, totally interconnected
and well, LAKE MICHIGAN...Chicago and Northwest Indiana can actually SEE one another.
Speaking of which, just yesterday on Miller Beach I spotted literally dozens of Chicago boats moored along our 6 MILE beach...good luck trying to take a boat from Chicago to the rest of Chicagoland, and sorry, the North Shore towns won't just let you pull up to the beach like Gary does and their beaches are just, well, itsy bitsy.

[EddieOlSkool]

NWI is as Chicago as the South suburbs. One could argue they are the "Southeast" suburbs. "Real" Indiana begins east of South Bend. Go into Goshen or Mishawaka and that's more of a Hoosier feel. Going South, I'd say around Lafayette is where Hoosierdom gets stronger. Draw a quarter circle from East of South Bend to Lafayette or so and that's where Chicago's influence stops. Not that I'm saying Lafayette is in the region but I've personally seen Chicago's cultural reach that far even though it's way outside of the metro. I'd say the Chicago accents definitely reach as far south as DeMotte. They're strong in Crown Point and Cedar Lake. They become more Midwestern sounding and less nasal once you hit Rensselaer but there's obviously a transition.