Do you consider Northwest Indiana the suburbs of Chicago? (Aurora: 2015, school)

[gramirez2012]

Yes.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by rfr69

I would say no. Not really sure why juts how I feel. I know it's kinda arbitrary and a stupid breakdown but I would say it's close to Chicago, hell I would even say it's in the Chicagoland area but I wouldn't call it a Chicago suburb.

Kinda funny I feel this way b/c I do consider say AUrora to be a Chicago suburb even though it's further away than many NWI cities but that's just how I consider it. NOt sure if its that its a diff state or what, just how I feel.

sound reasoning

[summer22]

Yeah, for all practical purposes I would say Lake and Porter County and even maybe Michigan City would count as suburbs. Good numbers of people commute in for work every day.

There's more of a Chicago suburban feel along 41.

I'm in Porter County, and although I like spending time in Illinois, I'm often put off by the time and cost of getting there. When you get to Chesterton, Valparaiso, and Merrillville, its a little bit more isolated. It also doesn't feel as much like Illinois. Much less traffic. Less public and cultural amenities (we have some, but not like the inner burbs are developed.) Just personal opinion, but I also think people are a bit more guarded than the Illinoisans I know (Illinoisans are more bold; Hoosiers are more reserved; I've lived on both sides of the border.) It's very nice here, but its a little bland, I think. But people in the far burbs on the Illinois side might say the same thing about their towns.

[summer22]

The Chicago weather forecasters on TV mention Gary, Merrillville, and Valpo on their newscasts every day, and have for years. The stations rarely if ever cover any news or sports here, though.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Definatley consider parts of NorthWestIndiana suburbs


Specifically- Hammond, Dyer, Munster, Highland
Schererville, Whiting, East Chicago

Once you get beyond that point I would say the cities of Merrillville, Valpo, Chesterton
Portage, Porter close to the city of Chicago but not really connected in terms of being a suburb.


These cities seem to have their own balance- fewer commuters, local industry to support jobs, higher learning institutions , recreation, entertainment
In other words they have their own identity

Closer to the state line is just an imaginary line and thats about it

[RansackedMuse]

The cities in Northwest Indiana that I consider suburbs are those that workers can commute to on the South Shore daily with ease: Chesterton, Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Miller, etc.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Very true
Another poster was mentioning the south shore
does that train line have a limited schedule

[packmanbears]

Gary and all those other towns are big, and independent making them not a suburb of chicago. Just like Kenosha, a big town in a bordered state but independent and not a suburb

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by packmanbears

Gary and all those other towns are big, and independent making them not a suburb of chicago. Just like Kenosha, a big town in a bordered state but independent and not a suburb

Gary (and Hammond) are the only "big" cities in Northwest Indiana...the rest of the towns average anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 in population...similar populations to many south suburban towns/villages...and just as dependent on Chicago as well...the further you get from the city (say past Valpo to the east and Cedar Lake to the south) the less dependent on Chicago the areas become. Yes, each town in nwi has some of their own economy (Munster with medical offices and PepsiCo, Merrillville and Hobart heavy in retail) but the main link these towns have are as commuter suburbs to Chicago..Also, while rail connection is a big marker of a classic suburb, not all suburbs (like South Holland, Calumet City, Lansing, Lynwood, Crete) are served by rail..and those are still considered suburbs.....each side of the state line does have vast differences as well as some similarities.....but one side or the other does not dictate whether a town is considered a suburb.

[reppin_the_847]

If you follow this flawed reasoning, then Waukegan, Aurora, Joliet, Elgin, etc. wouldn't be suburbs either, yet they are. Even Kenosha can arguably be called the most distant suburb of Chicago IMO (I can see people disagreeing on that one a bit more though).

Originally Posted by packmanbears

Gary and all those other towns are big, and independent making them not a suburb of chicago. Just like Kenosha, a big town in a bordered state but independent and not a suburb