I grew up in northwest Indiana, about 40 miles from the city of Chicago Illinois, and the area we affectionately call The Region, was home until the spring of 1994. On April Fool’s Day, 1994, I moved to Ligonier Indiana, and it seemed like a nice little town. The irony in the fact that I moved on April Fool’s day should have been my first clue that all was destined to go wrong.
After living in Ligonier for 5 long years, I moved to Albion Indiana, which was in the same county, and moving to Albion was even more of a shock to my northwest Indiana system. Although I became used to living in Noble County Indiana, it wasn’t the ideal place to live after experiencing life in northwest Indiana. I never felt that I really fit in, and the longer I lived in Noble County, the less I wanted to fit in. After everything I essentially tried to do went wrong, I finally decided it was high time to move back to northwest Indiana, and moving back home was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
For those considering moving from one side of northern Indiana to the other, keep in mind the many differences before making a final decision. After moving away from The Region, you may come to realize you made a terrible mistake, and you’ll appreciate home more than ever before. The grass always does seem greener on the other side, until you get over the fence. Once you’re actually over the fence, you suddenly realize it was green because of the large quantities of manure on the other side. Give the following differences some thought before moving from northwest Indiana to northeast Indiana. Good and bad differences are apparent in both locations, but for me, the good in northwest Indiana far outweighed the bad.
Say Goodbye to Chicago-Style Hot Dogs, Italian Beef, and High Quality Pizza
In this article regarding the differences between northeast Indiana and northwest Indiana, I won’t write about the fact that I had to wait days just to have the electricity and cable television hooked up, and I won’t go into details on how it’s nearly impossible to find someone willing to actually work to earn pay for working on household construction and repairs, but I will delve into the differences between the hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and pizza. In northeast Indiana those in the restaurant business couldn’t make a good Italian beef sandwich or a real Chicago-style pizza to save their lives, and the hot dogs could gag a maggot – literally.
After moving from northwest Indiana to northeast Indiana I longed for the taste of a real Italian beef sandwich complete with a crusty Italian roll and pepperccinis on the side, but what I ended up with was something barely palatable let alone close to being a genuine Italian beef sandwich. I ended up with the redneck version of an Italian beef sandwich, and it was a disgrace to Italian beef sandwiches everywhere.
I recall the evening I ordered an Italian beef sandwich from a new pizza and sandwich restaurant in northeast Indiana, and what I received was a cold sub sandwich roll with beef that was never touched by Italian hands or true Italian spices. It was topped with raw green peppers and tasteless mozzarella cheese. It was truly disgusting, and it made me long for the Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches with pepperccinis more than ever.
The pizza in northeast Indiana on average was as equally disgusting, unless you consider Pizza Hut to be high-quality pizza. Don’t get me wrong, Pizza Hut is good, but it’s not Chicago-style pizza. A real Chicago pizza is made in a deep dish with layers of cheese on the bottom, toppings in the middle, and sauce on top. It’s not a traditional pizza like those found in the frozen pizza section of the grocery store that many people try to duplicate.
I finally found pizza I could stomach, and it was actually good. Whistle Stop pizza in Albion Indiana wasn’t Chicago-style pizza, but the sauce was quite tasty, and the crust and toppings were palatable. It was my pizza of choice when I existed in northeast Indiana, but I longed for the Chicago-style pizza in the northwest Indiana region that I called home.
Small Towns Aren’t Always Friendly
Contrary to popular belief, small towns are not always friendlier. I moved to northeast Indiana thinking the people would be friendlier than the already friendly people in northwest Indiana, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The longer I lived in northeast Indiana the more I realized how unhappy some people really seemed, and strangers rarely spoke. The small towns were very clannish, and gossip spread like wildfire.
In addition, after moving to Albion Indiana in the northeast side of the state, I realized how bored people must have been compared to those in the northwest. Read my article on what to do about nosy neighbors. I was violated by my nosy neighbors on a daily basis, and their nosiness was more than I could stand. I realize nosy neighbors could live on any block anywhere in the world, but my nosy northeast Indiana neighbors should have been awarded the ultimate nosy neighbor award of the decade for being the nosiest people around. I hope I never become as bored as they seemed to be!
Where are You From?
Before I ever moved away from northeast Indiana, I didn’t realize I had an accent. I felt like I was from outer space after moving from northwest Indiana to northeast Indiana. I might as well have worn a bright red tourist t-shirt with bold white letters that said, Kick me. I’m not from around here. I was constantly asked where I was from because of the accent I didn’t realize I had. When others regularly point out differences in speech, those on the receiving end will never feel they fit in, and I never did.
One time in particular I asked a hairdresser if she had a single, and she immediately said in an almost degrading tone, “Where are You From?” They don’t use the word single when referring to a dollar bill in northeast Indiana, and they don’t know what a washroom is either. Any time I asked a business employee where the washroom was they’d give me a strange look and pause before saying, you mean the bathroom? I felt like saying, no, I don’t want to take a bath, I would like to wash my hands. If I ever go back, and it’s highly doubtful that I will, I’m going to set them straight and proudly inform them of where I’m from.
Small Town Gossip
As I previously mentioned, you’d think that people in a smaller town would be friendlier, but this was quite the opposite in northeast Indiana. Everyone in the towns of Albion and Ligonier knew more about their neighbors and co-workers than they did themselves, and gossip was out of control. I was told that an acquaintance had bowel cancer and didn’t have long to live. Come to find out she had a benign ovarian cyst, and she was alive and kicking the last I knew.
Green Acres is Not the Place to Be
Remember the old television sitcom, Green Acres? Remember the two construction workers, the Monroe Brothers? I think I hired the Monroe brothers when I tried to have a garage built on my property in Albion, and the Noble county building inspector wasn’t any more helpful than Mr. Haney. Read my article on the experience I had with a crooked contractor. It seems too ridiculous to be true, but it really happened.
One of the biggest differences I discovered between northeast Indiana and northwest Indiana involved work and ambition. In northwest Indiana, when you have the money to get a job done, someone is at your home the following day to do it in an effort to make a living. In northeast Indiana, getting anyone to do the work they were hired to do was like pulling teeth – if you could get anyone to come to your home in the first place. Most of the time, contractors wouldn’t even show up to provide estimates. I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t even pay someone to get off their dead behinds, and I finally threw up my hands. The entire area was too laidback in the worst ways imaginable.
Entertainment
After thinking about the main differences between northeast Indiana and northwest Indiana, the word oppression came to mind. Noble county in northeast Indiana is one of the poorest counties in the state of Indiana, and it shows in many of the faces of those who call it home. Many people seem truly unhappy, and why wouldn’t they be? Northeast Indiana doesn’t have near the number of entertainment possibilities available in the northwest – unless you consider the Ligonier Marshmallow festival or Wolf Lake Onion Days something to get excited about, but those only come around once a year.
Don’t get me wrong. I love small town festivals, but just to go to the movies I had a 30 mile drive each way. The closest bowling alley had a whopping 5 lanes, and the small building was always full of cigarette smoke that would make you choke off the moment you stepped foot in the door. The library was the only other option for entertainment, but I wasn’t amused.
In comparison to the northwest side of the state, Albion and Ligonier Indiana in northeast Indiana had absolutely nothing but a few restaurants for entertainment, and eating isn’t my idea of fun, especially when so-called Italian beef sandwiches are covered with raw green peppers, and when Pizza Hut and Burger King are the best choices. Read my article on what my sister found in her food at a Ligonier Indiana restaurant. It adds more credence to my take on the area. Not that this disgusting incident couldn’t happen on the northwest side of the state, but what seemed too ridiculous to be true was very real indeed, and the ridiculousness never ended. I was sure the farcical experiences would have never ceased had I not moved away. I took my experiences as a sign that it was time to go home to the northwest side of the state.
The Differences I Miss
After thoroughly bashing northeast Indiana regarding the differences in the two areas, I’m not ashamed to admit that I developed a deep dislike for the area because of my experiences, but of course the area isn’t all bad, and neither are all of the people. I met many very nice, friendly people during my extended stay on the other side of the state. I’m willing to admit only one thing I currently miss about that area other than my good friend Secretsides who is also an AC writer. The air was fresher than the air in northwest Indiana, and it was truly a beautiful and scenic place. I greatly appreciated the natural beauty of the rolling green hills, and the many lakes, rivers, and streams. Wildlife was abundant not far from town, and if I could take these differences, and bring them home to northwest Indiana, I feel The Region I call home would truly be one of the best places to live in the entire state.
