They were *this* close.

Also known as “Da Region,” It is the section of the Chicago Metropolitan Area that overflows past the Indiana boarder. From a cultural stand point, the region is where the “ethnic” slums of South Side Chicago meets “white corn-fed hillbilly” Indiana, creating very diverse and unique place that is by far better than any other location in Indiana. According to The Chicago Tribune, Lake County is a included in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, but the TRUE region is located only in the Northwest area of Lake County IN; consisting of Whiting, East Chicago, Hammond, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Gary, and the North sides of Dyer, Shererville, and Marrillville. The South sides of Dyer, Shererville, and Marrillville along with St. John, Crown Point, Hobart, and Lake Station (aka Snake Nation) are only considered Semi-Region (People from there can still consider themselves “regionites,” but must bow down to anyone from the TRUE region). People from Porter County, La Porte County, and Southern areas of Lake County such as Lowell, who tell people they are from the region and try to gain of the region’s mystique, are ABSOLUTLY NOT from the region. A solid “rule of thumb” is: if you are in Lake County IN, there are multiple African Americans and Latinos living within a 1 mile radius of you, and there are no corn fields in sight; you are then in the TRUE REGION.

Everyone from the region is Chicago Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, White Socks and/or Cubs fans. People from the region LOVE Chicago sports and are DISGUSTED by the thought of rooting for the Indianapolis Colts or Pacers.

There are many advantages for kids from the region who attend state-colleges such as Indiana University, Purdue University, Ball State University, or IUPUI. Region kids are blessed with the double advantage of being able to mingle with prissy rich kids from Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, yet have more “street credibility” than anyone else in Indiana. If you are from the region, kids from Fort Wayne and Indianapolis are automatically jealous of you because you come from far bigger metropolitan area and are more culturally equipped to make friends with out-of-state kids from Chicago, New York, New England, and Southern California. If you are from the region, all out-of-state kids who attend Indiana state-colleges are automatically jealous of you because you possess the FULL FLEDGED RIGHT to say you are from Chicago, yet you pay in-state tuition.

n : an area of Indiana encompassing Lake County - some contend that Porter County is also included; many Hoosiers immediately recognize a 'Region-Rat' from the subtle nuances in dialect and propensity of proclaiming being 'from Chicago', albight living in Indiana.

Non-'Regionites' are characterized by the ignorant belief that all of da Region is a gang-infested wasteland a la Mad Max or Escape from New York / LA (of the three, the last two can be seen as a degredative insult).

syn: da region

Northwest Indiana, generally Lake and Porter counties but some purists believe it's only parts of Lake county, and some losers from LaPorte county call themselves regionites. People from the region are generally left-leaning, blue-collar people as opposed to downright hicks (e.g. the rest of Indiana).

re-gion-als (rē'-jə-nəlz)

DEFINITION: They're this close, Pierce!

Pertaining to a particular geographical area. The size of this area is ambiguous and may be varied to suit a particular CEO's salery.

A contiguous three-county area of Indiana that borders Chicago; consisting of Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties.

The three counties are notably different from the rest of Indiana and more in line with neighboring Chicago in terms of economy, culture, politics and association - even a time zone (the region is on Central Standard, while most of the rest of Indiana observes Eastern Standard).

The region is part of the greater Chicagoland metropolitan area according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Northwest Indiana, specifically Lake County. The region consists of the cities of Gary, Hammond, Whiting, Highland. It is a suburb of Chicago.

the area near your genitals