Life in Illinois...
We're in Bloomington, right about in the middle of the state, about an hour north of Decatur. Actually what you describe can pretty much be found within a few miles radius of town here. It gets rural (and cheap-ish) pretty fast once you start heading in any direction. Where else do you find corn fields next to Hooters? In town, property is expensive, but five miles out it's a lot more affordable. One of the best arrangements is living about ten miles outside of town. It's a small-town environment that's a short drive away from a touch of the metropolitan feeling.
There are two major colleges in this town, and another in Champaign. Southern Illinois U. is in Carbondale, which is further south, and probably closer to the area you're looking at.
If you've never seen snow, you'll get plenty of it around here. Once or twice I've needed a shovel to find my car in the morning, although snow that deep is a rarity.
If you want to know more, I'll be glad to try to answer more questions for you.
