Any Amigans in Illinois?

[redrumloa]

I'm actually entertaining the idea of moving to a small town in southern Illinois and was wondering if we have any Amigans here from IL? If so I have a battery of questions for you:-)

Why Illinois? Well obviously I'll have to explore it extensively before making the jump, but it looks like I could buy a house for about the price of a pack of gum, and looks like it could be some nice rural areas. Get the kids out of the cest pool that is South Florida and into small town USA. Slow life down a few notches, and go into semi-retirement.

Thoughts? Better areas of the US? My first desire is Alasksa but the wife is dead set against it, and the cost of living is HIGH. The closer to FL (relatively) the easier it will be to convince her. The criteria would have to be rural, low population, cheap cost of living and no backwoods klan mentality.

[KapitanKlystron]

There are a few Amigans left in Illinois. There was a big users group in Champaign-Urbana. I still have my Amigas but use them very rarely.

You can find very cheap housing in the area as long as you don't move to northern Illinois. You would have to get used to 4 seasons, but, not many hurricanes here. :-D There are areas with a Klan mentality but not many. In fact the community I live in fits most of you criteria.

[redrumloa]

Hi!

There are a few Amigans left in Illinois. There was a big users group in Champaign-Urbana

I think that's further north than I was looking at. I was looking at Mount Vernon and Decatur. What are your impressions of these areas, if any?

You can find very cheap housing in the area as long as you don't move to northern Illinois.

That's my thinking.

You would have to get used to 4 seasons, but, not many hurricanes here.

4 Seasons sounds like a very romatic idea to me. I literally have lived in South FL my whole life and have never seen snow.

There are areas with a Klan mentality but not many

This is a big deal to me. I have zero tolerance for this type of bigotry.

In fact the community I live in fits most of you criteria.

Could you give me more info on the city you live in? very interested.

[KapitanKlystron]

Decatur is a bout 50 miles SW of where I live. and Mt Vernon is about a 120 miles south. Decatur is a town of 50,000 or so.
If you have kids of school age I would not recomend it because
Schools are poor. Mt Vernon is much smaller and more rural.

Rantoul is a community of about 15,000 people. The population is very diverse because of the number of ex and retired military people here. Houses are relatively inexpensive and easy to find because of the population decrease after they closed the base (Chanute AFB). Business property is also cheap and easy to find for the same reason. We are about 15 miles north of Champaign-Urbana and so it easy to find bigger city attractions.

[redrumloa]

Mt Vernon is much smaller and more rural.

Cool, sounds like my kind of place. What are the people like? Any idea at all about the schools? We could just go the home school route, but the interaction with other kids would probably be good. I like the idea of rural.

Rantoul sounds linteresting. Maybe I can get you to mail some real estate flyers and local newspapers? I'd be willing to pay for your time, of course:-)

[redrumloa]

The more I look into it, this is insane! 4 bedroom 2 story houses in Mount vernon - ~$10,000?!? In Decatur $20,000?!? Sure they probably need TLC, BF I can do the TLC myself!

OHFY, 1-2 years max and were outta here:-D

Pay off my debt, student loans, put a few K into this duplex and sell it off. Hell I could buy a house cash there, fix it up, buy a few rental properties and maybe open a mom and pop shop of some sort. Work part time, play with the chillin and just generally slow the F down.

[KapitanKlystron]

  I have not been in sothern Illinois for awhile but that area is very rural. Mt Vernon is about the same size as Rantoul. It is an agricultural area. I don't know about the schools down there though.

If you want info sent to you PM me and give me an address. Glad to do it. :-D

[redrumloa]

I have not been in sothern Illinois for awhile but that area is very rural. Mt Vernon is about the same size as Rantoul. It is an agricultural area.

Agricultural? Hmm.. I may have to take a (long) drive up there in January to check out a few towns.

If you want info sent to you PM me and give me an address. Glad to do it.

Very cool:-) PM sent.

[Roj]

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.

[B00tDisk]

Just remember the immortal words of Elwood Blues:

"Illinois Nazis.  I hate these guys."

[Argo]

Ever thought of Vermont?

[GreggBz]

I lived in Iowa for six years, which in many ways, is a lot like Illinois. There are some nice towns, Ames is very nice, Iowa City, Dubuque, etc. But generally, unless you're in Des-Moines, there's nothing around. Yes, the cost of living is decreased, so are the politics compaired to many east coast states, no car inspections, liberal liquor laws and generally a more relaxed population. No road rage usually, imagine that. It's miles away from Scranton PA, where I unfortunately live now. Being born and raised on the east coast, I rather miss Iowa, and I'd recomend that part of the country for anyone looking to slow down.

[redrumloa]

re:Bloomington

What kind of schools are on the rural areas outside By schools I mean elementary through high school. Public and/or private. Any idea? What kind of price range is the houses on 5-10 miles out?

[redrumloa]

Argo wrote:
Ever thought of Vermont?

No not really.. What is your thoughts?

[Argus]

@redrumloa

Red, be careful you're not just swapping hurricanes for tornadoes.  If you are a Weather Channel watcher, you'd have noticed that area of the Midwest is always under some tornado threat from May till November.  Not exactly my idea of a quiet existence.

If you're looking for cheap real estate, Vermont is getting more expensive every second.  NYers are moving north and buying up everything.  Try upstate Maine if you want peace and quiet and low$$$ real estate, though a bit of French may come in handy.