Originally Posted by BUalumni
When did I ever hint at the fact that Peoria is better than Naperville?! There isn't even a valid comparision. And yes Naperville does have more incommon with Peoria and Bloomington than the North Shore suburbs. Income is not the only determining factor when comparing cities. I was speaking in terms of size, and attractions. Most North Shore towns are very small compared to Naperville, and offer far less. Yes Peoria is not gaining in terms of population, but that is why Peoria has a metro area, which if you include Bloomington/Normal and the small towns around it, is well over 500K, which is bigger than some of the biggest cities in the midwest. Yes, Peoria might not pack a big punch when it comes down to personal income. But take a look at towns like Germantown Hills, Morton, Dunlap, Washington, Tremont, Normal, and Bloomington. These are very well to do areas that can hold their own against the suburbs anyday when it comes down to the things that the suburbs hold dear. Also, remember that Peoria is a very interesting place in the sense that it is a city that big buisness look at to see what it happening in America. As we all have heard America is loosing the middle class in almost every major city. Peoria mirrors this prefectly and has been predicting this for the past twenty years. The middle class is shrinking in Peoria, and as a result you see many areas that hold million dollar homes, just down the road from ghetto. Not to be rude, but where do the western burbs get off attacking Peoria. Have you heard of cities like Elgin, Aurora, and Joliet?! Talk about cities that would be dumps if Chicago wasn't right next door.
Where do you get off thinking that I am trying to pump Peoria up either? Do you feel that way because I said that Naperville tends to be a running joke down here? Well, I'm sorry, but that is just the way it is. Peoria and Bloomington are actual cities that have a long Illinois history, and well, act like cities. Naperville is a suburb. Nothing more! It doesn't even have anything close to a skyline. Heck, it doesn't even have a mall! It has grown because of Chicago and not because the city itself has had to really try very hard to bring people in. Look at Plainfield, Illinois. What has that town done to attract people? Peoria, and Bloomington still has plenty of room to grow. Naperville does not. In fact, the reasons behind Bloomington's growth have past. But people are still flocking to the city. When you say that the western suburbs are growing, I assume that you are speaking that towns like Plainfield and Joliet. Plainfield is nothing but cookie-cutter sprawl that is more than likely the overflow from Naperville, and Joliet is one of the junkiest cities in the state. If you are speaking of those towns like Wasco and Elburn than I wouldn't be proud of that fact. It is sad to think that Chicago has become so bad that people now have to live almost two hours from downtown. Hope this can clear some misconceptions up.
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11-17-2007, 12:28 PM
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