Where is a nice place to raise a family IL? (Chicago: real estate, house)

[Monarchs]

Highland, IL.

[aloo]

I would also concur with Bloomington/ Normal, but would suggest that if you want to try a small town, that you look for one of the towns between Bloomington and Peoria -- Carlock, Congerville, Goodfield, Eureka, Mackinaw or Morton.

The Eureka-Congerville-Goodfield school district is very good and Eureka has an amazing youth recreation program. Crime is incredibly low, there is a college in the town of 500 students so it doesn't overwhelm the town, but seems to elevate it, a high standard of education for pretty much everybody, great town events at Memorial Day, July 4th, a Lilac Festival in the Spring and the Reagan Days in the fall.

Land and home prices in Eureka are slightly lower than Bloomington. Goodfield is growing quickly and probably has slightly higher prices. Congerville is as yet, relatively undiscovered and has great home prices.

That would be my enthusiastic recommendation. Good luck!

[Jons99]

Western Kankakee county, either Limestone or Herscher.

[nkroe]

i second Highland, IL
we just recently moved here and it is the best thing that we have ever done for our family. Highland has so much to offer - amazing schools, great community, terrific neighborhoods, very friendly, small town charm, laid back and very reasonable housing!!

[shadow91]

Ottawa, IL. Small town, low crime, continued growth, close to all interstates. Great schools!!!

[Chinolala]

Look into Oak Park, Illinois. It's a suburb of Chicago, located 12 miles from downtown Chicago. This means there are literally dozens of hospitals within 20 miles of Oak Park - many job opportunities and nurses' pay is excellent. There is wonderful public transportation. My husband takes the subway downtown from Oak Park for $4.00 per day and his commute is 24 minutes. The public schools are excellent, there is a wonderful downtown with shopping, restaurants, a movie theater, post office, numerous churches, etc. The suburb is diverse, very close-knit and a tight community. If you can't afford Oak Park, look into Elmwood Park. It's 2 miles away and close enough to take advantage of many of Oak Park's amenties, but in itself is a tight, family oriented community that has its own highschool. So the grammar schools and middle schools feed into the 1 highschool that only kids from Elmwood Park attend so they're with their friends through highschool. Both suburbs offer many activies for children; Little League, football, community pools, tennis, etc.

[illinoisnative]

Consider the Belleville area! We have two hospitals - Memorial & St. Elizabeth's for your nursing career or easy access to St. Louis hospitals such as Barnes or St. Louis University along the MetroLink light rail line. Many of our communities are large enough so that you don't have everyone knowing your business, but not too large to get away from a bit of the small town feel. Our schools are good, some better that others of course, with test scores above the state average. The paper today had a story about Southern Illinois University and McKendree University both being named among the top colleges for academic experience in the US News & World Report magazine Top Colleges issue. For recreation, there are little league teams for baseball, football, soccer and the like and several newer YMCA buildings throughout the area with two in Belleville alone. And you also have that easy access to St. Louis for professional sports. (Busch Stadium, Edward Jones Dome, and Scottrade Center are all on the MetroLink line as well.) Plenty of shopping too as Fairview Heights is the regions top retail destination with St. Clair Square shopping mall and many other shops and restaurants. Housing is very affordable in the area with price ranges for everyone.

[Bohemianblue2]

How is Oak Park? And any other North End Suburbs?

[busymom2407]

This little town is great! not to big - not to small 8,000 or so people I live there we don't lock our doors at night or if we are gone. Everyone is friendly even if they don't know you, my husband works in St. Louis so its close to the city if we want to go, but we have the safety of living in a smaller community with good schools. Lots of sport activities for the kids - golf, tennis, soccer, baseball, ect. it is nice to know your neighbors and not be afraid of them. The local hospital is a half a block from the grade school and a couple of blocks from the middle school.

[WesternILFan]

Depends on if you want a smaller town with great schools, but close proximity to a large town (say, 30 min.). Bloomington area, Chatham area (just outside of Springfield) can be kinda pricy as well. If you are looking for a small town, with a YMCA, good parks, programs for kids, but close to a larger town, I would recommend either Canton IL or Farmington IL. Canton has a great YMCA and parks, and the YMCA is expanded to Farmington. Farmington has a brand new school (3-4 years old), and really seems to be on the up & up, both academically & athletically. The school district expands all the way to Hanna City (about a 10 min drive to the school), which is in Peoria county, but Farmington SD. Both towns have well established youth programs too. And, on the flip side, is much lower cost of living, but is also 10-15 min from Peoria. Also, if you were to live in Farmington/Hanna City, the Peoria hospitals are 15 min away from Hanna City, and Canton has a decent sized hospital that is 10 min from Farmington. Low crime rate in this area as well.

Hope this helps.