Rantoul IL? (Chicago, Springfield, Decatur: apartments, rental, crime rate)

[jennabgood]

I am recently separated from my husband, we are selling our house and I am looking for my own place.

I am looking around the Champaign/Urbana area so I can finish school. The problem is I am having a hard time finding my own place at a decent price, without having to room with a bunch of college girls.

Rantoul seems to have very cheap rental apartments and townhomes, but I saw on another forum that someone said to stay away from Rantoul.

Is this not a safe town? Any info would be appreciated, thank you--

[Drover]

Rantoul has its issues. Its crime rate is a little higher than one would expect from a medium-sized town in the middle of the state, but your life won't be in mortal danger if you live there. My biggest concern with Rantoul centers around general quality-of-life issues. It's just kind of grimy and run-down and the people there seem a little... low-class. Not quite white-trash (or rather, "equal-opportunity trash" in Rantoul), but not far from it. That may sound classist, but that's how I see it.

[Paxtonian]

You won't have any of those problems IF you head 10 miles up Route 45 to Paxton- and the rents are cheaper here. WAND-TV has a short video of the town in the on demand video section of their site: WANDtv.com-Illinois Weather And News on Demand for Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, Charleston, Clinton, Danville, Effingham, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Mattoon, Monticello, Shelbyville, and Taylorville WANDtv.com, News Center 17! : Home .

[Drover]

Don't mind Paxtonian. He's a relentless cheerleader for Paxton.

Oh wait, mind him after all... he happens to be right on this occasion, cheerleading or otherwise.

But if you're going to live that far from Chambana, you might check out Monticello to the west. It's a 20 mile commute, just as nice as Paxton (maybe a touch more??), and quite a bit closer. Maybe not quite as cheap as Paxton, but not terribly expensive either. In any case, both are worth looking into; and both are quite a bit nicer than Rantucky -- erm, I mean, Rantoul.

[Salty Dave]

Take a look at St. Charles just east of Champaign/Urbana

[bellypotamus]

Our family is temporarily staying in some duplex here in Rantoul (where my husband's job is)while our house was selling in Indiana. In 3 months, we have had 4 bicycles stolen at different times, and I was approached at a gas station nearby by an unsavory character claiming he need a ride to his home right across the street because it was going to rain and he said he was "scared" of the lightening! (Right!) I'm not saying you wouldn't be able to live here cheaply, but the town to me is most unsavory and downright scary at times. I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you can find no other alternative! I can't wait to get out of here!

[kkemper]

I believe the one user meant St. Joseph not St. Charles. St. Charles is by Chicago. And that is not a bad place and is definitely cheaper than Champaign and still nice. Paxton is good. Monticello is good. So St. Joe, Paxton, Monticello are all good but a big hell no to Rantoul, there is a reason the rent is so cheap. The Chanute Air Base closed and the town, which wasn't great when the base was open, just turned to hell. By the way, Rantoul has the highest property taxes in Champaign County. Stay away from Rantoul.
So if you can't/don't want to pay the higher rent of C-U, I would go with St. Joe, Monticello or Paxton. St. Joe being the shortest drive to C-U. But the most important part STAY AWAY FROM RANTOUL!!!

[sonicreducer]

Originally Posted by Drover

Rantucky -- erm, I mean, Rantoul.

Aww, this made me laugh, and now I feel like a snob!!

I would NOT move to Rantoul. As everyone else said, it's dumpy and it has a drug problem which is causing a higher-than-average crime rate. There are definitely better smaller towns nearby C-U you should check out before going there. St. Joseph is really on the grow, but I bet the rents there are still a lot cheaper than Champaign or Urbana. You could also look into Philo or Tolono, which are about 10 miles south of Urbana. These towns aren't as "hot" as St. Joe (which has an overblown rep for it's school district if you ask me), but would put you about the same distance. They are both big enough to have SOME businesses, but are small and make easy commutes to U of I, which is on the south side of Urbana anyways. When you get much further than 10 miles out, you lose the easy commute/easy CU access, and probably some amenities too. With either of these towns you can just get on 130 and then Windsor Rd, then turn at Lincoln Ave. or st Street. You'll pop out right near Assembly Hall/Memorial Stadium, right by the "commuter" parking lots!

Monticello is nice, but it's definitely a longer commute, which gets really old in the winter. Mahomet might be another option--although that would put you about 15 miles from campus, and you'd be coming from the west--more CU traffic to negotiate.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by kkemper

I believe the one user meant St. Joseph not St. Charles. St. Charles is by Chicago. And that [St. Joseph] is not a bad place and is definitely cheaper than Champaign and still nice. Paxton is good. Monticello is good. So St. Joe, Paxton, Monticello are all good but a big hell no to Rantoul, there is a reason the rent is so cheap. The Chanute Air Base closed and the town, which wasn't great when the base was open, just turned to hell. By the way, Rantoul has the highest property taxes in Champaign County. Stay away from Rantoul.
So if you can't/don't want to pay the higher rent of C-U, I would go with St. Joe, Monticello or Paxton. St. Joe being the shortest drive to C-U. But the most important part STAY AWAY FROM RANTOUL!!!

I don't know that St. Joseph is cheaper than Champaign. It's actually surprisingly expensive for what appears on the surface to be little more than a smallish farm town and/or Chambana satellite community. St.Joe/Ogden is one of the most highly regarded school districts in central Illinois, and that has attracted a LOT of attention from professionals living in the Chambana area who don't think very highly of the Champaign and (especially) Urbana school districts. My brother-in-law recently paid $125,000 for a three-bedroom ranch with no basement in St. Joe. And that was not at all out of line compared to other houses on the market at the time. The same house in a decent part of Champaign might have cost him 90 to 100 grand. There's a substantial housing boom going on out in St. Joe right now, though who knows how it's going to hold up in the current housing market.

[Salty Dave]

Originally Posted by Salty Dave

Take a look at St. Charles just east of Champaign/Urbana

Sorry I meant to say St. Joseph