New job in Springfield... good neighborhoods? (Peoria, Champaign: best neighborhoods, apartments, for rent)

[imanomad]

Hey all,

I just recently got a job in the downtown Springfield area, and am looking to relocate within the next month or so.

What are the "better" neighborhoods in the area?

I'm not entirely picky, but I do prefer newer. I realize Springfield is an old city from what I've read, so newer may not be feasible. However, upscale/modern type of places are usually more attractive to me.

Commute wise, I don't really care to be honest.

Also, I'm not looking to buy for a few years (or at the very least until I know the position I'm taking is what I want), so unfortunately, I'll be renting. I'm not concerned with price, but they have to be able to accept my lab/beagle mix!

Any help would be much appreciated!

[linicx]

Most landloards don't accept pets; your choices may be limited.

Springrield is a tornado magnet. Far north or northwest towards Petersburg. Do not live near i-55, SW or NE of Springfield, or near the center of the city. .

[illstate89]

I think that southwest side would be ok.. it is where most of the retail and commercial activity is being that the mall is there. The best neighborhoods are probably west of Veterans and south of I-55 but they're newer so they can get pretty pricey. The east and south sides are pretty "hood" and the north side is kind of a blue collar area. I'm not too familiar with the inner west side but I haven't really heard anything bad (or good) about it.... just my input.

[linicx]

Tornadoes in central Illinois move SW to NE and generally folloow along 1-55 through Lincoln and in to Bloomington. It was not so long ago that the City of Springfield was hit by two tornadoes the same day. The last place to live is in the path of a tornado.

[linicx]

OP.*I did find this and I think it is promising.

Bunn Park Apartments Springfield IL | Bunn Park Neighborhood Apartments for Rent

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by linicx

Springrield is a tornado magnet. Far north or northwest towards Petersburg. Do not live near i-55, SW or NE of Springfield, or near the center of the city. .

There is no such thing as a tornado magnet. Springfield does not get an inordinate number of tornadoes. Yes, part of the southwestern parts of Springfield had two *small* tornadoes a few years ago, but no one was injured and there was only property damage. Tornadoes are not nearly as common in Illinois as places like Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa etc. To avoid a place because of a slightly elevated risk of tornadoes is absurd.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by imanomad

Hey all,

I just recently got a job in the downtown Springfield area, and am looking to relocate within the next month or so.

What are the "better" neighborhoods in the area?

I'm not entirely picky, but I do prefer newer. I realize Springfield is an old city from what I've read, so newer may not be feasible. However, upscale/modern type of places are usually more attractive to me.

Commute wise, I don't really care to be honest.

Also, I'm not looking to buy for a few years (or at the very least until I know the position I'm taking is what I want), so unfortunately, I'll be renting. I'm not concerned with price, but they have to be able to accept my lab/beagle mix!

Any help would be much appreciated!

The newer and nicest areas of the city are on the southwest side of the city, near Veterans Parkway/Highway 4, Wabash Ave, Iles Ave, etc. Beautiful large-scale homes are located throughout this area, also near Washington Park and the town of Leland Grove (although these are pretty expensive). Nice areas near downtown include the near North by Lincoln Park, St. Joseph's Parish, 5th street. Enos Park area (just South of there) is being redeveloped and has new condos and apartments.

In all, the only parts you might want to avoid are the near southeast of Springfield, just because of elevated crime. If a (short) commute isn't undesired, you should check into Chatham, Sherman and Rochester, all relatively small (2,000-10,000 people) suburbs nearby.

[linicx]

Sangamon County and Sprinfield has has 73 tornoes in 59*years. The two small tornadoes in Springield in 2006 was actually 2 of 7 in 30 minutes*that were reported. Lincoln and Logon County had 58,. Bloomington in McLean County had 100 while Petersburg in Menard County had 6. Peoria and Peoria County had 15, while Stark and Marshall Counties had 7 each.

I lived in OKlahoma. I lived 15 miles from Joplin. The EF5 that went threough recently killed 153 and destroyed 1/3 ofthe town. It was small compared to the EF-5 in OKC that was on the ground for more than 8 hours, was 5 miles wide at one point and traveled 40 miles. .

OKC and Tulsa OK, Joplin and Sptringfield, MO,*Sprinfield, Lincoln, and Bloomington Illinois all have two things in common. The tornados move SW to NE and they are all built next to an Interstate highway. These are in plains, or they have undertaken a tremendous amount of deforestation over the years. as their cities grew.

I've been the recipient of straightline winds 3 times. I watched a tornado try to form last week in Fulton County. Location is everything. It was interesting as it acted more like a kid with a yo-yo than a serious storm,.

National Weather Service, Lincoln IL -- Tornado Climatology of Central and Southeast Illinois

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

There is no such thing as a tornado magnet. Springfield does not get an inordinate number of tornadoes. Yes, part of the southwestern parts of Springfield had two *small* tornadoes a few years ago, but no one was injured and there was only property damage. Tornadoes are not nearly as common in Illinois as places like Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa etc. To avoid a place because of a slightly elevated risk of tornadoes is absurd.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by linicx

Sangamon County and Sprinfield has has 73 tornoes in 59*years. The two small tornadoes in Springield in 2006 was actually 2 of 7 in 30 minutes*that were reported. Lincoln and Logon County had 58,. Bloomington in McLean County had 100 while Petersburg in Menard County had 6. Peoria and Peoria County had 15, while Stark and Marshall Counties had 7 each.

I lived in OKlahoma. I lived 15 miles from Joplin. The EF5 that went threough recently killed 153 and destroyed 1/3 ofthe town. It was small compared to the EF-5 in OKC that was on the ground for more than 8 hours, was 5 miles wide at one point and traveled 40 miles. .

OKC and Tulsa OK, Joplin and Sptringfield, MO,*Sprinfield, Lincoln, and Bloomington Illinois all have two things in common. The tornados move SW to NE and they are all built next to an Interstate highway. These are in plains, or they have undertaken a tremendous amount of deforestation over the years. as their cities grew.

I've been the recipient of straightline winds 3 times. I watched a tornado try to form last week in Fulton County. Location is everything. It was interesting as it acted more like a kid with a yo-yo than a serious storm,.

National Weather Service, Lincoln IL -- Tornado Climatology of Central and Southeast Illinois

But this observation 1) does not mean that any city is a "tornado magnet" and 2) correlates well with size of counties with McLean, Sangamon and Champaign being among the largest (and some of the most populous, i.e. more people to spot tornadoes,) counties in that area. In general, most tornadoes tend to track SW to NE (http://climateillinois.files.wordpre...does_19501.png), because most storms track that direction. My point is that there is no reason I would or wouldn't choose to live in an area because it has an elevated tornado risk...your chance of being in the path of a tornado is so incredibly small.

[PinkDenial]

I started a post yesterday asking about Springfield...I should have piggy-backed on this one! I'm giving this one a bump because I'm also interested in what neighborhoods of Springfield are good. Although, street names and boundaries would help me most. I would love to rent, but with two dogs and a baby, I'm not sure if that's reasonable.