Any thriving small towns in Illinois? (Chicago, Peoria: real estate, rental, violent crime)

[bluesugarman]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Stands to reason a town/village that is a county seat may be the best bet for a stable area.

for the most part at minimum there is going to be a courthouse along with nerve centers for fire, police protection this equates to jobs which in turn will support some restaurants, hardware etc...

Last year I had to make a trip to Pana , IL and it seemed like a smaller town that was not in the doldrums.

Another town on that trip to the central to south part of the state was Taylorville I stopped there on the way back up north and it seemed to be another town-village that was not dong bad.

I would imagine this part of Illinois is sprinkled with towns of this size.

I wouldn't say Taylorville (aka the place I grew up) is thriving. Through the 90's, Taylorville stagnated. Nothing coming in at all. It has gotten better in the 00's but recently it is kind of trending down ward again. The town square (that was full of businesses at the beginning of the decade) is now half empty. The town is now betting on getting a coal-gasification plant to bolster the town's economy.

Pana is well......Pana. Used to have a large meth production problem and the town as a whole is kind of run down.

Jacksonville, hour or so west of Taylorville, is turning itself around and becoming a nice "small" town.

[SNT]

For those of you who either grew up or have spent a lot of time in rural/small town Illinois, would you go back--if your job or current situation in life allowed it? Or would you rather stay where you are or move to the outskirts of the Chicago MSA, like Sugar Grove or Shorewood.

Regarding the question of what I meant by small town: being a part of an MSA is fine (both metropolitan statistical area and micropolitan statistical area). I was just interested in communities that had their own identity and some degree of self-sufficiency.

From what I've gathered, Princeton and Galena seem to fit the bill spot on. Possibly Mendota and Paw Paw (though the latter may be way too small and is not terribly self-sufficient because of its size). There's also the towns on the river, right; Marseilles, Otawa, Peru? Oregon (Illinois)?

Another way to look at the question: which non-city-associated towns have the greatest percentage of its population within the ages of 25-44? (And does not have a monster meth problem).

[linicx]

I moved to a small town beause I had several previous years of experience with the medical community and I needed it desperately when i moved. It fulfilled every need and then some. Is it perfect? No. Can you find drunks and drugs? Of course, but it doesn't make the headlines and it doesn't dominate the news. Is it self-sufficient? It is a matter of opinion. All of my basice are met from home repair, barber and hardware stores to car repair, variety stores and food. There is a power plant, hospital, doctors, lawers, churches, local radio station, local newspaper and indian chiefs. The downside? If I want big city action I driver 50 miles. Would I move? Not likely. Is it boring? Sometimes, but I was bored in Chicago, too.

[bluesugarman]

Chatham (about 5-10 miles outside of Springfield) is a really nice small town. It has been growing A LOT in the last decade.

I think the only thing you would have to depend on Springfield for is critical medical care since Chatham doesn't have a full fledged hospital (It does have a clinic for normal medical care). A real family oriented town. It has a great school district (albeit struggling with some overcrowding due to the rapid growth of the town). Rochester is more dependent on Springfield but is also another nice really small town.

[SNT]

Generally speaking, are small towns in Illinois fairly church-oriented? Or is it not really the center of life like it is once was?

[linicx]

I think it depends upon where you live and what is available to residents and the age of the congregants. My town has a wide variet of churches from very closed to Catholic..I am quite positive the churches have various activities throughout the year. Out city also has many family activities throughout the year, plus there is a wide range of family sports that is available all year, too.

There is something else to consider. River towns are entirely different and tend to be less constrictive than landlocked towns. I never heard of an empty park that required reservations to sit at an empty park table until I lived in Chicago. There are towns along I-80 that do the same thing.

[SNT]

What do you mean by river towns being less constrictive. In what way?

By church as a way of life: So it is by no means a requirement to being accepted into part of the community? (Like it is in many parts of the South.)

[linicx]

All small towns are clannish and do not welcome change easily. Some towns are snobby to the Nth degree. All are suspicious of strangers. How welcoming these towns are depend upon the location, the body politic, the city history, how much influence the church has on the local city council, and the social background of residents. Once people know you there is not generally a problem unless you create it with bad behavior.

By and large few churches in the north are terribly demanding upon members due to competition. If you don't like church X in Pdunk you can go across the street or up the road 6 or 7 miles to another church or a church in another town. Churches are not limited to one dogma in IL; there is a wide range of religious and political beliefs.

River towms are more liberal than landlocked sister cities I suppose by their very nature they are ports with new faces, new stories and new ideas most days. Ergo these towns may be clannish on the surface but not as resistant to change as a whole.

[madpaddy]

Originally Posted by SNT

For those of you who either grew up or have spent a lot of time in rural/small town Illinois, would you go back--if your job or current situation in life allowed it? Or would you rather stay where you are or move to the outskirts of the Chicago MSA, like Sugar Grove or Shorewood.

Regarding the question of what I meant by small town: being a part of an MSA is fine (both metropolitan statistical area and micropolitan statistical area). I was just interested in communities that had their own identity and some degree of self-sufficiency.


Another way to look at the question: which non-city-associated towns have the greatest percentage of its population within the ages of 25-44? (And does not have a monster meth problem).

I grew up on the outskirts of Chicago (St. Charles, back in the era when Randall Road was the "edge of western civilization") and after a stint in the military and a year at NIU ended up at the U of I. I liked the less congested, less hectic lifestyle downstate and stayed in Champaign/Urbana. My career took me to Springfield for a while, then back to the Champaign area just as my first child was born. We chose Monticello because we had some friends there and it seemed a great place to raise kids. 10 years later we're still highly satisfied with the choice. My parents still live in the Fox River corridor. We visit them semi-regularly and, while I enjoy some of the amenities the area offers that we don't have, I really don't regret moving away.

Monticello is not self-sufficient in that much of the household income comes from jobs in Champaign/Urbana or Decatur. But all the basic necessities can be had locally. There's a grocery store (regional chain, recent ground-up reconstruction), doctors, dentists, a small (but brand new) hospital, two drug stores, a vet clinic, a hardware store, a lumber store, an appliance store, a few chain fast food and pizza places, several local restaurants, a discount store similar to (but much smaller than) a Walmart, multiple gas stations, a library, a post office, attorneys, two new car dealers, a couple independent mechanic shops, a couple fitness centers, etc. You could conceivably get by without ever leaving town as long as your needs weren't too great.

The population age distribution of the area shows a steep drop in the early 20's range, but a gradual recovery back though the 30s to an adult-age peak of around 40. Kids leave to explore the world after graduation, but quite a few come back to raise their kids along with many other young families who are newly attracted to the area.

Importantly, Monticello is as culturally buffered from the larger nearby midi-metros as is possible in this day and age. The town has its own identity; there's no sense that you're living in a "satellite community" of Decatur or Champaign/Urbana other than the fairly persistent symbols of support for the U-of-I and its sports teams. The local schools are decent quality and "hometown pride" is evident. There is one high school and, for most kids, the social circle is locally contained. One would not get the impression that it is a wealthy community (because it isn't), but there's certainly a sense that most people are comfortably middle class and that's mostly true. The median household income is slightly higher than the state average but the average home price has been about 75% of the state average. Property taxes are quite reasonable too. The net result is that housing expenses are a little less of the typical family's budget than elsewhere, leaving a little more discretionary income than might otherwise be expected.

Politically and socially there's a fairly strong undercurrent of religious conservatism, although there are a numerous congregations of various denominations and no single doctrine dominates. Some people openly talk about and even outwardly demonstrate their beliefs. Most tend to keep religious discussions within their own family and congregation. Given the splintered nature of those congregations, there is no unified religious agenda being put forward by church leadership that influences the greater community. The vast majority of the population considers themselves Christians, or at least subscribes to Judeo-Christian values, but there isn't a religious litmus test that has to be passed in order to be accepted by the community.

[SNT]

Outstanding overview. Are you familiar with any other towns like this in the state?