From Dayton, OH to Champaign, IL (Chester, Ohio: university, live in, store)

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by linicx

The 2010 US Census estimate lists Champaign County as the 10th largest County in the State of Illinois with a population of 201,081. The largest urban areas in the County are the City of Champaign (81,055), the City of Urbana (41,250), and the Village of Rantoul (13,674).
Champaign County, Illinois Local Government Information Center

Sure, you are absolutely correct. However, sometimes just looking at the largest anchor city population can be misleading. For example, Albany, NY only has ~ 98,000 people, which would make you think it's just slightly larger than Champaign. Yet, Albany is the center city of an urban area of nearly 900,000...much larger than it appears on paper. Champaign certainly isn't that large of an area, but it's growing pretty rapidly.

[madpaddy]

Originally Posted by linicx

Actually I can. A retail food seller hired my friend to close second shift. I saw the paycheck it was minimum federal wage - not minim Illinois wage.

Did he file a complaint?

[linicx]

Albany is the state capital and it is smaller than Springfield, IL. Misrepresenting the MSA (as people are wont to do) gives the illusion a community is much more X, Y or Z than it is. If you want to see how an area is performing generally, the quick facts are a pretty good reality check. Champaign (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Most towns in the central IL do not have big problem with students and schools. But, and to be fair, most don't suffer a 20% population growth in 10-years, either, as did Champaign.

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

Sure, you are absolutely correct. However, sometimes just looking at the largest anchor city population can be misleading. For example, Albany, NY only has ~ 98,000 people, which would make you think it's just slightly larger than Champaign. Yet, Albany is the center city of an urban area of nearly 900,000...much larger than it appears on paper. Champaign certainly isn't that large of an area, but it's growing pretty rapidly.

[linicx]

I have no idea.

Originally Posted by madpaddy

Did he file a complaint?

[zhugeliang1]

I lived in Champaign-Urbana for 20 years before I finally got out of there. Mass transit is excellent, biking is also excellent. I used to bike all over the city. Though you want to be careful in the winter when biking. The campus itself is very liberal. Though some conservative types are going to be mixed in considering this city is in the middle of farmland, interestingly there are Amish communities about an hour away too.

[linicx]

I forgot about Arthur. It's an interesting Amish farming community not terribly far from the university. but too far to bike.

[illini84]

Hello! I spent 7 years in Champaign and as an LGBT person, was very active in the gay scene there! I loved my experience in Champaign and would like to come back someday. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Champaign is a very progressive, liberal city with a vibrant arts and live music scene. It has a very eclectic/eccentric vibe to it, which is cool.

Originally Posted by Ohioguy221

1.What's it like to be in the area without a car, public transit? Walking? Daytons public transportation is HORRIBLE, so anything really would be a step up.
Public transit in Champaign-Urbana is very good. The bus system is award winning, and I've come across many articles about other cities using it as a model. I rarely drove when I lived in Champaign, relying mostly on the bus system and my bike. Champaign is a pretty bike-friendly community, too, with lots of on-street bike lanes that get lots of use.

2.Is the area big? Dayton is not huge, but its a comfortable size for me. A little more urban, but still lacks in a lot of things. I like towns/cities that are just under a medium sized city, but don't take 5 minutes to get to either side.
Champaign-Urbana combined have a population of around 150,000. There's enough to do here to keep you busy! Champaign has been dubbed as a "micro-urban" community (Google it) because it has "a highly uncommon set of desirable attributes normally exclusively associated with much larger metropolitan centers. Among these are a vibrant arts/culture/nightlife scene, an internationally diverse population, a strong technology base, and a palpably animated public discourse on major societal and global concerns, such as sustainability and the environment." In other words, it's not huge population-wise, but has an urban feel to it.

3. What about nightlife? Gay bars? Fun things to do?
Strangely enough for a mid-sized city, a LOT of businesses in downtown Champaign are gay-owned or managed. Every one is very gay-friendly, and you'll find lots of gays in the downtown area. While there are specific gay bars (Emerald City, Chester Street, Clark Bar), most of the gays just integrate within the downtown bars like everyone else. Quality Beer (gay-owned, but not specifically a gay bar) and Boltini Lounge (gay-managed, but not really a gay bar) usually have big gay crowds and lots of gay staff! Two of my favorite hangouts in town.

4. Employment? Have you noticed a lot of opportunities around there. I have no college degree, but several years of working experience.
Eh, the economy is tough these days, but Champaign seems to be doing okay. With the University and some major employers (Kraft Foods), there are always a lot of jobs lurking around. Check out the News-Gazette newspaper or indeed.com.

5. What is your personal opinion of Champaign? Since I like things constructive. Give me a positive and a negative.
Love it! Positive: very progressive, liberal, gay-friendly, good arts and music scene, downtown Champaign is great. Negatives: it's really cold in the winter, can feel a bit small at times (in my opinion), and the bar scene kind of dominates downtown. If you're not into drinking and dining, there's not a ton to do.

Hope this helps! Feel free to message me with any questions and I'd be glad to help.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Illinois literally owes it's existence to the land.
Most settlers came up from Kentucky and points East.
The land was too hilly and too rocky for a good harvest or even the remote chance of a crop.

[zhugeliang1]

5. What is your personal opinion of Champaign? Since I like things constructive. Give me a positive and a negative.

The only positive I can think of is good for biking and mass transit, the negative being this is a very cliquey city, you know, everyone really divides themselves up and groups themselves in the same kind of group, then again could work well for the gay community, maybe.

[linicx]

I disagree. Clique?
Noun: a small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them.

I would not broad brush a community with a student population larger than many cities in the United States as being narrow minded or having tunnel vision - as the word clique suggests.

Every city in the world has one or more exclusionary groups: church, arts, medical, legal, teachers, bankers, stock brokers, city, state, county, university, college, public and private K-12 school employees, state and national politicians, radio and television personalities, plus every country has a high level global leader/dictator that may or may not have emerged at this posting.

I'm having a really hard time believing the people who live, work and go to school in a town and a city with an aggregate population of over 120,000 has nothing better to do with their time than form little groups so they can sit around and point fingers at the other little groups. that do not agree with them.

What a swell time.

Originally Posted by zhugeliang1

5. What is your personal opinion of Champaign? Since I like things constructive. Give me a positive and a negative.

The negative being this is a very cliquey city, you know, everyone really divides themselves up and groups themselves in the same kind of group, then again could work well for the gay community, maybe.