hospitals? (Champaign, Urbana, Charleston: rental, homes, to buy)

[patsy615]

thank you to those who replied to my previous post. have a couple more questions. sara bush hospital vs. st. anthony? working conditions, the size of the hospital how many beds, moral, benefits & of course pay difference. also what is the comparison in towns between effingham & mattoon? which is better to raise children and settle down in . i don't mind driving some distance to work. plan on a road trip up that way soon either december or january weather permitting of course. thanks to all.

[Drover]

I'm not sure where you're coming from, what you're looking for or what your expectations or comfort zones are, but here's my take on your cities of choice:

You couldn't pay me enough money to ever live in Methtoon again. The day that bomb crater town was in my rear-view mirror for the last time ever was one of the best days of my life. I'm not kidding. Just a crummy, run-down little place inhabited largely by mentally tiny people with no interest in the world outside their bitty little sphere. I suppose a lot of it was culture shock, having grown up in a metropolitan area of 9 million people; but as far as I can tell, Mattoon sucks even by small-town standards. There's always Charleston on the other side of the hospital. It's slightly more vibrant than Mattoon, but the tradeoff is dealing with 10,000 college kids who get drunk and go marauding all over town on weekends because there isn't much else for them to do.

I've only been to Effingham a couple of times. By my estimation it's a step up from Mattoon, but not much of one.

[patsy615]

thank you for your input. i am originally from central illinois; moved to florida about 9 years ago. am ready for the small towns again. i grew up in town of about 300; want to raise my children in a small town.
they won't sleep in their bedrooms because of fear of being kidnapped right out of their beds. they never have their windows open for any kind of fresh air to get in, they checked them before they go in their rooms to play. we moved into a rental after we sold our home and are now homeschooled because where we moved it is a larger grade school and not far from where we moved a gun was found on a child.

so that small home stuff will be a welcomed blessing. we would like to buy at least 5 acres if possible. would like to get back to simple life; realize i can't go back, but if i can give my children just a piece of my childhood, i will feel as if i gave them something other than life.

if any body else has any opinion on mattoon or effingham; thanks

[Drover]

Well then, the way I see it, 5 acres is 5 acres no matter where you are in Central Illinois, the crucial differences being a) quality of school district for the kids, and b) convenience of access to amenities you can't find out in the super-sticks. And "a" isn't even an issue if you plan to continue homeschooling. It doesn't much matter how crummy the nearest town is if you don't actually live in it. In that case, I'd give the nod to the Charleston/Mattoon area for more convenient access to Champaign/Urbana where you'll have a greater variety of things beyond the bare necessities at your disposal.

[HOWELL_STREET]

Since the 1940s or perhaps even earlier(?) both the Mattoon, Illinois area and also (maybe?) Effingham have been the oil pumping belt in Illinois. Not so much now... but in previous years, one would be living in oil mist everywhere. That's because there were small oil pumping rigs almost everywhere in that area.I suppose the mist is almost gone by now due to our pollution controls.

IF you want a beautiful little town but also isolation - - then consider the little town of Nason, Illinois (62866). Nason has a population of approximately 360 folks - - many retired but still a number of young families with young children.

Nason is located about one mile north of the Northern shore of Rend Lake. And the town is located about 11 miles SW of Mount Vernon, IL.

Since I own vacation land in Nason, I love the place ! Nason is an old coal mining town but the mine closed down around circa 1950s. And there has been urban renewal going on ever since.

Of course, Rend Lake is gorgeous and it is about 13 miles in length by about two miles in width. The very best place to publicly view Rend Lake is to cross the highway bridge just east of Sesser, IL. Look on a map and you will quickly observe that.

IF you want a preview of Rend Lake, then camp out at the Wayne Fitzgerald State Park on the eastern shore line of the lake.

IF you want questions answered about this 'sleeper' gem of a town, then ask. I don't charge for may answers !

Oh, by the way, when I bought my five consecutive lots (0.86 acre total), each lot cost me $850 and each lot is 135 X 50 feet. However, prices have increased somewhat since then.

Carter Glass

[HOWELL_STREET]

For a moment, consider Gunther's measurement of an acre of land. Many years ago (circa 1700s?) , a man named Gunther decided that ten square chains is equal to one acre. A linear chain is 66 feet. Therefore in square feet, an acre is eqaul to 66 X 66 X 10. And that comes out to 43,560 square feet of land for one acre.

In my above thread, my lot dimensions are either 135 X 50 feet or 150 X 50 feet. Does one include the easement area of a land? Although 'you' have to mow the grass on the easements - - technically, 'you' don't own the easement - land.

So either my total property is about 0.86 of an acre or around 0.77 of an acre. Hence the difference in measurements.

I bring this up because some people become hypercritical of some of my statements. So I suppose it is better to clarify it in the first place.

Carter Glass