Job in Rantoul. WHERE DO I LIVE? URGENT!! HELP!! (Chicago: loans, real estate)

[boilerforlife]

I accepted a job as a manager at Jeld-Wen in rantoul. I interned there this summer and lived in Champaign. I will be moving jan. 2008 and need permanent housing. Does anyone know of any good townhome/rental house communities/properties/real estate agents for me? I am looking for reasonable rent around 700 a month or lower, not a dump, but i don't need the high class townhomes i have seen for a grand a month. I have had some luck, but being 2.5 hours away, as much internet research as i can do is a plus. please respond soon as i am looking to go see some places within the next 2 weeks. 2 bedroom townhomes are what im really looking for. feel free to post here, or email me, or IM Me on AIM (psychomatt2003) with school loans and other bills i have accumulated through college, 700 a month is about my price ceiling. p.s. - rantoul scares me. dont wanna live there especially with my fiancee probably working 2nds or thirds at a local hospital. my email is mbohm@purdue.edu

[kkemper]

It looks like you are trying your hardest to not live in Rantoul -- and I don't blame you. You might consider Thomasboro, although it has very few new developments, you are close to Rantoul so you won't waste money on gas. Also, you said your fiance is going to work at the local hospital, I would assume that is in Urbana. So, if that is the case, you might want to consider C-U or one of it's 'suburbs' (Savoy, Mahomet or even possibly Tolono). Good luck and I would recommend not living in Rantoul.

[Katiana]

There is no local hospital in Rantoul. Your fiance will be working in Champaign-Urbana.

[lvjmusic]

Originally Posted by kkemper

It looks like you are trying your hardest to not live in Rantoul -- and I don't blame you. You might consider Thomasboro, although it has very few new developments, you are close to Rantoul so you won't waste money on gas. Also, you said your fiance is going to work at the local hospital, I would assume that is in Urbana. So, if that is the case, you might want to consider C-U or one of it's 'suburbs' (Savoy, Mahomet or even possibly Tolono). Good luck and I would recommend not living in Rantoul.

I concur; there are several small communities that would be convenient given your situation and probably still less of a drive that you're used to commuting if you live in a metro are like Chicago or Indy. Near Rantoul there are T'boro (as mentioned above), Fisher, Gifford, Ludlow, Mahomet, St. Joe Royal and Paxton (a little further away, but still just 25 miles or so north). All have decent to good schools, small town quality of life and are not Rantoul.

But I question why some here are so dead set against Rantoul being able to continue to provide the quality of life as it has for the 70+ years it was home to the air base and the 60 years before that?

A few 'bums' move in and suddenly it’s "little Havana" or a reincarnated Cabrini Green?

Give me a break!

Growing up on the near North side in Chicago in the late 60', I've seen urban decay in full bloom. I'll admit that we've seen an increase of folks who think that "Jackass - the movie" was reality based but some folks think that all members of the area's minority population are somehow "Compton CA, Cowboys." But, fortunately, not all are so easily stereotyped. Some actually have jobs, own businesses and other things besides living on the dole.

Again, I say, give me a break!

The local pols advertised inexpensive housing in the regional metro area papers and - surprise - folks decided to get out of the cities and move to an area where housing was less expensive - with or without a job.

If you ask me, they are looking to have a better life for their family than what most larger areas are able to have.

Do we have problems? Yep. So does Cook County, last time I checked.

Many of the dispirited locals call this community "Rantucky" but if they knew the area history, that's because the town was first settled by a large contingent of Kentuckians back in the 1850's or so.. seems that Abe and his family went a little further west of here towards the Bloomington area.

There are many great places to live right here in town and several of the schools are well above what you'd expect for a town it's size. If you have or are planning on having children and the local (read: public) schools don't meet your expectations, there are several good alternates (St. Mal's and Tommy More for the Roman Catholic parishioners and even Judah Christian Academy for the rest of us protestants) There's even a gifted High School (Uni) in Urbana if your progeny are so suited.

Wishing the OP "Good luck" with their transition and they end up in Rantoul, I'd encourage them to stop by Ott's on a Saturday and try their haystack if they haven't already. More of what's bad for you than you need in a single day, but a finer home cooked style breakfast cannot be found within 90 miles... (that puts it up into the far southern burbs, so I think that I can safely make that claim... )