Bloomington/NOrmal (Chicago, Champaign, Clinton: environment, real estate, employment)

[ILMomof4]

I live in Normal and I believe it is a good place to raise kids. The schools are great. I have been here for 6 years and I am amazed at how much these towns have increased. There is much more to do here than before. Housing is affordable (we moved here from the northwest suburbs of Chicago) and we take trips to Chicago, St. Louis and Indy regularly, they are all between 2 and 3 hours away. The weather here is milder than Chicago area too.

[kkemper]

We moved to B/N in March 07 and absolutely love it here. I grew up in Champaign, my wife grew up in Peoria, then we moved to DeKalb when we got married. I enjoyed Champaign although there were times when it was slightly more 'ghetto' then I was comfortable with (BMk/nearly all of Bradley Ave.) but overall I liked living in Champaign. My wife said she enjoyed Peoria also. We moved to DeKalb and hated it -- a true college town. Absolutely nothing but (drunk) college kids, professors and retirees. DeKalb just wasn't what we were used to. We lived in DeKalb for nearly a year and couldn't wait to leave, that's when we escaped to Bloomington. B/N is great, it seems it has nearly everything anyone would need and it's all relatively close. The only down side to Bloomington is that it has grown so quickly that it seems the businesses haven't adapted quick enough. Yes, Bloomington has everything but it seems like they are older, this trend is changing and the businesses are starting to catch up. Some examples, Taco Bell(only 2 in town) but I believe there are some new ones in the works. Walgreens(the one on Oakland Ave. is tiny and the two and Main St are old) but the Walgreen by IWU they are building a new one right next to it, haven't heard anything about the really old Walgreen on Main St. in Normal or the tiny one on Oakland Ave. Umm... I'm sure there are more examples but I can't think of them right now...maybe later I'll post more...

[M TYPE X]

B-N does rate fairly highly for young families, but it's not a mecca for twenty-somethings. Then again, I don't think midstate Illinois qualifies in that category at all.
The weather is milder than 'up north' (one hundred miles south is enough to get out of the snow).

[ILMomof4]

But it is still damn cold.

[misspetite]

It's very affordable but definitely has a small town feel. I didn't like it though. It was boring to me but you can always travel to Peoria or Champaign.

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by misspetite

It's very affordable but definitely has a small town feel. I didn't like it though. It was boring to me but you can always travel to Peoria or Champaign.

Ugh! Not the 'nothing there but central to everything' argument! That's what they say about Champaign: 'it's between Chicago, Indianapolis, and St Louis!'

Every time you say something that is factual but logically makes no sense, God kills a kitten.
Or, you run over the kitten on the freeway, driving miles from Nowheresville to do something in Big City Where You Wanna Be.

[desert student]

I heard that Bloomington/Normal is booming. The last time I was down there I thought I was in Chicagoland without the traffic. Kinda weird!

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by desert student

I heard that Bloomington/Normal is booming. The last time I was down there I thought I was in Chicagoland without the traffic. Kinda weird!

Yes, Chicagoland without traffic would be strange. But, I would probably love it. I like B-N. "Love" is such a strong word.

[misspetite]

Originally Posted by M TYPE X

Ugh! Not the 'nothing there but central to everything' argument! That's what they say about Champaign: 'it's between Chicago, Indianapolis, and St Louis!'

Every time you say something that is factual but logically makes no sense, God kills a kitten.
Or, you run over the kitten on the freeway, driving miles from Nowheresville to do something in Big City Where You Wanna Be.

Ok. You lost me. What exactly is your gripe? How is it factual but "makes no sense"? It makes plenty sense to me.

[NYrules]

Like one of my old college professors once said in class, "Bloomington/Normal is like a major Chicago suburb placed out in the middle of no-where without Chicago being attached to it somehow." That couldn't be any closer to the truth. B/N is a very nice town though and nice place to raise a family, not to mention that the weather down there is much nicer than up in Chicago. There is no lake to screw up your weather and keep it 40 degrees and cloudy nearly everyday well into April.