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Old 01-14-2008, 05:14 AM
 
Location: Ventura, CA
12 posts, read 45,169 times
Reputation: 11

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Let me break it down for you.

I'm a young female trying to get a more extensive college education but already have 6 years of customer service, 1 year in management and 2 years supervisory work under my belt. I am currently studying to be a graphics designer. I have already done some professional advertising for local companies here in Ventura, CA.

I want to work, study and live in the same place though I wouldn't mind making a considerable drive from work to home if I can't live and work in the same city. I want to live in a climate that is normally cold (rain, snow, whatever). I want to live near water (lake, river, ocean, whatever). I love the mountains and nature but still need my clubs, downtown, shopping and fun!

I am engaged! My fiance wants to earn the main income and I want to work part time while I send myself to school. He has a 5 year old daughter and wants to have her live with us (on weekends, holidays and summer) so I am aiming to make payments (rent/lease to own) on a 3 bedroom house, but for the beginning I'm down for a three bedroom apartment.

My fiance wants to at least get some response from Illinois residents that came from California or locals that just want us to know something special about their state. We are interested in living in the better part of Chicago, Peoria, Champagne or Springfield and working in Chicago.

Last edited by mdz; 01-14-2008 at 06:27 PM.. Reason: sorry, can't allow that link here
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Old 01-14-2008, 09:14 AM
 
Location: Phoenix metro
20,004 posts, read 77,138,155 times
Reputation: 10370
I can tell you right now that youre gonna wanna settle in the Chicagoland area, based on your criteria. Im not from CA, but have family who moved out here from Yorba Linda and they love it, but they stay in the western burbs. Seeing that you want to live near water, Lake Michigan is all you could want and more, with mile after mile of lakeshore that you can enjoy. Of course there are also many suburbs with access to lakes and rivers too, but seeing that you want clubs, downtown, shopping and fun, Chicago sounds like the best bet. If you want suburban help, let me know.
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Old 01-14-2008, 10:27 AM
 
Location: Tower Grove East, St. Louis, MO
12,063 posts, read 31,491,703 times
Reputation: 3798
Quote:
Originally Posted by kandjgalvez View Post
We are interested in living in the better part of Chicago, Peoria, Champagne or Springfield and working in Chicago.
Wait you're talking about living in Peoria or Champaign and working in Chicago? ???

Peoria is almost 3 hours from Chicago.

I would suggest living in the Chicago suburbs. Post your message on the Chicago Suburbs forum to get better suggestions as to specific places to look at.
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Old 01-17-2008, 02:08 PM
 
260 posts, read 1,141,549 times
Reputation: 82
The best way you can pull off all these dreams is to live, work and study in Bloomington-Normal. Granted, for a lake you'll have to settle for the one at Miller Park.
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Old 01-17-2008, 03:43 PM
 
Location: The rolling fields of Central Illinois
269 posts, read 1,095,627 times
Reputation: 78
If you want to live downstate, but work in Chicago, the only big city that I would consider would be Bloomington or Normal. Although I hear Lexington is a nice place too. Even then you are looking at an 1.5-2 hour commute just to begin fighting Chicago traffic.
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Old 01-17-2008, 04:33 PM
 
2,329 posts, read 6,608,831 times
Reputation: 1811
Quote:
Originally Posted by kandjgalvez View Post
We are interested in living in the better part of Chicago, Peoria, Champagne or Springfield and working in Chicago.
Sorry, but you're talking about 2 completely different regions of the state.
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Old 01-17-2008, 08:14 PM
 
Location: Maryland
4,671 posts, read 7,348,608 times
Reputation: 5330
It is possible to live downstate (Bloomington, Springfield, Peoria or Champaign) and work on Chicago, but you'll need an apartment or a small condo or something in Chicago proper. I went to school with a kid whose parents kind of split it up: his father had a really good job in Springfield and his mother had a great job in Chicago. She ended up living there in the week and was home on the weekends and holidays in Springfield. And then she was transferred to Madison, WI and they still did the same thing, especially since the money stretched further in Springfield than it would've in Chicago. I mean, I'm certainly no advocate of this, but it is do-able, and you could even take the train. Your best bet is just to live in Chicago unless you get a really good job in central Illinois.
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Old 01-17-2008, 10:50 PM
 
15 posts, read 98,470 times
Reputation: 17
I grew up in the Champaign area, and I definitely would say that if you want to work in Chicago you need to be in the Chicago suburbs. Champaign is at least 2.5 hours from businesses in Chicago proper. My husband grew up in the suburbs - we met in college in Champaign - and he hated the lack of water there, as he'd grown up by the lake. To actually get to be near Lake Michigan you're going to have to go pretty much to either the city or the northern suburbs, which are amongst the most expensive.

Good luck.
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Old 07-11-2010, 06:57 PM
 
8 posts, read 21,589 times
Reputation: 14
We lived in Santa Barbara County for a number of years, and before that, the Los Angeles area, so I understand where you're coming from, living in Ventura. We've also lived in other areas of the West, but I come from Illinois originally. I hope you realize that Chi is a BIG city, the metro area in roughly the same class as that of New York or Los Angeles, with a substantial area of suburbs to the north and west of it. If you find yourself driving through South Chicago, you are going to be shocked at how poor and rundown a very large area is, especially in contrast to the extensive rich areas in other parts of the metropolis. The ghetto is far worse than South Central Los Angeles and you will want to avoid it. Some of the other areas you mention are possibilities (note the correct spelling of Champaign) but this idea you have of commuting from one of those distant places to Chicago doesn't sound practical, especially in the winter months. Why do you need to work in Chicago, anyway?
I think you'll find that the Midwest is very different from California. There are things there that are undeniably better (respect for traditions like old-fashioned holiday celebrations, for example) but many good things you may take for granted you are going to miss. The ocean, the mountains, the wildness of untrammeled NATURE, those things simply don't exist back there, at least not in the same thoroughly accessable form to which you may be accustomed. Nice parts of the towns, themselves, may be full of wildlife and can be enchanting, while the open farmland lies right at the city limits and it is vast. But they don't know the first thing about camping as we do it out West, particulary in the Golden State. And as in all provincial areas, they think they know something about you just from what they've heard on the grapevine, which nine times out of ten is a load of bull. They don't like Californians very much and are going to be jealous and resentful of you just for that, so prepare yourself. Come to think of it, I don't like Californians very much even though I was one for 25 years! I recall telling some students of mine in Omaha about how we used to find sand dollars and caulry shells on the beach in the South Bay in the sixties. They didn't even know what the beach was. And you'll love the way they anglicize all their words, especially foreign words, while insisting it's the correct pronunciation and you'd better conform to it. See how they handle Puerta Vallarta as an example. The biggest difference, of course, will be the climate. It's about more than just cold and snow, the latter of which there really isn't that much of compared to the mountains. You can't beat Southern California's Mediterranean climate. Once you've experienced 93 degrees with bucketfuls of humidity, you'll think 110 degrees out in the Mohave Desert ain't so bad, even though you know it is, while 85 in SoCal is out and out paradise. Then there's the segregation, segregation by economic level, educational level, professional level, you name it. You might want to join a church, too. My mother was an agnostic but she made sure our family joined a church when we lived there in the fifties. In California, nobody cares whether you go to church or not nor whether you're even a member of one. In fact, if you do, they think you're some kind of goody two shoes choir boy, which if you ask me, is more often than not the case. The Midwest isn't nearly so enlightened on such topics as that, and in the Bible Belt, they still think evolution is a subject of controversy.
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Old 07-12-2010, 08:32 AM
 
260 posts, read 1,141,549 times
Reputation: 82
This thread is two years old, for all we know they already up and moved.
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