Carbondale, Illinois or surrounding area? (Chicago, Murphysboro: appointed, transplants, low crime)

[Chloe07]

Well, things are moving in a very positive direction, and it appears that we will be taking a look at Carbondale, Illinois next weekend! You all are amazing...if you aren't in the Chamber of Commerce payroll, you should be. I've never seen such a positive thread about any other town on this website. Please don't tell anyone else about Carbondale. If we decide to come there, we want there to be a couple of houses from which to choose! ;-)

[ratbert]

Hi y'all! Everyone's favorite rat, here, checking in! I see my evil schemes are coming together! And that we have potential new minions in the wings!! Welcome sanctuary!

Last week, when I was trying to answer Chloe's question about the schools and subdivisions, I called a realtor my husband knows and she's agreed to check in and answer questions on things like house prices, jobs or schools. She has lived here all her life, so will surely know far more than this poor lil rat.

Chloe, so glad you will get a chance to visit. Will you have someone to show you around? If not, you need to get one of the local maps. Also, if you want to look for houses, I do encourage you to talk to a realtor. To be honest, most of the downtown areas including Carbondale are not all that picturesque. It's the little tucked away spots you want to find, even a subdivision like Heritage Hills right in town would be easy to miss.

And while we do have "classic" subdivisions, perimeter wall and all, most houses are located in neighborhoods or along roads. I have literally driven down miles and miles of gravel road, only to find a beautiful 3-story house nestled in the woods.

For the record, the drive I described was from campus to Grammar's Orchard over Union Hill and Greenridge. It's a bit convoluted, but if you have someone who knows the area or a map. Also try and be sure to make it out to Giant City Park and Makanda. Skyline Drive up in Alto Pass is another beautiful drive. Or any of the wine trail...

In short, try and get out and see some of the countryside. North of town is pretty flat. South is basically where the glaciers stopped and formed the foothills of the Ozarks.

I'll try and check in during the week, if you have other questions or want to know where to eat, etc.

One of the downsides, Deeptrance, is that you can drive a lot around here, but usually the route is pretty and it's better than sitting in traffic. Other downsides, I've found? Ticks. Maybe because I live in the country now, but I've never had to deal with ticks before. June is the worst month.

Of course it is tornado country and some say the area is due for a big earthquake, but others say that it's unlikely (I heard this from geologist whose lived here for many years, for one). Some of the lakes can have high mercury levels, so the state warns against eating too much fish from them. Apparently this is naturally occurring and related to the coal deposits.

Lack of jobs is probably one of the biggies. As sunshine girl pointed out, most jobs are related to healthcare, social services or the university. Some surrounding communities have Fortune 500's like General Dynamics and it isn't unusual to live in one town and work in another. I can drive 25 miles from my house to Marion in about the time it took me to commute 9 miles to the Galleria area in Houston.

Sanctuary, my best advice is to monitor the jobs in the on-line edition of the Southern Illinoisian. Be sure to look at the listings and not just the Top Jobs. There are a number of small technology companies taking root here and as I've mentioned before there is a big effort now to grow jobs. Connect SI has hired some national consultants and having attended some of the planning meetings, I have high hopes. If you want to learn more about that effort, go to http://www.ruralpartners.org/public/...age.aspx?id=12

Chloe, I laughed at your comment about "not telling anyone else." There are people here who feel that way, of course. Only after we were invited to a Economic Development meeting in Murphy and saw that there were at least 30 people there, did I decide to volunteer to help promote the area. (Hey, I've got mine already!) You do need a certain density where there is enough population to support amenities like a sushi bar (actually DT, I think we have two as of this week.) I definitely could see this area become another Corvallis or Fayetteville. It has all the makings. Don't worry DT there is plenty of land around, to spread out over. Just don't turn the goat pasture behind my house into a subdivision!

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by ratbert

To be honest, most of the downtown areas including Carbondale are not all that picturesque.

That's the most discouraging thing you've said so far. Is there a decent possibility that central Carbondale can upgrade one house and one store at a time? Or is it hopeless?

Originally Posted by ratbert

One of the downsides, Deeptrance, is that you can drive a lot around here, but usually the route is pretty and it's better than sitting in traffic. Other downsides, I've found? Ticks.

I drive on scenic roads as a way to relax and listen to audio books, so all that driving sounds GOOD to me. Yes, terribly wasteful... And as for ticks, I've done so much camping and bushwhacking (trail-building in dense woods, e.g.) that it doesn't bother me to pluck a few parasites out of my skin at the end of the day. I'd rather do that than have to listen to someone's yapping dog in the neighboring apartment.

Originally Posted by ratbert

Of course it is tornado country and some say the area is due for a big earthquake, but others say that it's unlikely

New Madrid is big and mighty but goes off only rarely. Best thing is to be somewhat safe and not live in an all-brick building. Other than that, whatcha gonna do, life is full of peril no matter where you go. Most of us die from our own choices --- eating poorly, smoking, drinking, not getting enough exercise, and driving recklessly. We focus on spectacular external threats like tornadoes because they're so extreme and beyond our control. We greatly exaggerate their threat relative to the dangers of our diet and daily commute.

Originally Posted by ratbert

I definitely could see this area become another Corvallis or Fayetteville. It has all the makings. Don't worry DT there is plenty of land around, to spread out over. Just don't turn the goat pasture behind my house into a subdivision!

Ooohhh, Corvallis! I love that town! And me, build a subdivision? HA! What you should worry about is that I'll buy that property and put a falling-apart trailer on it, have loud parties and 30 pit bulls that I let run loose, and I'll be sitting out on my back porch half-naked scratching my belly drinkin' a beer, waving at you while you contemplate whether to exercise your Constitutional right to bear arms.

(Not really.... I'm an extremely considerate neighbor...)

[ratbert]

Is there a decent possibility that central Carbondale can upgrade one house and one store at a time? Or is it hopeless?

Not hopeless, not awful, just not postcard quaint or beautiful (yet). It's just that after the big build-up, I just didn't want Chloe to expect some picture-perfect New England-style college town out of the movies. It's been awhile since I've been to Eugene, but if I recall correctly, its a bit like Eugene's downtown.

There's a lot of adaptive reuse going on. Carbondale is even re-habing the old brick streets around the square. With easy access to big box retail in Carbondale, much of downtown Murphy is either office or antique shops. The old Post office there is a spa.

There are some lovely old neighborhoods, but there is also a lot of student housing and older concrete buildings too, especially near the main drag, Route 13.

We focus on spectacular external threats like tornadoes because they're so extreme and beyond our control. We greatly exaggerate their threat relative to the dangers of our diet and daily commute.

Amen, brother!

I've done so much camping and bushwhacking (trail-building in dense woods, e.g.)

Did I mention our 1970 VW pop-top? Camped from Houston to Fairbanks a few years back.

What you should worry about is that I'll buy that property and put a falling-apart trailer on it, have loud parties and 30 pit bulls that I let run loose, and I'll be sitting out on my back porch half-naked scratching my belly drinkin' a beer, waving at you while you contemplate whether to exercise your Constitutional right to bear arms.

There's a place for you here too. I hear such a place exists not far from us, just haven't made a point of seeking it out. Just keep your llamas in. I was driving down the highway and came across two llamas in the road the other day.

[sanctuary83]

A more specific question: can anyone tell me how many used bookstores are in town, and are they any good?

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by ratbert

It's been awhile since I've been to Eugene, but if I recall correctly, its a bit like Eugene's downtown.

Complete with that hideous overhead thing that completely destroys downtown Eugene's aesthetics? Someone needs to dynamite that building or overpass or whatever the heck it is... I think it was built during one of those misguided phases of "modernism" in the 1960s or 70s, yes?

Originally Posted by ratbert

There's a lot of adaptive reuse going on. Carbondale is even re-habing the old brick streets around the square. With easy access to big box retail in Carbondale, much of downtown Murphy is either office or antique shops. The old Post office there is a spa.

Well, it's a start. Most smaller towns suffer the same fate of abandoning downtown for a while, but some come back with revitalization. I would like to live upstairs from a retail store on a main street in the heart of town, for example. If you get enough of a market for that, they will build it. But who knows if C'dale is the right place for such development.

Originally Posted by ratbert

Camped from Houston to Fairbanks a few years back.

Yes, you mentioned that but I didn't give you proper respect. That is a SERIOUS road trip. One I'd be terrified to endeavor myself unless I had some severely reliable backup gear and CASH. Must have been quite the adventure!

Originally Posted by ratbert

There's a place for you here too. I hear such a place exists not far from us, just haven't made a point of seeking it out. Just keep your llamas in. I was driving down the highway and came across two llamas in the road the other day.

LOL, I have no idea what you're talking about, me and the llamas, I've never had a personal relationship with that species though I've met a few. Not that there's anything wrong with it.... you know....

I'm actually a pretty boring guy. Note that I'm spending a lot of my time sitting at my computer when I could be out doing more interesting things.

[ratbert]

Hi Sanctuary,

There are two used bookstores in Carbondale that I know of. I have never been in the one by campus, but The Bookworm claims to offer over 50,000 books. They have a nice website at sibookworm.com

They also serve as a good source for works by local authors

Later,

RB

[ratbert]

I would like to live upstairs from a retail store on a main street in the heart of town, for example.

Oh I'm certain there are apartments downtown over the businesses. This is a college town and downtown is a short walking distance to campus. You just won't be able to keep your llamas there.

R.B.

[sunshine girl]

Back online again, ahhhhhhh. To answer a few previous arenas presented by others. You won't go wrong in either cdale or murphy schools. Always big rivalries between towns. What's nice is it's not just a sports thing, although that IS big. It's also academic. Brings both schools up. Cdale has a slight edge over murphy. Cdale is a university town that is known as a party school, lots of kids from Chicago area come down as students, blow off steam and their parents $, but generally are not a problem to the area. But it's also a great school, and it attacts folks to the area who end up staying because the cost of living and life style are so opposite of the big city. The education level of the area is elevated by these folks, so therefore the requirement of that community for quality education gives cdale the edge. But many of these same folks want to live a bit out, and have given murphy a leg up too. Also the same rational for the cdale schools mentioned by another poster, unity point, giant city, etc. Those are the grade schools of choice by some parents. But unfortunately, it's also because the majority of the city less fortunate do not live in these areas. It is not exclusively caucasion or richer, but the majority are. And 4 years away from all this, I don't think should have made a difference.
Subdivisions: you will not find the subdivisions of bigger cities here, there are some small ones here and there in most of the bigger towns in so. ill.
Low housing prices: what you see is real, and many will come down even more, the houses someone mentioned in the 20;s and 30's could either be small and rundown in the surrounding areas, or in the rundown areas of north cdale within the city limits.
Jobs: with the college attracting all kinds of folks, there is opportunity for opening a business, but remember, if your consumers are local, they may not all have the cherry jobs of the area. There are still lots of minimum wage and just above workers in the area, and many SIU students, not to mention all those on public assistance. Therefore, it is possible to be too exclusive.
Meth: yes it's out there, but it's not huge
Gangs: some, but on a small scale compared to other cities
Crime: some, but usually property. Murders, personal crime usually between people who know each other, and not random. Even that is minimal in number of events.
Where you from?: If you are under 35 or so, most will glace but not stare, it's assumed you are an SIU student, and therefore no one expects to know you. UNLESS you are not in cdale or murphysboro, because that's where the majority of the students live (murphy is cheaper than cdale because it's farther away, and still a stepchild). If you choose to live away from the usual student areas, yes, you will be stared at and occasionally folks quit talking when you enter. Not the entire time, but just when you enter. And if you choose to settle in an outside area, expect to be asked a million questions and be asked which church you go to. Not impossible to live with, and like I said before, sometimes a help because nothing goes unnoticed, and therfore I always looked at it like a weird kind of community watch program.
Hope any of this is helpful to you folks looking at the carbondale area.

[sunshine girl]

Forgot to say that some of the nearby towns to Carbondale have good schools and programs also. Like Marion, Herrin, Anna-Jonesboro and Murphysboro because of C'dale's quality schools. Some folks do not want to live in c'dale because of the SIU student population. The housing prices in those outside towns is less than c'dale because it's a commute and those towns would like to keep and attract the folks who come to live in those towns. So the schools tend to eventually have most of what is offered in cdale. But there are enough locals to keep those schools from being too progressive. Outside of the university community, there are still many, many generations of locals that will never leave. That is not meant to be a negative comment, just a fact. Lots of community pride in those towns. Sorry to be such a talker today, I'm just glad to be back online.......