Advice about Champaign - help!

[M TYPE X]

Everybody from Lincoln with a dog is moving here. What's going on with Iowa? You can't stop there?

... I'm being facetious.

[NewGrad]

Originally Posted by linicx

Champaign, like Peoria is a farming community with a very large four year college plunked in the middle of it. If safety and a quieter area for study might suit your needs better, then do consider smaller communities like Ranoul. Rent should be cheaper and it should be easier to find what you need in housing in a smalller community.

Are you from Champaign? Neither Champaign or Peoria are "farming communities." I've lived in Champaign for years and I've never seen a farmer there, unless he was visiting to do some shopping. I disagree with considering Rantoul. It's not a good town.

[Blond Girl]

Hey there Misstara.

I may have some thoughts for you; I grew up in Minneapolis and moved to Champaign two years ago.

Minneapolis: The cost of real estate/rental is high, on the downside. On the upside, tenants usually get a small portion of their rent back in tax rent credits. Not so in Champaign; it floored me the first time my landlord had me sign a waiver allowing him to get the whole property tax rebate, but he said that's the way it's done here. The general cost of living is less in the Twin Cities, too... food, gasoline and clothes cost less, partly due to the supply and demand factor (the cities use more, so they can get lower costs) and the absence of food and clothing taxes (imagine my shock moving here and finding out that I have to pay 7.75% taxes on clothes! I save up and do my shopping sprees when I visit Mpls). Crime and "ghettos" are much more prevalent in Mpls, mostly due to the sheer size of the place. There is lots to do, and the best thing for you, career-wise, is that Minneapolis/St. Paul is one of the chief midwestern cities that is home to major corporation headquarters. That translates to lots of jobs in PR and HR.

Champaign: The cost of housing is low here. The three bedroom house we rent has an attached garage, screened porch, 1 1/2 bathrooms, and family room with a fireplace. In the cities, this house would rent for 1300 per month or more, and we pay 965 per month (but will face a 25 rent increase in two months). Everyone seems to make a lot of the crime rate, but we haven't really seen a lot of crime in the family areas of town. A friend did get her purse stolen from her car, but she left it on the seat of the car with the door unlocked - even she agreed that the theft could have been avoided - and the police located the purse the next day. I can confidently say, though, that I've never been scared going through any neighborhood here the way I was when I lived in Minneapolis and had to bus through the Jordan neighborhood. You never want to listen to a gangbanger yelling on the phone that they have a gun and are headed to someone's house - yet I've had that and more take place in Minneapolis.

All in all, I like it here. However, I have to be honest; our first year was hellish. We couldn't find good jobs. I went from being a Communication Specialist earning really good money in Minneapolis to living off my 401(K) when I couldn't get hired here. Living in a college town, there are often many BA's and MBA's vying for the very few professional positions available here. The highest wage I earned was 12.74 per hour with no benefits. Eventually my old firm hired me back; I took a pay decrease and a grade level decrease in order to return. I'm now doing customer service virtually from my home and it is great; Minneapolis pay and a Champaign life, you might say. I had to go back to Minneapolis for 7 months of training and systems set-up. It was hard being away from the family, but the rewards have been worth it. It sounds like you have a degree, so that will certainly help you, but be prepared to earn less here than you would in Minneapolis.

The churches here are quite nice; we've attended Stone Creek church (which used to be the Urbana Assembly of God) and the Urbana Vineyard Church. Both are really great churches with incredible worship teams and great kids ministry.

On a "nature" level, Minneapolis is beautiful; there are lakes and trees galore and the diversity of seasons keep people coming back. The lovely summers make the long winters worth the wait and the city truly understands how to remove snow efficiently. On the downside, it's a city. I've never seen a lightning bug in Minneapolis and the night sky is really toned down due to all the ambient city light. When we first moved to Champaign, I was amazed at the lightning bugs in our front yard, the starry night sky and the almost utter lack of jet airline noise that I was inured to in Minnesota. One great thing you'll see in this area (about 25 minutes northeast of town on the way to Bloomington) is the windfarms at LeRoy... gorgeous! There is another one near Rockford in PawPaw, IL. It is breathtaking to drive by and see these regal windmills and know they are harvesting the (never ending) wind of the prairies.

Oh, and one more thing. When we first moved here, every told me how great the water is - that the city wins awards for its tasty water. I kind of laughed it off at first... until I went back to Minneapolis and realized that you can really taste the Mississippi in the water! Yuck! If you go there, get a Britta- you'll need it!

Well, not sure if this will help, but it was fun to add a few snapshots to the conversation...

[Katiana]

I was walking across the University of Colorado campus with my daughter the other night, and we were admiring the beautiful spring foliage, which led to a conversation about seasons. She said spring is her favorite season. I said I like fall. We bantered for a bit and then I said if you've ever spent a summer in Champaign, you like seeing fall come! (She is a CO native, I lived in Champaign for 7 yrs.) Summers are hot and humid.

Are you from Champaign? Neither Champaign or Peoria are "farming communities." I've lived in Champaign for years and I've never seen a farmer there, unless he was visiting to do some shopping.

I agree that Champaign isn't exactly a "farm town"; it is a college town. However, there is a huge ag community around Champaign, and many farmers and their spouses also work there. When farmers in Champaign County say they are going to "town", they mean Champaign.