Moving to Champaign from Austin. NOT a University student. Is life boring there?

[flyingcat2k]

Having moved here from Oklahoma and having a wife from an area north of Austin, I will agree that it isn't Austin but it's pretty decent. The cost of living in Champaign is much lower than Austin and you'll have to drive to get "big city shopping". Basically, that's the same Williams-Sonoma/Restoration Hardware/Nordstrom's/Container Store cabal that is everywhere. We often compare Chicago and Indy against each other since they are equidistant from Champaign. We've flown out of all three and find that choosing an airport depends on how much hassle you are willing to put up with.

Life isn't boring in Champaign but it can be hard to make friendships outside of work. I've made some good work-friends but my wife has had a lot of challenges. She finds that many people stay for 2-3 years and leave unless they were born in the area. That's the curse of a college town but you can make friends using meetup or other social media groups. The Chambanamoms website has a lot of good information on family friendly activities and I doubt that Madison in the summer is as uncrowded and relaxed as Champaign is. It is really easy to get an outside patio table for dinner after U of I lets out for summer. Madison and Ann Arbor have lots of tourist hipster traffic and I just don't find that desirable on Wednesday nights when I want an evening out with the wife.

The schools here may be better or worse depending on your district in Austin. Coming from Oklahoma, they were a vast improvement but that's not saying much about Oklahoma's schools. Champaign is pretty much limited to 2 high schools and is starting a major revamp on both of them sometime next year. It will be about 150 Million in improvements across the district including a new-ish Central High to get it out of it's over cramped quarters. The safest residential areas are east of Mattis and south of Windsor. They are also the priciest but come nowhere near prices in Austin.

If you have specific questions or want referrals for realtors, PM me.

[damba]

Originally Posted by flyingcat2k

I doubt that Madison in the summer is as uncrowded and relaxed as Champaign is. It is really easy to get an outside patio table for dinner after U of I lets out for summer. Madison and Ann Arbor have lots of tourist hipster traffic and I just don't find that desirable on Wednesday nights when I want an evening out with the wife.

You either haven't lived in Madison during a summer or haven't had a big city to compare true 'bustle' with. I assure you, things quiet down considerably in Madison.