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Hi. My husband, daughter, and I are considering moving to Champaign from Austin. I love Austin but we may find a better job opportunity there. If you are not a University student, is it boring in Champaign? Where's a safe place to live in Champaign for a small family? Is the downtown area not family friendly? My husband and I like going outdoors and eating out on occasion. People I've known who have lived there (almost a decade ago) said it was boring. How small is the town? I'm not very used to small town life but still want to live in a safe area with my family. Any advice? Thanks.
Champaign is no Austin, very much more limited. Heck, the relative range of things like restaurants and entertainment compare poorly when looking at other midwestern college towns like Ann Arbor MI or Madison WI but those towns have many more people and private employers.
Folks who defend Champaign & Urbana will point out that it is "only" 140 miles or so from Chicago and with speed enforcement the trip is not much more than two hours, but you certainly can't get to Chicago after work for many events and even if you did want to do something in Chicago you'd almost certainly need to stay overnight...
Depending on what sort of "job opportunity" you may think there is in Champaign you should know that Illinois has the worst fiscal situation of any of the 50 states when weighing the combination of unfunded pensions, unpaid current bills, and NO budget. Even if were to work for a private firm in Champaign the ongoing fiscal issues may force unpleasant cuts to the University of Illinois that likely would have effects in the private employment too. I suppose if the job is for one of the handful of more technology focused firms (Wolfram is the most well know, but there are others) cuts to state spending in Champaign are less of a concern...
The relatively "safety" of life in most any part of Champaign or Urbana is not much of an issue -- the sorts of problems with gangs and guns that gets headline coverage in Chicago are rare elsewhere in Illinois. That said there are pockets of underclass in both Champaign and Urbana which hurts school performance and does lead a significant number of families with kids to choose towns that have a better reputation...
Hi. My husband, daughter, and I are considering moving to Champaign from Austin. I love Austin but we may find a better job opportunity there. If you are not a University student, is it boring in Champaign? Where's a safe place to live in Champaign for a small family? Is the downtown area not family friendly? My husband and I like going outdoors and eating out on occasion. People I've known who have lived there (almost a decade ago) said it was boring. How small is the town? I'm not very used to small town life but still want to live in a safe area with my family. Any advice? Thanks.
It looks like Champaign/Urbana is comparable in size to Abilene TX. I don't know anything about Abilene as far as what stores and restaurants they have but the size looks similar. If the size of Abilene doesn't bother you then the size Champaign shouldn't bother you. There's not much nature around. Most of Illinois is flat farmland. What I hate the most about central Illinois is the cold. You might consider that too.
I live about 70 miles away in Springfield. To me, both cities are the right size. They have all the major chain restaurants and stores (Chili's, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc...) and they are low on traffic. I don't think you'll have a problem finding a place to eat out unless you like to go to new places that only big cities have. Champaign has all the basics.
I don't particularly care for huge cities. Champaign is kind of nice because they bring in concerts and they have U of I related activities going on. I'm fine with where I'm at except for the cold. I wouldn't mind a few more hills either.
It looks like Champaign/Urbana is comparable in size to Abilene TX. I don't know anything about Abilene as far as what stores and restaurants they have but the size looks similar. If the size of Abilene doesn't bother you then the size Champaign shouldn't bother you. There's not much nature around. Most of Illinois is flat farmland. What I hate the most about central Illinois is the cold. You might consider that too.
I live about 70 miles away in Springfield. To me, both cities are the right size. They have all the major chain restaurants and stores (Chili's, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc...) and they are low on traffic. I don't think you'll have a problem finding a place to eat out unless you like to go to new places that only big cities have. Champaign has all the basics.
I don't particularly care for huge cities. Champaign is kind of nice because they bring in concerts and they have U of I related activities going on. I'm fine with where I'm at except for the cold. I wouldn't mind a few more hills either.
I am not singling out cuja1 at all, in fact in my experience traveling throughout Illinois and much of the rest of the country I believe they are a very honest and accurate representation of much of the country. To them chain restaurants are prefered to locally owned places. The locally owned places vary more and for folks that want something consistent the chains are perfect.
I remember when my kids were still fairly young and it was not as easy to find locally owned spots while we were traveling. I'd have to map things out and bypass the places on the big strip; they would sorta whine and say "why don't we just go to Dennys like everybody else". My response when we'd be in Madison or something other interesting town was along the lies "I want to support somebody who is working for them self instead of some faceless holding company" to which the kids would just scrunch up their face but they did appreciate the more varied offerings at places that looked they run by hippies.
Flash forward a few years to when my kids were old enough to help out with grocery shopping after they'd come to be appreciative of the creative menus my wife and I got them accustomed to and they'd ask "who buys all these frozen meals" to which I'd say "the folks who eat at Dennys"...
I've been to Austin and I know it has full range of chain restaurants and probably plenty of people that plan their meals by stocking up on frozen meals at the grocery but Austin also has MANY very interesting local restaurants and plenty of farmers markets to get fresh ingredients for more creative cooking.
Champaign has more options than Springfield but it is no Austin...
I am not singling out cuja1 at all, in fact in my experience traveling throughout Illinois and much of the rest of the country I believe they are a very honest and accurate representation of much of the country. To them chain restaurants are prefered to locally owned places. The locally owned places vary more and for folks that want something consistent the chains are perfect.
I remember when my kids were still fairly young and it was not as easy to find locally owned spots while we were traveling. I'd have to map things out and bypass the places on the big strip; they would sorta whine and say "why don't we just go to Dennys like everybody else". My response when we'd be in Madison or something other interesting town was along the lies "I want to support somebody who is working for them self instead of some faceless holding company" to which the kids would just scrunch up their face but they did appreciate the more varied offerings at places that looked they run by hippies.
Flash forward a few years to when my kids were old enough to help out with grocery shopping after they'd come to be appreciative of the creative menus my wife and I got them accustomed to and they'd ask "who buys all these frozen meals" to which I'd say "the folks who eat at Dennys"...
I've been to Austin and I know it has full range of chain restaurants and probably plenty of people that plan their meals by stocking up on frozen meals at the grocery but Austin also has MANY very interesting local restaurants and plenty of farmers markets to get fresh ingredients for more creative cooking.
Champaign has more options than Springfield but it is no Austin...
No problem. I understand your frustration. I like to eat at locally owned restaurants as well. I think Springfield and Champaign have a big variety of locally owned places to eat though as well as the big chain places.
Champaign isn't Austin for sure. It has just about everything you would need, and it isn't far from Chicago. I'd recommend taking the train rather than driving. A lot of the area revolves around the university much like other smallish Big10 college towns. The area itself has a few hundred thousand residents, so it's not minuscule (central IL has several of these 200,000-400,000 metro areas). I actually like Urbana more than Champaign, as I think Urbana has nicer housing stock and is easier to get around on foot or via bus. There are plenty of dining options in the area, including several nice, locally-owned restaurants. Nature is going to be a bit more of a challenge compared to Austin, but I'd suggest areas along the Illinois river near Peoria and Starved Rock state park. Allerton Park in Monticello is also very beautiful.
I agree with Chaos that Champaign is definitely not Austin lol, but it's a nice town. The downtown area has improved drastically in recent years. Lots of restaurants and bars. A decent amount of live music. Urbana has some very charming neighborhoods as well. There is a lot more culture and entertainment opportunities available than you may think given the presence of the University. Champaign seems to have embraced the presence of the University while Urbana seems to desire more distance. Both are fairly liberal places, although Champaign is more conservative than Urbana.
Champaign isn't Austin for sure. It has just about everything you would need, and it isn't far from Chicago. I'd recommend taking the train rather than driving. A lot of the area revolves around the university much like other smallish Big10 college towns. The area itself has a few hundred thousand residents, so it's not minuscule (central IL has several of these 200,000-400,000 metro areas). I actually like Urbana more than Champaign, as I think Urbana has nicer housing stock and is easier to get around on foot or via bus. There are plenty of dining options in the area, including several nice, locally-owned restaurants. Nature is going to be a bit more of a challenge compared to Austin, but I'd suggest areas along the Illinois river near Peoria and Starved Rock state park. Allerton Park in Monticello is also very beautiful.
The entire state of Illinois has a population of about 12M, with more than 9M in the immeadiate metropolitan region surrounding Chicago.
Urbana has about 40k residents and and Champaign about double that, even tossing in Rantoul which is about 15 miles away but still in the same county there is no way you get to 200K residents... Even Kankakee about halfway between Chicago and Champaign, only has about 25K residents...
Madison WI has nearly 250K residents, the Austin-Red Rock metro has well over 2M residents!
Urbana has about 40k residents and and Champaign about double that, even tossing in Rantoul which is about 15 miles away but still in the same county there is no way you get to 200K residents... Even Kankakee about halfway between Chicago and Champaign, only has about 25K residents...
Champaign County has over 200k. Down here, if you live in the county, you live "in the area." Hell, if you live is some parts of the surrounding counties, you're still "in the area."
OP, its obviously smaller than Austin, and there won't be nearly the diversity of entertainment and dining options. But downtown Champaign has really blossomed in the last decade. There are lots of locally owned restaurants, brew-pubs, etc. It's pretty vibrant, especially weekend evenings in the summer. Many places have outside seating. There's one alley that's been closed to traffic and is pretty much an open air cafe, now.
There are two great old theaters downtown; the Virginia and the Art. The former mostly hosts live events (music, comedy, etc) , the latter still operates mostly as a movie theater, often showing old classics, foreign, or independent films. Special events downtown include the annual Ebertfest film festival, The Blues-and-BBQ outdoor concert festival, Street Fest, and more. And its a mostly adult crowd. The college kids have their own cluster of bars and other establishments in a separate area known as "CampusTown."
The University offers tremendous cultural opportunities for a metro area of this size. Besides all the sports you'd expect from a "Power Five Conference" athletic department, there are a constant variety of performing arts options monthly. Most traditional/classical performances (ballet, orchestra, chiors, etc.) are presented at the world class Krannert Center on campus. The State Farm Center is a multi use facility that hosts not only home basketball games, but also popular shows and concerts. Early this week, it was Green Day there. In April, SFC will host Lil' Wayne and Garth Brooks (in separate shows, of course) as well as the musical "Pippen," part of the annual 4-event Broadway Series. In May, Tom Petty is coming to SFC. I guess what I'm getting at is that while Champaign/Urbana can't hope to match Austin, culturally it punches well above it's weight/population.
Use the search function in this forum to find suggestions about where in the area to look for housing. The topic has come up several times in the last few years and been pretty well hashed out. Nothing has significantly changed with regards to where the more desirable neighborhoods are.
Urbana has about 40k residents and and Champaign about double that, even tossing in Rantoul which is about 15 miles away but still in the same county there is no way you get to 200K residents... Even Kankakee about halfway between Chicago and Champaign, only has about 25K residents...
Madison WI has nearly 250K residents, the Austin-Red Rock metro has well over 2M residents!
Peoria CSA >400K
Champaign and Springfield both >200K (and new CSA definitions put Springfield's at >300K)
Bloomington's MSA is almost 200K.
Central IL is probably home to somewhere between 1-1.5 million people.
Madison's MSA is closer to 600K, and its CSA is closer to 800K.
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Kind of perfect illustration...
