Springfield......a nice place to live? (Chicago, Peoria: relocation, trip , hospital)

[justjawni]

Originally Posted by Clint_Noname

Nope. Springfield is a crime-ridden wasteland, with gangs and drugs being a huge problem almost everywhere in the city (maybe except for some secluded areas with lots of open space, but you would still have to go into the city to eat and shop). When the city government demolished the hay homes where many of Springfield's poor residents lived, these residents flocked to areas of Springfield that used to have low crime...and now they're robbing and assaulting middle- and upper-class people in these areas. And guess what they demolished the "hay homes" in favor of? Luxurious homes for the rich people! Now just how crazy is that?!?

I have no idea if that is all true...
but, Springfield is not crime-ridden...and gangs are not a problem. I'm not even sure if they are thinking of the same town. I personally LOVE Springfield, not to big or small.

[linicx]

[quote=AnonymousCoward;3169899]I often wondered if this city could possibly be any less trendy. Thankfully, or perhaps as a consolation, at least trends in the national housing market aren't reflected here. It helps make up for the lack of a Chick-fil-A, Apple Store or a Costco :-)

If you like Mac and Costy ya gotta go to St. Louis. The only Trader Joe's in the mid-west is there too. The last Chick-fil-A I saw was in Joplin, Missouri.

I think Springfield is a bit boring and difficult to get around because of all the one-way streets downtown. I wasted two hours trying to weave my way through the street construction using an old map. When I fianllly found the State Historical Society there wasn't any parking and it was closed. What a mess.

[linicx]

Buying a house is a crap shoot anywyere because most realtors have the morals of a snake. The number two cause of death in Illinois is mold. You must not buy a house with mold in it. You're gonna spend $800 fpr a house inspection and a mold inspection. While I htink of it, mold remediation- rdubg a giyse of mold can cost thousands of dollalrs.

If you want to buy a fixer, but the worst on in the best neighborhood.

[breer23]

Originally Posted by justjawni

I have no idea if that is all true...
but, Springfield is not crime-ridden...and gangs are not a problem. I'm not even sure if they are thinking of the same town. I personally LOVE Springfield, not to big or small.

There has been gang activity in Springfield (yes, IL) since the early 80's - mostly drug running between Chicago & St. Louis - some gangs settled in the area to be between the two trades. While I wouldn't say it's rampant, it does exist, scattered throughout the northern & eastern areas closest to downtown.

Crime has also risen in the past 20 years in SPI as well, but it has been mostly petty theft - I think the heinous crime rates (and please check this, too) have been pretty consistent over that time frame.

[jojojohnson76]

Springfield has a very low crime rate. Sorry, guys./

[breer23]

Originally Posted by jojojohnson76

Springfield has a very low crime rate. Sorry, guys./

While it doesn't quite compare to the cities of St. Louis or Chicago for sheer crime numbers, their crime statistics are WELL above the national average, and have been increasing steadily for at least the past 10 years.

[M TYPE X]

All of the cities in midstate Illinois appear to have relatively high, or increasing, crime rates. There were a number of events in Champaign-Urbana over the past 12-15 months. Just another reason why I'd rather be in Madison or (still) in Ann Arbor.

It would please me if the populations of Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria, Springfield, and Decatur were all in one midstate city. You would have the state capital, the flagship university, Caterpillar ... and enough demographics for a major mall, instead of four piddlysquat ones.

While I'm dreaming, you might go over to the Illini Union cafeteria. The (awful, of course) McDonald's failed, and a 'Chick-fil-A Express' moved in. meh.

[Maintainschaos]

[quote=linicx;3245542]

Originally Posted by AnonymousCoward

I often wondered if this city could possibly be any less trendy. Thankfully, or perhaps as a consolation, at least trends in the national housing market aren't reflected here. It helps make up for the lack of a Chick-fil-A, Apple Store or a Costco :-)

If you like Mac and Costy ya gotta go to St. Louis. The only Trader Joe's in the mid-west is there too. The last Chick-fil-A I saw was in Joplin, Missouri.

I think Springfield is a bit boring and difficult to get around because of all the one-way streets downtown. I wasted two hours trying to weave my way through the street construction using an old map. When I fianllly found the State Historical Society there wasn't any parking and it was closed. What a mess.

There are many more Trader Joe's stores in the midwest than the few in MO.

[breer23]

[quote=Maintainschaos;3290082]

Originally Posted by linicx

There are many more Trader Joe's stores in the midwest than the few in MO.

There are about 2 dozen locations in IL & MO combined, but they are all concentrated in the metro Chicago & St. Louis areas.

[linicx]

The only Trader Joe's I ever frequented were in Oceanside, CA and in St Louis. The last time I looked at a Trader Joe's map, which was about a year ago, my nearest choices were St Louis or Denver, Las Vegas or Reno. There was no store listed in Chicago or Kansas City.

Trader Joe's tends to open compact stores in densly populated areas. The , metro areas are not hear each other, and they do not sell online - which is a pity. It would save me a 350 mile trip every 6 months..