Moving to Bloomington-Normal (Chicago, Evanston, Champaign: sales, 2015, apartment complex)

[kyle19125]

I'm looking for useful feedback from those familiar with the cities/area and thank you in advance for reading through this post. I'm a late 50s gay male living in Central Florida currently and needing a complete shakeup in my life after a not-so-swell past ten years. I moved here sort of involuntarily due to family obligations (only child with elderly parents) and ultimately after a short time living here, both parents passed away. I started a business which I had hoped to do for a long time and had nearly five good years before a series of circumstances ruined all of it...and with it nearly everything I had financially. I sold my home and now rent, working a sales job for a car manufacturer. Due to my work I am able to move virtually anyplace where the manufacturer's dealership exists so that opens up a lot of geography. Most of my lifelong friends live in the DC-Philly-NYC corridor but it's far too expensive at this stage in my life and quite frankly am over the lifestyle associated with the area. I also need to move someplace where I can rebuild savings while making a slary similar to where I am currently. My parents were from the Midwest and while my relatives are all deceased, I feel a connection/yearning to live in the region which has steered me in that direction along with the lower cost of living. Also important is a work/life balance as I currently work around 60 hours a week with consecutive days off unheard of and nights (until 9-10pm) a regular routine. My work schedule in IL would be far more balanced with nearly "regular hours" (no later than 6pm) and closed on Sundays. I chose Bloomington-Normal for it's college town pluses (more progressive, more to do) and it's more educated population, which is apparently the highest in the state. I'm looking for some direction for places to live as I will rent the first year and would like an apartment complex with more working professionals (versus students, especially undergrad) and if possible with some form of walkability to stores/restaurants. Lastly wondering, is the area open to newcomers? I would guess yes as a college town and as home of a major employer like State Farm, but figure it's always good to ask.

[damba]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I chose Bloomington-Normal for it's college town pluses (more progressive, more to do) and it's more educated population, which is apparently the highest in the state.

I am curious. Where did you see those numbers cited?

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by damba

I am curious. Where did you see those numbers cited?

13. Illinois
> Most educated city: Bloomington
> Pct. with at least bachelor degree: 41.9%
> Pct. with at least high school diploma: 94.5%
> Median household income: $57,592

In Bloomington, the most educated metro area in Illinois, nearly 42% of adult residents have at least a bachelor’s degree. In the Chicago metro area, the largest in the state and the third largest in the country, 36.1% of residents 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree. The least educated metro area in Illinois is Danville, where the college attainment rate is only 13.8%. While higher college attainment rates tend to lead to lower unemployment rates, Illinois is an exception. Nearly 33% of Illinois adult residents have a bachelor’s degree, while the national college attainment rate is 30.1%. Despite the higher educational attainment rate, the state’s unemployment rate of 7.1% is higher than the national unemployment rate of 6.2%.

https://247wallst.com/special-report...-each-state/4/

[Bitey]

Bloomington-Normal is a second-tier college town compared to Champaign-Urbana. And I'd argue you could do yet another step better than C-U in Evanston, which has all the grown-up aspects of a college town with virtually none of the undergrad "party-till-you-puke" downsides, plus everything Chicago has to offer is a short L train ride away. Other college towns in the region I'd consider before B-N would be Bloomington IN, Columbus OH, and depending on how well you can deal with cold and snow, Ann Arbor MI and Madison WI.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Bitey

Bloomington-Normal is a second-tier college town compared to Champaign-Urbana. And I'd argue you could do yet another step better than C-U in Evanston, which has all the grown-up aspects of a college town with virtually none of the undergrad "party-till-you-puke" downsides, plus everything Chicago has to offer is a short L train ride away. Other college towns in the region I'd consider before B-N would be Bloomington IN, Columbus OH, and depending on how well you can deal with cold and snow, Ann Arbor MI and Madison WI.

Good suggestions. I was thinking of suggesting Evanston as well. The problem though is he's looking to go on the cheap.


I think your idea of C-U would be more desirable for the OP and similarly priced as B-N. YMMV. Not sure exactly where his family in IL actually is(?)

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by damba

Good suggestions. I was thinking of suggesting Evanston as well. The problem though is he's looking to go on the cheap.


I think your idea of C-U would be more desirable for the OP and similarly priced as B-N. YMMV. Not sure exactly where his family in IL actually is(?)

Evanston is still a lot cheaper than the Bos-Wash corridor. But if he's looking specifically for a Bloomington-Normal type cost of living, then yeah, Evanston probably isn't going to work. Then again he could ditch his car and have that expense off his back, so who knows.

He mentioned his family is deceased. Maybe extended family matters but it doesn't sound like it from his original post.

[madpaddy]

I'll throw down another vote for Champaign/Urbana over Bloomington/Normal. Madison, WI would be even better, IMHO, although the COL is higher.

[deeman7]

Bloomington, IN, Ann Arbor, MI, and Madison, WI all lie in states with a much better financial outlook than IL.


Though, I like BLO/NO a lot. There are some newer developments north of town that are cheap. I think there are a number of options on the south end of town near the St. Farm campus. Most student dominated apartments are going to be within a fairly short distance from campus.

[kyle19125]

While I appreciate the recommendation of other towns over Bloomington-Normal, I have in fact done enough research to realize they're much more expensive which is a major consideration given the need/desire to save for retirement. In the case of Champaign-Urbana it too was in the mix however the employment factor (potential employer there versus the one in B-N) changes the equation enough to eliminate it from contention. Deeman 7 and others, can you elaborate further over areas of town versus others in terms of better versus worse, less undergrad populated (not against ANY student mix) and perhaps something with a walkable element to a grocery/shops/restaurants? Thanks!

[deeman7]

So, the walkable area of Normal happens to be where most of the students live, just east of campus. It was redeveloped about a decade ago.


There is a downtown Bloomington as well, just south of the Illinois Wesleyan campus which attracts students on the weekends in the evening. I haven't been to the area in a few years now but most of the newer developments were more on the outskirts of town. I'm not sure how much redevelopment has gone into downtown Bloomington of late.