Moving to Effingham, IL

[cstan2]

Originally Posted by nuhaha

It seems to be growing fast though and that's good.

I will give you a warning Effingham isn't so much growing as spreading. We have family in-laws who live in one of the town south of the city and have lived there since the late 70's and city of Effingham is just creeping towards it, while other parts are hollowing out. They are doing a lot of work on their roads to make it better, but don't expect the city to become significantly larger anytime soon. It is a nice place to raise a family, you may want to look at Teutopolis or one of the nearby smaller towns as well for school statistics if you've not found a place to live yet.

[gardengirl3333]

I was a city girl who relocated from Chicago to Effingham some 25 years ago... Effingham has grown over the years, as is a nice community to raise a family in! It is quiet, secure, has good public schools, as well as private schools. We have many Churches of different faiths, and nice clean parks that offer swimming as well as tennis and baseball, football, etc. It does not have the hustle bustle of any city life, and is quite laid back and easy going. The city has some cultural events and art exhibits, car shows, and the like. Older kids, teens, and 20 somethings seem to be bored and restless! There is not much for that age group to do.We are thankful however, that many churches are trying to remedy this with various functions. Effingham is the crossroads to many cities with easy access to Tera Haute, St Louis, Chicago, etc, and you will definately spend the gas to get to these places! You definately have to drive to shop at those locations, but Effingham is trying their best to bring in some larger stores and malls to remedy this problem. There are plenty of fast food restaurants and hotels, but very few jobs. I have heard that we will be getting some more businesses moving into our area, and will keep my fingers crossed! If we dont do something about the lack of full time employment, Effingham may become our future{Retirement community!} Our down town area has lost its old time charm, and turned into a city buildings project... So much for that. Overall, Effingham is a nice town if you are looking for affordable housing and friendly people....

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by gardengirl3333

I was a city girl who relocated from Chicago to Effingham some 25 years ago... Effingham has grown over the years, as is a nice community to raise a family in! It is quiet, secure, has good public schools, as well as private schools. We have many Churches of different faiths, and nice clean parks that offer swimming as well as tennis and baseball, football, etc. It does not have the hustle bustle of any city life, and is quite laid back and easy going. The city has some cultural events and art exhibits, car shows, and the like. Older kids, teens, and 20 somethings seem to be bored and restless! There is not much for that age group to do.We are thankful however, that many churches are trying to remedy this with various functions. Effingham is the crossroads to many cities with easy access to Tera Haute, St Louis, Chicago, etc, and you will definately spend the gas to get to these places! You definately have to drive to shop at those locations, but Effingham is trying their best to bring in some larger stores and malls to remedy this problem. There are plenty of fast food restaurants and hotels, but very few jobs. I have heard that we will be getting some more businesses moving into our area, and will keep my fingers crossed! If we dont do something about the lack of full time employment, Effingham may become our future{Retirement community!} Our down town area has lost its old time charm, and turned into a city buildings project... So much for that. Overall, Effingham is a nice town if you are looking for affordable housing and friendly people....

I don't know about the town itself, so I will let you share your expertise in that regard. I-70 across Illinois is heavy with truck traffic and never enjoyable to drive, and I've never heard of proximity to Terre Haute as being a selling point. That place is easily worse than Danville or Decatur.