Madison County, Illinois; a vastly underrated place in the Midwest? (Chicago: crime, house)

[Doughboy1918]

Having surveyed the whole Midwest region and all of the major metro areas within it. I always thought Madison County, Illinois in the St. Louis metro seemed somewhat underrated or not talked about as much as it probably should be. Why? It seems so well balanced for just one small county. Not only does it have that classic Middle America vibe with a number of small towns surrounded by farmland on the outskirts but also a few post-WWII suburbs, all within commuting distance of a big city. Aside from that, it also has a lot of history and culture, with Granite City being a quintessential Rust Belt industrial town, while Collinsville having the famous giant ketchup bottle, Edwardsville having the women's suffragette chapter house and above all, Alton, which while not only famous for once having been the home of the world's tallest person (Robert Wadlow), but also the Piasa Bird painting on the nearby riverside limestone bluffs, the site of the last Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debate in 1858, and lastly, the haunted McPike mansion.

With all these things considered, I just always wondered why there's never been so much talk or recognition for Madison County, Illinois for its sheer diversity and culture, which also makes it seem as though a nice place to call home in certain spots as well. But I don't know, what do other people (Illinoisans in particular) think about this?

[Maintainschaos]

Madison County is definitely very nice, especially near Edwardsville and Glen Carbon.

[RisingAurvandil]

I own property in Madison County. It is a nice county overall, with a wide mix of communities. In Illinois, like all of Downstate, it is overshadowed by Chicago. Within the StL Metro, it is overshadowed by the region's core to the west. Historically, St. Clair County has been much better at consolidating influence within the Metro East.

Within the metro, I would call it a "jack-of-all-trades" county. It is quite good at a lot of things, but is not the most prominent for anything.

...Except for the bike trail system. Seriously, it's probably the best in the Midwest.

[Doughboy1918]

One other thing I missed was the Cahokia Mounds west of Collinsville.

[UniversalTraveler]

Madison Co. indeed is a unique area and nice. But stay the heck away from the St. Louis area. it's been going downhill at a alarming rate. No one of the leaders in crime and murders.