Possibly Moving to Peoria... (Bloomington, Normal: credit, houses, neighborhoods)

[KBF]

My husband is in the process of interviewing for a job in Peoria. If he gets the possition we will probably move there. I am originally from Carthage, IL, which is near Quincy, so this move will get us closer to my family. We are looking for a small town outside of the city with good schools. They need to have an AP(Advance Placement) program for our daughter. Otherwise, I will be at the school daily, cause she will be in trouble for cutting up in class. We are willing to drive 20 to 30 minutes. Schools are on the top of our list, but we do not want a private school, unless you know of a really affordable montessorri school, which I doubt. Does anyone have any suggestions? I will use them for house hunting.

[BUalumni]

It sounds like Dunlap is a perfect choice for you! We have one of the best school districts in the state with very modern facilities and amazing college prep classes. We even have one of the few freshman academies in the state to boast as well. Many students start taking classes at Illinois Central College in the summer between their Junior and Senoir year, and have close to a year of college done before they even graduate. Parents here are very involved with their children's education. The Dunlap/Alta area is sits very close to everything (shopping, dining, entertainment, highways) in north Peoria, but is still very rural feeling. Limestone school district is said to be good too and can be found on the southern edge of the Peoria. Morton, Washington, Eureka, Germantown Hills, Metamora, Chillicothe and Bloomington/Normal all boast great schools as well, but are not as close to Peoria as schools found in Dunlap or Limestone. East Peoria schools are only so-so in my opinion, and of course there is Pekin, but neither of those two are really small towns like the rest. But a commute from downtown Peoria to anything in Tazewell County is not going to be more than 30 mins. even during rush hour. Bloomington/Normal on the other hand would take more time.

[linicx]

There is a Montasorri and an AP school in Peoria. You did not say the age of your daughter, but if you lived near Richwoods High in Peoria I believe you would like the area. Rolling Acres subdivision is a quiet older neighborhood with well maintained homes, its affordable, Richwoods HS is nearby, and the advanced schools are not far away.

Peoria, I think, has a lot of advantages in that there are a lot of activities for kids if you look for them plus there is a university and three hospitals and an awesome park system. Rolling Acres is not far from shopping, Proctor Hospital, live theater, groceries, movies, banks, malls, sports. restaurants. Most of the bedroom communities around Peoria are nice, but unless you live in the county seat [excepting Fulton County] you will not find a hospital or an after hours clinic. This means Peoria, Pekin, Eureka, Canton and Havana. The emergency care clinics is not far from Rolling acres either.

Although I do not live in Peoria, I am there regularly as I have a sister who lives in Rolling Acres. Unlike many settled areas, they tend to degrade in time, but RA has managed to avoid it, I think, because there is a pride of ownership that is missing elsewhere. Peoria also does a decent job of keeping the main streets open in bad weather. RA is heavily wooded so there isn't a lot of street noise, yet it is surrounded by major thoroughfares so moving betwee point A and point B isn't that difficult even during peak traffic hours. .

[KBF]

Thanks to both of you. We are excited to hear about the Montesorri school. I should have included that she is only 6 right now. So we are still in elementry, but she is at a third grade level at a minimum academically. We are not the type of parents that push our child, this is just who she is. We are trying to make being different from other kids her age easier on her. At the same time we want to encourage her to be the best she can be.

[linicx]

Originally Posted by KBF

Thanks to both of you. We are excited to hear about the Montesorri school. I should have included that she is only 6 right now. So we are still in elementry, but she is at a third grade level at a minimum academically. We are not the type of parents that push our child, this is just who she is. We are trying to make being different from other kids her age easier on her. At the same time we want to encourage her to be the best she can be.

Do you work? If you don't you might think seriously about home schooling. It's perfect for the gifted and almost everything you do can be turned into a credit for math, science or social studies. The advantage is you have a year to complet the grade and she had shorter school hours.

[KBF]

I don't right now but I am going to complete my bachelors in Accounting in October and then I have to return to the work world. We have concidered home schooling, but with her asytrical age it is important that she be exposed to other children for socializing on a large scale. She has not really been exposed to this, thus far. I was looking at the "report cards" for Rolling Acres and noticed that while it had an above average educational climate, it did not offer an AP course. Do you know anything about that? Is it just a typo or mis-information?

I did some browsing online for homes the other day as well and saw some beautiful homes in the Orchard District. I love the Victorian era and have always wanted to restore one. I was wondering what the neighbor hood was like? Are the houses realatively cheap because they need TLC or due to rough neighbor hoods. Are there even any really rough neighborhoods in Peoria. I have not been there since 95 and that was for a school trip.