Wanting to Retire to Centralia, Illiniois (Salem, Carlyle: low income, crime rate, houses)

[rusjc60]

I graduated high school in Centralia 1965, want to move back.
Are there any welding jobs there? What is the starting pay? Is good part-time work available for well qualified offic worker with lots of computer knowledge? Thanks.

[bls5555]

If I were you I would stay away from Centralia Illinois. People are leaving in droves because of the horrible school systems. When you drive through you will see boarded up houses and it is just generally a pretty nasty place. Have you heard of Carlyle Illinois? It's about 12 miles from Centralia, and is home to the largest lake in Illinois. VERY nice place that a lot of people from Centralia are leaving for. Great schools system. Rising property values.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by bls5555

Have you heard of Carlyle Illinois? It's about 12 miles from Centralia, and is home to the largest lake in Illinois.

Larger than Lake Michigan??

[rusjc60]

Originally Posted by bls5555

If I were you I would stay away from Centralia Illinois. People are leaving in droves because of the horrible school systems. When you drive through you will see boarded up houses and it is just generally a pretty nasty place. Have you heard of Carlyle Illinois? It's about 12 miles from Centralia, and is home to the largest lake in Illinois. VERY nice place that a lot of people from Centralia are leaving for. Great schools system. Rising property values.

I knew the town is slowing down because the population is small, but we don't have any kids who would have to go to the system, and I am a product of the high school and had a great education in the 60's.

I feel it is a town worth saving and since I will be retiring I might be able to help.
Low property value at this time make it a good place to buy.
Thanks again,
Rusjc60

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by rusjc60

I knew the town is slowing down because the population is small, but we don't have any kids who would have to go to the system, and I am a product of the high school and had a great education in the 60's.

I feel it is a town worth saving and since I will be retiring I might be able to help.
Low property value at this time make it a good place to buy.
Thanks again,
Rusjc60

I like your attitude!!! Best of luck in your move!

[rusjc60]

Thanks, I believe attitude is everything.
Rusjc60

[montana_molly]

I was saddened to hear that Centralia has gone so far downhill. I too had a 60's education there and certainly didn't feel it was lacking then.

You have a wonderful attitude, and I wish you the best. And maybe it's a better alternative than where you are now. My best wishes to you.

(Incidentally, you were in my brother's class.)

[Carey74]

Carlyle is the largest man made lake in Illinois.

[Dolly]

We lived in Odin, next to Centralia and sadly, most of the good jobs have left the area, as well as the people. More of the population is considered low income now and with low income comes an increasing crime rate so that is something you may want to consider. There are no welding jobs to speak of in the area. My husband worked at the local community college (KC) and the welding instructor there was very upfront with the students in the welding program that they would need to go about 100 miles away to find a decent welding job. I think both Centralia and Salem are starting to tout themselves as retirement communities because of the lack of jobs anymore.

[brightmidnight]

I was heartened to read your reply! That is such a great attitude to have. I grew up in Greenville, about 40 minutes away from Centralia, and I always liked to shop there sometimes. Many of my classmates went to college there at Kaskaskia. Kaskaskia is probably the best thing Centralia has going for it now, and you may be able to get computer jobs from there.

Or, you could live in Carlyle or Greenville or Vandalia, all great small towns that may have more opportunities for jobs. There are probably welding jobs at CIPS, the power plant in Coffeen, which is close to Greenville and Hillsboro. There are probably some in Metro East places like Granite City as well, which would be easy to get to from Greenville.

For computer jobs, lots of times as long as you have the Internet, it doesn't matter what town you're in-- you can do your work over the Internet!