southern or central IL (Peoria, Springfield: sale, condos, new home)

[kyle19125]

I live in Philadelphia, formerly Washington DC and before that a resident of North Carolina and Florida....and always at the very least in a crowded, traffic filled suburb. I'm officially through with all of that and ready to live someplace quieter, more affordable and simpler.

A few caveats are that I am looking for a somewhat liberal town and a place where there seems to be interest in the downtown area from a development/redevelopment perspective. I would be conceivably opening a small organic food business and would be obviously wanting to be in a place where people care about organic/local food and the benefits of buying it.

Additionally a low housing cost from a buyer's perspective is a must. My leftover equity from my home sale (after paying cash for my new home in IL) would fund that. Consequently anything north of Decatur probably won't work for me. I have some ideas but don't want to sway the responses. Thanks.

[IlWesleyanGuy]

Try Bloomington-Normal or Peoria. They're a little north of Decatur but are located in Central Illinois.

[studedude]

Carbondale, home of SIU, might be worth a look.

[AnimalLover]

Springfield is working on revitalizing the downtown area. I know one older building is being developed into high-end condos, a 'beautification' project is underway for Capital Aveue. A very popular Farmer's Market is held downtown every Wednesday and Saturday from April thru...October (?). Have also started a Farmers Market at the State Fair grounds this year. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, also downtown, brings visitors from all over. This has really helped to increase the business traffic for shops in that area, of course. We also have the Dana Thomas house (Frank Lloyd Wright) and Lincoln sites - provided the governor is unsuccessful it shutting them down. The legislators are trying to stop or at least minimize that brilliant idea.

There's lots of diversity here and I think the organic food concept would be popular. If you want specifics on the area, let me know. I know it's available - don't mind doing the research if you're really interested.

[Maintainschaos]

My vote would be for central IL, not southern IL, given the criteria you set out earlier. If you are looking for more of the blue-collar work, you would find that in Peoria or Decatur. If you are looking for more white-collar work, you could find that in Bloomington, Champaign, or Springfield. The only caveat with Bloomington and Champaign are that they are pretty big college towns, which can be both a plus and a minus. If I had to pick, I'd choose either Springfield or Peoria (if you stay away from the more industrialized part of the city) are both nice areas.