Thinking of moving from Providence to Illionois (Chicago, Peoria: house, employment)

[jupiter2007]

Any information given would be extremely appreciated. Here's what I would be looking for:

A quiet type of town where I can buy a home for about $150K with at least 5 acres of land. Not too far from a major city maybe 30 minutes tops. I also have a son who would be going to college in a couple of years so that would be top priority. He's a real extrovert and loves diversity so any help here would be super helpful. The type of employment I would be seeking would be within social work or accounting. Thanks for the help.

[maggie7]

This is tough, because if you really want diversity, I would recommend living near Chicago (and there are several good colleges in Chicago and the surrounding area too). But I don't know if you can find the type of home you're looking for in the Chicago burbs for $150 or less.

And if you want a "quiet" town, then maybe I'd suggest looking at suburbs and towns that are a little farther out from Chicago - I'm most familiar with the towns to the North and West. Maybe Dundee? St. Charles, Geneva, or even Sycamore/DeKalb? DeKalb has Northern Illinois University... and Sycamore is right nextdoor, and definitely has the "quiet" small-town feel. But again, I don't know what the housing costs are now, since these towns seem to be booming.

Hope you find what you're looking for, in any case!

[Switch625]

My answer would depend on what you mean by "major city."

[doll lady]

The central part of the state has several cities of around 100,000 to 150,000 population. Springfield (University of Illinois at Springfield), Bloomington-Normal (Illinois State University), Peoria (Bradley University and others too), and Champaign-Urbana (University of Illinois). I know in the countryside (about 30 minutes out) north of Springfield you would be able to find a nice 10 to 15 year old house around 2700 to 3500 square feet with at least 5 acres for your price range. Probably find those in other areas in Central Illinois too. All of the cities I listed have universities....I listed the main one above. Springfield is noted for state employment.....Department of Human Services always has jobs posted for social workers and similar positions at fairly good salary.

[jupiter2007]

I guess I meant big city like Chicago.

[jupiter2007]

Hi all,
Thank you Maggie (funny that's my name too) and doll lady for your help. I will most definitely check all the cities you mentioned. I specially like the information you gave me doll lady because the prices/land/colleges sounds more like what I would be looking for. This was a great help and the information about the jobs was a plus.

[doll lady]

Jupiter....I hope you find a nice location to live. I think the Providence area is beautiful. My daughter went to school at UCONN and once she lived just over the state line in RI and then over by Foxwoods. So we visited really often.....especially the Christmas Store in RI. YAY

[Paxtonian]

There's a place listed in the Record newspaper of Paxton that would fit you like a glove. Rosenboom Realty of Paxton (217-379-2111) has a four bedroom house with a barn, tool shed garage and corn crib located on five acres at Gibson City. Gibson City has a reputation for being a nice place, look it up. I recall their radio station, WGCY has some links off their webpage (you might as well have a listen too) at http://www.wgcyradio.com .

[Paxtonian]

I forgot to include the price- it's listed at $180K.

[jupiter2007]

Wow...thank you for such detail. I will be looking at your recommendation for sure. Thanks for the Phone # and the radio station. It sure is my kind of music. Now all I need is the place. Thanks again.