Any thoughts on Normal, IL? (Peoria, Bloomington: insurance, high school, college)

[methridge]

There does not seem to be a thread about the city of Normal.. so I will start one. I have an interview at Illinois State so I was just wondering what the general perception of Normal is? Housing prices/options, crime, things to do etc? Anything and everything would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

[linicx]

Normal is a college town. New Mall, etc. College night life.. If ou want more or different the B=N crowd goes to Peoria once in a while. I like Normal, always prefered it to Bloomington as it isn't as stiff necked. Just my two cents.

[odanny]

Normal is a very nice, tidy, and safe town. I think, with the exception of the downtown district near ISU, where the bars are, that they roll up the sidewalks at sunset. If you are looking for a safe, quiet, and clean community, Normal is a good bet. But if you are young and like going bar hopping, Normal (and also Bloomington next door) offer some great bars to hang out at, provided you dont mind hanging out with young people. Normal is one of the better towns in central Illinois, in my opinion, but outside of going to bars, there is not alot to do. And the surrounding area is nothing but flat farmland, very few recreational opportunities.

[cap1717]

Spent about 10 years in Normal, first as a student and then as a "townie". . . love the place! Downtown Normal is an "up and coming" little place, small enough to be cozy, but with a nice variety of services. Good parks, nice communities, reasonable housing prices, good schools, and Bloomington is right next door. All in all a terrific community, if you like community. Not a good place for those who are "addicted to excitation", as a friend of mine used to say.

[TabulaRasa]

Your basic college town. I grew up north of the Bloomington/Normal area, and really only associate it with college students and the insurance industry. The majority of my high school classmates went on to school at ISU or Illinois Wesleyan, and a good chunk went on from there to State Farm.

[Scio42]

Normal's a nice town. You probably didn't find a thread for it because people usually say Bloomington-Normal (it's two fairly equally sized cities that have grown into one). It's mostly a white collar town. It's pretty safe and the bad areas of town definitately stand out (mostly the west side and south of downtown bloomington for a ways). Naturally having ISU it's a college town, but B-N is large enough and there's enough other businesses around that Illinois State U doesn't completely dominate the town like some other college towns. With the college there's a liberal/artistic scene, but outside ISU, B-N is a pretty conservative town.

Housing prices are reasonable, most of the schools are good.

B-N made some progress on things to do in the past 10 years, it's not a thrill a minute, but enough to keep you occupied. With ISU, there's an OK music scene. B-N seems to be the restaurant capital of the world, so there's a ton of places to eat. There's a biking-walking trail that runs through the entire center of town. There's also a really nice rock climbing facility that's built inside an old grain elevator.

There's a fair number of young professionals (plus college & grad students of course). So if you're younger and fairly outgoing, you can meet quite a few people. If you not, there's plenty of settled families and baby boomers too.