Exasperated In Illinois

[pandagal]

Okay, I have to agree with you on some of those li'l itty bitty towns. St Joe is a nice area and they are growing like wildfire. Good schools and that's why folks are heading that way. Also the prices are right. Fisher is a tiny little town and the biggest thing nearby would be the Vesuvius plant. There is a huge housing development going on there right now and houses and lots are selling faster than you can say greener pastures. So I think the next sensus will have a few more people. Masfield is trying it's darndest to expand and it is going to get the runoff from Mahomet for sure especially since Mahomet taxes have gone through the roof. Monticello is another expanding town as they also have new h ousing developments going up. The thing about the small towns is that they generally have less apartments and townhouses/condos and are more focused on the 'family' lifestyle.

Also, Villa Grove has more folks moving there now, but it's not a crowd I would want to call my neighbors anymore. I hear that they are having alot of trouble with some of their new folks.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by pandagal

Fisher is a tiny little town and the biggest thing nearby would be the Vesuvius plant.

What the hell is Vesuvius anyway? I used to drive by one of their plants in Charleston a lot...

[pandagal]

Yeah, they have one in Charleston, I drove by it too when I went to school there. They also have one in Fisher and one in Champaign. They are a company that works with the steel industry. I think they make the 'shutters' that allow the molton to move from the crucible to the mold. I know they use alot of diamonds for cutting something.

Speaking of Charleston...it has grown leaps and bounds since I was there last.

[Drover]

When were you there last?

I went to school there intermittently from 1992 to 1998. I was just back there last year to rustle up some recommendation letters for grad school from professors. and I didn't really see anything different about it. In fact all I could think of is that I actually spent 5 years in that dreadful place without going absolutely batty. Then again, back then I was lame enough to think that Marty's was cool... that helped me get by.

Anyway I just checked the census data and it indicates Charleston's population actually dropped 4% between 2000 and 2005. I know it's not because of declining enrollment at EIU. And I can't see what would possibly drive any significant population increases in Charleston save some massive expansion of the university. It seems like some of the houses in the downtown area might be less than ideally habitable; maybe people are just moving from that area and moving outward?

[pandagal]

Sorry, didn't actually mean the population per se. I graduated from there in 1990. By the time you got there, alot had already changed but the last time I was there was probably 2002 and I just couldn't believe how things have changed. When I was there, there really weren't alot of stores and restaurants. Wil Walkers was the main grocery and Rural King and Walmart were the only places to shop unless you went to the 'mall' in Mattoon. Many of the places that I hung out are long gone. And Marty's....who didn't think it was great? Hind sight is 20/20 on that one! Still, I actually miss how lame it was.

[jessiegirl_98]

You can also try Quincy, IL. It's about 40,000 has a recent influx of "artists" and is cheap.

[preppyboyofIL]

I realize that you want to stay in IL, but have you ever thought of looking around Indianapolis? I know it sounds funny to think about going there, but Indy has done a lot with it's city and there are parts of the city along I believe the street is called Meridian??? Where it is VERY artsy. (lots of coffeehouses, art museum places, outdoor cafes) that kind of thing. There is a lot of charm around there, it would get you out of "subdivision hell" and put you in one of the midwest's fastest growing urban areas. I was in Indy a year ago and cannot believe how far that city has come since the 1980's when it was a complete dump. Check out this link... Google Image Result for http://www.mswoods.com/indianapolis/Image2/Indianapolis_Street_Scene.jpg OR Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission

[lookaround]

Don't you just hate it when someone posts a question and then doesn't follow up? Well, I did that. And I'm sort of glad I did because everyone took off with the topic and had a good time without me! Good job! Thanks for all the thoughts re my wanting to find a small "artsy" place.

Subdivision hell is a cancer and can't be stopped. I live in Mahomet IL now and the property taxes are nuts. Subdivisions are swallowing up what pretty views there were in this county and it's just too much. Next, we will be subsidizing the ethanol plants. There really is no place to run to anymore. It's just a matter of pain tolerance for the loss of beauty and the level of crumbling civilization you can live with. New generations of people who only know these plastic subdivisions and nothing else will not and do not feel the pain that people over 40 experience. I'd like to build a Tumbleweed house (tumbleweedhouses.com), but it's impossible to find a few acres around here. Let's just say I'm exasperated everywhere.