Illinois, I'm coming home! But where??? (Chicago, Rockford: apartment complexes, rental, townhomes)

[maggie7]

My fiance and I are originally from Illinois (me, Palatine; him, Kewanee) but have been living in Florida attending grad school for the last 3 years.

We are ready to move back to Illinois (or possibly other spots in the Midwest), and aren't sure where to look! We miss our families and the Midwest friendliness.

We don't want to live in Chicago (we're just not big city people), but other than that, we're not sure. Small towns are OK with us (my dad grew up in Andover, if anyone has ever heard of it!)... although it'd be nice to be within an hour or so of at least a mid-size city (e.g. Rockford, Peoria, Quad Cities).

We don't have loads of money, either, and could be classified as a young, educated, and liberal couple just starting out.

Ideally, we'd like to be able to rent a duplex or an upper/lower of a house, for $1200 or less per month. We are trying to move up a step from large apartment complexes.

We like hiking and other outdoorsy things, so living within a reasonable drive (e.g. an hour) of a state park would be great, too!

He's looking for work with a non-profit, or anything he can find; I work from home teaching online classes for now, but might try for a community college position too.

Any ideas?

[prairiestate]

I've always loved the Illinois River Valley. I even have the I&M Canal plates on my car. Ottawa is a particularly attractive town, with a fairly busy downtown area. It's near two scenic state parks, Starved Rock, and Matthisen (sp?). Nearby LaSalle and Peru I don't think are quite as attractive, but still not bad. Peru is a local shopping hub, and the local community college is in one of those towns. There are also some smaller towns in the area to check out, like Marsielles (sp?). You're also about 1/2 way between Chicago and the Quad Cities, and 1/2 way between Bloomington and Rockford. So you have extra large, medium and small cities nearby for possible employment and entertainment.

[jwhittak]

I lived in Kewanee for a few years. I wouldn't recommend that!

[Steve-o]

Definitely check out Sycamore, its a small town, about 20 minutes from the western burbs. Housing is still cheap, but the town is growing up, so Im sure the prices will skyrocket soon, so you should check into it now before its too late. I know there are some townhomes along Rt. 23 (north of Rt. 64) that are about 130K, and they look nice.

[Paxtonian]

House rental prices this way (Ford County) are reasonable, a two bedroom usually runs about $650 for a very nice place. Champaign-Urbana is a relatively short drive away. There are plenty of non-profits there, plus I think you'd be a good fit for Parkland College. Locally, we've got fast internet available, which I assume would be good for your current avocation. Here's how I would proceed- contact the paper here in Paxton, the Paxton Daily Record to set up a classified ad at 217-379-4313 requesting a place to rent. The locals here are a bit cheap about placing ads, so you'd get calls from folks informally renting houses out. I also know of a duplex for rent, it's owned by a little old lady named Thelma Flesner, according to the directory she can be reached at 217-379-4026. The place she's got is located downtown next to the railroad (which is down in a cut), for some reason the locals don't care for being close to the railroad. Seeing as how you classify yourself as liberal, I might as well toss in a local word about politics. Ford County is pretty solidly Republican and has been so since it was settled. I recall that the last Democrat elected to county office was in 1932. People live long lives here, that fellow just died this last year. However, politics is a local matter, you'll find very little interest in Springfield or Washington, except in matters touching on the local economy, such as agriculture. Democrats are looked upon as being a bit eccentric, but we tolerate eccentrics well. Some couple did have a Kerry for president campaign sign in their yard in town back in 2004, that was cause for comment at the local cafe, and has passed into local lore. BTW, I believe there are more Libertarians about in the county than Democrats. Anyway, I just thought you'd like a heads-up on that account. You'd do fine here, so don't let that stop you.

[CarolL]

You might want to look into Oregon, IL. It's near White Pines and Lowden State Parks. The Rock River runs thru town, so there's fishing, hiking, boating, etc. And it's only about 30 min or so from Rockford, and an hour or so from the Quad Cities. It's a hilly, scenic area, quaint, quiet.

Closer to the Quad Cities, there's Geneseo. Lively and pretty little town with nice shopping, a couple of good restaurants, nice housing, and 20 min from the Quad Cities. Called the Maple Leaf City (or something like that) because of the many beautiful, old maple trees in town. There's a beach and camping along the Green River and Hennepin Canal, and the Rock River isn't far. Johnson Sauk State Park is about 30 min away; Black Hawk State Park is in the QC.

Galena is beautiful. Looks like Vermont. Very hilly, skiing, close to Mississippi Palisades state park and everything else the Mississippi River can provide. The nearest "big" town is Dubuque, IA, or about 1 1/2 hrs to QC, an hour to Freeport, 3 hours to Chicago.

There are beautiful towns along the Illinois River south of I-80 to Peoria. Henry, IL, comes to mind. And Princeton seems to be a very nice place to live.

Yes, I know Andover. I grew up in Cambridge, five miles away; born in Kewanee. I've lived most of my life in the Chicago area, tho. I go back to the area often because my mother still lives there. You would not want to return to Kewanee, IMHO: housing stock is sad, the economy is extremely depressed. The only shopping is Wal Mart, and there is only one supermarket.

[Paxtonian]

Here we go, an ad from Thursday's Paxton Daily Record:
"2 bdrm duplex in Paxton. Redecorated. Immed. Poss. $460/mo. Call Ron Lenington, Coldwell Banker Lenington Realty, 379-4889." Of course, that is in the 217 area code. I know it sounds too cheap, but it's right at the prevailing rate for a pretty decent place here.

[M TYPE X]

Paxtonian amuses me to no end with his advocacy of Ford County.

Young couple, doing well, but no Chicago: Peoria area maybe? Bloomington-Normal, possibly.

[lccurry]

QUOTE=maggie7;512982]My fiance and I are originally from Illinois (me, Palatine; him, Kewanee) but have been living in Florida attending grad school for the last 3 years.

We are ready to move back to Illinois (or possibly other spots in the Midwest), and aren't sure where to look! We miss our families and the Midwest friendliness.

We don't want to live in Chicago (we're just not big city people), but other than that, we're not sure. Small towns are OK with us (my dad grew up in Andover, if anyone has ever heard of it!)... although it'd be nice to be within an hour or so of at least a mid-size city (e.g. Rockford, Peoria, Quad Cities).

We don't have loads of money, either, and could be classified as a young, educated, and liberal couple just starting out.

Ideally, we'd like to be able to rent a duplex or an upper/lower of a house, for $1200 or less per month. We are trying to move up a step from large apartment complexes.

We like hiking and other outdoorsy things, so living within a reasonable drive (e.g. an hour) of a state park would be great, too!

He's looking for work with a non-profit, or anything he can find; I work from home teaching online classes for now, but might try for a community college position too.

Any ideas?[/quote]

[shadow91]

I just moved to AZ from Ottawa, IL and I can tell you this, I have decided NOT TO SELL my house because I truly miss Ottawa. It is a beautiful town and friendly I will be ocming home in about 4 years when my son graduates from high school, he loves it here. Ottawa is directly right off of interstate 80 so it makes traveling easy. You would not be wrong moving there. Good luck to you.