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Old 04-24-2007, 09:22 PM
 
135 posts, read 596,712 times
Reputation: 141

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Hello all. My fiancée and I will be starting graduate school at U of I this fall. We will be there for 4-6 years so we are going to buy a home and plan to head out there to look sometime in June. I have been doing some searching online so I have some idea of what is available and the general layout of the area. However, nothing beats information from people in the area so please help me out if you can. This post is quite long so just address any single point if you want to. Thanks in advance.

We are looking for a single-family home in the $140k - $160k range.

Here is what we are looking for, somewhat in order of importance:
1. Safe area - It doesn't need to be a gated subdivision, but I would like to feel safe walking or waiting for a bus at night if necessary.
2. Neighborhood with character - We would like a neighborhood with lots of trees, which probably means an older neighborhood. We quickly drove through some pretty areas in Urbana just east of U of I, so something like that. Mostly we want to avoid one of the cookie-cutter neighborhoods that were just built on farmland in the last 5 years.
3. Near the University - We prefer to bike to school in good weather. I figure within about 3 miles of the Illini Union would be as far as we would like to be.
4. Near a bus route that goes to Illini Union - For those non-biking days

Other things that are not necessary but would be nice:
5. Near other young professionals - While we definitely do not want to live in "Campustown", we also would like to live somewhere where at least some of the residents are also younger people like us. I'm not sure we'd enjoy living in a neighborhood where everyone is retired or middle-aged with children.
6. Near a park - for walking the dogs!

Given these things, the area I have been searching includes both Urbana and Champaign and basically ranges from around Mattis on the west to Philo Road on the east and University on the north to Windsor on the south. Let me know if there is anywhere else I should or should not be looking.

A couple of other questions for anyone who wants to address them:
1. I have heard that north of University is not a good area. It seems that most of the rest of Champaign outside of Campustown is decent. What are the other bad parts of Urbana? From crime reports it seems that the area from Lincoln Square southeast to Philo & Florida is marginal...?

2. Any recommendations on Urbana vs. Champaign? I've heard the tax rate argument but the difference in rates doesn't seem that significant and the homes seem a little cheaper in Urbana. My main concern with Urbana is the rumors that Urbana is losing businesses and is on the decline. I'm a little worried real estate values there might be flat or worse in our short time frame.

3. Where is the nightlife in C-U? I know there are bars in Campustown but I'm wondering if there are some other nice ones in downtown or elsewhere?

Thanks again!
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Old 04-24-2007, 11:25 PM
 
Location: Midwest
1,903 posts, read 7,880,690 times
Reputation: 474
Quote:
A couple of other questions for anyone who wants to address them:
1. I have heard that north of University is not a good area. It seems that most of the rest of Champaign outside of Campustown is decent. What are the other bad parts of Urbana? From crime reports it seems that the area from Lincoln Square southeast to Philo & Florida is marginal...?

2. Any recommendations on Urbana vs. Champaign? I've heard the tax rate argument but the difference in rates doesn't seem that significant and the homes seem a little cheaper in Urbana. My main concern with Urbana is the rumors that Urbana is losing businesses and is on the decline. I'm a little worried real estate values there might be flat or worse in our short time frame.

3. Where is the nightlife in C-U? I know there are bars in Campustown but I'm wondering if there are some other nice ones in downtown or elsewhere?
1. correct
2. correct
3. downtown Champaign
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Old 05-12-2007, 05:16 PM
ndb
 
Location: Champaign, IL
26 posts, read 112,764 times
Reputation: 15
Default lived there a while...

Quote:
Originally Posted by asearchforreason View Post
Hello all. My fiancée and I will be starting graduate school at U of I this fall. We will be there for 4-6 years so we are going to buy a home and plan to head out there to look sometime in June. I have been doing some searching online so I have some idea of what is available and the general layout of the area. However, nothing beats information from people in the area so please help me out if you can. This post is quite long so just address any single point if you want to. Thanks in advance.

We are looking for a single-family home in the $140k - $160k range.

Here is what we are looking for, somewhat in order of importance:
1. Safe area - It doesn't need to be a gated subdivision, but I would like to feel safe walking or waiting for a bus at night if necessary.
Most places are safe if you're smart about your surroundings. Personally I'd avoid walking around campus at night by yourself if you're a female (just like any campus). People always say that Bradley avenue and the areas surrounding it are bad but I've never felt unsafe. That said, I've traveled all over the world and am pretty adventurous.

Quote:
2. Neighborhood with character - We would like a neighborhood with lots of trees, which probably means an older neighborhood. We quickly drove through some pretty areas in Urbana just east of U of I, so something like that. Mostly we want to avoid one of the cookie-cutter neighborhoods that were just built on farmland in the last 5 years.
We used to live in West Champaign between Mattis and Prospect and Church and Springfield. We liked it a lot, older neighborhood, safe, lots of places to walk the dogs, etc. The problem is that the houses in this area are relatively small or very expensive and need work. After looking for over a year we finally had to buy a newer house in a not-so-unique neighborhood in savoy to get more room. We still miss our old neighborhood after two and a half years.

Quote:
3. Near the University - We prefer to bike to school in good weather. I figure within about 3 miles of the Illini Union would be as far as we would like to be.
Pretty much all of C-U is biking distance to UIUC. I bike in 5 miles from savoy and it's not bad at all, although windy days aren't too fun once you pass over Windsor.

Quote:
4. Near a bus route that goes to Illini Union - For those non-biking days
Most places in C-U are pretty close to bus routes, it depends on your definition of "close".
Quote:
Other things that are not necessary but would be nice:
5. Near other young professionals - While we definitely do not want to live in "Campustown", we also would like to live somewhere where at least some of the residents are also younger people like us. I'm not sure we'd enjoy living in a neighborhood where everyone is retired or middle-aged with children.
We are kinda the same, but most places we've looked and/or lived around C-U in the last 8 years have had a nice mix.
Quote:
6. Near a park - for walking the dogs!
Most places in C-U are pretty close to some kind of park, it depends on your definition of "close".
Quote:
Given these things, the area I have been searching includes both Urbana and Champaign and basically ranges from around Mattis on the west to Philo Road on the east and University on the north to Windsor on the south. Let me know if there is anywhere else I should or should not be looking.

A couple of other questions for anyone who wants to address them:
1. I have heard that north of University is not a good area. It seems that most of the rest of Champaign outside of Campustown is decent. What are the other bad parts of Urbana? From crime reports it seems that the area from Lincoln Square southeast to Philo & Florida is marginal...?



2. Any recommendations on Urbana vs. Champaign? I've heard the tax rate argument but the difference in rates doesn't seem that significant and the homes seem a little cheaper in Urbana. My main concern with Urbana is the rumors that Urbana is losing businesses and is on the decline. I'm a little worried real estate values there might be flat or worse in our short time frame.
I'd probably avoid Urbana personally, the taxes are higher and they seemto have a hard time bringing in new business over the last few years, some of it seems to be shifting out to Savoy.
Quote:
3. Where is the nightlife in C-U? I know there are bars in Campustown but I'm wondering if there are some other nice ones in downtown or elsewhere?
Downtown Champaign is pretty good. Downtown Urbana is pretty good as well but a little smaller than DT Champaign. I stay away from campustown on the weekends.
Quote:
Thanks again!
Hope this helps.
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Old 05-12-2007, 07:17 PM
 
26 posts, read 120,796 times
Reputation: 24
Urbana isn't so bad. There are alot of business getting ready to build at the Vines on the corner of windsor and philo including a couple of restaurants. Also with the new menards next to the new super walmart there is bound to be more businesses going in there. They are also expanding the myra ridge subdivision south and they have some pretty nice homes there. There are also some nice homes back by prairie school. Close to the big park on windsor (which has a playground and all kinds of biking/walking trails). That neighborhood is in your price range and has little crime. You'll be hard pressed to get anything decent in your price range 3 miles from the union.

M type X is correct about the area betwwen prospect and Mattis. Lots to choose from including victorians to ranches and most have the charm you're looking for and the houses there are in a good price range. I don't think there's too much crime there.

Definitely stay away from the North eastern end of Champaign, but shouldn't be a problem as it's too far to bike to school.

Best advice is to go to realtor.com and look to see what is available in your price range in both cities and see if anything catches your eye. You shouldn't run across too many newer cookie cutter homes as they are probably above what you are looking to spend. Look around...tons of homes on the market. If you have the time and are looking for charm, have you thought about buying a fixer and doing some work on it the next few years? Good way to build some extra equity.

However, should you forgo the angst against cookie cutter living, there are alot of young people living in Ashland Park. Yes, it's northern Champaign, but in a good area. The houses are new and in your price range.
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