undecided about the move to blooming-normal, il (Chicago, Peoria: real estate, insurance)

[movin2 normal soon]

Me any my family might be moving to b-n illinois, I read that the schools are great, how is living there?? Please help

[linicx]

Normal is a college town. Bloomington is a conservative town with an economy that is fueled by insurance and real estate. There is no more crime in B-N than there is in any other mid-western town of the same sizes. If the two, Normal is smaller. Both are surrounded by farms and ranches as Illinois is a farming state that is dotted with pockets of larger communities. B-N are about 83% while population and 17% other. Local papers include the Bloomington Pantagraph and.the Daily Vidette (Normal) The regionals papers include Peoria Journal Star, Pelin Daily Times, and Springfield State Journal-Register and the Canton Daily Ledger

Pantagraph.com | Central Illinois
Vidette Online - Your source for ISU news
Home - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register
Home - Peoria, IL - pjstar.com
Homepage - Pekin, IL - Pekin Daily Times
Homepage - Canton, IL - Canton Daily Ledger

There is two hospitals in the B-N area. Brokaw-Mennonite (Bromenn) Hospital and St Joseph Hospital, and affiliate of Order of St. Francis in Peoria.

A new Children's Hospital of Illinois is in Peoria. It has 127 beds and 85 Paediatritions. Children's Hospital of Illinois - Home

Kids always want something to do. Pro Hockey and the semi-pro ball teams are in Peoria. Other things to do in the general area are two zoos, Planaterium, 178' tower that overlooks the Illinois River Valley, free Saturday night family movies in the park during the summer, swimming, ice skating, roller skating, golf, soccer, Marigold Parade and Medallion Hunt, camping, boating, fishing, hunting, Spoon River Drive, Wild animal park, Jake Wolfe fish hatchery, Native American museum, regional state fair, one of the largest night time Chistmas Parades and displays in America, State Fair, Knight's Water Park, rock climbing wall, river cruise, many state parks and Nature Conservancy areas, Botical gardens, Drive-In theater, food fairs, boat races, skeet club, and 12,000 acres of reclaimed wetlands and new duck blinds, Eagle Watch, art fairs, museums, and more. Between the B-N, Peoria and Springfield triangle there are plenty of things for you and your family to do that are free and fun with tons of restaurants, five malls and countless shopping.centers. If you cannot find what you are looking for in central Illinois, you will find it in Chicago. .

[linicx]

There is a Children's Hospital in Bloomington.

[rhawkins74]

Originally Posted by linicx

There is a Children's Hospital in Bloomington.

There isnt a childrens hospital in Bloomington!! There is a Children's hosptial foundation corporate office though.

[linicx]

What?????? It's listed as a hospital complete with maps on Google. If there is no hospital, Then the closest Children's Hospital of Illinois is in Peoria, and according to the website it sevedd nearly 8000 patients last year.

IMHO the Peoria area as a whole, including B-N, has as as good a medical community as any metropolitan city in the US; it certainly has the doctors to support it. However, if a member of my family was critically ill where there seemed little hope, I would transfer my family member to Barnes-Jewish in St. Lewis as it it the ONLY Mid-west hospital ranked consistently among the top 25 hospitals in the nation.

[Paxtonian]

The hospitals in B/N are good enough for most purposes.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by linicx

Normal is a college town. Bloomington is a conservative town with an economy that is fueled by insurance and real estate. There is no more crime in B-N than there is in any other mid-western town of the same sizes. If the two, Normal is smaller. Both are surrounded by farms and ranches as Illinois is a farming state that is dotted with pockets of larger communities. B-N are about 83% while population and 17% other. Local papers include the Bloomington Pantagraph and.the Daily Vidette (Normal) The regionals papers include Peoria Journal Star, Pelin Daily Times, and Springfield State Journal-Register and the Canton Daily Ledger

Kids always want something to do. Pro Hockey and the semi-pro ball teams are in Peoria. Other things to do in the general area are two zoos, Planaterium, 178' tower that overlooks the Illinois River Valley, free Saturday night family movies in the park during the summer, swimming, ice skating, roller skating, golf, soccer, Marigold Parade and Medallion Hunt, camping, boating, fishing, hunting, Spoon River Drive, Wild animal park, Jake Wolfe fish hatchery, Native American museum, regional state fair, one of the largest night time Chistmas Parades and displays in America, State Fair, Knight's Water Park, rock climbing wall, river cruise, many state parks and Nature Conservancy areas, Botical gardens, Drive-In theater, food fairs, boat races, skeet club, and 12,000 acres of reclaimed wetlands and new duck blinds, Eagle Watch, art fairs, museums, and more. Between the B-N, Peoria and Springfield triangle there are plenty of things for you and your family to do that are free and fun with tons of restaurants, five malls and countless shopping.centers. If you cannot find what you are looking for in central Illinois, you will find it in Chicago. .

The Vidette is for ISU. And you forgot the Miller Park Zoo, which is very nice for it's size!

Everyone I know who's gone to the hospital has had good experiences.

And of course the insane amounts of restaurants.

[linicx]

There is nothing wrong with the B-N hospitals. Children's hospital serve sick children. The Peoria Children's Hospital of Illinois has 85 Pediatricians on staff. It is another option for a family with children until the B-N unit is built.

I did mention "Other things in the area to do are two zoos. I didn't name them. Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington is one of two of the oldest zoological parks in Illinois (the other is Lincoln Park in Chicago). The area zoos are the Peoria Zoo at Peoria, Scovil Zoo at Springfield and Henson Zoo at Springfield. The Peoria Zoo opened a new 7 acre exhibit in August called Africa! - which will close for the winter when the Southern hemisphere animals are moved inside. .

The point being there are all kinds of things for families to do in B-N -- and the Peoria area of they want to drive that far. .

[Scio42]

Originally Posted by movin2 normal soon

Me any my family might be moving to b-n illinois, I read that the schools are great, how is living there?? Please help

Bloomington-Normal is a pretty safe place, like any city of the same size there are bad areas of town, but they definitately stand out (mostly the west side of Bloomington and south of downtown bloomington for a bit). Naturally with 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. The college creates a liberal/artistic bubble around ISU, but outside of that, B-N is a pretty conservative town.

Housing prices are reasonable, most of the schools are good. In fact I work with several people who work well outside of B-N but choose to live in B-N because of the schools.

B-N has grown and changed quite a bit in the past 15 years. It's less of the farm town it used to be a bit more worldly. For entertainment, it's not just a thrill a minute but if you look around there's enough to keep you occupied. Because of 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.

Overall, it's not a bad place to raise a family and the cost of living isn't too bad either.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by Scio42

The college creates a liberal/artistic bubble around ISU, but outside of that, B-N is a pretty conservative town.

I know that Democrats have won elections there lately, are they more moderate?