Central Illinois to Jackson (Memphis, Milan: apartment, rentals, townhouse)

[rossx6]

Hello all! I hope someone can help. We are a family of six, four kids, ages 17, 14, 6 and 4. My husband and I have both lived in Central Illinois our whole lives(both from small towns,3000 and under). We currently live in a town of 1200, which we love. My husband is wanting to transfer with work. He works for an ethanol plant and is required to work a swing shift. After two years of this he is burning out, bad. He has been told they do straight shifts in the Jackson plant. Finding a new job, for the money, is out of the question. I need to know if there are any small towns within a thirty mile radius where we could rent(preferably a house, duplex or townhouse, not an apartment: kids too loud, hehe) Also schools, we can't afford private,so which public are our best bet. Safety is our biggest concern, we are surrounded by cows and corn fields now. Or are there any good, safe, cheap areas we should look at in Jackson?
I would appreciate any input

[Shenandoah]

Just a quick search, I didn't find any rentals, but found a 4 bedroom 1.5 bath home in Jackson for $25,000 - states it's in a friendly neighborhood.
MLS ID #132419 on Realtor.com

blessings to you on your move!

Shen

[JMT]

I would be extremely cautious of living in an inexpensive neighborhood in Jackson. Jackson is like a miniature Memphis. Just as in many towns such as Memphis, "inexpensive" is a code word for junky or crime-ridden.

Others in that part of Tennessee would be much more helpful than I would, but I honestly can't think of any public school district in West Tennessee that has really good schools. On the other hand, most of the smaller towns within a half hour of Jackson would undoubtedly have SAFER schools than Jackson's.

[Mike in TN]

If safety is your concern, best steer away from Jackson city limits. I lived there from 1980-2001.

I don't really mind, b/c I was raised there, but most anyone I know that just visits there is very uneasy when there.

If you want to stay in Madison County look somewhere like Median, Beech Bluff, Mifflin, etc.

[rossx6]

Thanks for the info. I was looking at Medina, it appears to be a nice small town. The parent reviews on the schools on greatschools.com were excellent. Does anyone know about this town?

[Capt. Dan]

Where is the ethanol plant located? Knowing this we can try to find a town as close as possible to the plant.

[barbaracb]

Hi I moved from Northern IL to Michie TN, four years ago. It's an hour from Jackson, probably farther than your husband wants to drive, but many people who live here work in Jackson. It's an easy drive. We love our little town, and although I don't have any children in school, I've heard the the schools are good. It's also a very safe place to live, and the people here are friendly, and welcoming to new comers. Check us out.

[strumpeace]

Jackson's schools are downright hideous. Sure, there are one or two exceptions, but even those are going downhill. (See 'Liberty Technology Magnet High School' for an example of a good thing going bad quickly.)

West Tennessee schools, to be quite honest, are generally inferior to the rest of the state. That being said, there are several decent districts in the area. The schools in Chester County (Henderson) are ok academically; more importantly, they are safe. The schools in Medina are probably the best in the area; there will soon be a high school in Medina iirc. Milan schools are ok, too.

I would advise you to check out greatschools.net, where you can compare schools based on test scores, teacher/student ratio, and socioeconomic characteristics. That would be a good start.

Best wishes.