Possibly Moving to Urbana-Champaign (foreclosures, unemployment rate, university)

[Guanyin]

My SO is in the middle of the interview process for a job at UIUC. We attended the university and lived in Urbana during the late 1980s and the early 1990s, so we're familiar with the area (although we recognize that it has grown substantially since we last lived there).

We are excited about the possibility of moving back if he's offered the job, but I'm starting to wonder about the economic climate. I've discovered on the internet that both of the companies I worked for in Champaign went out of business fairly recently, one in 2009 and one less than a year ago. And I don't mean the owners retired: I mean the doors suddenly being locked, people not getting their last paychecks, a flurry of lawsuits, etc., etc. Not that I was considering trying to get hired back on at either place (I've been self-employed for years), but it was disconcerting since they were both doing very well financially back in the day.

Further internet searches revealed that there have been way more foreclosures in both of the twin cities than where we live currently, the unemployment rate is higher, etc.

I'm originally from the Metro-East area, and I know from family members that since the economic downturn the state of Illinois has been in far worse fiscal condition than the state where we currently live. Up until recently, though, I had assumed that Urbana-Champaign was still the vibrant, thriving place I remembered.

Does anyone have any insight on the current economic situation in the city and/or at the university?