Finally, some good news about the State (Champaign, Urbana: credit, income)

[Unicorn hunter]

Thanks to everyone for your comments! I do like Illinois since it is a blue state in a sea of red and I am pretty liberal even for Seattle! I have looked at both Indiana and Wisconsin, however. Indiana may just be too conservative, but certainly cheap! Maybe Wisconsin....or maybe even the suggested parts of Illinois. I am really looking for a more peaceful existence. Don't like the south or plains areas and can't afford the coasts, so focusing on the midwest, but as all of you have pointed out there are issues with drugs/crime/unemployment. Guess it's just finding that needle in the haystack...or that unicorn!

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Unicorn, unless you have family and/or friends in IL, what is so unique about the IL towns you are interested in? If you prefer to live in a blue state, fine: it's worth considering. But personally, I'd rather look in bordering states IN or WI.

Indiana is terrible. Wisconsin is definitely worth a look though.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Unicorn, if living in an area populated by like-minded (liberal) people is important to you, know that while Illinois may be a "blue" state, it is primarily because of Cook County - most areas downstate are very red when it comes to politics. Look at the individual counties and how many voted for Rauner and Trump. Even in those counties that consistently and overwhelmingly vote blue, I believe it is primarily because of the very strong labor presence. Without the "Machine" politics that feed off labor unions (and vice versa, a big part of the reason Illinois is in so much fiscal trouble), the state would be much more evenly divided. Bottom line, you can't just look at a nationwide map and assume because a state is "blue", that it's distributed homogenously, IL is definitely split north and south. A friend of mine from Cook County was an "outcast" in southern Illinois for years until people got to know him, folks down there aren't very fond of "Chicagoans". Same thing with Wisconsin, where most people from Illinois are considered "FIBS".

[flamadiddle]

^ Yep, Illinois is a mostly Red state with the exception of the Chicago area. This interactive map is a good tool. >

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...4/-89.45/65260

[MassVt]

We are not measuring land mass---we're counting votes. Most people in Illinois live in Chicagoland, and not downstate, most voters near Chicago vote blue, and hence, the state as a whole is considered blue.

More people live in the dot marking NYC than Montana, both Dakotas, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas combined.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Indiana is terrible. Wisconsin is definitely worth a look though.

I’m from terrible Indiana. I had a terrible family who totally accepted me when I came out of the closet, in terrible Indiana. I rode my bike everywhere in terrible Indiana as a kid without being mugged. I went to a terrible Indiana school with terrible Indiana teachers who pushed me to succeed. I somehow managed to go to college, law school and passed the California bar exam. I studied in Spain through a program set up in terrible Indiana. It was really traumatizing growing up in Terrible Indiana.

Originally Posted by Unicorn hunter

Thanks to everyone for your comments! I do like Illinois since it is a blue state in a sea of red and I am pretty liberal even for Seattle! I have looked at both Indiana and Wisconsin, however. Indiana may just be too conservative, but certainly cheap! Maybe Wisconsin....or maybe even the suggested parts of Illinois. I am really looking for a more peaceful existence. Don't like the south or plains areas and can't afford the coasts, so focusing on the midwest, but as all of you have pointed out there are issues with drugs/crime/unemployment. Guess it's just finding that needle in the haystack...or that unicorn!

Northwest Indiana is totally fine. I grew up in Valparaiso and had a great upbringing. The areas near Chicago are basically Chicago Suburbia minus the *outrageous* property taxes. You get the benefit of being close to the city without Madigan collecting your dime.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by MassVt

We are not measuring land mass---we're counting votes. Most people in Illinois live in Chicagoland, and not downstate, most voters near Chicago vote blue, and hence, the state as a whole is considered blue.

Can't argue with a word you said. However, Unicorn was asking for opinions on his relocating to central Illinois, and also said that living among folks that have 'Blue" values is important to him. I was pointing out that most of IL below I-80 is red, with the exception of a few counties. One thing I didn't mention was that the blue counties downstate have cities within them that contain comparatively large populations of African Americans (Decatur, Peoria, E. St. Louis, etc), which as a bloc votes heavily Democratic - and tips those counties "blue" - which may or may not matter to Unicorn. Personally, I never liked the idea of labeling states "Red" or "Blue" to begin with - All states are purple, and many are pretty darned close to 50/50 purple. While it may be important for winning elections, would it really matter if the population in an area was 45% blue or red vs. 55% to a person living there?


Thanks for the link, flamadiddle, the OP will likely find it very useful.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

^ Yep, Illinois is a mostly Red state with the exception of the Chicago area. This interactive map is a good tool. >

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...4/-89.45/65260

Using this map, you can see that even most of the population centers in IL outside of Chicagoland are mostly blue, albeit more moderate, with locations like Champaign, Decatur, the Metro East, etc. as even stronger blue. Most of the “red” is only a small amount of the chiefly rural (and shrinking) population.

[flamadiddle]

Illinois has a Republican Governor so there are plenty of Red, Blue or Purple areas to pick from. Nice to have a map like that to make sure you land in a "friendly" area.

[Unicorn hunter]

Thanks again for all the helpful comments! I always have to point out that I am a "she" not a "he"! Not sure why everyone assumes I am a guy! Anyway, all useful information....a lot like Washington state....Western is blue/Eastern is red....or at least predominantly red. I found it a strain to be around so many conservative types when I lived in Eastern Washington and finally felt at home when I moved across the mountains.