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Old 04-25-2021, 12:23 AM
 
Location: Brackenwood
9,880 posts, read 5,543,460 times
Reputation: 21982

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jules8116 View Post
The move is to be closer to family. So we really are open to anywhere. Niche has been an extremely helpful tool
Illinois is a big state so it would be helpful to know where your family is. If they live in Carbondale, you'd be better off living near Nashville than near Chicago.

The only college town not in the Chicago worth living in as a 40-somethings is Champaign/Urbana. The smaller college towns are far more oriented to the undergrad Natural-Light-chugging crowd. Ewardsville would be an exception since it's as much a suburban town as a college town.

Last edited by Bitey; 04-25-2021 at 12:34 AM..
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Old 05-08-2021, 08:04 PM
MN2
 
18 posts, read 21,199 times
Reputation: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicagoland60426 View Post
Rockford, Peoria, Champaign/Urbana, Bloomington/Normal, Decatur, Springfield, Metro East(part of big city metro but cheaper than Chicago), Quad Cities, Quincy, and Kankakee will have homes in your price range.

While you have left Chicagoland out of the list, you do have options in your budget in south Cook, Will County, and Lake County north of Lake Bluff.
Kankakee County's property taxes are sky high. Housing is cheap, but Kankakee is not a desirable city in which to live. HIgh crime, horrible schools, low-end shopping only.
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Old 05-08-2021, 11:04 PM
 
136 posts, read 364,649 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jules8116 View Post
Hello there to anyone who can help! My husband, 2 small children ( 4yo and 6 mos), and myself are planning on moving from Scottsdale, AZ to ANYWHERE in Illinois, that isn’t Chicago or it’s suburbs. We love Chicago, my husband is from there, we just can’t afford it. There is only so much online research you can do on these towns, and you never really know how these little towns are without hearing from the people who live there! We are open to all info anyone can share. We seem to be gravitating toward the college towns (but we are 40 and we don’t drink, so bars/nightlife etc, doesn’t really matter to us.) Tell us about your town and why it’s great or what towns you know about that aren’t so great (crime, bad schools, etc)Just a nice, safe town with good schools. My 4 year old is on the spectrum so any info on that would be helpful as well. Thank you to anyone who can respond.
My family is doing the exact same thing! My husband and I both have a lot of family in the Far Chicago suburbs. We currently live in the town of Maricopa, AZ. We plan to sell our house here and use the equity to buy a house with cash in central or southern IL. Our burger is the same as yours, around $120k. We are currently looking at the town of Lincoln. I don't know a while lot about the area, but it looks like a nice little town.
Good luck to you and your family!
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Old 08-21-2022, 11:41 PM
 
41 posts, read 54,608 times
Reputation: 72
Being a native from the Chicago suburbs, I will warn you that the rest of IL is not like Chicago. It can be very hard to fit into a smaller town because they already have their friends and family there. There tends to be a strong cancel culture in Midwest small towns that is toxic. Very unlike Chicago.

I would definitely rent for a couple years to make sure it's a good fit. Buying can make you stuck for 2-3 extra years in an area you don't want to live (take it from me). This can be very hard on children. If it's not a good fit for your child, you want to make sure you can easily leave.

That said, Dekalb would be a decent option. It has inexpensive housing. It has NIU, so it has more going on than an average small town. Lincoln Hwy runs through it and becomes Roosevelt Road, which goes straight into Chicago suburbs. It also has 88 run through it which will take you into the Chicago area.

DeKalb also has a quite a bit going on. It's gotten a little rougher in recent years, I've heard. Still, it's decent according to someone I just talked to that lived there.
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Old 08-23-2022, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas
1,592 posts, read 1,664,233 times
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How close do you want to be to your family? An hour or less or six hours or more? It would help to know where they live and how close you want to be to them.

You have to look at your entire cost of living budget, property taxes are less in some areas and very high in others. I lived in Central IL and the Chicago area most of my life. I wouldn't move from Scottsdale, AZ to anywhere in IL. The weather differences alone are enough to deter me.

I went to WIU in Macomb for two years. It's a nice little town, but not much there. At least the University has things that make it a nicer place to live. Bloomington has Lake Bloomington, Macomb has Lake Argyle. There are some nice caves and hills around the Macomb area, there are cornfields around Bloomington, lol.
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Old 08-23-2022, 05:50 PM
 
Location: 53179
14,418 posts, read 22,367,401 times
Reputation: 14461
I just bought a House in Trevor , Wisconsin. We looove it. Night and day from Chicago. And before you say.".ew nothing to do ", you are so wrong. This place has everything.
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Old 08-23-2022, 07:18 PM
 
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
4,611 posts, read 3,156,420 times
Reputation: 3890
glass_of_merlot, oh NO you did Not!!
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Old 08-23-2022, 11:00 PM
 
Location: 53179
14,418 posts, read 22,367,401 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Master Jay View Post
glass_of_merlot, oh NO you did Not!!
Yes I did!!!! Why??
I love it. Lol
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Old 08-24-2022, 06:55 AM
 
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
4,611 posts, read 3,156,420 times
Reputation: 3890
glass_of_merlot, MY APOLOGIES, Sir!

I had to look up where Trevor was (since I clearly do not know my OWN State!), and now that I see Trevor is along the border, I am much more relieved!!!!!!

Do you know the Vegas Cafe, in Antioch, IL?... Actually, Antioch has a cute downtown. What is Trevor like?
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Old 08-24-2022, 08:21 AM
 
2,568 posts, read 2,485,554 times
Reputation: 8479
Guess where the locals of Trevor go when they want to go to the big city? You got it, Antioch!!!

I can tease a little, as I lived in Twin Lakes for a couple of years. And when we wanted to go to the big city, we went to Richmond! Lol
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