Thinking of moving to Illinois (Chicago, Rockford: best suburbs, apartment, low crime)

[pythonis]

Married couple, middle age, no kids. I do gig work (lyft, doordash, etc), spouse is mainly a work from home type due to injuries and allergies. We are democrats and have multiple animals. We are coming from Tennessee and would like to find a house that is big enough for our needs in a town that is decently safe. Not everyone is paranoid and walks around with a gun, safe but everyone is a nice person who has no desire to be an ass type safe.
We are obviously on a budget but we just have to getfo of TN. Right now we are in a 3/2 with a fenced in yard and 1 car garage for $800.
Any ideas? Chicago is a big no, BTW.

[lepoisson]

Illinois is very conservative outside of the Chicagoland area and the Champaign-Urbana area, so I'm not sure what you would be gaining by moving from TN to IL. You probably already know this, but most parts of Illinois are losing population and for good reason. It's a boring state with high taxes. At least Tennessee has nice nature and a low cost of living.

If you are looking for a low cost, safe state where people won't bother you for being a Democrat, look into Iowa or Wisconsin. These states still tend to be more conservative, but they aren't Bible Belt Tennessee conservative.

[pythonis]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

Illinois is very conservative outside of the Chicagoland area and the Champaign-Urbana area, so I'm not sure what you would be gaining by moving from TN to IL. You probably already know this, but most parts of Illinois are losing population and for good reason. It's a boring state with high taxes. At least Tennessee has nice nature and a low cost of living.

If you are looking for a low cost, safe state where people won't bother you for being a Democrat, look into Iowa or Wisconsin. These states still tend to be more conservative, but they aren't Bible Belt Tennessee conservative.

It's more liberal than Tennessee. Far as I'm concerned they're losing population because the conservatives are moving away which is a positive. We don't bother with what nature looks like, we'd pay more to get away from house after house of Trump flags, and I'm not worried about taxes.
I'm not here to be talked out of moving there, I'm here to look at best cities in the state to live if you're a progressive leftist.

[Drewjdeg]

Originally Posted by pythonis

Married couple, middle age, no kids. I do gig work (lyft, doordash, etc), spouse is mainly a work from home type due to injuries and allergies. We are democrats and have multiple animals. We are coming from Tennessee and would like to find a house that is big enough for our needs in a town that is decently safe. Not everyone is paranoid and walks around with a gun, safe but everyone is a nice person who has no desire to be an ass type safe.
We are obviously on a budget but we just have to getfo of TN. Right now we are in a 3/2 with a fenced in yard and 1 car garage for $800.
Any ideas? Chicago is a big no, BTW.

Maybe a town near Champaign-Urbana? Decent gig opportunities due to the university. I think it is relatively safe although I heard crime has been increasing lately.

But I am also thinking Wisconsin might be a better fit; La Crosse, WI might be an area to consider.

[Lexusof5]

Originally Posted by Drewjdeg

Maybe a town near Champaign-Urbana? Decent gig opportunities due to the university. I think it is relatively safe although I heard crime has been increasing lately.

But I am also thinking Wisconsin might be a better fit; La Crosse, WI might be an area to consider.

I don't think any of the towns around C-U are that liberal. I don't really think C-U is that liberal compared to the US as a whole. Chicago is much more liberal than Champaign County by a fairly large margin looking at voting results. Champaign has University of Illinois and the students and professors have traditionally voted Democrat skewing the numbers most elections. Over 50% of students that attend U of I are from Chicago area.

I don't feel crime is that big of an issue in Champaign although 2021 did see a record amount of homicides (16) in Champaign. Most years it's only 5-10 in a city of roughly 90,000, which is pretty low.

With that being said, C-U is about the only metro area growing in Illinois right now. In twenty years, Champaign very well could be the largest city in central Illinois as Peoria, Bloomington, Springfield and Decatur are all loosing population. Some more rapidly than others.

Champaign County has plenty of Trump flags too even if you go a few miles from U of I campus. However, I'm guessing not as many as TN has. The best suburbs of C-U are Mahomet, Savoy and St. Joseph. However, all are pretty conservative but might be viewed as more liberal coming from TN. I'm not sure that $800 would get you much in those towns.

You might want to look at Joliet or Rockford areas. I would think they would be more liberal minded than Champaign County.

[jasperhobbs]

Galena Illinois is a historic, touristy town that has seen a recent surge of people moving in since the pandemic. Many are escaping the Chicago area and are drawn by the rolling hills, the Mississippi river nearby, and low crime. Politically, I would call it fairly neutral with nothing overbearing.

The job situation is mostly tourism employment but Dubuque Iowa 20 minutes away has opportunities. Dubuque is also worth considering moving to as Iowa is in good shape fiscally. The cost of living like everywhere else has gone up and housing is a bit overpriced relative to wages.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by pythonis

It's more liberal than Tennessee. Far as I'm concerned they're losing population because the conservatives are moving away which is a positive. We don't bother with what nature looks like, we'd pay more to get away from house after house of Trump flags, and I'm not worried about taxes.
I'm not here to be talked out of moving there, I'm here to look at best cities in the state to live if you're a progressive leftist.

It's really not more liberal than Tennessee, outside of Chicagoland. Just look at this map: https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/re...state/illinois and see for yourself. Some of the counties down state had over 80% of people vote for Trump. If you are looking for a place that's more liberal, downstate Illinois isn't the place for you. There are tons of Trump flags, gun stores, and other signs of conservatism. I'd recommend making a drive up and see for yourself.

People are leaving downstate Illinois because the job market is horrible, taxes are high, and Illinois is a rather dysfunctional state.

You said you do gig work like Uber and DoorDash. That will be challenging work unless you are in Champaign, Rockford, or Chicago area.

[Chi-town]

OP...if those trying to change your mind cause they have baggage leaving Chicagoland and IL. They cannot be too happy in their new choice. If they were? They would fully have moved forward and boast for thier new Texas region vs diss their former.... think about it.

Hope you do not get that way in a move. There can always be moving home too. Irony is telling someone stay in a better topography state and they chose another flat region for themselves...

Most Southern and conservative is southern IL. Always was from earliest statehood era. Northern IL less. Rural far more then larger urban areas. All states similar in that. Northern IL was originally part of WI territory including Chicagoland before a city.

College cities more uber usage maybe and less far right.

I retired to my home state of PA and county. In the mountains and far more conservative. Does not matter if IN, OH or PA or IL. To a large degree a TX too. I see less Trump signs now though and Confederate ones that they want it more to just say I am a redneck....

Cities less Conservative and rural areas moreso. Good luck in any choice. The political divide only gets worse. One must adjust and keep oneself from extremism.

Most rural of any state will be the cheapest. Nothing new in that or that states differ in that. Having many pets can be best more rural also.

[personone]

I’d need to know more of what your interests or needs are to be able to give you an answer. Illinois is a huge state. Although you mention Chicago is a no, Chicagoland (the surrounding suburbs) are huge. You could be somewhere in Lake or DuPage county and technically be in “Chicagoland,” but be over an hour away from the city and feel like you are in a completely different area of the state. Lake County is very safe, beautiful nature, and beautiful suburbs, with nice quaint downtowns. Although many of the suburbs are going to be on the more expensive side.

[Hiruko]

$800 per month is like a trailer or a studio apartment...