Peoria-walkable urban areas (Chicago, Springfield, Oak Park: lofts, lawyers, houses)

[Peter1948]

I am an urban kind of guy interviewing for a job here. I know it is a small town, and has a bad reputation, but are there any pedestrian corridors along the lines of a Broad Ripple in Indy, or Bardstown in Louisville, or any stores that wouldnt be out of place on Clark St in Chicago?


I will be in town tmrw (Tues and will leave wed). Are there any bars where young professionals hang out on a Tuesday night? Speaking of which, what are the good bars for someone in their 20's? Are there any historic neighborhoods I should check out? Street names would be great. How about a good local coffee shop?

[linicx]

If your broadview of Peoria is small and a bad reputation I don't why you'd want to live here. Maybe you should ask a different question.

[Maintainschaos]

Peoria's not so bad...it's just gritty. Anywho, there's a cute little strip through Peoria Hts. that's got some nice shops and places to eat and have coffee. I haven't been there in a while, so I don't exactly know what the road is...Prospect Rd. I think?

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[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by linicx

If your broadview of Peoria is small and a bad reputation I don't why you'd want to live here. Maybe you should ask a different question.

I am guessing that attitude is why it is the way it is.

That said, thank you MaintainsChaos, thats at least something! Any bars where anyone in their 20's that is more professional might hang on any night?

[kramer1]

I moved to Peoria from Chicago last year (my husband is orginially from this area). I grew up in Oak Park and lived in Lakeview and Lincoln Square for 15 years prior to our move. I am older than you (40) married with a young child, so I can't speak to what it is like to be a younger single professional here, nor can my husband - as this was his first return to Peoria to live after leaving for college. As much as I loved living in Chicago, all the bad things started to wear me down (cost, traffic, schools), and it was actually my idea (primarily) to move down here. My husband found a great job and my career is flexible enough that I was able to keep mine on a scaled back basis.

I've read your posts, and I had some of the same concerns about living here. I had never been here until a few years ago, an was pleasantly surprised by the the housing stock that is similar to Chicago and areas like Oak Park (Moss/Bradley, by Bradley U, the Knolls, some of the lofts downtown, and Peoria Heights). The first thing on my list when looking for a house was a walkable neighborhood (some people down here get this, but, unfortunately, many more don't). For a city its size, Peoria is experience suburban sprawl even worse than Chicago. The city schools are a big part of the problem.

Ultimately, we found a house in Peoria Heights in a very nice neighborhood right around the corner from the restaurants and shops on Prospect. The commercial strip is fairly small but growing. I'm not sure what part of Clark St. in Chicago you're referring to - to me, the variety of neighborhoods up and down clark is pretty significant. Sullivan's is a new Irish pub on Prospect recently opened by someone who has been big in the bar/restaurant business here. All the restaurant's over here on Prospect are good - Jim's Bistro, French Toast, Seven on Prospect, Basta's. You can get coffee at Leaves n' Beans (they roast their own on the premises and supply a lot of businesses around here with their coffee or Emack and Bolio's (ice cream and coffee, open late). There is an independent bookstore with a wine bar, a couple of boutiques, a wine shop, etc.

My husband was down here for several months working, before we moved down here. He used to eat dinner at Sully's downtown at the bar, and it was usually full of yuppie types like yourself in the evening (CAT employees, attorneys, etc).

People do complain about or diss Peoria - and there is plenty to complain about. But urban types can find a fair amount to do if there are assertive about it. There is a symphony, ballet, strong arts community, great farmers markets etc. There are a lot of well educated, well traveled people down here - and CAT draws in a diverse group of people who have lived all over the world. The location (on the bluffs of the Illinois River) lends itself to some really lovely tree-lined neighborhoods with great views, which are far more affordable down here than in Chicago. That being said, a lot of people down here seem to love suburban sprawl, their cars, chain stores and restaurants, the Starbucks drive-thru versus the local coffee shop, etc.


I am very happy here so far - but my situation is different from yours. We essentially moved down here to raise our family. There are things we miss about Chicago, for sure. But the tradeoff, for us, was worth it. I'd be happy to talk to you in e-mail if you wish.

Good luck.

[linicx]

Illinois is a no smoking state. All public buildings are smoke free. It's the law. If you see any emergency vehicle with flashing lights - whether the lights or on for any reason or not - pull over or change lanes to avoid a very large fine.

Peoria is old money and its a river town. It is not Chicago. It is not an ultra-conservative Christian town either, nor is it a political town. Peoria has 12,000 years of history. It has culture, it is upscale and it's downtown. It is not a flat farm town with nothing but bars and a post office. It has one of the best park systems in the country, a top rated zoo, botanica, historical homes, univeristy, private schools, gifted schools, medical school, marina, baseball and hockey farm teams, live theater, observatory, museums, jazz club, girly clubs, country clubs, bike and walking clubs, festivals, parades, civic center, regional state fair, obsrvation tower, quaint shops, box stores, book stores, glassblower, handrolled cigars, Cinco de Mayo, fortune 500 companies, USDA lab, natural food stores, two interstate highways, several state and US highways, five bridges, horse drawn carriage rides, farmer's market, indoor mall, outdoor mall, strip malls and Fanny May candy. It is in the heart of the Illniois River Valley and it has spectacular photo/art opportunities..

No other town between 1-80 and St. Louis offers as much culture, history or diversity. And there is more in the surrounding areas to experience.. Peoria is four hours by car from Chicago or St. Louis, 45 minutes by plane, 90 minutes by train or five hours by bus. There is a Peoria to Las Vegas flight and a Peoria to California flight, local and regional cabs and local transit. If you knew where to go you can buy newspapers from around the world.

Peoria Heights, West Peoria, High Street, Randolph, Moss Avenue and Grandview Drive in Peoria Heigts are representative of Peoria's past. So are the parks. The two oldest parks in the nation are in Illinois. One of the largest night time Christmas parade and display in America is 10 minutes from Peoira. One of hte oldest bakeries in the midwest is in Peora, too.

I would imagine if Jim's Steak House is still down town that is where you will find the lawyers because it is on Main Street across from the courthouse. And you might like Johnny Vig's; it's in the Metro Centre on N. Univeristy. Sully's is an irish bar. and you might like the Cardinal ? on Sterling Avenue nor far from Northwood's Mall. The Copper Kettle in Peoria Heights(?) and the Penguin Tap in Peoria Heights. The jazz club on water street which is down by the riverfrong park probably has a bar, too. All the pizza places have bars too. Not the Penguin Tap, but the other one farther south on Prospert Ave has always had young professionals crowd. They Penguin may have an older crowd, but these guys know a lot of the right people and where to find them. It never hurts to have a wide network of friends.

Proria is gritty town for a lot of reasons. At one time in its history it had more distilleries and meat packing plants that anywhere else in the country. It had foundries, stockyards and steel yards. The junk yard, stockyard and gray iron foundry are still in existance. Peoria county had a large manufacturing base. Caterpillar, Keystone Steel and Wire and AMD are still working plants.

The first European building in the river valley was erected in the 18th century across the river from Peoria near where Ft. Creve Coeur once stood.

The southside of Peoria and the southside of Chicago aren't much different except in size.

[linicx]

Originally Posted by stx12499

I am guessing that attitude is why it is the way it is.

That said, thank you MaintainsChaos, thats at least something! Any bars where anyone in their 20's that is more professional might hang on any night?

You guessed wrong. You don't know anything about Peoria because you haven't lived there. And if you read my last message you will find plenty of information.

peace, bro.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by linicx

You guessed wrong. You don't know anything about Peoria because you haven't lived there. And if you read my last message you will find plenty of information.

peace, bro.

I appreciate your last post. Why couldnt you just have posted that as a first response? I really don't see the purpose of making such a statement like above. IMO that is not a way to impress people with Peoria.

To the poster from Chicago, I really appreciate your info! I am not expecting Chicago. I live in Louisville right now so I have been away from the mega city, but I guess I need to accept that Louisville is substantially larger and more urban than Peoria. I am here in peroia now and it it doesn't seem too bad, but I indeed notice the sprawly feel of it for a smaller town. The local coffee shop wasn't nearly as busy as everything at Grand Prairie tonight. That said, I am going out now, to check out a couple bars. Its Tuesday, so I wont be too hard on it, but you can learn alot from talking to locals and bartenders on a laid back Tuesday at a bar.

[linicx]

Unlike B-N and Springfield, Peoria is not flat land surrounded by farms and ranches. Developement tends to follow the river and easy access to main routes.

As to your question: You began by saying Peoria was small and had a bad reputation. Then you asked where the bars were. If you had said you were interviewing for a job and want to know more about Peoria, you would have gotten a different answer.

Peoria has three types of bars. No food, no youth, no music and with that comes different groups of people. You probably would not like the hard core blue collar drinker - although many of them are genuinely nice people. The *hottest* bars serve some type of fnger food like sandwich or pizza. The young professionals tend to like urban surroundings whereas lawyers prefer convenience, and usally appear earlier in the eventing for shorter periods of time. But this is not always true, either. Peoria also has 4 am bars. And if you know the right people you can drink all night. There are black and tan bars, too.

Peoria is not Louisville or Chicago, but for what it is, it offers a lot for families and singles. If you're going to live here look in Peoria Heights. It is entirely different mindset than Peoria, and the surroundings are quite nice. .

[cubsfan1]

If you are still in town, and you havent already checked out the northwoods mall area of town, you should. (just south on war memorial drive from grand prarie, or off I-74) The reason i say that isnt because of the mall, but the entire surrounding area is loaded with resturants, coffee houses, and other stuff like that you may find interesting.