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HI- My family and i are considering a move to the Marion area. We are from Ca and this would be a big move for us. We have 3 boys who love to hunt and we desire to have a home with some land, pond, woods... The outdoors stuff that is too fun for boys. My real problem is exactly where?? My husband and i just visited the area in a whirlwind tour of 3 days and i still can't decide if we do where?? My husband likes small, like Goreville or Benton small. I'm not so sure. I worry about the really small towns not wanting new comers from CA. We briefly went thru, Carbondale- not for us. Marion I liked, Carterville not bad, I know its the hot place to be for schools. Herrin didn't seem too bad. Schools are obviously an issue with three boys. One will be in grammar the other two in High School. Sports is a big thing. My oldest has to play sports. It's risky moving when you don't know if your kid will play. Our current high school 900 or so and he starts in basketball and baseball. I was told thru folks in the area that Carterville is very strong in sports so i wonder if it would be safer to go to a tad smaller school or not quite as strong in sports so my oldest can play.
I know this is pathetic picking a school so your son can play sports, but he will be a junior next year and if he can't play i might as well rip his heart out right along with a big serving of guilt for me. Can anyone help me or give me any info?
My husband is a PE teacher looking for a job in that area and i am an RN. I was fortunate, i got an interview while we were there and i will get a call back soon to know if i have a job or not. Anyone with any thoughts, info or comments would be appreciated. Thanks
What is the price range for a home? You can go to Marion daily online and look for jobs or go to The Southern Illinoisian online and look for jobs as well.....Also you might try Leapo, Lake of Egypt Assiocation of Property Owners website, Century 21 LAKE OF EGYPT, SILTOURS.COM, MARION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, MARION UNIT 2 SCHOOL DISTRICT AND FOR SALE BY OWNER.COM AND THERE IS A NICE HOUSE WITH LAND AND A POND FOR SALE in marion.... Check my other posts it tells a little more detail about the area.......
Anyway you can Pm me if you have any other questions....... I will try to anwser them for you and I have several pics of the area as well.........
Good Luck.....
LAKE OF EGYPT ENTRANCE SIGN
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/bambam203/scenic/LOEENTRANCESIGNSCENIC-1.jpg (broken link)
LAKE OF EGYPT ROAD SIGNS...
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/bambam203/scenic/WELCOMETOTHELAKE.jpg (broken link)
DOE UP CLOSE
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/bambam203/scenic/doeupclose.jpg (broken link)
BASS OUT OF LAKE OF EGYPT!
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/bambam203/scenic/bassproshirtbass.jpg (broken link)
LAKE OF EGYPT SUNSET AFTER A STORM!
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/bambam203/scenic/loedsunset-1.jpg (broken link)
ALL THESE PICS WHERE TAKEN IN MARCH 2007 BY ME~
BAMBAM
Okay, i know its been a while, but here is the scoop. My husband got a job in Ewing, just north of Benton. I went thru Benton once, didn't really do much for me. But since my husband takes care of the boys and their sports stuff, it would be best if his work was close to where we live if we can work that out. So what is your take on Benton or Ewing?? Any info or thoughts on any of the towns @ ewing. Thanks.
Madam,
I lived in Southern Illinois for many years. Some lonnnnnnnnnnnng and painful years!! If you value your life and your children's future, do not, I repeat do not relocate to Southern Illinois!!! You want ponds and woods and fishing and hunting? Move to Oregon or Washington state, NOT Southern Illinois. Summers are miserably hot and humid. Price of homes is way too high for such a deprived area. Schools are below standard, the best your children can do is attend Carbondale High and eventually go to SIU (which academically is sub standard). People are nice but they dont take well to foreigners, accents, intelligence and progress. You just try walking down town Madanda!! If you are not a Baptist and do not attend church, you are doomed! There is no medical care in southern IL. You, as a nurse will have a job but god forbid if you require immediate and serious medical care, you are out of luck in that area. You are 2:30 hours away from the nearest city (St Louis, Mo) and there is nothing in between but corn fields. There are no social or entertainment outlets. You will be totally isolated from humanity and civilization. You and your young children wont have much or any future. There is no hope, no growth, no industry, no education, no brains. Oh, did I mention the extremely high property taxes? And the meth problem there is also noteworthy. I know that whole area like the back of my hand and I cant help but cringe in pain at your decision.
If you really like IL, may I suggest Belleville, O'Fallon or Edwardsville. You would be closer to St Louis (and all its fringe benefits) and Edwardsville is one of the best school districts. You'd still have all your outdoor activities available to you but you will also have other options and outlets and opportunities in life should you or your children choose to explore them.
Please, please, please for the love of God, do not make the mistake of relocating to Southern IL and especially Benton/Marion/W. Frankfurt/Carbondale area. You will regret it. No one moves to that area. People get away from it! Every year I learn of at least 5-10 families leaving that area!
Goodluck with your decision.
Madam,
I lived in Southern Illinois for many years. Some lonnnnnnnnnnnng and painful years!! If you value your life and your children's future, do not, I repeat do not relocate to Southern Illinois!!! You want ponds and woods and fishing and hunting? Move to Oregon or Washington state, NOT Southern Illinois. Summers are miserably hot and humid. Price of homes is way too high for such a deprived area. Schools are below standard, the best your children can do is attend Carbondale High and eventually go to SIU (which academically is sub standard). People are nice but they dont take well to foreigners, accents, intelligence and progress. You just try walking down town Madanda!! If you are not a Baptist and do not attend church, you are doomed! There is no medical care in southern IL. You, as a nurse will have a job but god forbid if you require immediate and serious medical care, you are out of luck in that area. You are 2:30 hours away from the nearest city (St Louis, Mo) and there is nothing in between but corn fields. There are no social or entertainment outlets. You will be totally isolated from humanity and civilization. You and your young children wont have much or any future. There is no hope, no growth, no industry, no education, no brains. Oh, did I mention the extremely high property taxes? And the meth problem there is also noteworthy. I know that whole area like the back of my hand and I cant help but cringe in pain at your decision.
If you really like IL, may I suggest Belleville, O'Fallon or Edwardsville. You would be closer to St Louis (and all its fringe benefits) and Edwardsville is one of the best school districts. You'd still have all your outdoor activities available to you but you will also have other options and outlets and opportunities in life should you or your children choose to explore them.
Please, please, please for the love of God, do not make the mistake of relocating to Southern IL and especially Benton/Marion/W. Frankfurt/Carbondale area. You will regret it. No one moves to that area. People get away from it! Every year I learn of at least 5-10 families leaving that area!
Goodluck with your decision.
Madam,
Let me take a moment and try to give you a little better reply than the one above.
I too lived in the area for quite a few years. The area is some of the prettiest in the midwest. You are within a short drive to any number of lakes. When I lived in St. Louis the majority of people I knew with boats made the drive to Lake Kinkaid near Murphysboro instead of the St. Louis area or the Ozarks because of less traffic on the water. You have a wide choice of lakes, from no motors, motor limits, and no limits. Great shorelines and geography around many of them. The really huge boats go to Kentucky Lake a short drive south. Many great golf courses in the entire area.
The Shawnee National Forest is just south of the there. South of Carbondale/Marion toward Makanda you start getting into the foothills of the mountains, very hilly and pretty. Big growing region for apples, peaches, and wineries.
Hot and humid.............yes, a bit more than the upper midwest. There is a geographic line that kinda runs from Mt. Vernon across where in the winter you miss alot of the snow that hits above there. The middle part of Illinois can get a blizzard and southern Illinois can get nothing.
From Marion or Carbondale you are about 2 hours from St. Louis. You are also a little over 3 hours from Nashville or Memphis. Carbondale probably has the best hospital............trauma center, heart center. Southern Illinois University has a medical school.
To say the area is unaccepting of foreigners is ludicrus. The area has an extremely diverse population because of SIU. They also get alot more entertainment and culture in the area because of the university. Also, alot of entertainment plays Carbondale between gigs in larger cities in the midwest.
The area is more Baptist. Are you "doomed" if you are not or do not attend church? I was never made to feel that way in the least. Again, because of SIU there is much religious diversity there.
I also feel that Carbondale has not made the best business decisions in the past. Their idea of getting new business in the area has been to get an Arby's or some such retail establishment which simply cuts the pie in more pieces and doesn't really add to the tax base and give peoople a reason to move there. From what I have read though, they do have some relatively new leadership on the city council and appear to have some different and positive direction. I believe SIU also has some fresh leadership and making headway also.
Marion on the other hand is kicking butt I would say. The businesses they have been getting are "real" industry, meaning not entry level wages. They are snagging business like the Circuit City distribution center. They also have recently gotten a minor league baseball team. Marion does sit on 2 interstates so this helps quite a bit. They are also very aggresive about getting quality industry there and not just another chain. I have recently read that Marion is one of the fastest growing cities south of St. Louis.
So..............that's my rather long 2 cents worth. The above appraisal was very incorrect. Is the area perfect...................of course not. But for the size it has alot going for it and if you really need a larger city fix you are an easy drive to St. Louis.
Hope this helps you out. If you have any questions, let me know.
I grew up in the area, traveled around in the military for 25 years, and then came back after retirement. Most of the people who love it here, have never lived anywhere else, and lack the perspective to compare living somewhere else. I don't live in Marion, but would agree it is the most progressive of area towns, but that's not saying much. The smaller towns like Benton, Harrisburg, West Frankfort, have all seen more prosperous times. Carbondale, around the SIU campus is basically a microcosm of the Chicago area, with all the good and bad that goes with it. The rest of the town is a ghetto.
As far as school systems, there is little separation of social demographics within most districts. Meaning that the "less desirable" kids, go to school with the kids from the newer subdivisions. Parents constantly fight school district consolidations because of this factor, although it is not outwardly spoken as a reason. Most all school districts are in financial trouble, and need consolidation to survive. Therefore, involved, influential parents, are in constant battle with school administrations.
If you have kids that are athletes, if they are reasonably talented, they will likely have the opportunity to play alot. The downside is, that unless they are exceptionally talented, no big college recruiter is ever going to see them play. The most you can probably hope for is a scholarship to a local community college, but given the already low cost of attendance, this is a moot point. Bottom line, the competition level in high school athletics here is very low. The number of athletes that move on to major college teams is miniscule. Your kid can be a local star for 4 years, and then face the disapointment of finding out they're ordinary.
50 years ago, the area had higher aspirations than it does today. Definitely a midwestern, and Norman Rockwell like atmosphere. People aspired to be more intellectual and urbane. Now, the influences are more poor rural south. With all the modern popular southern culture that goes with it. Big pick-up trucks with loud exhaust, hunting attire, the list goes on. The English language is butchered as a normal means of speech. Using "no" in place of "any" is a prime example, not to mention "was" in place of "were".
There is a defined separation of labor in the area between men and women. Women have the majority of white collar jobs. If you're a male between the ages of 16 and 65, you're expected to do manual labor and plenty of it. Education is secondary. Unless a man has a professional certification, a college degree is useless here.
If you're Jewish or Atheist, and to a lesser extent Catholic, expect to be treated as an outcast. Church membership in a fundalmentalist type religion is an accepted fact of life. So much so, that local political candidates list their church on their resume.
I only recommend the area, if you are retired with no kids, and can pursue your interest and hobbies without social interaction. Unless your interest include hunting, fishing, NASCAR, and going to church 4 times a week.
By the way, I know many, many people that have moved here from cities and other rural areas who love it here. Me personally? Nope, hate it. Why? Because I'm 22 years old and I have wanted to live in the city my entire life. My parents? Sisters? Wife's family? They all love it here.
If you are outdoorsy, like you say your kids are, they will love it here. I know many people my age (18-24) who have no plans of ever leaving the area.
I can empathize with the nay sayers, but their opinions are extremely bias. You have to take the bad with the good. As far as SIU being a "substandard education," that just shows the poster is a moron. It is no more substandard than any other university. SIU Edwardsville is about a tenth the size as far as enrollment in comparison to SIU Carbondale. Don't worry about these people. And in case you people didn't notice, her husband already took a job in Ewing, meaning she's on the way. He's not going to turn a job down because of some bitter forum dwellers.
Oh, and as far as houses being expensive, WRONG.
Use city-data.com to look up the median house cost here and then look up near St Louis (Belleville, O Fallon, Fairview Heights, Edwardsville). The different is literally about $80,000. Trust me, I was house hunting near St Louis for quite some time and the costs don't even compare. It is MUCH cheaper to live here.
Last edited by mdz; 07-30-2007 at 02:23 PM..
Reason: advertising
Right off, I admit that I don't know anything about Crab Orchard Lake and Marion, IL. However, my expertise is with Rend Lake and nearby Mount Vernon, IL.
In my hand as a reference, I have the Delorme Illinois Map and Gazeteer. This is a very good map atlas of the back roads of Illinois. There are also other 'brands' in similarity to that of Delorme.
From this map, I look at all of the surrounding roads around Crab Orchard Lake. These must represent subdivisions of that lake. In contrast, look at the Rend Lake area. No such roads.
So my question to you is - - Do you want to relocate to ANY lake district loaded with subdivisions? When people do this, they occassionally meet people from their same original town of the past. That has happened to my family.
With Rend Lake, the IL - DNR owns all of the lake shore property and that is why there are no subdivisions surrounding that lake. However, the lake is very beautiful just like - - I suppose - - Crab Orchard Lake. So this is another factor to consider when you relocate.
Best Regards,
Carter Glass
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Marion Area!
Dont Even Think About It
Good guy.
