Where is "the middle of nowhere"in Illinois? (Chicago: houses, school)

[oldbushman]

Originally Posted by LUCKYLARRY

I am thinking of relocating to rural Illinois.Im from the Chicago area,and while driving to Atlanta from Chicago I became quite intrigued by people that lived in small towns that i stopped in.I dont know,its just something about this type pf living that interests me.So please tell me,if wanted to place in Illinois that was away from big cities,away from small college towns,and the locals had maybe a hint of a Southern accent,where should I move to?Thanks

One of the small communities within 20 miles of East St Louis should be just what the doctor ordered for you.

Please avoid anything south of Mt Vernon....we don't need ya'alls (you'ns) N.W.Suburbs attitudes down here.

Good luck.

Uhhh....if you're a multiple gun owner and hate Neo-Con crooks..c'mon down..man..uhhh..or lady....(no in-betweeners.)

[oldbushman]

Originally Posted by Paxtonian

Taylorville. The accent is not Southern- it's Illinoisan. My son lives there, when I hear him I think Lincoln had to have sounded much as he does.

Dang Mam..uhhh..Sir....I think ole Abe came up here from the "Bluegrass."

Uhhh....does your son sound like a hib-billy ?? !!

[mdand3boys]

Any location outside of Chicago and suburbs, Rockford, Champaign, Peoria, Springfield, Carbondale, East St. Louis, Bloomington/Normal, will be in the middle of nowhere.

[oldbushman]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

Any location outside of Chicago and suburbs, Rockford, Champaign, Peoria, Springfield, Carbondale, East St. Louis, Bloomington/Normal, will be in the middle of nowhere.

I read somewhere that three quarters of Illinois population lives above (North of) I-80.

Staggers my imagination !

(Which in itself is unique..because I am usually thinking of pretty gurls..in my imagination.)

[AbqTeacher]

Originally Posted by oldbushman

One of the small communities within 20 miles of East St Louis should be just what the doctor ordered for you.

Ditto what he said. You might want to check out towns like Lebanon east of St. Louis. Small town feel, but not too isolated.

[Paxtonian]

Originally Posted by oldbushman

Dang Mam..uhhh..Sir....I think ole Abe came up here from the "Bluegrass."

Uhhh....does your son sound like a hib-billy ?? !!

My son sounds as he sounds, a polite, soft spoken man who speaks thoughtfully with a Central Illinois accent. Lincoln was from Kentucky, grew up in Indiana, and lived most of his adult life in Illinois, traveling widely in Central Illinois on the judicial circuit in his capacities as an attorney and every now and then as a judge (bet you didn't know that part). The accent in the Taylorville area has a kind of Hoosier twang, but it is distinct and different. I'm thinking that the effect travel has had on Springfield's accent bypassed Taylorville, hence Taylorville retains the typical speech the area had in the mid-19th century. Southerners think we talk Northern here. My ex-wife now lives in California, she's from here, and she seldom has a day pass in which someone doesn't ask her "Where the hell are you from?" They say you don't sound Northern OR Southern.

[nyyfanatic85]

You want middle of nowhere? Come on out to western Illinois (take US 24 out of Peoria) and you will truly experience a different world. It's not flat either!

[css9450]

Originally Posted by nyyfanatic85

You want middle of nowhere? Come on out to western Illinois (take US 24 out of Peoria) and you will truly experience a different world. It's not flat either!

Good choice. That area is certainly off the beaten path.

[bhj867]

I highly advice you rethink any decision about relocating anywhere east or south of St. Louis. PRIMARILY the Marion, Harrisburg, Metropolis triangle. There is nothing here, it's a black hole with no escape.

I know I live here.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

Let's put it this way, the state has about 12.5 million people. About 9 million them live in Chicagoland. Based on the major non Chicagoland metros below that adds up all the metros to about 9.7 million. There's still close to three million people unaccounted for living in the middle on nowhere so it definitely has been found its just a question of where you want to be.

Champaign-Urbana Metro- 210k
Bloomington-Normal Metro- 125k
Peoria- 115k
Carbondale- 27k
Rockford- 160k
East St.Louis-30k

This post has a few inaccuracies:

Metro-East (St. Louis in Illinois) has 599,845

The Rockford Metro has 352,290

Carbondale is not a metro

And the Peoria Metro is 371,206