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If you want to check out Springfield, I would be glad to show you around. I'm originally from Decatur, make the trip back and forth fairly often. Yes, we have snow but only a few really bad days each winter for which there are two solutions: 4-wheel drive and/or a wonderful thing called 'snow day!'. When the weather here is determined to be bad enough to close the schools - a local park/golf course is packed with sledders. There are many things to do here, lots of restaurants - chain and local, shopping, I will mention there is a Target since that seems to be pretty important. Springfield has been growing while Decatur is shrinking. Here's a link to a guide about Springfield Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau - the official site for Springfield, Illinois visitor information - click on the 'Online Visitors Guide'.
Good luck! I hope you get the job. I recently had an new ADM exec here looking for his new home.
Good Lord. You are asking how Decatur is? LOL. Well to put it best. Turn on TV Land and watch Roseanne. Decatur is Lanford, IL (Roseanne's hometown in the show) to a T. A town that is destined for nothing.
Good Lord. You are asking how Decatur is? LOL. Well to put it best. Turn on TV Land and watch Roseanne. Decatur is Lanford, IL (Roseanne's hometown in the show) to a T. A town that is destined for nothing.
It has been so long since Roseanne Barr was a TV show even I don't remember all of it, but the fact is that anyone looking to take a relocation job to Decatur almost certainly has some specialized skills.
The facts further support the dominance of ADM and the Tate & Lyle Corp in converting corn into high value-added products -- ADM in particular has a MASSIVE legal department that runs both an Intellectual Property division as well as Compliance and Litigation units that are on par with Monsanto, and superior to most other agricultural firms. Further the well documented cases that ADM has been involved with in both the financial and anti-competitive practices has forced the firm to be a bit more careful as well as accept more frequent contact from DoJ personnel...
Look, any time you are considering a rural type community you have to take the good as whole pie and weigh it against the alternatives. Decatur has Milliken and a large community college, a daily newspaper, it is the County Seat, that means judges, attorneys, there are at least two hospital -- that means physicians, nurse, technicians, and administrators, the area has a wide range of commercial and cultural institutions and to say it has "no future" is ridiculously small minded.
I took a job in Decatur last year, and my wife and I (newly married, no kids yet, enjoy restaurants and bars) moved to Illinois from Atlanta. We first looked at houses in the Decatur area but after visiting Monticello we knew that this is where we definitely wanted to live - I highly recommend it. The residents here are proud of their town and take good care of it. Monticello is charming, the people are friendly, and my commute to Decatur is not bad at all - just over 20 minutes each way, never any traffic, and I didn't have any problem in the winter. We go to CU just about every weekend and really like it - a wide array of good restaurants, interesting shops, coffee places, wine bars, a martini bar, sports bars, and cultural events, all of it only 20 minutes away. Although Decatur is about the same distance as CU, we almost never go there. Monticello has a couple of good bars on the square as well as some decent restaurants (and a new Thai place is about to open there). There are some rentals available in Monticello, but the home prices are very reasonable. We bought one of the old ones a few blocks from the town square and we love it.
I may be a bit uncultured. But I would not let my decision on where to live ride on proximity to places like Costco, Trader Joes, or Target...
People who stop regularly at TJs and Costco generally do not realize these stores are scarce in the Midwest except in large towns like Minneaplis, Chicago and St. Louis
Most people who live in central Illinois never heard of either one.
If you are not familiar with St. Louis then you don't understand the importance of the Target store. It is easier to get in and out of Tjs in St. Louis than it is in Chicago.
Culture has nothing to do with inexperience. I live in central Illinois. I need TJs and thats why I am willing to drive the 300+ miles to shop.
I took a job in Decatur last year, and my wife and I (newly married, no kids yet, enjoy restaurants and bars) moved to Illinois from Atlanta. We first looked at houses in the Decatur area but after visiting Monticello we knew that this is where we definitely wanted to live - I highly recommend it. The residents here are proud of their town and take good care of it. Monticello is charming, the people are friendly, and my commute to Decatur is not bad at all - just over 20 minutes each way, never any traffic, and I didn't have any problem in the winter. We go to CU just about every weekend and really like it - a wide array of good restaurants, interesting shops, coffee places, wine bars, a martini bar, sports bars, and cultural events, all of it only 20 minutes away. Although Decatur is about the same distance as CU, we almost never go there. Monticello has a couple of good bars on the square as well as some decent restaurants (and a new Thai place is about to open there). There are some rentals available in Monticello, but the home prices are very reasonable. We bought one of the old ones a few blocks from the town square and we love it.
You've got the right idea. Personally, I wouldn't live in a place like Springfield and commute. That place always reminded me of a bigger Decatur with more purpose. However, good places to commute to Decatur from include Monticello, Clinton, Taylorville, and Pana. I have even known people who come from Champaign and Bloomington.
Making a big move from the southwest is hard enough; why would you want to do it twice?
Champaign is a great place to live, and the drive to Decatur is eminently better than the culture and community you'd be left with at the end of the work day in Decatur. Champaign is also well positioned for train, plane, and automobile travel to every major metro in a 250+ mile radius. (Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.)
Not to mention, it's a great community for a thirty-something who wants to have a life! Speaking as someone who represents that demographic, and having lived in B-N, Springfield, and currently C-U, the only other place that I'd even consider would be Bloomington-Normal. Even then, I wouldn't recommend it over Champaign. As a well-traveled, life-time central Illinoisan, there have been few places that are as laid-back and inclusive as C-U. There are so many venues for the arts and other events (Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival, Pygmalion Music Festival, a local sweetcorn festival, an international beer and chili cook-off, Taste of Champaign) wonderful choices of ethnic cuisine (good luck finding Viet Namese anywhere else in central IL, or multiple choices for Korean, Indian, Middle Eastern, etc.) and wonderful resources from both the U of I and Parkland College. The nightlife offers something for any style; whether your a barfly, concert-goer, or dance machine. There are several whole-foods style markets and ethnic grocers in town (more than ten come to mind) which, again, you're not going to find anywhere outside of Chicagoland in Illinois.
I haven't even mentioned the library system; it's amazing! Both Champaign and Urbana have the flat out best micro-urban libraries I've ever seen. Both are newly redesigned and offer outstanding options for books and media. Bloomington's library is the only one that comes close, in terms of offerings and amenities that's within your acceptable radius.
I, personally, would not settle on Decatur until you compare it to Champaign. It's really the best place to live in Illinois.
Last edited by supernova9; 04-25-2010 at 01:53 PM..
Ok, almost a few months since the last posting but I'll chime in as I grew up in Decatur and go back a few times a year to see family in the summer (Decatur Celebration weekend as well). I now live in the burbs of St. Louis (for the past 14 years) and while there is far more to do here--it just doesn't feel like "home" to me. Maybe I'm just more cut out for the 80-100k population towns. I live in Ballwin which is only 40,000 or so people but one burb runs into another and I'm not a fan of traffic in general which seems to get worse here.
Growing up in Decatur, I couldn't wait to get out (like most kids). I think this is true of every city in the country. Watching shows like Laguna Beach and others--those kids who are growing up in some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable don't seem to appreciate it and "just want to get away". I understand this very well. I left to go to school in TX. I've lived in Denver (loved it) and Atlanta (also not a bad place to live). But--maybe, to paraphrase Bill Clinton on his hometown of Hope, AR..."I believe in a place called Decatur" LOL. No place has ever felt "home" to me even though Denver and Atlanta were good places to live and I enjoyed my time there.
I went back a few weeks ago. Here's my thoughts on the current state of things. In recent years--there has been some progress such as adding Buffalo Wild Wings, Culvers, Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden next to the Target. You need to understand that growing up--there were almost no chain restaurants outside of McDonalds, Burger King and Wendys. Heck, we used to have "Sandy's" and Burger Chef which was probably about the time McDonalds came to town and put them out of business.
Another major positive. MONICAL'S PIZZA. I grew up on it--LOVE IT and have never had pizza anywhere as good and I've been all over looking for it. I had that stuff 5 times in 11 days I was visiting. I could probably eat it every day. True, you can get this pizza in all the other cities nearby (I've eaten at every one of those locations as well). 3 locations in Decatur for your convenience. :-)
Other local eateries that I miss really bad are La Gondola Spaghetti and Krekel's (hambuger joints all over town).
The Celebration is usually a pretty good time. Huge festival and it does give one a sense of civic pride if only for a few days. My parents have lived in a small "burb" if you will to the north of Decatur--Forsyth. A REALLY NICE batch of homes here...many newly built and growing. Forsyth is home to the mall and the aforementioned chain restaurants. I went to their festival and was quite impressed with the feel of community there...I would recommend living either here or Mt. Zion for the schools should you ever have kids here or just want a better (safer?) area to live in.
I am a product of what once once a pretty good public school system in Decatur. I have been told repeatedly over the years that the schools have suffered quite a bit in the past 25 years. The positive is that there are plenty of private schools and all the surrounding communities (Warrensburg, Maroa-Forsyth, Mt. Zion etc..) have good public schools.
GOLF...a solid handful of nice public courses and 2 private country clubs. Southside is very reasonable to join and Decatur CC is more expensive but a nice course as well. Decatur is host to the only "major" tournament on the ladies professional Futures tour at Hickory Point GC (love that course..grew up on it). Another thing to love is the annual pass--even though golf rounds are still in the $20 range for 18 holes..you can get a cheap annual pass for all 3 public courses that used to be about $450...not sure what they are today but it's a bargain!
Bottom line for me is that I feel lost in the big city. I know that I could go back to a small city like Decatur and be successful financially and happy there. I'm actually considering a move back in the coming years. I know that I will need to travel often (as I do now) to see the world and get away from the cold but it's not that hard to get to STL (2.25 hr drive to airport) to go anywhere.
Yes--the reputation is horrible. Many people have left. I go back and am shocked that I may only see 1 or 2 people I know vs. maybe 15-20 when I came back for a week 20 years ago. The declining population is kind of sad to me. I do think there have been some positives and maybe the leaders can turn it around--I truly hope so. I would love to see the blighted central part of the city bulldozed. Forsyth is nice, Mt. Zion is nice and all around the lake, south shores etc.. are fine areas.
I don't know if I'm just nostalgic or what--but it's not the worst place in the world to live and it does feel like home. Hope this helps. Good luck on the job possibility.
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Get a clue!
