Belleville, IL vs Edwardsville, IL

[1grin_g0]

Originally Posted by bblawsonuk

Budget is no more than $220,000. We would wish to avoid cookie cutter suburbia in that price range, but I know it won't be easy. Optimally, we would like to keep the work commute to no more than 30 minutes.
The more I read here and the more research I do, the more I am beginning the see the wisdom of purchasing on the MO side.

Columbia, IL is a nice small town with a rural feel that is within 30 min commute to the city. You would be able to find something under 220k. On the Missouri side maybe Oakville?

[Max61]

I think pretty much everything that has been said on this thread is true. Just a few other items, Belleville is in St. Clair County which is an extremely corrupt county. Edwardsville is in Madison County which seems to be starting to clean itself up.

Originally IDOT wanted to bring I-64 down the Hwy 15 corridor which would have had a very positive economic impact on Belleville but those hammer-headed Dutch fought it tooth and nail so IDOT moved it over to Fairview Heights.

Edwardsville is very near I-270 and there has been a lot of infrastructure improvement to Hwy 159 which has allowed Edwardsville to develop a thriving corridor. Its demographics are really appealing to chain stores so it has benefitted from a lot of development. But Edwardsville has also been able to keep its old downtown area vibrant with a lot of small independent shops.

One last plus for Edwardsville is that it has Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville which has a lot of positive impact to the area. Lindenwood University has a campus at Belleville but it is still relatively new and not as established as SIUE so it has not brought the same positive impact to Belleville yet.

[pgrdr]

Any recent viewpoints on this topic now that several years have passed? What are the current developments?

[pgrdr]

Bump. Hoping someone sees my question

[FrankMiller]

Basically the same as far as I know.

[RisingAurvandil]

Originally Posted by pgrdr

Any recent viewpoints on this topic now that several years have passed? What are the current developments?

I stand with my original post, but some changes have occurred...

Belleville has gotten a Hofbrauhaus and Illinois is building a new Metrolink line to MidAmerica Airport. With Allegiant moving in, MidAmerica is actually busier now than I've ever seen it. Very convenient for vacation travel. I think Boeing recently expanded their operations there also. The surrounding areas, namely O'Fallon, Shiloh, and Mascoutah continue to grow. However, Lindenwood's satellite campus has closed or been scaled back.

Edwardsville is doing great. Development has finally reached I-55 and the University has completed several expansions. Amazon and the warehouse district (shared with Pontoon Beach) have made significant expansions, with new facilities along both 270 and 255. High residential prices reflect demand for the Edwardsville school district and a city government that is generally well-liked.

[pgrdr]

Originally Posted by FrankMiller

Basically the same as far as I know.

Thank you for answering.

[pgrdr]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

I stand with my original post, but some changes have occurred...

Belleville has gotten a Hofbrauhaus and Illinois is building a new Metrolink line to MidAmerica Airport. With Allegiant moving in, MidAmerica is actually busier now than I've ever seen it. Very convenient for vacation travel. I think Boeing recently expanded their operations there also. The surrounding areas, namely O'Fallon, Shiloh, and Mascoutah continue to grow. However, Lindenwood's satellite campus has closed or been scaled back.

Edwardsville is doing great. Development has finally reached I-55 and the University has completed several expansions. Amazon and the warehouse district (shared with Pontoon Beach) have made significant expansions, with new facilities along both 270 and 255. High residential prices reflect demand for the Edwardsville school district and a city government that is generally well-liked.

Thanks for that update!