Moving to Carbondale (Girard, Forrest, Cobden: condo, university, closing)

[FalstaffBlues]

Just keep in mind that Carbondale is on some hard times right now. The University is the life blood of the community and its enrollment is in free fall which means there is less money to hire new faculty which were what kept Carbondale interesting and not just another conservative small town like all those that surround it.

Unfortunately, there aren't any signs that the enrollment trend is going to turn around. All the rural campuses in IL more than a couple hours from Chicago are struggling.

[Tomandjerry45]

Originally Posted by FalstaffBlues

Unfortunately, there aren't any signs that the enrollment trend is going to turn around. All the rural campuses in IL more than a couple hours from Chicago are struggling.

I had to look this up and found that not to be the case for several schools in Illinois for 2019. University of Illinois saw a record enrollment and Eastern Illinois University saw an increase and so did Illinois State University.

It is true Southern Illinois Carbondale, Western Illinois, Northern Illinois, Chicago State and also now SIU Edwardsville are having enrollment troubles.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...uma-story.html

[FalstaffBlues]

Originally Posted by Tomandjerry45

I had to look this up and found that not to be the case for several schools in Illinois for 2019. University of Illinois saw a record enrollment and Eastern Illinois University saw an increase and so did Illinois State University.

It is true Southern Illinois Carbondale, Western Illinois, Northern Illinois, Chicago State and also now SIU Edwardsville are having enrollment troubles.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...uma-story.html

It is an undeniable fact that the Large Public Universities in Illinois struggling most with enrollment are the ones furthest from Chicago. Excepting SIUE because its draws from StL. EIU had a nice bump but they are still. Wester, Eastern and Southern are all at less than 50% of their alltime highs.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by 205mx

What do you think? Family has just become more important to me over the years. My wife and I combined may make around 150k. in TN, that is about average, maybe a tad below. In soIL - it is top tier earning.

The question really is:

Would you rather keep up with your family, or with the Joneses?

[Tomandjerry45]

Originally Posted by FalstaffBlues

It is an undeniable fact that the Large Public Universities in Illinois struggling most with enrollment are the ones furthest from Chicago. Excepting SIUE because its draws from StL. EIU had a nice bump but they are still. Wester, Eastern and Southern are all at less than 50% of their alltime highs.

I don't have a dog in this fight but your theory doesn't hold up. Explain the case of Chicago State or Northern Illinois University? Chicago State has been hit the worst and nearly shut down according to another article.

The healthiest public university is that of Urbana-Champaign, which is pretty far from Chicago and has a high out of state and international population.

[damba]

The OP definitely has flexibility if the business can be run remotely.

OTOH, what the kids will need/want will likely differ as they get older. I see plunking money in a depressed location as risky vs staying closer to Nashville, which is vibrant. A home won’t appreciate near Carbondale like it would for certain in Franklin. My understanding is that they have been putting more money into schools by Franklin, so there’s some value in that (taxes there are still incredibly modest).

With family time the priority though, I see his cross-posting as a wasted effort.

[205mx]

Originally Posted by 205mx

Being able to work remotely changed a lot of things.
Also, Marion, IL has developed a lot. It is quite nice. They have a minor league team, plenty of shopping and other things going on.

Originally Posted by damba

The OP definitely has flexibility if the business can be run remotely.

OTOH, what the kids will need/want will likely differ as they get older. I see plunking money in a depressed location as risky vs staying closer to Nashville, which is vibrant. A home won’t appreciate near Carbondale like it would for certain in Franklin. My understanding is that they have been putting more money into schools by Franklin, so there’s some value in that (taxes there are still incredibly modest).

With family time the priority though, I see his cross-posting as a wasted effort.

This is very true!
The home won’t appreciate as fast (although I’m picking instant equity). Also, it wouldn’t sell as fast if I ever want to sell. In Nashville it’s unlikely for a home to sit on the market longer than 90 days.

I dont want the kids raised in the rush-rush-rush mindset that they are in right now. Things don’t move as fast as living in the city, but they do move fast!

Also, while buying in SoIL is risky because of re-sale. It’s also less risky because we would pay cash for our forever home. There’s not much risk when you have zero debt. If my business some how tanked, wife lost a job or something of that nature we would still have our home and a lifestyle with just a few BS jobs.

[bernerscotty]

You can’t beat having family around. I don’t have any where I live and it gets old. We go home when we can but family is everything

[205mx]

Originally Posted by bernerscotty

You can’t beat having family around. I don’t have any where I live and it gets old. We go home when we can but family is everything

Yep. I should PM you. My little brother is a SoIL native and lives in Hendersonville. I live in Brentwood (technically )

[OyCrumbler]

It sounds like you’re in a unique situation that’s a lot more than just which area is better overall. If you, your spouse, and kids have a great relationship with your family, then this sounds like a rare opportunity.