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Old 02-10-2023, 07:31 PM
 
Location: DFW Metroplex, Texas
525 posts, read 718,732 times
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For those who are familiar with Springfield, would you rent or buy a house there or are towns of Chatham and Jacksonville better choices due to crime?
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Old 02-16-2023, 08:05 PM
 
Location: Bellevue
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Originally Posted by SciFiNerd1 View Post
For those who are familiar with Springfield, would you rent or buy a house there or are towns of Chatham and Jacksonville better choices due to crime?
For a new person to the area suggest rent before you buy. Don't know your needs for shopping, education, distance to work.

Chatham as a southern suburb of Springfield appears to be slowly growing to about 14,000.

Jacksonville is declining to about 17,000 about 20 miles from Springfield.

Probably compare different areas of Springfield.
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Old 02-16-2023, 09:03 PM
 
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I lived there many years ago. If your reason for moving there isn't political, stay away.
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Old 02-21-2023, 12:48 PM
 
1,131 posts, read 2,024,921 times
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Originally Posted by SciFiNerd1 View Post
For those who are familiar with Springfield, would you rent or buy a house there or are towns of Chatham and Jacksonville better choices due to crime?
There are some places in Springfield I would buy, more that I wouldn't. The above advice about renting first to get to know the area before buying is sound.

Chatham is OK, Rochester better. There's nothing about Jacksonville that justifies living there and commuting to Springfield.
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Old 03-08-2023, 02:31 PM
 
Location: DFW Metroplex, Texas
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Originally Posted by ILTXwhatnext View Post
I lived there many years ago. If your reason for moving there isn't political, stay away.
Please share what you dislike about Springfield. I am moving for a potential higher paying job closer to my family in St. Louis, MO.

Jobs in Illinois seem to pay much better than Missouri and housing in DFW (Texas) is outrageous expensive due to people moving in every day from other states. Illinois also is a good match for me politically compared to Missouri's.

If I could earn as much as I do where housing is still affordable housing, it would be perfect.
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Old 03-08-2023, 02:32 PM
 
Location: DFW Metroplex, Texas
525 posts, read 718,732 times
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Originally Posted by madpaddy View Post
There are some places in Springfield I would buy, more that I wouldn't. The above advice about renting first to get to know the area before buying is sound.

Chatham is OK, Rochester better. There's nothing about Jacksonville that justifies living there and commuting to Springfield.
The only reason I am looking into Jacksonville is because my job would be in that town. If Springfield and Chatham are much better towns with more things to do, I wouldn't mind commuting to Jacksonville 3 days per week.

Thank you for your suggestion. I will look into Rochester. Please tell me why you like Rochester better.
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Old 03-08-2023, 03:14 PM
 
899 posts, read 670,729 times
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Originally Posted by SciFiNerd1 View Post
Please share what you dislike about Springfield. I am moving for a potential higher paying job closer to my family in St. Louis, MO.

Jobs in Illinois seem to pay much better than Missouri and housing in DFW (Texas) is outrageous expensive due to people moving in every day from other states. Illinois also is a good match for me politically compared to Missouri's.

If I could earn as much as I do where housing is still affordable housing, it would be perfect.
When I was there (late 80s) the traffic was terrible. That's partly because they put traffic lights everywhere without planning a way to get across town quickly. Drive a block or two, stop. Drive a block or two, stop. I learned back roads to get from A to B.

Also, being the state capital, for a lot of people politics matter if you want a job. One lady had attended several Republican fundraiser dinners ($150/plate) in hopes of catching someone's eye so she could get an interview, for instance, but she never did.

And crime was high. It amazed me because wouldn't you think the state would have a safe capital city. This video cites Springfield at about 7:30. It's the second worst rate for a capital city, 300% above national average.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsVZP03iBtU

I thought it was a boring town, not much to do. I guess you'd be about an hour's drive from Peoria or Bloomington-Normal. If you visit Spfld, make sure you go to the Magic Kitchen Thai restaurant on Peoria Road. It was BYOB when we used to go and you may have a wait, but it's really good. The pie was excellent but the woman who used to make them is probably dead and gone.
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Old 03-08-2023, 07:50 PM
 
Location: Bellevue
3,041 posts, read 3,310,193 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SciFiNerd1 View Post
The only reason I am looking into Jacksonville is because my job would be in that town. If Springfield and Chatham are much better towns with more things to do, I wouldn't mind commuting to Jacksonville 3 days per week.

Thank you for your suggestion. I will look into Rochester. Please tell me why you like Rochester better.
This changes things somewhat. For the 20 miles may be best to live there. May find some home values there. With your job make some new friends to show you around.

For sports Jacksonville is on a line between Cub and Cardinal fans. For hockey check out St Louis Blues. For sports on TV may do some hunting to find games you want to see. May be easier to get games on radio network for Cubs or Cardinals. If you want live games check out the high school schedule.

For most entertainment probably do cable TV or internet connections. For other events a drive to St Louis is possible.
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Old 03-09-2023, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Chicago area
18,757 posts, read 11,791,155 times
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Originally Posted by DannFrankenstein View Post
Ya it’s not much but it’s a tier or two above Jefferson City, MO. The history is great but other than that it’s not particularly unique, like Madison WI is
You summed it up perfectly. Madison is gorgeous, so is the capital. One side note though and a good reason to visit Springfield would be to see Shawnee. That was worth the trip alone. We found this tiny house cabin to rent that let us bring our Yorkie. It was cute and clean and in this beautiful field surrounded by trees. That was fun.

Springfield was a bucket list trip for us, and one of the highlights was the Lincoln Museum. You can easily spend two days seeing everything and another week in Shawnee.
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Old 03-10-2023, 04:34 PM
 
Location: DFW Metroplex, Texas
525 posts, read 718,732 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by animalcrazy View Post
You summed it up perfectly. Madison is gorgeous, so is the capital. One side note though and a good reason to visit Springfield would be to see Shawnee. That was worth the trip alone. We found this tiny house cabin to rent that let us bring our Yorkie. It was cute and clean and in this beautiful field surrounded by trees. That was fun.

Springfield was a bucket list trip for us, and one of the highlights was the Lincoln Museum. You can easily spend two days seeing everything and another week in Shawnee.
I definitely want to see Lincoln attractions in Springfield. Shawnee? I thought Springfield was far too north of Shawnee National Forest.
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