Need info on Champaign/Urbana/ Arcola (Naperville, Joliet: real estate market, rental, crime)

[Fxguy]

Hello All!

I am considering taking a lucrative job offer in the champaign-urbana region and I am thinking this might be too good to be true. What is the area like? Right now it is just my wife and I and we are in our late 20's looking to start a family. We are graduating Nursing school and Pharmacy school and looking to move to the area but I am concerned with the crime rate. Is it really that bad? Any neighborhoods to stay away from? Is most of the crim related to the Univeristy or not? Just looking for a safe rural place to raise our family. With the advent of the internet and satellite its easy to stay connected almost anywhere.

We would be moving from the Joliet/Romeoville/Lockport area (basically we have both lived in Will County all our lives) and this move would require a 3 year commitment before we could leave if we wanted to.

We lived in Manhattan, IL on a farm surrounded by corn fields and loved the safety and security of knowing we could go out walking at night and not have to worry that we might be mugged. I know I probably sound overly conscious of safety but we care very deeply for one another and are set to start a wonderful life together and looking for the best (perfect, ideal) place to do just that.

What is the real estate market like there? I know here in Naperville, Romeoville, Joliet, its getting difficult to find a decent home for under 200,000. Most homes we like are in the 4 Bed 2 Bath Full basement range of 250,000 to 300,000. We would also like to look into real estate investment in the area for purchasing a rental property. With the school is this a good area for such a thing?

Anyone that can give any comparison of the Champaign County to the Will County Area please chime in!

Thanks!!

Trying to make a decision in 30 days to move down there or not.

Fxguy

[boingo82]

Hi FXguy.
Unfortunately, I don't have many answers for you, I am thinking of moving to C/U myself.
I can say that from here, the real estate market looks REALLY good there.

There are many 4 bd 2 ba with basement options, starting at $109,900.
The URL is too long to work but just go to www.realtor.com (broken link) and do a search. TONS of reasonably-priced houses there.

[Paxtonian]

Take the job and move on down, C-U will be a walk in the park after Joliet. There are plenty of towns in the immediate area if you don't want to live in the city itself, Mahomet and Monticello are especially nice. The town I'm in, Paxton, is 25 miles from C-U and a lot of the folks here work in Champaign-Urbana. BTW, within Chamapaign-Urbana itself, you can check on crime distribution at the News-Gazette website: http://www.news-gazette.com .
Housing prices in the area are quite reasonable, $150K will buy you a very nice place, $300K a luxury mansion.

[Switch625]

There are some areas you need to be careful of in Champaign-Urbana, but compared to Joliet it's no big deal. Rents in C-U (as it is referred to by the locals) are higher than you might expect because of the presence of lots of students. It is a metro area of around 100,000 people, and the University of Illinois brings in around 40,000 students. A 40% jump in population is a lot to absorb, and rents reflect that. On the other hand, property values aren't affected by that as students don't buy property. If you want a good place at a nice price, then you should buy outside the cities. Mahomet, Lake of the Woods, Savoy, and Saint Joseph are not the places to look, as these communities are growing at a very rapid rate. Property values are somewhat overheated in those towns (If price is no object, those towns are excellent choices as they are close to C-U and you avoid city living). You'd want to go farther afield, to places like Tolono and Rantoul, or to one of the tiny villages such as Homer, Ogden, Bondville, or Thomasboro.

[ndnrog]

I've was born and raised in Champaign (26 July, 1955) and pretty much have been her the whole time. The crime isn't abnormal for an urban area of 140,000. The medical feild is really poppin here so you guys would probably love it! The U of I provides a nice splash of high culture in the middle of the corn feilds and that's pretty unique! (I'm a little biased). The twin cities are quite different. Champaign is very republican and very noe-conish. On the other side of the tracks to the east is the peoples socialist republic of Urbana (I say this with love). Urbana is the home of the U of I and most of it's facalty sa well, therefore Urbana is very liberal and progressive (you can even own chickens in the city, it's like every hippie in Illinois lives here!).
The schools are good as well and private schoo;s are available (home schooling is very popular here). All in all, I think you guys could find a place in the corn fields near town and have a great time here.

Originally Posted by Fxguy

Hello All!

I am considering taking a lucrative job offer in the champaign-urbana region and I am thinking this might be too good to be true. What is the area like? Right now it is just my wife and I and we are in our late 20's looking to start a family. We are graduating Nursing school and Pharmacy school and looking to move to the area but I am concerned with the crime rate. Is it really that bad? Any neighborhoods to stay away from? Is most of the crim related to the Univeristy or not? Just looking for a safe rural place to raise our family. With the advent of the internet and satellite its easy to stay connected almost anywhere.

We would be moving from the Joliet/Romeoville/Lockport area (basically we have both lived in Will County all our lives) and this move would require a 3 year commitment before we could leave if we wanted to.

We lived in Manhattan, IL on a farm surrounded by corn fields and loved the safety and security of knowing we could go out walking at night and not have to worry that we might be mugged. I know I probably sound overly conscious of safety but we care very deeply for one another and are set to start a wonderful life together and looking for the best (perfect, ideal) place to do just that.

What is the real estate market like there? I know here in Naperville, Romeoville, Joliet, its getting difficult to find a decent home for under 200,000. Most homes we like are in the 4 Bed 2 Bath Full basement range of 250,000 to 300,000. We would also like to look into real estate investment in the area for purchasing a rental property. With the school is this a good area for such a thing?

Anyone that can give any comparison of the Champaign County to the Will County Area please chime in!

Thanks!!

Trying to make a decision in 30 days to move down there or not.

Fxguy

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by ndnrog

I've was born and raised in Champaign (26 July, 1955) and pretty much have been her the whole time. The crime isn't abnormal for an urban area of 140,000. The medical feild is really poppin here so you guys would probably love it! The U of I provides a nice splash of high culture in the middle of the corn feilds and that's pretty unique! (I'm a little biased). The twin cities are quite different. Champaign is very republican and very noe-conish. On the other side of the tracks to the east is the peoples socialist republic of Urbana (I say this with love). Urbana is the home of the U of I and most of it's facalty sa well, therefore Urbana is very liberal and progressive (you can even own chickens in the city, it's like every hippie in Illinois lives here!).
The schools are good as well and private schoo;s are available (home schooling is very popular here). All in all, I think you guys could find a place in the corn fields near town and have a great time here.

When I lived there, I knew a number of faculty that lived in Champaign. I don't think the two cities are all *that* different. I think it's more a matter of degree. I am not sure owning chickens in the city is particularly "progressive" either! Just my opinion.

[Drover]

This thread is two years old people. Just sayin'.