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Hi! My family will be relocating to the Peoria area this upcoming summer and I'm trying to figure out where we should put down roots. My husband and I have two daughters (3 and 1). We'd like to find a neighborhood with other young families, larger lots, etc. We'll be sending our kids to the parochial schools, so school district isn't a huge issue. Hopefully we can find a 3-4 bedroom house within our budget of around 180,000-200,000. I know nothing about the city. Any suggestions? We are also open to any surrounding areas, preferably north of the city rather than across the river. Thanks so much for your time.
Any of the newer neighborhoods along Knoxville Ave or Allen Road would be quite decent.
An advantage if you buy within Dunlap School District (which is in those areas I mention even though those areas may be technically within Peoria City Limits) is that Dunlap schools have lower property taxes than the Peoria School District 150.
There is only one Catholic HS in Peoria. Notre Dame HS. There there are two college prep H S in the Peoria Area. One is Notre Dame HS. There are 3-4 Catholic schools in the Peoria area. I like the curriculum at St. Thomas Apostle and St. Philomena. St. Thomas in Peoria Heights is closest to Notre Dame. I particularly like that is serves Pre-3, Pre-K and K-8, and if I remember correctly the grade school faces the Church. The Village of Peoria Hieghts is a very nice community with a very decent K-12 public school system. Its a bit like the Village of Oak Park on the western border of Chicago. There is no oprf high school in Peoria.
The best reason to be in Peoria Heights is that Peoria has 4 hospital. St. Francis (now OSF) is the parent of Children's Hospital of Illinois = the only level 1 critical care tertiary unit in Central illinois. The only hospital that treats more children annually than our childrens hospital is in Chicago. OSF is also the only hospital in Illinois that is affiliated with Easter Seals, Shriners Children's Hospital, and St. Jude's Researh Hospital. According to Sperling Peria has three times more physicians than the national average. The doctors at the Children's hospital practice in more than 100 specialties. OSF can perform surgery on newborn infants. Pregnant mother's who have a very difficult pregnancy very often are in Children's when she is ready to deliver.
Peoria Heights is not more than 10 minutes from any hospital. Peoria Heights is 3 stoplights from all major shopping and most doctors. A little bit farther and you find an after hour clinic for non-emergencies that is open to 11pm. Lagron-Miller is the Catholic religious bookstore; it's very, very nice. This general shopping area is not far from a Dixon's Fish Market. Most restaurants in Peoria offer fish on Friday. The only place you find Trader Joe's is in Chicago and St. Louis. A new Costco I think will open this fall.
IL real estate taxes are obnoxious. However they are not as obnoxious as Chicago. And the COL in Peoria is reasonable and the temperature not nearly as cold as the Wisconsin border in the winter,
With two malls, a dozen shopping centers and a dozen grocers you will be able to find things that are familiar: Kroger's, Aldi's, Kohl's, Chuck E. Cheese, Chicago Style Pizza, and McDonald's as well as fine dining and NY clothing.
Peoria has the oldest and largest Park District in the State. Peoria Heights is 3 stoplights from Glen Oak Park, zoo, botanical gardens, amphitheater and free Sat. night G-rated family movies at the park, and the amphitheater. If you want to look on a Peoria map, the greatest percent of shopping is between Forest Hill and Glen Ave (E-W streets) and Sterling to Sheridan (N-S Streets.
There is only two things to understand about Peoria County. It is it is not a grid. It sprawls along the shoveling of the Illinois river about 50 miles. There are only two one-way streets in Peoria and both are near the river downtown. Adams and Jefferson Streets are NE and SW streets. It is IL Rt 29. Follow it S to Springfield or N to I-80 and Princeton. If you are interested I can recommend a realtor who is very familiar with Peoria Heights and the surrounding area.
Assuming that you meant Catholic when you said parochial, there are some things who should be aware of. First, while Peoria Notre Dame is currently located at Glen and Sheridan, very close to Peoria Heights, there is a plan in place to relocate the high school to a new facility off of Allen Road near Peoria Academy, going hand in hand with the urban/suburban sprawl issue in Peoria - all of the "growth" is on the north end of town, and the fact that the single Catholic high school in the entire metro area is moving out there speaks to the problem of the community leaving the core of the city and moving north or across the river.
I am the parent of two young children who lived in the Peoria area for 3 years before relocating back to Chicago recently. We lived in Peoria Heights and left the area just before my oldest started kindergarten and were members of an area parish and researched the schools extensively (including the Catholics) before moving away. Most people seem to have positive reviews of all of the Catholic elementaries in the area.
Regarding comparing Peoria Heights to Oak Park - I grew up in OP and while I had hoped that our experience in PH was going to be similar as the other poster suggests, that unfortunately was not the case. While PH has a nice little downtown area on Prospect, the area is completely void of the vibrant, pedestrian culture that you find in Oak Park, Evanston or Chicago city neighborhoods. Everyone drives in Peoria. Virtually no one walks or bikes. We selected Peoria Heights because we could in fact walk to shops, restaurants, etc, bike to the Metro Center and to our jobs - and found that we were very, very alone in our practice. Also, the strip along Prospect, with few exceptions, is a ghost town on Sundays - most everything is closed. So while we loved the houses and the views in the neighborhood, the overall experience was disappointing, unfortunately, and nothing like living in Oak Park.
The other thing I would note is that you are looking for a larger lot. As a Chicago expat, I was content with very small lots when looking for a home, and most of Peoria Heights has smaller lots compared to other areas of Peoria, so it may not be the right choice for that reason alone.
There is a big difference between the Village of Oak Park which is nearly 60,000 and some 10 TIMES larger that the Village of Peoria Heights.- where you can find upscale cuisine and a French bakery. The history of the Catholic high school is very old. It began with a girls only high school and a boys only high school and was eventually combined into one high school: Notre Dame. It may be relocating as the school is old, or the student population is growing. The Allen Road location was probably chosen to better serve all of the area population which would include Brimfield, Dunlap and several new housing complexes. It is quite possible the school could be in Peoria Heights as it sprawls from the middle of the river to well past the new VA clinic.
Depending upon where you live in Peoria Heights you may have a small yard or a large yard. Generally speaking the lots between War Memorial and Lake Street west to Knoxville have a standard 60' lot - which is still larger than many of the older neighborhoods in Chicago. PH may or may not have shops open on Sunday. The oldest bakery in Peoria is open at 6:30am on Sunday. It's a couple blocks south of War Memorial Drive on Prospect. The 12" breakfast roll can be ordered in advance in 21 flavors. Chocolate is very popular. .
All of Peoria is open on Sunday. You can find 24/7 grocery stores. General shopping in Peoria is 10-6 on Sunday and 10-9 during the week. There are plenty of things for families to do on Sunday after Mass. There are several place in PH where you can walk or bike.
How far do you want to drive to Kindergarten and Pre-K in the winter? Since your children won't be in High school for 11 and 13 years respectively, should it be a consideration today? Probably not, but with toddlers the convenience of the Children's Hospital, doctors, and shopping nearby may well weight your decision.
If you are moving from a larger area such as Chicago or even Rockford you may experience a culture shock as Peoria smaller. It is normal whether you move 20 miles or 1020 miles. You move to a town where you don't where anything is located, who the utility companies are, or whether or not your cell phone will work.
The Village Hall in Peoria Heights has a list of all rentals. It is not in the paper or Craig's List. What I like about PH is the police are friendly and they like children; they know who the children are, who the parents are and where the children live. And you can call the Mayor.
Obviously not everyone will like Peoria Heights; it is upscale and a desirable address. It must like children as the public school system is K-12 with a low teacher to student ratio. Most teachers have a Master's or above. Peoria Heights is in Peoria County and NOT in the City of Peoria - therefore your taxes will be somewhat lower.
I did like PH - quite a bit, actually. I found some very specific things about Peoria area culture to be disappointing - that car is king, and that many, many businesses are in fact closed on Sunday in the Peoria area. Yes, the malls and the chains are open on Sunday. Great, if that is your cup of tea. But the majority of independent businesses are, in fact, closed - shops, restaurants, you name it - and that includes Trefzgers Bakery referred to in the post above. For a dual career couple working M-F with kids, this was a bummer. In PH, here is what is open on Sunday on the Prospect strip - Emack and Bolio's (ice cream), which is great, and Jim's Bistro (dinner only) and Leaves and Beans. Nothing else. EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, in Junction City, which is a nice independent shopping district up the road from Peoria Heights - is closed on Sunday - every shop, every restaurant, etc. So finding something to walk or bike to with the family on Sunday when you live in PH is a drag.
I agree that Oak Park and Peoria Heights are very different - which is exactly why I thought the comparison was strange in the first place.
I didn't mean to suggest that they should try to live close to the future PND High School - just wanted to make them aware of where it is probably going to be, and, in my mind, what it says about the direction in which the community is moving. Some people think the sprawl and the white flight are good things - I tend to think that communities that have abandoned their core for a low density, car dependent future are in trouble. But that is a debate for another thread.
Peoria is surrounded by hills. It has always been car dependent - more so since the train depot closed. It is only recently that Peoria buses expanded into Bartonville and the junior college. City Bus service to PH is very good compared to some other areas.
Trefger's has served Peoria since 1861. They did close on Sunday which is probably long overdue. To compensate they expanded their service 22 hours per week. They are open much longer and you can still order ahead.
This couple does not have to worry about high school for over 10 years. As far as I am concerned today Allen Road is nothing more than a giant commercial traffic mess that ought to be five lanes.
I'm sorry every business was not open for you every day. Junction City was always closed on Sunday except Pete Vonachon's place which has been gone for years. You are talking about a Village of 6,000 people. Peoria has traditionally been a town that rested on Sunday for church and families. I can remember when the only thing open on Sunday was a gas station or two, and hospitals. Jim's, and Avanti's Ristoranti have been open on Sundays and holidays since the 60's. Other restaurants open on Sunday include Sushi Popo, Steak 'n Shake, Ming Shee, 50's Diner (7-3) and more. There are 300 restaurants to chose from. Even Chuck E Cheese is open for the little kids on Sunday.
I am very sorry you did not find where you can bike/hike/run/walk in Peoria Heights. The first three places that come to mind are Grandview Drive, the nature preserve and Detweiller Park.
Good grief - I didn't see I couldn't do any of those things (bike, walk etc) - I just said that there were very limited destinations to which one can go on Sunday to eat or shop regardless of the mode of transportation. I think I was pretty clear on that and didn't say there weren't scenic places to do so - in fact, I said quite the opposite when I complemented the views. I don't think there is anything wrong with me pointing this issue out to newcomers, but apparently you disagree.
I think probably the difference is I've in area many, many years. I always seem to find what I wanted or needed on Sunday without going to St. Louis. Is main street Peoria Heights quiet on Sunday? Probably; it always was, but I could usually find a beer and pizza. What most outsiders don't understand about Peoria is W-Sa is when its wide open til 4am. Su thru Tu it is slower paced and much quieter. M-F is when the commercial venue are open for bulk purchases. When The Don was open in Chicago, it closed on weekends too. . .
... As far as I am concerned today Allen Road is nothing more than a giant commercial traffic mess that ought to be five lanes...
Most of Allen Road IS a 5 lane road. It is NOT a giant commercial traffic mess? When is the last time you were actually on it?
BTW, most of Allen Road is in the Dunlap School District, although it is located within the city limits of Peoria.
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