I want to move from Chicago to the South Suburban area of....Charleston Illinois. (Peoria: waterparks, crime rate)

[windycityangie]

I want to move from Chicago to the South Suburban area of....Charleston Illinois.

I am a 33 year old mom of two boys ages 6 years old & 11 years old. I am seeking to move from the no jobs, high crime rate of Chicago IL. Having done some research on South Suburban areas of IL I am almost for sure that Charleston IL is where I want my children to continue the rest of their childhood but being that I live 2 hours and 30 minutes from Charleston I have not been able to do a thorough visit so please any Charleston dwellers leave your comments and tell me all that you know (good and/or bad) about living in the Charleston IL area and if you have any suggestions on South Suburban areas closer to Chicago please sound off on that too. Work, schools (elementary/middle/high school), leisure/night life/outdoor activities; I look forward to all information and advice.

Thanks!!

[cubssoxfan]

Please do not refer to Charleston as the South Suburban area. It is a small, college town in the east central part of the state. Kankakee is about as far south as you can go and still be considered south suburban area of Chicago- and even then that's a stretch.

So if you are looking to move "Downstate", say so. If you are looking to move in the south suburbs, I suggest you go to the Chicago suburbs forum and post there.

[myrc60]

Small towns have less jobs to go around!

[windycityangie]

"South Suburban" I was misinformed via information of the internet. Either way all replies are welcomed. I've also tried to edit or remove the post but do not see a link/button to do so.

[AbbyJaneway]

I replied to you in the Chicago suburbs forum but I'm just curious, what did you read about Charleston that appealed to you?

[linicx]

The internet is not exactly known for its sterling information. Charleston is in Coles County and it is the home of Eastern Illinois University. It is also a rural agricultural area which means job opportunities are limited. The nearest hospital, public swimming pool and Family Y are in Mattoon. The nearest critical medical care is in Champaign at the Carle Clinic. Their pediatricians are all affialiated with the children's hospital in Peoria.

There are four pockets of population between Chicago and St. Louis: Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and Urbana-Champaign. Each area is quite different than the other. Between these four areas are 4 zoological parks, 10 hospitals, 1 children's hospital, 6 or 7 malls, 1000 restaurants, probably two dozen shopping centers, and many churches. There is no Trader Joe's or Whole Foods but there is a Costco and several natural food stores. All have rural areas nearby. The question is how far you want to drive for medical care for your kids and work. It is a deciding factor.

There is nothing wrong with living in rural Illinois as long as you understand that rural living is isolated, boring, and what that means to you and your family. The 6 year old won't care. The 11 year old will be unhappy because he is almost a teenager. If you are determined to move from Chicago you might reconsider and look to central Illinois where there are more job opportunities and more activities for your children and your family from waterparks to semi-pro sports, and things/places to investigate and learn to free family movies at the park on Saturday night in Peoria. Bloomington-Normal is nicely positioned about 35 miles from Peoria and Urbana-Champaign and 65 from Springfield. Normal has an edge as it has University High, a college prep high school for the brightest students. The last time I looked there was a 2 years waiting list.

[Rabflmom]

What type of job will you be looking for? Charleston is the home of Eastern Illinois University so there may be some jobs related to that and students. I would look there, first. Also look into Mattoon which is just a few miles down the road. It has the train station. On weekends we used to take the train home to Chicago area. I imagine that is still a possibility.

Both towns are pretty tame and the kids would be safe.

[AbbyJaneway]

Charleston has a decent public pool. And the hospital is on the Mattoon/Charleston border, it's pretty much equidistant from the town center of each.

Originally Posted by linicx

The internet is not exactly known for its sterling information. Charleston is in Coles County and it is the home of Eastern Illinois University. It is also a rural agricultural area which means job opportunities are limited. The nearest hospital, public swimming pool and Family Y are in Mattoon. The nearest critical medical care is in Champaign at the Carle Clinic. Their pediatricians are all affialiated with the children's hospital in Peoria.

There are four pockets of population between Chicago and St. Louis: Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and Urbana-Champaign. Each area is quite different than the other. Between these four areas are 4 zoological parks, 10 hospitals, 1 children's hospital, 6 or 7 malls, 1000 restaurants, probably two dozen shopping centers, and many churches. There is no Trader Joe's or Whole Foods but there is a Costco and several natural food stores. All have rural areas nearby. The question is how far you want to drive for medical care for your kids and work. It is a deciding factor.

There is nothing wrong with living in rural Illinois as long as you understand that rural living is isolated, boring, and what that means to you and your family. The 6 year old won't care. The 11 year old will be unhappy because he is almost a teenager. If you are determined to move from Chicago you might reconsider and look to central Illinois where there are more job opportunities and more activities for your children and your family from waterparks to semi-pro sports, and things/places to investigate and learn to free family movies at the park on Saturday night in Peoria. Bloomington-Normal is nicely positioned about 35 miles from Peoria and Urbana-Champaign and 65 from Springfield. Normal has an edge as it has University High, a college prep high school for the brightest students. The last time I looked there was a 2 years waiting list.

[madpaddy]

When you look at the quality-of-schools vs the average property price, I can see why somebody with kids who's struggling in Chicago might be attracted. Just beware that with a low cost of living comes low wages. Not that there aren't any good paying jobs, but the average pay for similar work is probably going to be much lower than in Chicago.

[linicx]

IL Minimum wage in $8.50 but if you are an unskilled worker you'll most likely work part time (less than 40 hours) at Federal minimum wage with no health benefits. It is very common practice in grocery stores, nursing homes, retail box stores etc.. in rural towns. Low wages encourage petit crimes such as small value theft.