Best City for a Retiree to live (Chicago, DeKalb: real estate, rental market)

[Becky500]

Recently retired looking for a place that's good for retirees to live. I dont want to purchase a home so a place that has reasonable rent prices, not a lot of children, not a lot of traffic, shops that are in walking distance, decent weather and most of all LOW CRIME

[aga412]

Originally Posted by Becky500

Recently retired looking for a place that's good for retirees to live. I dont want to purchase a home so a place that has reasonable rent prices, not a lot of children, not a lot of traffic, shops that are in walking distance, decent weather and most of all LOW CRIME

Lol then why are you looking in Illinois?

[Hesychios]

Originally Posted by Becky500

Recently retired looking for a place that's good for retirees to live. I dont want to purchase a home so a place that has reasonable rent prices, not a lot of children, not a lot of traffic, shops that are in walking distance, decent weather and most of all LOW CRIME

Weather can be tough in Illinois, especially in regard to the winter.

Disregarding the 'walking distance' criteria I would say there are many smaller towns which could make a retiree very happy. Smaller towns mean smaller shopping districts though. The best shopping is in areas that have rising real estate values.

Have you considered the Galena area? I personally like Kendall county, DeKalb county, LaSalle county and Grundy county. The smaller towns are quite nice, especially along the rivers, but prices to rent or buy are climbing everywhere.

[tlw]

Originally Posted by Becky500

Recently retired looking for a place that's good for retirees to live. I dont want to purchase a home so a place that has reasonable rent prices, not a lot of children, not a lot of traffic, shops that are in walking distance, decent weather and most of all LOW CRIME

Marion, Illinois

Southern Illinois has the best weather in the state hands down .... much different than even the central part of the state. Marion is walkable, very reasonably priced in all categories, low crime, low traffic compared to cities, average number of children.

Within a few miles drive you have beautiful rolling hills, rock formations, Giant City State Park, wineries, and gorgeous recreational lakes - Crab Orchard which borders Marion, Lake Kincaid, Little Grassy, Devil's Kitchen, Cedar Lake, Rend Lake.

You're only 2 hours drive to St. Louis for city life.

[dustyroad1]

Originally Posted by aga412

Lol then why are you looking in Illinois?

.I was thinking the same thing. Too the poster=If you are only wanting to stay in Illinois for grand kids or family members, there are planes or cars that you can use too see them. Get out and move to a new state if you can!!!

[westcoastforme]

Retire in IL?!

Get out now!!!!!

[Momsfavoriteson2]

Only fools would retire in Illinois.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by aga412

Lol then why are you looking in Illinois?

Illinois exempts nearly all retirement income from taxation, including Social Security retirement benefits, pension income and income from retirement savings accounts.

[Nodpete]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

Illinois exempts nearly all retirement income from taxation, including Social Security retirement benefits, pension income and income from retirement savings accounts.

Until after this next election, can you say Pritzker ?

[MikeQBF]

Originally Posted by tlw

Marion, Illinois

Southern Illinois has the best weather in the state hands down ...

I'll agree on the weather part. I-70 (on a ridge, basically) separates the climate zones.

However... Marion? Not so much for walking as your primary get-around. Development over the past, oh, three or four years has moved a lot of retail to around the I-57/IL13 interchange. Road "improvements" around the area are pedestrian-hostile.

But given we retired to southern Illinois, yes, it's a good place to be. Housing costs are very low, although rents in some areas - Salem/Centralia/Mt. Vernon for example - are "upside down", meaning it costs less to buy than rent, sometimes much less, when all is considered. The Illinois retirement income exemptions are a godsend.

I was on our Chamber's "Retire in [our town]" committee for a while. Although we have a lot to offer, walking access to basic shopping is not one of them. Like most small Midwest towns, we were Wal-Marted several years ago which decimated our downtown. Then there was a double whammy when it was upgraded to a Super Wal-Mart a couple of years ago, which is now killing our in-town strip mall. You need a car here.

Given the OP's parameters, I would lean towards Carbondale. The college sets the tone for the community overall, so there is a decent downtown, nice variety of retail and restaurants, and access to public transportation including an Amtrak station with three daily trains going north if you need the occasional Chicago fix. And with the primary community being college "kids", the "not a lot of children" desire - which we totally understand - seems to fit well. Only downside I can think of would be a high-demand rental market, characteristic of college towns, although as a former landlord I would jump at the chance at renting to an adult!