HELP! Places to Live? Information on everyone's home town please!

[medic_diver45]

For those of you who have missed out on the latest installment in my ongoing battle to escape my own personal purgatory (more commonly known as Indiana) I am trying to find a place to live. The most recent suggestion I looked into was Houghton, Michigan


I don't know why, but Jennifer (my fiancee) seems a little less than thrilled about the idea of Houghton- may I shouldn't have told her that last year the place got 225" of snow (about 18 ft 9 inches for those of you who are keeping count)- I think perhaps I should look into other options.....DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER PLACES TO SUGGEST? The requirements as the stand now are:
1. A 4 year public university
2. A population <45,000; I would consider going to school in a bigger city but I want to live in a small town (perhaps 30 minutes or so outside of a big city- but I would prefer to be further than that and to live in a little town).
3. A low crime rate (this is the one that weeds out a lot of the places I have looked at).
4. Somewhere in the Midwest (but not Indiana or Ohio)- this is Jen's request (she wants to stay close to her family here), but I think it can be waived if all else fails.
5. Cost of living below the national average (I don't care if the crime rate is low and the scenery is beautiful, if it costs over $575 a month to have an apartment it's not an option).

ANY SUGGESTIONS? If anyone lives in or near a town that meets all or most of these suggestions please fill me in on some further information. I'm interested in the inside scoop on places I may not have heard yet.

 

[MgicTwnger]

I've been here about seven years, and (mostly) like it.

1. U of I and a number of other schools.

2. Population is more than 45K, but it has a small town feel. And there are plenty of smaller bedroom communities.

3. Crime rate is OK. It's the state capitol, so they keep a lid on things pretty well. Then again, I'm from NJ....

4. Corn, soybeans, cows, churches.
Corn, soybeans, cows, churches.
Corn, soybeans, cows, churches.
Corn, soybeans, cows, churches.
Corn, soybeans, cows, churches.

5. Cost of housing is one of the lowest in the country. Everything else is pretty much the same.

 

[medic_diver45]

Hmmm....I'll give that some thought. Any other suggestions?

 

[kittyjg]

Washington, IL. Been here since 1975.
1) commuting distance to IL State Univ. in Bloomington/Normal - 45 min.
2) population about 11,000
3) crime - police spend most of their time with patrols, accidents on the bypass, underage drinking parties.
4) see MgicTwnger above. occasional pumpkin field.
5) cost of housing - not sure, I haven't looked as apt. rates. in town.

There are a lot of towns around here that would also fit your request that are within commuting distance to ISU. Morton is right on I-74 and not much bigger than Washington. Eureka and Metamora are smaller. Also close to Peoria.
Springfield is about 1.5 hrs away from here. Chicago - 3 hrs. St. Louis - 3.5 hrs.
Not that you are looking for this yet, but very good school system.
Very small town feel depending on where in town you locate. My neighborhood is an older one and has kids on bikes, neighbors that walk and will stop and talk and check on each other.
Springfield has areas like that, also. ISU is probably about a 1 hr. commute from there on I-55. Pretty town. As MT said, lots of bedroom communities around there.

 

[medic_diver45]

Hmmm.....I have noticed something, people from Illinois are very proud of their hometowns. I'll look into those towns; any suggestions for places other than Illinois (I'd like to be a little further than my soon-to-be in-laws than that; just so they can't come up and "visit" without warning. LOL)

 

[modiver71]

For those of you who have missed out on the latest installment in my ongoing battle to escape my own personal purgatory (more commonly known as Indiana) I am trying to find a place to live. The most recent suggestion I looked into was Houghton, Michigan


I don't know why, but Jennifer (my fiancee) seems a little less than thrilled about the idea of Houghton- may I shouldn't have told her that last year the place got 225" of snow (about 18 ft 9 inches for those of you who are keeping count)- I think perhaps I should look into other options.....DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER PLACES TO SUGGEST? The requirements as the stand now are:
1. A 4 year public university
2. A population <45,000; I would consider going to school in a bigger city but I want to live in a small town (perhaps 30 minutes or so outside of a big city- but I would prefer to be further than that and to live in a little town).
3. A low crime rate (this is the one that weeds out a lot of the places I have looked at).
4. Somewhere in the Midwest (but not Indiana or Ohio)- this is Jen's request (she wants to stay close to her family here), but I think it can be waived if all else fails.
5. Cost of living below the national average (I don't care if the crime rate is low and the scenery is beautiful, if it costs over $575 a month to have an apartment it's not an option).

ANY SUGGESTIONS? If anyone lives in or near a town that meets all or most of these suggestions please fill me in on some further information. I'm interested in the inside scoop on places I may not have heard yet.

I've always been happy with S.W. Missouri. Born and raised here. Low crime rate. (Stray dog calls outnumbered burglaries 2-1 on last month's police blotter for my town.) Can choose between SMSU, Drury, Evangel, in Springfield and MSSU.edu in Joplin. If involved in medicine, have 2 large hospitals in Springfield. St. Johns and COX. Booming tourist economy with Branson and the lakes. Fastest growing region in the state and one of the fastest in the country. Just got my 70 acres of Ozarks hills appraised and value doubled over last 5 years. (Still cheap though). 5 acre buidling lots go for about 2k per acre. I live in small town but will make it back to the country some day.
Now for the most important part, the diving. Bonne Terre Mine approx 3 hours away. Deep quarry holes in almost every county. River diving. Spring diving. Caving. White River chain of lakes along AR. border is less than 1 hour away from my house.

Could possibly rent a decent house for approx 575. Should be able to find good apartment for less than 575. Cost of living is approx 92. Lots of people make a living PORTRAYING hillbillies around here, don't let that scare you.

In general KC about 3 hours away, STL about 3.5 hours.


Hope this helps.

 

[modiver71]

BTW, about 20 inches snow per winter.

 

[diverbob]

I'm in St. Peters MO, just outside St. Louis.

I dont have a clue about the crime rate.

Usually not a whole lot of snow, but now that I said that, we will get drilled this winter.

I am paying under 400 bucks for the condo that I bought.

 

[tndiveinstruct1]

Might I suggest somewhere around Clarksville, TN? The town has Austin Peay State University, which is an excellent school. Clarksville is also home to Ft. Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne. It still has the hometown feel to it, yet Clarksville has about 120,000 people in it. The ACCRA Cost Of Living is 94%.

And yes, there are places to dive around Clarksville....

Hope this helps, and good luck...

Randy Cain

 

[Mick_O]

I've lived here for 6 years, and it's pretty neat. Some excellent cultural sights (and sites). However, it seems like Kansas City, KS has a pretty bad reputation. If you consider the nothern part (towards MCI - Kansas City Int'l) there's a smaller town called Liberty - EXCELLENT school district, if that's a concern. A lot of police officers live in this area for that very reason.

It takes about 20-30 minutes to get from Liberty to downtown KCMO (only a few more minutes to hit Westport and the Plaza). Liberty also has a Liberal Arts College (William Jewell), and you won't be too far from KU and MU. There are plenty of community colleges around.

As far as cost of living - my wife and I have a 1,700 sqft house that 5 years ago cost $118k. Not sure how that stacks up these days, but there are places to look.