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Dekalb or Peoria IL

955 views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  shanahan 
#1 ·
I am thinking of moving to one of these 2 areas. Anyone live in either area that could maybe tell me some positives and negatives? Is either area in need of a cloth diaper/natural parenting shop (and is there a market for it)?
I currenty live in Sterling but would like to move to a larger city, but I can't really afford to live in a Chicago suburb. So, I am looking at these two areas, which are still close to my family here in Sterling.

Some more info, my kids are 2 and 4, so I am wanting an area with good public schools, a nice neighborhood with lots of kids, lots of parks, a dog park would be wonderful, and some place to fish (per dh). Not too much to ask right.

I also am considering the Quad City area, but think closer to Chicago may be better. Thanks for any info.
 
#3 ·
DeKalb has some of your positives, but the school district is struggling... Although they finally got a referendum passed and it sounds like big things will be happening. So by the time you need them, they should be there.
There are now two Montessori schools, since one just opened in Sycamore.

I would love to see a natural parenting shop, and it might do well, especially if it was in Sycamore (right next door) but on the other hand, Geneva had one that closed after I think less than a year, and it was next to Trader Joe's in a great spot. But I went only once, to get supplies I couldn't wait for, and mostly my thought was, I get this stuff cheaper online without the drive! It was nice to see and touch things, though...

But back on topic, Dekalb has a nice farmer's market, some nice parks, and lots of good cultural stuff cos of the Univ. There is fishing in the area, especially in Shabbona, about 10 minutes away. There is a wide variety of neighborhoods, depending on your price range...
Not familiar with a dog park, although TAILS does a "meet and greet", and if you asked them they would know if there are any dog parks.

There is also a MDC mama who is a family doc in Genoa and on staff at Kishwaukee Hospital (brand new building, btw) who is bf/no vax friendly. Her name is Karen Federici, and she has four kids of her own. She leads classes as well, for bf and I just saw in the paper, one to teach parents about starting solids. I laughed out loud, literally, at the tone of this article...."Baby food doesn't have to come in jars! Babies can eat with their families!"
But someone has to bring these radical ideas to the masses, I guess....


HTH - anything else I could answer?
 
#5 ·
i can tell you that while peoria has a few good schools the larger part of where i lived was ghetto. and the schooling other than those few good ones is aweful! i was very dissapointed when i started to go to highschool at woodruff. it was terrrible how the teachers undermined the students intelligence and assumed that because they were not white and came from a low income family they werent smart. ( i am mixed but look cc) I moved last november to NC, with my hubby ( he is army so we had to move) and i was amazed at the fact that i couldnt taste smoke in the air as soon as we got off the plane. ( if that gives you any idea of how the air is in peoria).... idk i hope the best for you, and i do know some really high end type areas in peoria where there is alot of greenery etc. but its not the norm.
 
#6 ·
disclaimer: I've never been to DeKalb.

My husband and I moved to Peoria (due to life, not necessarily due to choice) a little over two years ago. The greatest thing Peoria has going for it is the local Attachment Parenting group (a life-saver, literally, for me), and the Baby-Friendly hospital across the river in Pekin. Honestly, we will not be staying here. From my observations, people live here for one (or more) of the following reasons: they don't know anything else, they or their spouse works for Caterpillar, or their family lives here and being near family is of high importance.

Really, I've gotten to know some really great people - many whom I expect to be good friends with the rest of my life. But the area sucks, IMO. (Only one local HFS, terribly overpriced. Nearest Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is Chicago, Indianapolis, or St. Louis. And while there is some cultural diversity here, it takes effort to find/be exposed to it.)
 
#8 ·
Don't forget the Duck Soup Coop...I think it is one of the awesome things about DeKalb. I will never move to another city again that didn't have a coop. I have met so many cool people through there and we do offer lots of organic, natural products. Plus...we have a pretty cool mom's group that I belong to. So...when you move here, get in touch with me :)

I personally would move to DeKalb over Peoria (although I have never been to Peoria). There are just so many things the appeal to me here....the diversity, the university, the small town feel, etc.

And...Dr. Karen is AWESOME.
 
#9 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ~patty View Post
the university, .
hey now! there's a university - a very good one - in Peoria, too!! smaller, but good - that adds some diversity and cultural events!! (can you tell I'm a proud Bradley grad!!).

Peoria is an interesting city to say the least.... there are nice areas. there are REALLY nice areas. There are not so nice areas. And there are ghettos. And the really interesting part is that many of these areas are right next to or across the street from one another!!

I don't know the actual statistics, but I would guess that Dekalb is much safer (when I was in school, there were many shootings/murders in P-town - and some just a few blocks from campus).

Peoria will have a slightly "bigger" city feel - their civic center brings in a lot of national acts, more restaurants, more hospitals, etc. - but its obviously further from a true big city like Chicago....

not sure if this is helpful or not - but there you go!
 
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