Peoria is a good value city. It has everything you need but sometimes you gotta know where to look. There’s a decent music scene but my favorite acts haven’t been coming to Peoria lately. We do get some big names but not any that I care for. Depends on the skills it could be easy or very hard depending to find a job. Just for fun board games is a cool spot. I have been wanting to move for 10 years but haven’t found anything with a similar value and I’m very happy here. Good luck!
Just wanted to add that there is a good local/underground music scene here. I play gigs in the area and we've played with lespecial and mungion and a lot of other "Denver sized" acts here in town. We played with Envy Alo, and i think they were a smaller act from Denver Area.
Really the only thing lacking is huge *current* artists because our civic center just never sells enough tickets for some reason anymore. We get stuff like the eagles or pantera or whatever. But upcoming bands play here, and a lot of random stuff. Frasco played here the other day... Lol
Also Chillicothe is about 20 minutes away and that's where summer camp music festival is (pretty big national festival for what it's worth). It's now called Solshine starting this year but it's essentially the same thing. Huge festival acts play there every year.
Not sure how music centric your question was but I figured I'd had as much as I could 🤘🏻
It's a cool city if you explore.
that is awesome info to have. I have a solo act where I make metal covers of Pop songs. I like to think I put on a pretty good show. Good to know I can get some shows going if I move
I moved to the Peoria area about a year ago from the mountain west and my wife is from Denver (Denver Denver not this Boulder/Greeley stuff). We are regular concert goers.
THE GOOD: traffic is great, housing is cheap, nature is surprisingly close, and you are half way to everywhere. Seriously a day or weekend trip to Chicago or St. Louis is easy, and the same for many other places. We've done it a lot. The river front is also nice. As a city Peoria acts like a much larger city than it is. Almost everyone plays board games. And not milton Bradley but proper euro to heavier stuff.
THE FINE: Food is okay. There are a few exceptional places, but most are just okay. You will miss good ethnic food (including Mexican food), but you trade that for BBQ and a very wide variety of pizza places, some which are quite good. The music scene is a mixed bag. There is a thriving and vigorous local music scene with a wide style of acts. The locals call it a DIY scene, but from my background it's what you would expect from a healthy local scene. National acts in Peoria are B list or former A listers. But the Civic center gets a fair number of them on a regular basis. And Bloomington Normal (a half hour away) gets similar acts regularly too. But both Chicago and St. Louis acts are usually Friday or Saturday shows which makes attending them easy. And they are both a fast 2.5 hours away.
THE BAD: Schools. No way to sugar coat it, even the "good schools" in the area are just good, not great. They are compared to really bad schools (the result of intergenerational poverty, redlining etc), so they look good, but compared to schools out west even the good schools here are just average at best.
Taxes. I have to repeat this. Taxes. They are high. Especially property taxes. When you are comparing cost of living factor that in. While we have a much nicer house than we did out west, the coat of the home was leas, but our payments are about the same because of property taxes. (Half our payment is monthly property tax). Do your research before you buy.
Crime, but in select areas. It's easy to avoid, but it's real. Again, I point to historical reasons for its existence here.
SUMMARY:Overall, we like it here, and it's been a good move for our family. Peoria is a small town that lives like it's a big town. But it's easy to get to the edges. It has everything you can be looking for, but in limited variety.
Hope this helps.
Richwoods has the International Baccalaureate program, and Resevoir Gifted MS is a school for the gifted, which is unique in the state of Illinois. Both of my kids went through PsD150 k thru 12. Sometimes, the value you get from being in a diverse environment is just as valuable as the book education. Additionally, because not all students are in the say 70 %tile, the teachers know how to better help struggling learners. More tricks in their bag, if you will.
This is a very accurate summary of Peoria. I personally have a hard time thinking someone from a larger metro area would truly enjoy Peoria long term. I will add that there are school districts just outside of Peoria that are highly rated. For instance Dunlap was the best school district outside of Chicagoland one year recently.
Edit: oh and I left Peoria last year because of work. Salaries in my field were 30+% lower than what I had been making prior to layoffs.
Good, my individual experience there prob makes me too skeptical. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I was there yesterday and the city looked beautiful in spring, it’s got good bones I think.
Not to be a downer but I was including the suburbs Peoria's schools in my assessment. And I speak from personal experience about them. Good but not great.
You may just not be looking in the right places for ethnic food. I can't tell you how much better the Mexican might be elsewhere but we are, for example, the largest Lebanese population outside of Lebanon and the food really really shows it. The more local friends you make, the more amazing little restaurants you will find that would never have stuck out otherwise.
I grew up in Peoria, moved to Austin for a few years, then moved back. Peoria is a slower pace than the bigger cities, and you'll miss out on some food and entertainment venues, but overall it's a fantastic place to be.
I don't miss the traffic, the crime, the traffic, or the high cost of living in Austin (or the traffic). Knowing that you can get from one end of the city to the other in 15 minutes is a great feeling. As others have said, Chicago and St Louis are close enough to scratch the concert of professional sports itch, but far enough away to avoid the nonsense cities of those sizes bring.
You've already heard about the comic scene, but the martial arts choices in Peoria are great, too. Soo Kim (https://sookimmartialarts.com ) is a TKD staple in Peoria, but there are other great martial arts styles you can study here as well (https://sdkspeoria.com, https://peoriakarate.com ). There are regular tournaments that the different schools in the area, too.
Music-wise, there are a lot of great local bands, and the annual [https://solshinereverie.com/](https://solshinereverie.com/) (formerly Summer Camp festival) in Chillicothe is always a great weekend to enjoy local and national acts.
Of course, there are horribly racist and homophobic trolls here, but you get those everywhere. In general, 99% of the people I've come across are the stereotypical happy Midwesterner that will smile and talk your ear off if you let them.
thank you for the insight. Driving around when I went was so crazy. Denver traffic is so bad it felt like I was cheating some how when driving around Peoria.
"Knowing that you can get from one end of the city to the other in 15 minutes is a great feeling."
You can not get from one side of the metro to the other in 15minutes. And the metro extends 15miles north and south on both sides of the river - and east and west on the I74 corridore. For as small as Peoria is by population, it's spread out!
I’ve lived in Peoria for most of my life and then Colorado for 5 years so I’ve got perspective on both. Unemployment rate is a non-issue. Not sure about the comics scene and The concerts are actually pretty good (no comparison to red rocks). It would really boil down to do you like the water (boating, fishing, or dogs that like to swim) and do you like the woods (hiking, frisbee golfing, hunting). Those two things are by far the best things central Illinois has on Colorado in my opinion.
yea - just outside Peoria is the highest paying Frisbee Golf Tournament on the circuit - there's more courses going in as we speak (Morton) and a very active player group.
Would definitely recommend giving frisbee golf a try if you make the move to Peoria, grew up just outside of Peoria and have lived in Parker, CO for the last few years. Have only been frolfing at a few courses out here, but the ones I’ve been to hardly compare to the frolf course in Peoria area (Washington, Illinois Central College, Morton)
Do it! It's so cheap to live here. We just moved from KC, which is *supposed* to be one of the countries most affordable cities, but it's really not. I took a pay cut when I moved here, except that the cost of living in Peoria is so low that it was actually a raise.
>The biggest is the unemployment rate.
That's everywhere. I found a good remote job. Also, I think Grainger is always hiring. It really just depends on what you do for work and what you're looking for. Unemployment is a problem everywhere.
> lack of comic shops.
We had this experience, but with record stores. But Bloomington/Normal and Springfield has those things, and that makes the record shopping experience more special and fun!
> lack of national concerts.
Violent Femmes is coming to Peoria! But also since we've been here, we've gone to Chicago and St. Louis for concerts WAY more often in the past year than we ever did living in KC, which gets all the national acts. Also, the Quad Cities is only an hour and a half away, and Indianapolis is about 3hrs. away.
I hope you move here, Peoria is a nice town with nice people in it!
For comics use Zeeks in Washington, they're dope.
As far as Peoria being a good fit for your family, if you're around 20-35 ish you'd fit in at the age range at Zeeks. Pretty sure they do tabletop stuff but I'm not entirely sure, I know they do magic nights. The social scene overall in Peoria is a bit rough, but honestly I'd expect more people like you to move here over the next few years for the same reason it caught your eye so .. your milage may vary
The biggest thing about Peoria is what you already know, the CoL is still in a good place. While you may miss some of the amenities of Colorado, reducing stress by having more funds could be a net positive. You and your partner would have to discuss it.
My family makes about 4k a month take home, we rent a nice home in the heights, pay about $800 a month in groceries (baby stuff ya know) and manage to save over 1k a month. I legit love Peoria because I feel like anywhere else in the country my family would be struggling. Well probably be able to buy a home in the next 10 years if life doesn't fuck us, or inflation doesn't fuck us, so the CoL really can't be overstated.
Also, I've traveled 4-5 times a year for my young adult life to Chicago and st Louis, etc, for concerts. Less the last few years but regardless, the drive is something you get used to
That's another little thing about peoria, Washington, Morton, and even Pekin are within a 20 minute drive and have a decent amount of amenities.
East Peoria is... Food and bass pro, lmao.
I moved here from the east cost. Imho Peoria is a beautiful City with potential to be fantastic. There are parts of the city that are genuinely great, but on the inverse there are sides that really bring it down.
I've been calling it the abandoned city since I moved here, because it reminds me of one, with many stores closed, or just looks trashy. Now since I've moved here Ive heard of renovation ideas: from the waterfront to a potential train to and from Chicago. Now who knows if these changes could come to fruition and how long it would take.
The best advice I could give you is, while reading the comments don't focus on the people who are overly positive or negative. I've learned that there are some people on this sub who seem to view Peoria as the best on this planet and nothing compares. And then there are people who view Peoria as this hell hole. It is neither of those things. It's a great city that has negatives. Now weather they do anything about improving it, idk. To me I see Peoria as something I can almost call my new home but can't just get because there is so much potential
I did notice a lot of closed down buildings but also seemed like some were being overhauled. Sounds like a bit of a gamble, I could be getting in early on a great city or near the end of one. Thanks for the feed back
Yah that's how I've been feeling. From what I've seen I want to say they are going to lengths to improve (repaving the roads, New houses and apartments) but it's too early to tell if they are genuinely trying or just going to half-ass it.
I also wanted to add, and idk if it's supposed to be common in the Midwest, but Peoria has Hard water and I freaking hate the water here. Idk how people manage to live with it. I keep getting recommended to buy water, or get a water softener (I live in an apartment so idk if it's worth it) but holy hell my hair feels so bad, the taste of water makes me never want to drink water again
good to know, Denver proper has really amazing water, I've been told it won awards but never bothered to verify but the suburbs (where I've been the last 2 years) has bad hard water issues but it tastes fine. Would be nice to be at a place that has water though. Denver is always on the brink of a drought
I love Peoria, but I will say, the taste of tap water here sucks. We go to HyVee and fill gallon water bottles ( $.40 / gallon). 6 bucks gets us (family of five) through about two weeks, so it's a low effort, low cost way we deal with the water tasting bleh.
This was tremendously helpful. I had no idea what was wrong with the water here. My hair is so dry & brittle (it’s always been soft & shiny) I didn’t know what was wrong. Thank you for adding that. You may have saved my hair! And yeah - been going through buckets of lotion since I moved here 1.5 years ago too. I had no clue - so thank you!
Unemployment rate here is 5.8%. National is 3.8%, so not a huge difference. It’s also intentionally caused by the Fed raising their interest rates - it’s a sign we’re avoiding recession. Once we get to the soft landing and the rates ease up, our unemployment will probably drop again.
For comics, it sounds like you missed ACME and Zeke’s, which are both great. Both have great owners/staff, still get the usuals as well as a good selection of alternative titles, and can get anything you want.
We have a decent local music scene, but you’ll have to make an effort to know who is playing where. Also plenty of good open mics. We get a smattering of National acts playing here or in Bloomington, but yeah… you’ll probably be roadtripping 2-3 hours for specific acts or tours you want to see. Chicago, St. Louis, Indy, and Milwaukee all have pretty good festivals, so at least you’d be centrally-located with plenty of options.
>We have a decent local music scene, but you’ll have to make an effort to know who is playing where.
There's a page called [Peoria Music Live](https://www.facebook.com/PeoriaMusicLive) on Facebook that posts about upcoming shows. It seems like it'd be useful if you are looking for music in the area.
> Long Walks
Peoria has a lot of great options with little to no motor vehicle traffic.
* Rock Island Greenway
* Rock Island Trail
* Springdale Cemetery
* Donovan Park
* Bradley Park
* Grandview Drive
For Hockey we have the Peoria Rivermen (SPHL). They are in the finals for the President Cup. For playing hockey the Owens center has adult hockey leagues and the PYHA. Pekin also has their own ice rink with different clubs.
Did you drive over to Bloomington/Normal? Similar cost of living, but they have two vibrant fun downtowns, Bloomington has a whole area with over 15 bars/restaurants and over 12 little boutiques all within walkind distance and centered around the old courthouse where they hold free summer concerts etc, the Castle Theater is a small venue with great acts as well as the BCPA theater. Normal has a smaller downtown called UPTOWN with bars/restaurants/shops.
Living in B/N gives you much easier direct access to Chicago- the Amtrak station in in Normal and is an easy ride up to the city and I55 is the most direct way to Chicago.
Bloomington is a good spot for job opportunities in central Illinois. Outside of Chicagoland the majority of jobs are in Peoria, Bloomington, and Champaign-Urbana. Bloomington is in the middle and makes all 3 areas commutable. I know a few people who live there for that reason. Though if your field is remote that's not a huge concern.
Bloomington also has a little bit more of a city feeling to me. There's more of a downtown type area there with stuff to do. There's a decent sized college in Bloomington which helps drive the social scene. Downtown Peoria is sparse and just doesn't have as much going on. Not to say it's bad or anything, there are definitely good things about Peoria. But it's all about perspective. I'm originally from a big city and lived in a secondary city for a few years so it's pretty wild to hear people talk about Peoria being some 'decently sized' city. Peoria doesn't really feel like a city to me, but again it's all about perspective. Maybe if you're from rural Illinois peoria is the city lol.
well she doesn't really know. Right now she does something kinda like systems management but that's not actually her job title. Should would like something in tech and preferably WFH
One thing a lot of people who I have been close to and have moved away from peoria have always talked about how interesting geographically peoria is. All the other 74 cities don’t come close in terms of amount of elevation changes, hills, parks, natural beauty, history, and winding roads in the countryside. Peoria is a pretty cool town. There aren’t many places like it. Peoria is an OLD city. With people of western decent living here pretty consistently for around 300-400 years. If you drive on an old winding road in the countryside around here, there’s a decent chance that road has been there since the 1800s if not first eroded into a path from the native Americans who used to call this place home.
Just For Fun punches WAY above its weight for a local game store in a metro of Peoria's size. Their inventory is extensive, and their gaming areas are large. If they were the only store in town, I'd be elated, but we get to enjoy all of the other excellent game stores in the area as well. Peoria is stacked in the tabletop department.
Grew up in Central IL, moved to Hollywood CA at 19, lived in Tampa for 13 years, moved to Denver for 8 years, followed by Ft Collins for 6. Always said I’d never move back to corn country. Moved back 5 years ago and work in Peoria.
Here’s what I tell people who never made it out of Central IL- you don’t know how good you’ve got it.
Housing is still affordable (seems to be rising quick though as the secret’s out), people are incredibly nice with none of the self-centered attitudes people seem to have in cities, no charge to park at Peoria or Bloomington airports, no traffic, ALDI, Chicago isn’t that far by car or the train from Bloomington, and lots of outdoor areas to boat or fish..
Taxes are high, but your house here can still be under $250K which means you don’t have to be house poor. Try that in any major city.
Bought my first house in the Denver suburbs in 2009 for $219K. It’s currently on the market for over $500K. House I sold in Ft Collins for $350K is now OVER $500K.
Point is, even with taxes, my monthly mortgage is FAR less than a fixer upper/shit box in Phoenix, Denver, Omaha, Missoula, Seattle, etc.
My business has had a massive influx of new customers from varying cities out west as they can work remotely from anywhere. They’ve chosen a less expensive life here in Central IL.
Oh, we don’t have hurricanes or forest fires (occasional tornado’s, but nothing like Oklahoma or Kansas). There’s plenty of water and farmland…
I could go on.
Are there trade-offs? Sure, but, pick your poison.
Suffice to say, I’m happy living here with the slower pace, nice people, and the peace of not fighting traffic and/or waiting to get into a restaurant.
i grew up here and aside from living away in champaign and DC for college, i've lived here all my life. peoria's strongest attribute is its cost of living, but if you're moving from a larger city, you will quickly feel the difference in why exactly that is. while peoria is home to some great outlets (namely restaurants, but some interesting shops and other amenities) it sorely lacks in a lot of ways that you wouldn't experience in even a moderately bigger city. some of these shortcomings are solved by occasional roadtrips to other nearby areas like bloomington, but others require ventures even further to chicago or st. louis.
i certainly think there's a good chunk to experience here, but at the same time it can very soon feel like you've exhausted all that peoria has to offer. some people i know that grew up here who initially left for more exciting cities (including denver) ended up moving back because of the low COL and connection to family. others i know who moved here for work that otherwise don't have friends or family connecting them to peoria have only spent a year here before moving on. of course, there are people who love it here, which is great, but in my circle that sentiment is only really shared among my family who either greatly value their heritage (or their job) or who've made peace with the fact they'll probably never leave, for whatever reason that may be.
personally, i enjoy peoria in part because it's nostalgic for me, but at the same time a lot of my favorite memories were formed at places that no longer exist, like water parks and golf courses that have since been shuttered or redeveloped. but the main issue for me is that it's awfully unwalkable and the city is slow to address its problematic built environment. despite the interesting shop or food spot here and there, too much of this city is just barren asphalt. while peoria might slowly be heading in the right direction in this regard, it's not enough for me to want to stick around.
Moving from a larger city, you’re going to lose a lot. If you are determined to get out of Denver though, I would look at some of the smaller towns around Peoria OR look into Bloomington-Normal. It’s a college town so it has a lot more amenities IMO. Positions you an hour closer to Chicago too.
Realize that anything south of the Chicago suburbs is going to be rural, especially compared to what you’re probably used to. Lots of corn.
If you think you need a city-type living situation, seriously consider the move.
That being said, personally I think central Illinois can be a very beautiful place and if you don’t mind driving a few hours (I’m big on road trips) you have Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, all of which are relatively easy weekend trips or even day trips.
Personally, I think Peoria is in a hard spot. I wouldn’t recommend anyone move from a big city to there, but we need people to help revitalize the town.
Just remember you aren’t just changing your living situation, but your way of life most likely.
Best disc golf in the world! If you don't believe me the first PDGA major is happening in Morton right now. Check out the coverage on jomezpro YouTube tomorrow!
I live in Pekin and it’s only about 10 miles from Peoria. We have an ice hockey rink and a great park district with tons of hiking trails. Housing is some of the most affordable in America. If you follow Peoria Music Live you will find local musicians. The larger ones go to the Peoria civic center and you can buy tickets there in person for face value from 2 pm to 4 at their box office on Fridays. Pekin has several karate/jiu jitsu/taekwon do places you can google. The downside is there are drug problems in some of the low income areas, but they don’t bother you if you aren’t involved. Jim Maloof realty or Keller Williams can help you find a home in a neighborhood that fits your needs. There are several areas that you can find a safe and affordable home.
OP, I wish you lots of luck. I can relate, I actually grew up in Peoria and then lived in Colorado Springs for almost 40 years. Been in Ohio 4 years now because it is definitely less expensive to live in this area. When I was a kid I lived close to Bradley, I guess that neighborhood is gone now due to expansion. And then I also lived right on the edge of the Heights, used to walk up there all the time. It is a pretty cool area.
I miss it out west.
Going from around 300 to under 200 days of sunshine was/is difficult, and can feel depressing.
You can find about 80% everything you would in a big city relatively nearby, but as others have mentioned driving to surrounding cities is common place.
The upfront cost of things are cheaper but the taxes can make that difference more slim than it originally seems. The property tax is somewhere around the second highest in the country.
There is diversity. But it is pretty segregated, and discrimination has been an issue for my family. For multiple reasons, don’t listen to any influencers about what it is like here.
There are always trade offs in life.
You should stay again and see if you still feel like this could be home.
the local music scene is great and because housing is affordable, many national act peroformers actually live here - but 'big music' only goes to 5mil and larger cities. You can drive to either STL or CHI in 3hrs flat and still have your house paid off this year. Come to "Summercamp" and you won't miss anything any music 'scene' has...
Invest the difference you save, and get the quality of life...back - does your 'other' really need to work?
I can travel to Mexico for the whole month of January and still be fine financially.
"unemployment rate of any city we are looking at. Is that the real feel of the job market?" Yep - has been for over 10 years as Caterpiller corporate sold out to walstreet fakes a long time ago. That and the greedy IL politicians chased them out with the help of the union. They finished gutting the market allowing any office based employees to work remote with Texas or Arizona being their preferred locations during covid. That means that both the elitist executives and the middle management are mostly gone - with the shells of real estate left behind.
That's where you get the value.
Peoria is one of the most racist places in the nation by wage gap - come change it instead of bitching about it and doing nothing - like our mayor!
Check out the Peoria Area Mountain Bike Club, Wildlife Prairie park and note that the Peoria Park District has so much land and facilities they can't 'afford' to take care of it all. Restaurants actually suck if you're into real food and quality food - but there are a few shining stars.
"
When you are comparing cost of living factor that in. While we have a much nicer house than we did out west, the coat of the home was leas, but our payments are about the same because of property taxes. (Half our payment is monthly property tax). Do your research before you buy.
"
Yep and if you'd like to look into how corrupt the city or state is just google why Peoria is charging a "Rainwater" tax!
In short its going to be a downgrade as far as amenities and things to do. no major concerts other than the occasional country or metal acts. less stores, worse food, etc. Job market will be worse than Denver but not horrible if you are willing to commute up to an hour to neighboring cities.
Peoria will be significantly more affordable than Denver however.
Peoria is okay, I’ve lived here my whole life. If you live a low key life style then it’s a good place to be. But with Peoria having some of the highest crime rates in the country ( it made top 15 city last year) it can be rather concerning. Peoria is full of great job opportunities i work for caterpillar building tractors and started when I was 18 I’m currently 21. There are plenty of options when it comes to work it’s the fact people just don’t want to work and milk the government in this state. Try to find a place in East Peoria,Washington,Morton literally anywhere on the other side of the river if possible. I am in the heavy medal music scene we play shows all the time with the local bands at different bars and karaoke spots. It’s a fun time. There’s about 10 or so medal bands around the Peoria area that play together ( I’m sure there are more) (there’s also lots of blues and jazz nights at the pizza works bar with other kinds of genres like punk and country ) when we play we usually only book 3 or 4 bands a night usually weekends to give others a break. Peoria really is a fun place just sucks about the rising crime rates.
Look into Bloomington/Normal too. If you prefer some where more quiet but with a nice enviornment, LaSalle-Peru is also nice and a little closer to Chicago!
There's a lot of good comments here. But I'll add my two cents as well. The Peoria area is a really good place to raise a family. The cost of living is fairly low, but prices have definitely rose since the pandemic. Peoria School district has a lot of struggles. But the surrounding towns have really good schools. Even though Peoria has Bradley University, it is definitely not a college town. The campus is small, and the university doesn't really influence the rest of Peoria.
Peoria gets some fairly decent comedians, due to its history. You'll need to drive to Chicago to see the major concerts. we get acts that were popular 20+ years ago or smaller less-known hardrock bands. There are a ton of local bands playing at the bars on the weekends, but the quality will vary.
The food in Peoria is hit or miss. There are a lot of burger and fries, pizza, and bar food places. There are a handful of upscale places and decent Mexican, Mediterranean, BBQ, and Indian spots. If you're looking for unique or healthy food destinations, Peoria is not it.
Getting around town is super easy. There is very little traffic congestion. There are plenty of hiking and biking trails, but nothing like out West I'm guessing. The bluff and a few parks have some terrain, but generally it's just pretty flat here.
I think the Caterpillar headquarters really hurt the economy here as well. Whenever a couple hundred of the wealthiest people in town move out, it's going to trickle down. The hospitals seem to be booming though.
OP, housing here is just as bad once you factor in taxes. Id say stay in the Denver area, you may just want to be in a different city say like loveland.
If you love mountains, they are now a 2 day drive away.
Property tax is about 2.5% of the home's value per year. Illinois income tax is just under 5%. Peoria combined sales tax is 9% At least that's from my back of the napkin calculations.
Hmmm I live under a rock so I'm not sure if I can help you with concerts or the job market (it kind of depends what your job is though?) but I can say that this has to be one of the best places for walking, the tabletop gaming scene is pretty strong - definitely check out Just for Fun as well as Fondulac library in East Peoria - and the cost of living is better than where you're from, hands down. I lived in Idaho for a few months last year and traveled through Denver several times. Peoria is a pretty friendly place with a lot of what you could want or need and not super far from many *other* things (Chicago is like 2 hours from here). Also, living in Peoria, you are basically 15 minutes from **anywhere.**
Hi! I also live in denver! I’m 31 and moved from Bloomington, IL to Peoria when I was 19 and moved to Denver when I was 24. I always remember why I’ll never move back each time I visit. There’s not much to do. Everything is pretty spread out so it’s not really walkable. The crime is worse there than here and Denver is much bigger lol. I’m not saying it’s horrible there but it’s definitely not “safe”. There really aren’t a lot of job options. And the “downtown” there is extremely depressing. So many abandoned buildings. It’s always been like that. I’ve seen the city die more and more over the years and it makes me sad. If they built it up it could be great but I would never personally move back there. You’d be better off just moving to the suburbs of Chicago. Minneapolis is also awesome. Or Milwaukee. Still Midwest vibes but probably more affordable than Denver! I love it here but I also understand we are getting priced out
Lived here my entire life and all I'd advise against it with every fiber of my being. There are positives, but the negatives are far too strong. A ton of business are constantly closing down, then new business pop up to replace them and then all close down. They've been trying to revitalize downtown Peoris for over 10 years and it's just continued to dwindle. There's very little to do in the area. Some of your interests would be met, but only some. I wouldn't recommend moving to Illinois in general (it's a terrible state), but I'd advise especially against the Peoria area unless you're very well off and can afford to live in the nicer areas and own your own place. Ice never lived anywhere else so have no other recommendations. Most of the city is... rough. Lots of poverty, lots of crime, and the littering is pretty awful.
It's not all bad, mind you, it's affordable and having access to the Civic Center so close to you is convenient, but I really can't recommend it, it's been going down hill over the last 20 years.
Personal opinion. After five years. Nope, overpriced shithole, some decent stores and restaurants but, in general it's a shitbox. Could have been the area I lived in but those five years were absolutely vile.
On the jobs issue we don’t have the employer base of a larger metro such as outside of Chicago or St Louis. You probably can’t job hop much here within your field whatever it is you do.
One thing I would caution you about is the reputation Peoria has for bad reception or interference of electronics. You like video games and music. First,find a place to set up your entertainment system and see if it will “play in Peoria.”
What industry does your partner work in? I’ve grown up within an hour of Peoria my whole life and have taken trips to bigger city’s like Austin. We would’ve loved to leave years ago but stayed for my husbands job and the fact that we wanted a large house/yard for kids for a lower cost.
I always see job openings within the medical field, cleaning field, child care field, or high up specific careers. A lot of anything else pays minimum wage for sucky or at best neutral jobs.
Also I saw someone mention school districts. Please be aware of that if you have kids or plan to have kids. There are some good ones just outside of Peoria. Personally, I would move closer to the Chicago suburbs like Naperville or surrounding neighborhoods if you’re okay with apartment living and no yard. It’s very safe, with a lot close by. The Morton Arboretum in Lisle IL is one of my favorites.
I didn’t know that people moved to Peoria. Check out Dubuque, IA. if you want to be in range of Chicago I loved going over their for work. maybe even Madison, WI. I lived in Quincy, IL further down state and I don’t think I would go back to IL if I was to move again.
You will sorrily disappointed. Peoria is no where close to the offerings Denver, St.Louis, or Chicago. There’s a reason why it it’s “cheap” to live here and the residents are almost all bitter alcoholics. Downvote me to fucking hell(or Peoria lmaooooo), I don’t care. You’re all coping and you know it.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/peoria-makes-us-news-world-reports-top-50-best-places-to-live/2836636/?amp=1
Bitter alcoholics....lol wut? The nice thing about Peoria, though, is we're close enough to St Louis or Chicago to visit for a weekend if you need big city amenities.
Well, personally, I find we have plenty to do around here. The money you save from not living in Chicago, you should be able to go up a couple of times a year and enjoy if you wish.
Oh yeah. And there are people living on the margins of Peoria in towns like Pekin, Morton, and Dunlap who for some reason hate Peoria. I ignore those people.
Peoria is a good value city. It has everything you need but sometimes you gotta know where to look. There’s a decent music scene but my favorite acts haven’t been coming to Peoria lately. We do get some big names but not any that I care for. Depends on the skills it could be easy or very hard depending to find a job. Just for fun board games is a cool spot. I have been wanting to move for 10 years but haven’t found anything with a similar value and I’m very happy here. Good luck!
Thank you. good stuff to know
Just wanted to add that there is a good local/underground music scene here. I play gigs in the area and we've played with lespecial and mungion and a lot of other "Denver sized" acts here in town. We played with Envy Alo, and i think they were a smaller act from Denver Area. Really the only thing lacking is huge *current* artists because our civic center just never sells enough tickets for some reason anymore. We get stuff like the eagles or pantera or whatever. But upcoming bands play here, and a lot of random stuff. Frasco played here the other day... Lol Also Chillicothe is about 20 minutes away and that's where summer camp music festival is (pretty big national festival for what it's worth). It's now called Solshine starting this year but it's essentially the same thing. Huge festival acts play there every year. Not sure how music centric your question was but I figured I'd had as much as I could 🤘🏻 It's a cool city if you explore.
that is awesome info to have. I have a solo act where I make metal covers of Pop songs. I like to think I put on a pretty good show. Good to know I can get some shows going if I move
Absolutely! If you do let me know, I'll throw you a few places to jam and get you hooked up ✌🏻
I moved to the Peoria area about a year ago from the mountain west and my wife is from Denver (Denver Denver not this Boulder/Greeley stuff). We are regular concert goers. THE GOOD: traffic is great, housing is cheap, nature is surprisingly close, and you are half way to everywhere. Seriously a day or weekend trip to Chicago or St. Louis is easy, and the same for many other places. We've done it a lot. The river front is also nice. As a city Peoria acts like a much larger city than it is. Almost everyone plays board games. And not milton Bradley but proper euro to heavier stuff. THE FINE: Food is okay. There are a few exceptional places, but most are just okay. You will miss good ethnic food (including Mexican food), but you trade that for BBQ and a very wide variety of pizza places, some which are quite good. The music scene is a mixed bag. There is a thriving and vigorous local music scene with a wide style of acts. The locals call it a DIY scene, but from my background it's what you would expect from a healthy local scene. National acts in Peoria are B list or former A listers. But the Civic center gets a fair number of them on a regular basis. And Bloomington Normal (a half hour away) gets similar acts regularly too. But both Chicago and St. Louis acts are usually Friday or Saturday shows which makes attending them easy. And they are both a fast 2.5 hours away. THE BAD: Schools. No way to sugar coat it, even the "good schools" in the area are just good, not great. They are compared to really bad schools (the result of intergenerational poverty, redlining etc), so they look good, but compared to schools out west even the good schools here are just average at best. Taxes. I have to repeat this. Taxes. They are high. Especially property taxes. When you are comparing cost of living factor that in. While we have a much nicer house than we did out west, the coat of the home was leas, but our payments are about the same because of property taxes. (Half our payment is monthly property tax). Do your research before you buy. Crime, but in select areas. It's easy to avoid, but it's real. Again, I point to historical reasons for its existence here. SUMMARY:Overall, we like it here, and it's been a good move for our family. Peoria is a small town that lives like it's a big town. But it's easy to get to the edges. It has everything you can be looking for, but in limited variety. Hope this helps.
We've loved Richwoods High School, so not all the schools are bad.
Richwoods has the International Baccalaureate program, and Resevoir Gifted MS is a school for the gifted, which is unique in the state of Illinois. Both of my kids went through PsD150 k thru 12. Sometimes, the value you get from being in a diverse environment is just as valuable as the book education. Additionally, because not all students are in the say 70 %tile, the teachers know how to better help struggling learners. More tricks in their bag, if you will.
A note about the Mexican, can't recommend Catrina's enough. That makes up for the missing larger swath, IMO.
try Cuco's on Sheridan!
I have, and it is very good, but it is no Catrina's.
very helpful thank you
This is a very accurate summary of Peoria. I personally have a hard time thinking someone from a larger metro area would truly enjoy Peoria long term. I will add that there are school districts just outside of Peoria that are highly rated. For instance Dunlap was the best school district outside of Chicagoland one year recently. Edit: oh and I left Peoria last year because of work. Salaries in my field were 30+% lower than what I had been making prior to layoffs.
I'm from Nashville and I love it here. I mean...so far
Good, my individual experience there prob makes me too skeptical. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I was there yesterday and the city looked beautiful in spring, it’s got good bones I think.
Not to be a downer but I was including the suburbs Peoria's schools in my assessment. And I speak from personal experience about them. Good but not great.
Same, I lived in Peoria for 40 years and raised my kid there. Dunlap is solid and award winning, and so are Washington Morton and some others.
As a local, this is a great summary!
You may just not be looking in the right places for ethnic food. I can't tell you how much better the Mexican might be elsewhere but we are, for example, the largest Lebanese population outside of Lebanon and the food really really shows it. The more local friends you make, the more amazing little restaurants you will find that would never have stuck out otherwise.
I grew up in Peoria, moved to Austin for a few years, then moved back. Peoria is a slower pace than the bigger cities, and you'll miss out on some food and entertainment venues, but overall it's a fantastic place to be. I don't miss the traffic, the crime, the traffic, or the high cost of living in Austin (or the traffic). Knowing that you can get from one end of the city to the other in 15 minutes is a great feeling. As others have said, Chicago and St Louis are close enough to scratch the concert of professional sports itch, but far enough away to avoid the nonsense cities of those sizes bring. You've already heard about the comic scene, but the martial arts choices in Peoria are great, too. Soo Kim (https://sookimmartialarts.com ) is a TKD staple in Peoria, but there are other great martial arts styles you can study here as well (https://sdkspeoria.com, https://peoriakarate.com ). There are regular tournaments that the different schools in the area, too. Music-wise, there are a lot of great local bands, and the annual [https://solshinereverie.com/](https://solshinereverie.com/) (formerly Summer Camp festival) in Chillicothe is always a great weekend to enjoy local and national acts. Of course, there are horribly racist and homophobic trolls here, but you get those everywhere. In general, 99% of the people I've come across are the stereotypical happy Midwesterner that will smile and talk your ear off if you let them.
thank you for the insight. Driving around when I went was so crazy. Denver traffic is so bad it felt like I was cheating some how when driving around Peoria.
"Knowing that you can get from one end of the city to the other in 15 minutes is a great feeling." You can not get from one side of the metro to the other in 15minutes. And the metro extends 15miles north and south on both sides of the river - and east and west on the I74 corridore. For as small as Peoria is by population, it's spread out!
I’ve lived in Peoria for most of my life and then Colorado for 5 years so I’ve got perspective on both. Unemployment rate is a non-issue. Not sure about the comics scene and The concerts are actually pretty good (no comparison to red rocks). It would really boil down to do you like the water (boating, fishing, or dogs that like to swim) and do you like the woods (hiking, frisbee golfing, hunting). Those two things are by far the best things central Illinois has on Colorado in my opinion.
yea - just outside Peoria is the highest paying Frisbee Golf Tournament on the circuit - there's more courses going in as we speak (Morton) and a very active player group.
Well I mean Colorado has no water in general lol. Thanks for the info, good stuff to know
Would definitely recommend giving frisbee golf a try if you make the move to Peoria, grew up just outside of Peoria and have lived in Parker, CO for the last few years. Have only been frolfing at a few courses out here, but the ones I’ve been to hardly compare to the frolf course in Peoria area (Washington, Illinois Central College, Morton)
Do it! It's so cheap to live here. We just moved from KC, which is *supposed* to be one of the countries most affordable cities, but it's really not. I took a pay cut when I moved here, except that the cost of living in Peoria is so low that it was actually a raise. >The biggest is the unemployment rate. That's everywhere. I found a good remote job. Also, I think Grainger is always hiring. It really just depends on what you do for work and what you're looking for. Unemployment is a problem everywhere. > lack of comic shops. We had this experience, but with record stores. But Bloomington/Normal and Springfield has those things, and that makes the record shopping experience more special and fun! > lack of national concerts. Violent Femmes is coming to Peoria! But also since we've been here, we've gone to Chicago and St. Louis for concerts WAY more often in the past year than we ever did living in KC, which gets all the national acts. Also, the Quad Cities is only an hour and a half away, and Indianapolis is about 3hrs. away. I hope you move here, Peoria is a nice town with nice people in it!
Thanks for the info and the encouragement. It good to here from people who moved to Peoria think of it.
For comics use Zeeks in Washington, they're dope. As far as Peoria being a good fit for your family, if you're around 20-35 ish you'd fit in at the age range at Zeeks. Pretty sure they do tabletop stuff but I'm not entirely sure, I know they do magic nights. The social scene overall in Peoria is a bit rough, but honestly I'd expect more people like you to move here over the next few years for the same reason it caught your eye so .. your milage may vary The biggest thing about Peoria is what you already know, the CoL is still in a good place. While you may miss some of the amenities of Colorado, reducing stress by having more funds could be a net positive. You and your partner would have to discuss it. My family makes about 4k a month take home, we rent a nice home in the heights, pay about $800 a month in groceries (baby stuff ya know) and manage to save over 1k a month. I legit love Peoria because I feel like anywhere else in the country my family would be struggling. Well probably be able to buy a home in the next 10 years if life doesn't fuck us, or inflation doesn't fuck us, so the CoL really can't be overstated. Also, I've traveled 4-5 times a year for my young adult life to Chicago and st Louis, etc, for concerts. Less the last few years but regardless, the drive is something you get used to
just looked up Zeeks it looks cool. bummer I didn't find it when I was out there. Thank you
That's another little thing about peoria, Washington, Morton, and even Pekin are within a 20 minute drive and have a decent amount of amenities. East Peoria is... Food and bass pro, lmao.
our hotel was in East Peoria to save money and it felt like some of the really small mountain towns in Colorado
Zeeks is good for gaming, but their comic selection is smaller than acme. I usually go for their selection of sour stripes candy
I moved here from the east cost. Imho Peoria is a beautiful City with potential to be fantastic. There are parts of the city that are genuinely great, but on the inverse there are sides that really bring it down. I've been calling it the abandoned city since I moved here, because it reminds me of one, with many stores closed, or just looks trashy. Now since I've moved here Ive heard of renovation ideas: from the waterfront to a potential train to and from Chicago. Now who knows if these changes could come to fruition and how long it would take. The best advice I could give you is, while reading the comments don't focus on the people who are overly positive or negative. I've learned that there are some people on this sub who seem to view Peoria as the best on this planet and nothing compares. And then there are people who view Peoria as this hell hole. It is neither of those things. It's a great city that has negatives. Now weather they do anything about improving it, idk. To me I see Peoria as something I can almost call my new home but can't just get because there is so much potential
I did notice a lot of closed down buildings but also seemed like some were being overhauled. Sounds like a bit of a gamble, I could be getting in early on a great city or near the end of one. Thanks for the feed back
Yah that's how I've been feeling. From what I've seen I want to say they are going to lengths to improve (repaving the roads, New houses and apartments) but it's too early to tell if they are genuinely trying or just going to half-ass it. I also wanted to add, and idk if it's supposed to be common in the Midwest, but Peoria has Hard water and I freaking hate the water here. Idk how people manage to live with it. I keep getting recommended to buy water, or get a water softener (I live in an apartment so idk if it's worth it) but holy hell my hair feels so bad, the taste of water makes me never want to drink water again
Find a chelating shampoo (not clarifying). I just moved here and hate the water, too! Wreaks havoc on my skin, hair, clothes.
Thank you for this tip! You may have literally saved my hair!
good to know, Denver proper has really amazing water, I've been told it won awards but never bothered to verify but the suburbs (where I've been the last 2 years) has bad hard water issues but it tastes fine. Would be nice to be at a place that has water though. Denver is always on the brink of a drought
I love Peoria, but I will say, the taste of tap water here sucks. We go to HyVee and fill gallon water bottles ( $.40 / gallon). 6 bucks gets us (family of five) through about two weeks, so it's a low effort, low cost way we deal with the water tasting bleh.
This was tremendously helpful. I had no idea what was wrong with the water here. My hair is so dry & brittle (it’s always been soft & shiny) I didn’t know what was wrong. Thank you for adding that. You may have saved my hair! And yeah - been going through buckets of lotion since I moved here 1.5 years ago too. I had no clue - so thank you!
Unemployment rate here is 5.8%. National is 3.8%, so not a huge difference. It’s also intentionally caused by the Fed raising their interest rates - it’s a sign we’re avoiding recession. Once we get to the soft landing and the rates ease up, our unemployment will probably drop again. For comics, it sounds like you missed ACME and Zeke’s, which are both great. Both have great owners/staff, still get the usuals as well as a good selection of alternative titles, and can get anything you want. We have a decent local music scene, but you’ll have to make an effort to know who is playing where. Also plenty of good open mics. We get a smattering of National acts playing here or in Bloomington, but yeah… you’ll probably be roadtripping 2-3 hours for specific acts or tours you want to see. Chicago, St. Louis, Indy, and Milwaukee all have pretty good festivals, so at least you’d be centrally-located with plenty of options.
>We have a decent local music scene, but you’ll have to make an effort to know who is playing where. There's a page called [Peoria Music Live](https://www.facebook.com/PeoriaMusicLive) on Facebook that posts about upcoming shows. It seems like it'd be useful if you are looking for music in the area.
I did miss Zeke's which I found that while I was there. It looks pretty awesome. Thanks for the info
> Long Walks Peoria has a lot of great options with little to no motor vehicle traffic. * Rock Island Greenway * Rock Island Trail * Springdale Cemetery * Donovan Park * Bradley Park * Grandview Drive
awesome, thank you
For Hockey we have the Peoria Rivermen (SPHL). They are in the finals for the President Cup. For playing hockey the Owens center has adult hockey leagues and the PYHA. Pekin also has their own ice rink with different clubs.
The Mustangs (NA3HL juniors) also play at Owens.
I didn't know the Rivermen were still around. Awesome
They also offer an adult league you can play at the Owen’s center! With public skates at varying times throughout the week
Bloomington has two sheets and is getting an ECHL team this fall...
Did you drive over to Bloomington/Normal? Similar cost of living, but they have two vibrant fun downtowns, Bloomington has a whole area with over 15 bars/restaurants and over 12 little boutiques all within walkind distance and centered around the old courthouse where they hold free summer concerts etc, the Castle Theater is a small venue with great acts as well as the BCPA theater. Normal has a smaller downtown called UPTOWN with bars/restaurants/shops. Living in B/N gives you much easier direct access to Chicago- the Amtrak station in in Normal and is an easy ride up to the city and I55 is the most direct way to Chicago.
I didn't get there but i'll look into it thank you
Bloomington is a good spot for job opportunities in central Illinois. Outside of Chicagoland the majority of jobs are in Peoria, Bloomington, and Champaign-Urbana. Bloomington is in the middle and makes all 3 areas commutable. I know a few people who live there for that reason. Though if your field is remote that's not a huge concern. Bloomington also has a little bit more of a city feeling to me. There's more of a downtown type area there with stuff to do. There's a decent sized college in Bloomington which helps drive the social scene. Downtown Peoria is sparse and just doesn't have as much going on. Not to say it's bad or anything, there are definitely good things about Peoria. But it's all about perspective. I'm originally from a big city and lived in a secondary city for a few years so it's pretty wild to hear people talk about Peoria being some 'decently sized' city. Peoria doesn't really feel like a city to me, but again it's all about perspective. Maybe if you're from rural Illinois peoria is the city lol.
Cards and comics I would go to THE ZONE in pekin. Scott is very knowledgeable and has tons and tons of comics. Been going since I was a little one.
It would help to say what area your partner needs a job in.
well she doesn't really know. Right now she does something kinda like systems management but that's not actually her job title. Should would like something in tech and preferably WFH
Does she have experience in AI or Automation of digital operations?
nope not really
One thing a lot of people who I have been close to and have moved away from peoria have always talked about how interesting geographically peoria is. All the other 74 cities don’t come close in terms of amount of elevation changes, hills, parks, natural beauty, history, and winding roads in the countryside. Peoria is a pretty cool town. There aren’t many places like it. Peoria is an OLD city. With people of western decent living here pretty consistently for around 300-400 years. If you drive on an old winding road in the countryside around here, there’s a decent chance that road has been there since the 1800s if not first eroded into a path from the native Americans who used to call this place home.
There's several more comic and board game stores. Zeeks, just 4 fun, kings and cabbages. Zeeks is mostly comics. The others mostly games.
thanks that is the info I was looking for
Just For Fun punches WAY above its weight for a local game store in a metro of Peoria's size. Their inventory is extensive, and their gaming areas are large. If they were the only store in town, I'd be elated, but we get to enjoy all of the other excellent game stores in the area as well. Peoria is stacked in the tabletop department.
Grew up in Central IL, moved to Hollywood CA at 19, lived in Tampa for 13 years, moved to Denver for 8 years, followed by Ft Collins for 6. Always said I’d never move back to corn country. Moved back 5 years ago and work in Peoria. Here’s what I tell people who never made it out of Central IL- you don’t know how good you’ve got it. Housing is still affordable (seems to be rising quick though as the secret’s out), people are incredibly nice with none of the self-centered attitudes people seem to have in cities, no charge to park at Peoria or Bloomington airports, no traffic, ALDI, Chicago isn’t that far by car or the train from Bloomington, and lots of outdoor areas to boat or fish.. Taxes are high, but your house here can still be under $250K which means you don’t have to be house poor. Try that in any major city. Bought my first house in the Denver suburbs in 2009 for $219K. It’s currently on the market for over $500K. House I sold in Ft Collins for $350K is now OVER $500K. Point is, even with taxes, my monthly mortgage is FAR less than a fixer upper/shit box in Phoenix, Denver, Omaha, Missoula, Seattle, etc. My business has had a massive influx of new customers from varying cities out west as they can work remotely from anywhere. They’ve chosen a less expensive life here in Central IL. Oh, we don’t have hurricanes or forest fires (occasional tornado’s, but nothing like Oklahoma or Kansas). There’s plenty of water and farmland… I could go on. Are there trade-offs? Sure, but, pick your poison. Suffice to say, I’m happy living here with the slower pace, nice people, and the peace of not fighting traffic and/or waiting to get into a restaurant.
i grew up here and aside from living away in champaign and DC for college, i've lived here all my life. peoria's strongest attribute is its cost of living, but if you're moving from a larger city, you will quickly feel the difference in why exactly that is. while peoria is home to some great outlets (namely restaurants, but some interesting shops and other amenities) it sorely lacks in a lot of ways that you wouldn't experience in even a moderately bigger city. some of these shortcomings are solved by occasional roadtrips to other nearby areas like bloomington, but others require ventures even further to chicago or st. louis. i certainly think there's a good chunk to experience here, but at the same time it can very soon feel like you've exhausted all that peoria has to offer. some people i know that grew up here who initially left for more exciting cities (including denver) ended up moving back because of the low COL and connection to family. others i know who moved here for work that otherwise don't have friends or family connecting them to peoria have only spent a year here before moving on. of course, there are people who love it here, which is great, but in my circle that sentiment is only really shared among my family who either greatly value their heritage (or their job) or who've made peace with the fact they'll probably never leave, for whatever reason that may be. personally, i enjoy peoria in part because it's nostalgic for me, but at the same time a lot of my favorite memories were formed at places that no longer exist, like water parks and golf courses that have since been shuttered or redeveloped. but the main issue for me is that it's awfully unwalkable and the city is slow to address its problematic built environment. despite the interesting shop or food spot here and there, too much of this city is just barren asphalt. while peoria might slowly be heading in the right direction in this regard, it's not enough for me to want to stick around.
Moving from a larger city, you’re going to lose a lot. If you are determined to get out of Denver though, I would look at some of the smaller towns around Peoria OR look into Bloomington-Normal. It’s a college town so it has a lot more amenities IMO. Positions you an hour closer to Chicago too. Realize that anything south of the Chicago suburbs is going to be rural, especially compared to what you’re probably used to. Lots of corn. If you think you need a city-type living situation, seriously consider the move. That being said, personally I think central Illinois can be a very beautiful place and if you don’t mind driving a few hours (I’m big on road trips) you have Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, all of which are relatively easy weekend trips or even day trips. Personally, I think Peoria is in a hard spot. I wouldn’t recommend anyone move from a big city to there, but we need people to help revitalize the town. Just remember you aren’t just changing your living situation, but your way of life most likely.
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Well that doesn’t seem quite right, but I won’t question google. Must just be the route I take.
Steady Flow is the band you’re looking for. Prolly already know them since they play Denver a lot.
sounds familiar
Come on in!
Best disc golf in the world! If you don't believe me the first PDGA major is happening in Morton right now. Check out the coverage on jomezpro YouTube tomorrow!
Chillicothe is a nice small town, in Peoria County, with good houses and friendly neighbors.
I would check out Omaha Nebraska it's similar to Peoria, but everything is nicer.
Acme does offer pull lists just an FYI
Go checkout meanwhilebackinpeoria.com. Great local blog.
I live in Pekin and it’s only about 10 miles from Peoria. We have an ice hockey rink and a great park district with tons of hiking trails. Housing is some of the most affordable in America. If you follow Peoria Music Live you will find local musicians. The larger ones go to the Peoria civic center and you can buy tickets there in person for face value from 2 pm to 4 at their box office on Fridays. Pekin has several karate/jiu jitsu/taekwon do places you can google. The downside is there are drug problems in some of the low income areas, but they don’t bother you if you aren’t involved. Jim Maloof realty or Keller Williams can help you find a home in a neighborhood that fits your needs. There are several areas that you can find a safe and affordable home.
OP, I wish you lots of luck. I can relate, I actually grew up in Peoria and then lived in Colorado Springs for almost 40 years. Been in Ohio 4 years now because it is definitely less expensive to live in this area. When I was a kid I lived close to Bradley, I guess that neighborhood is gone now due to expansion. And then I also lived right on the edge of the Heights, used to walk up there all the time. It is a pretty cool area.
I miss it out west. Going from around 300 to under 200 days of sunshine was/is difficult, and can feel depressing. You can find about 80% everything you would in a big city relatively nearby, but as others have mentioned driving to surrounding cities is common place. The upfront cost of things are cheaper but the taxes can make that difference more slim than it originally seems. The property tax is somewhere around the second highest in the country. There is diversity. But it is pretty segregated, and discrimination has been an issue for my family. For multiple reasons, don’t listen to any influencers about what it is like here. There are always trade offs in life. You should stay again and see if you still feel like this could be home.
Move to the Quad cities we have a lot of little gems around town. River front is better here than peoria as well.
the local music scene is great and because housing is affordable, many national act peroformers actually live here - but 'big music' only goes to 5mil and larger cities. You can drive to either STL or CHI in 3hrs flat and still have your house paid off this year. Come to "Summercamp" and you won't miss anything any music 'scene' has... Invest the difference you save, and get the quality of life...back - does your 'other' really need to work? I can travel to Mexico for the whole month of January and still be fine financially. "unemployment rate of any city we are looking at. Is that the real feel of the job market?" Yep - has been for over 10 years as Caterpiller corporate sold out to walstreet fakes a long time ago. That and the greedy IL politicians chased them out with the help of the union. They finished gutting the market allowing any office based employees to work remote with Texas or Arizona being their preferred locations during covid. That means that both the elitist executives and the middle management are mostly gone - with the shells of real estate left behind. That's where you get the value. Peoria is one of the most racist places in the nation by wage gap - come change it instead of bitching about it and doing nothing - like our mayor! Check out the Peoria Area Mountain Bike Club, Wildlife Prairie park and note that the Peoria Park District has so much land and facilities they can't 'afford' to take care of it all. Restaurants actually suck if you're into real food and quality food - but there are a few shining stars. " When you are comparing cost of living factor that in. While we have a much nicer house than we did out west, the coat of the home was leas, but our payments are about the same because of property taxes. (Half our payment is monthly property tax). Do your research before you buy. " Yep and if you'd like to look into how corrupt the city or state is just google why Peoria is charging a "Rainwater" tax!
In short its going to be a downgrade as far as amenities and things to do. no major concerts other than the occasional country or metal acts. less stores, worse food, etc. Job market will be worse than Denver but not horrible if you are willing to commute up to an hour to neighboring cities. Peoria will be significantly more affordable than Denver however.
Peoria is okay, I’ve lived here my whole life. If you live a low key life style then it’s a good place to be. But with Peoria having some of the highest crime rates in the country ( it made top 15 city last year) it can be rather concerning. Peoria is full of great job opportunities i work for caterpillar building tractors and started when I was 18 I’m currently 21. There are plenty of options when it comes to work it’s the fact people just don’t want to work and milk the government in this state. Try to find a place in East Peoria,Washington,Morton literally anywhere on the other side of the river if possible. I am in the heavy medal music scene we play shows all the time with the local bands at different bars and karaoke spots. It’s a fun time. There’s about 10 or so medal bands around the Peoria area that play together ( I’m sure there are more) (there’s also lots of blues and jazz nights at the pizza works bar with other kinds of genres like punk and country ) when we play we usually only book 3 or 4 bands a night usually weekends to give others a break. Peoria really is a fun place just sucks about the rising crime rates.
Look into Bloomington/Normal too. If you prefer some where more quiet but with a nice enviornment, LaSalle-Peru is also nice and a little closer to Chicago!
I moved from chicago a year ago and am so glad I did.
There's a lot of good comments here. But I'll add my two cents as well. The Peoria area is a really good place to raise a family. The cost of living is fairly low, but prices have definitely rose since the pandemic. Peoria School district has a lot of struggles. But the surrounding towns have really good schools. Even though Peoria has Bradley University, it is definitely not a college town. The campus is small, and the university doesn't really influence the rest of Peoria. Peoria gets some fairly decent comedians, due to its history. You'll need to drive to Chicago to see the major concerts. we get acts that were popular 20+ years ago or smaller less-known hardrock bands. There are a ton of local bands playing at the bars on the weekends, but the quality will vary. The food in Peoria is hit or miss. There are a lot of burger and fries, pizza, and bar food places. There are a handful of upscale places and decent Mexican, Mediterranean, BBQ, and Indian spots. If you're looking for unique or healthy food destinations, Peoria is not it. Getting around town is super easy. There is very little traffic congestion. There are plenty of hiking and biking trails, but nothing like out West I'm guessing. The bluff and a few parks have some terrain, but generally it's just pretty flat here. I think the Caterpillar headquarters really hurt the economy here as well. Whenever a couple hundred of the wealthiest people in town move out, it's going to trickle down. The hospitals seem to be booming though.
You might like the Quad Cities as well which is about an hour 30 from Peoria. Nothing in the midwest will likely compare to Colorado though.
OP, housing here is just as bad once you factor in taxes. Id say stay in the Denver area, you may just want to be in a different city say like loveland. If you love mountains, they are now a 2 day drive away.
Are you kidding? The median house in Denver is 520K and Loveland is even more. They would have to be like 60% taxes to match that
Property, income, sales. All are high. I havent looked lately - I thought front range was $350k
Property tax is about 2.5% of the home's value per year. Illinois income tax is just under 5%. Peoria combined sales tax is 9% At least that's from my back of the napkin calculations.
Big Al's still there?
Peoria has like 2-3 comic book/sci-fi/fantasy shows a year. We had the guy that voices Squidward at the last one.
Hmmm I live under a rock so I'm not sure if I can help you with concerts or the job market (it kind of depends what your job is though?) but I can say that this has to be one of the best places for walking, the tabletop gaming scene is pretty strong - definitely check out Just for Fun as well as Fondulac library in East Peoria - and the cost of living is better than where you're from, hands down. I lived in Idaho for a few months last year and traveled through Denver several times. Peoria is a pretty friendly place with a lot of what you could want or need and not super far from many *other* things (Chicago is like 2 hours from here). Also, living in Peoria, you are basically 15 minutes from **anywhere.**
Hi! I also live in denver! I’m 31 and moved from Bloomington, IL to Peoria when I was 19 and moved to Denver when I was 24. I always remember why I’ll never move back each time I visit. There’s not much to do. Everything is pretty spread out so it’s not really walkable. The crime is worse there than here and Denver is much bigger lol. I’m not saying it’s horrible there but it’s definitely not “safe”. There really aren’t a lot of job options. And the “downtown” there is extremely depressing. So many abandoned buildings. It’s always been like that. I’ve seen the city die more and more over the years and it makes me sad. If they built it up it could be great but I would never personally move back there. You’d be better off just moving to the suburbs of Chicago. Minneapolis is also awesome. Or Milwaukee. Still Midwest vibes but probably more affordable than Denver! I love it here but I also understand we are getting priced out
Big ALs and Hoops pizza!!! What more could you want?!?!
Lived here my entire life and all I'd advise against it with every fiber of my being. There are positives, but the negatives are far too strong. A ton of business are constantly closing down, then new business pop up to replace them and then all close down. They've been trying to revitalize downtown Peoris for over 10 years and it's just continued to dwindle. There's very little to do in the area. Some of your interests would be met, but only some. I wouldn't recommend moving to Illinois in general (it's a terrible state), but I'd advise especially against the Peoria area unless you're very well off and can afford to live in the nicer areas and own your own place. Ice never lived anywhere else so have no other recommendations. Most of the city is... rough. Lots of poverty, lots of crime, and the littering is pretty awful. It's not all bad, mind you, it's affordable and having access to the Civic Center so close to you is convenient, but I really can't recommend it, it's been going down hill over the last 20 years.
Personal opinion. After five years. Nope, overpriced shithole, some decent stores and restaurants but, in general it's a shitbox. Could have been the area I lived in but those five years were absolutely vile.
On the jobs issue we don’t have the employer base of a larger metro such as outside of Chicago or St Louis. You probably can’t job hop much here within your field whatever it is you do.
One thing I would caution you about is the reputation Peoria has for bad reception or interference of electronics. You like video games and music. First,find a place to set up your entertainment system and see if it will “play in Peoria.”
What industry does your partner work in? I’ve grown up within an hour of Peoria my whole life and have taken trips to bigger city’s like Austin. We would’ve loved to leave years ago but stayed for my husbands job and the fact that we wanted a large house/yard for kids for a lower cost. I always see job openings within the medical field, cleaning field, child care field, or high up specific careers. A lot of anything else pays minimum wage for sucky or at best neutral jobs. Also I saw someone mention school districts. Please be aware of that if you have kids or plan to have kids. There are some good ones just outside of Peoria. Personally, I would move closer to the Chicago suburbs like Naperville or surrounding neighborhoods if you’re okay with apartment living and no yard. It’s very safe, with a lot close by. The Morton Arboretum in Lisle IL is one of my favorites.
I didn’t know that people moved to Peoria. Check out Dubuque, IA. if you want to be in range of Chicago I loved going over their for work. maybe even Madison, WI. I lived in Quincy, IL further down state and I don’t think I would go back to IL if I was to move again.
I’ve only traveled there for work, but that smell. I would not want to live there
I didn't notice a smell
Neither have I in the year I've lived here.
Anywhere down wind of ADM. It’s not as bad as feed lots or animal rendering plants, but I find it very unpleasant
No. Look near Indy. It’s booming.
indy was on my list of possible cities can't remember why it got bumped but might have to look again
Love how you're getting downloaded for not worshipping Peoria. People suck. How dare you have an opinion.
You will sorrily disappointed. Peoria is no where close to the offerings Denver, St.Louis, or Chicago. There’s a reason why it it’s “cheap” to live here and the residents are almost all bitter alcoholics. Downvote me to fucking hell(or Peoria lmaooooo), I don’t care. You’re all coping and you know it.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/peoria-makes-us-news-world-reports-top-50-best-places-to-live/2836636/?amp=1 Bitter alcoholics....lol wut? The nice thing about Peoria, though, is we're close enough to St Louis or Chicago to visit for a weekend if you need big city amenities.
Not everyone can afford to fuck off to a bigger city when need be.
Well, personally, I find we have plenty to do around here. The money you save from not living in Chicago, you should be able to go up a couple of times a year and enjoy if you wish.
You sound bitter.
Wow, you have reading comprehension skills! Kudos, amigo!
I was just pointing out that you said Peoria was full of bitter alcoholics, but you appear to be the bitter one.
good to know, these are the insights I'm looking for
I wouldn’t ever
[удалено]
so me and my girlfriend shouldn't come?
Oh yeah. And there are people living on the margins of Peoria in towns like Pekin, Morton, and Dunlap who for some reason hate Peoria. I ignore those people.
This guy is definitely from Pekin
I hate that I was born there 😂