derevaun
focus free
The winds of fate are blowing us into Urbana-Champaign (or is it Champaign-Urbana?) for a year's post doc. We're figuring out housing at the present time but are generally curious about the town(s). I almost recall seeing someone from there. Anyway, I'd love to hear about neighborhoods, public transportation, intellectual and arts life beyond the campus culture, etc. Don't hold back if there are qualitative or quantitative difference between U and C. In any case, thanks in advance!
bmattock
Veteran
I believe Solares Larrave is or was living near Champaign-Urbana.
I'm from Illinois. Note - from there. I have lived all over, and now make my home in NC. I went 'home' for a funeral recently (San Jose, IL, an hour's drive west). It was good to be where I'm from once more, but I doubt I'll be doing it a lot.
Anything outside of Chicago is cornfield, for the most part. Very hot and humid in the summertime, very cold and lots of snow in the winter. They have to use salt on the roads, so cars rust out, fact of life.
That part of the state is very flat and featureless, when the corn is down you can see for many miles in all directions.
Champaign-Urbana is a twin city, home of the University of Illinois SuperComputing Center, so it is a college town, and even better, a techie-geeky college town. And it is easy to get to Chicago from there - 2 hour drive. But it is in the middle of nowhere - and there is not much to do.
Frankly, I like the slower pace of life in central Illinois - but not many young people do. Arts? Sure, we got your basic quilting bees and corn-shucking contests. 4H and animal husbandry is big. Lots of bars, low incomes, and people hunting deer with searchlights at night from the backs of pickup trucks. Standard uniform - jeans, t-shirts or plaid button up shirts in winter, baseball cap for Caterpillar tractor. The mullet never died here, but the 1978 Firebird rusted out and is now the Ford F-350 pickup truck. If you drive a 'car' you will never see the eyes of another driver.
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
I'm from Illinois. Note - from there. I have lived all over, and now make my home in NC. I went 'home' for a funeral recently (San Jose, IL, an hour's drive west). It was good to be where I'm from once more, but I doubt I'll be doing it a lot.
Anything outside of Chicago is cornfield, for the most part. Very hot and humid in the summertime, very cold and lots of snow in the winter. They have to use salt on the roads, so cars rust out, fact of life.
That part of the state is very flat and featureless, when the corn is down you can see for many miles in all directions.
Champaign-Urbana is a twin city, home of the University of Illinois SuperComputing Center, so it is a college town, and even better, a techie-geeky college town. And it is easy to get to Chicago from there - 2 hour drive. But it is in the middle of nowhere - and there is not much to do.
Frankly, I like the slower pace of life in central Illinois - but not many young people do. Arts? Sure, we got your basic quilting bees and corn-shucking contests. 4H and animal husbandry is big. Lots of bars, low incomes, and people hunting deer with searchlights at night from the backs of pickup trucks. Standard uniform - jeans, t-shirts or plaid button up shirts in winter, baseball cap for Caterpillar tractor. The mullet never died here, but the 1978 Firebird rusted out and is now the Ford F-350 pickup truck. If you drive a 'car' you will never see the eyes of another driver.
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks