Any college town will have enough amenities to keep you entertained but the housing won’t typically break the bank, and a good number of them are connected to Chicago via train if you wind up missing the big city and need to visit for the weekend. If rowdy college kids bother you, you can always look up where the university is located and what neighborhoods most student housing is in and buy a house in the opposite side of town. I like Galesburg, personally.
I used to live around Galesburg as a kid, around 2003. I vaguely remember a lot of business closing and the city kinda going downhill. Is it good now and what do you like about it?
It’s fine for me. Innkeepers is good, I like Lake Storey, and they have a couple street fair things on Seminary Street every year that get a decently good turnout. Railroad days is good to take kids to. You get out of it what you put in, I think.
You want to find the most interesting towns in Illinois what you do is follow the rivers. In the early days of the state, the rivers WERE the highways and transportation routes. The first towns grew up on the rivers. Then the next towns to grow got a railroad line too. Those are the ones that have little downtowns that have character before modern zoning screwed things up. Finally the towns that thrive still (even if they are rural) have a main route highway that goes through them.
The newer towns are formed along the interstate but most are bland, cookie cutter and soulless.
The best or up-and coming towns in Illinois have all 3: a river (source of water). A railroad station. A main road (not necessarily interstate). Bonus points if they have a decent school. That’s how you find the hidden gems in Illinois.
I’ll second this. Drive along the Illinois. Mississippi, or Rock River valleys and you can find some great small towns with some amazing (by Illinois standards) scenery.
Grew up along the Rock River, Wife grew up along the Illinois, and now we own a home along the Mississippi. River towns are the best.
Driving Route 2 from Dixon to Rockford is crazy beautiful. Hiking the Illinois River Bluff Trail you wouldn't believe you're in the Midwest.
I don’t think so. It’s not a huge town, but is close enough to Chicago to make a day trip easy. Plus Ottawa’s leadership seems to care about the community and trying to do nice things. Always something to do considering the size of the town.
They do! I am from that area and my niece lives there. They are always having nice festivals. Plus Matthiessen state park is right there and I love it. Starved rock is wonderful too
I really like Ottawa (as someone who takes occasional afternoon trips and is getting married at Starved Rock) - cute downtown, a lot of community events, and some genuinely good restaurants. Plus, I love the river and hiking opportunities. (However, I have never lived there, just hung out)
Born and raised in ottawa. You can def call it middle of nowhere lol.
Edit: and honestly it’s a good option. Housing is affordable. Schools aren’t bad (but also aren’t great). Good library. There’s a lot of little shops and a Walmart. Target 20 minutes away in Peru. A ton of good restaurants in the IV area. Three state parks. Chicago in two hours, access to a train within one. Pot shop. Osf hospital in town. Close to the river and close to i80. Has several gyms.
Seneca has slightly better schools but is even more rural if you really wanna get away from it all.
Gardner might be a decent choice as well. West of Ottawa and right off of I-55 for pretty much easy access to anywhere. But you will travel a minimum of 15mins for literally anything
The big things in Casey are fun to check out. There’s also a delicious pretzel place. They didn’t seem to have enough amenities to be a place I would want to live though. The vibe also seemed much more conservative and religious than I am… just my personal opinion.
I’ve found Casey to be extremely conservative. Not passing judgment, just something to be aware of if you are considering moving there.
And yes, that is truly in the middle of nowhere.
Meh, most college towns skew more liberal as well, but your point holds. Also Joliet and Peoria, and other areas of a certain size have their liberal leanings.
You should have seen how downstate went for Bernie in the 2016 Democratic primary. Nowhere near the turnout on the flip side but you might be surprised.
You're probably right. Although we did find a proud LGBTQ+ store where we bought a bag silk screened with "I don't spew profanities, I annuciate clearly like a fucking lady!"
I mean most of the middle of nowhere towns are the same thing. Dollar General - Casey’s - Subway.
I’d pick a smaller town outside one of the larger ones. Lexington - Savoy - Washington (Not really a small town)
Actually I’ll revise this and go with Monticello
Lexington has had a surprising renaissance. They actually have some great restaurants. Kemp’s started the whole Renaissance with their amazing beer and food selection. An added bonus is that it’s right off I-55.
An old work buddy used to do air filter changes and one of his company's clients was Dollar General. Apparently they aim to have a store in any town with 2500 people, and if there are two towns with half that each, they'll put a store snack dab halfway between them.
as someone that grew up there, I would not recommend it. The town is super pretentious and the administration of the school system cares more about sports than education. they tore down a 100-year-old school to build a new gym.
A few years ago we were wanting to move from the small village we lived in with 120 people. We had no amenities like groceries or gas stations and everyone knew your business. Basically small towns kinda suck but they are usually cheaper. We spent a year or so looking at properties, and writing business plans for a move to Chicago. The numbers never really added up for us and we ended up buying acreage and a house. Everything we looked at in Chicago would have run us 500-600k but we have acreage, a rebuilt house, 1000ft shop, an apiary, an orchard, gardens, and our nearest neighbor is a mile away all for under 150K invested. We pay $700 a year for taxes. We are a 20 minute drive to the nearest Amtrak station and two hours by train to either Chicago or St Louis. We are a 10 minute drive from I55 and 30 minutes from a city of 130,000. Rural living has its challenges but it is way cheaper in the long run. Something to consider.
acreage with enough trees for a wood stove is definitely something I'm considering. I never understood why people would want to live in the small town instead of just outside of it.
There is definitely a learning curve with living rurally but for us it’s well worth it. One thing to consider is that there is quite a bit of variation between counties with regards to regulations, zoning, and taxes. Take a look at the tax levies in whatever county you are considering. We have properties in several towns and counties in central Illinois and the taxes vary greatly primarily when it comes to school districts.
I’m not sure if it counts as the middle of no where as I’m from the city, but I absolutely love Galena.
My girlfriend and I do a weekend trip once a year to ski and explore their wonderful downtown. It feels like a small mountain town hidden in Illinois, and we always have a great time
- depends on what all your needs are to begin with. I live in Decatur in a historic West End neighborhood and no way I would live anywhere else. I simply can not live cheaper than I do right now any where else with all the services at my disposal, minutes away.
- I am 2 hrs from St Louis, 50 minutes from Springfield, Champaign, 3hrs from ChiTown, and hour from Bloomington for any major entertainment needs. I often catch the train to Chicago to spend time with friend up there.
- My spring is 4 weeks earlier than Northern Illinois, my Fall last 4 later than Northern Illinois (where I am from originally from)
https://www.rivercoffee.co/ I lived in Decatur for a few years while I was attending the local college. While I was there I loved going to the River Coffee Company, they have some of the best coffee I have ever had. I am a bit of a coffee nut and enjoy the variety of coffee shops I have now that I'm up in the Chicago area, but i still haven't found a shop that does it as well as this place. Also, I second those singing Decatur's praises. Some of the best people I have ever met live there, everyone has a big heart.
That’s the one. It’s a cool space, their presentation is amazing, and most importantly, the coffee is absolutely top tier. You can tell the guys there really care about their coffee. I’m a bit of a coffee hobbyist and try to hit specialty coffee places wherever I’m at, and this place is right up there with the best few places I’ve ever been. I haven’t had too much time in Chicago, but downstate, you can get similar quality at Blueprint in STL.
I was born and raised in Decatur/Macon County. I have a soft spot for it in my heart.
Looking back at my experience and reading the H&R online since I moved away, my one big issue is that local leadership doesn’t seem to have any idea how to tackle the problems that exist. This isn’t a new, but it seems like they’re more interested in slogans than making meaningful change. The last decade plus they really just seem to do what Buffett wants as long as he throws money to the local LE and to a lesser extent social programs.
Had there been stronger leadership with some sort of vision throughout the past few decades maybe Decatur would be a different city.
Decatur is my hometown, random but I love that you mentioned the H&R. My grandpa was a journalist for the Herald & Review for many years 🥰 He passed a few years ago.
I agree. I'm on the other side of the lake and not the West End. The location is great. People in other places like to shit on Decatur, but I've lived in Springfield, IL side of St Louis and in a rural community a few hours from Decatur and I feel safer here than I did in those places.
As far as grocery stores go, I prefer Kroger by the airport.
Place looks a bit depressing every time I drive through there. The downtown is dead, the school on route 14 looked really run down, and then there's that massive Motorola headquarters that's rusting away.
He's better off going to the next train stop east (Woodstock).
I'm in Woodstock. This is the answer. I moved from Elgin, and I really enjoy this town. The square has a small town feel, while having access to other places via train.
You also have to be within the main part of Harvard to get decent internet. A friend of mine lives just barely outside of it right before you hit that church if you're coming from the east on 14, and Comcast won't run a line to his road.
I mean you're right but it is about the same or better than many rural communities across the state. I would've said Woodstock too but to me it's increasingly becoming more suburban and expensive which is why I mentioned Harvard.
I was through there a few weeks ago, first time in a long time. The former IGA is terrific, I got a few things there I would normally have to go to Champaign for. I live south of Bement in the country and have family in Sullivan that I guess I don't see much.
It really depends on what kind of amenities and local culture you want to be surrounded by. The college towns offer a lot of amenities for reasonable cost of living: Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, Carbondale, and Edwardsville. The most beautiful parts of the state are around the Shawnee National Forest but the culture is a little different. I have some favorite small towns in southern Illinois but I'm not sure I want to give them away publicly.
Ok. Cobden. Union county is a beautiful area. Lots of trails, wineries, and a nice town square. A couple places to go out that sometimes have live music. (Or at least there was before COVID. I haven't been back since then.) A short drive to Carbobdale.
I know it's majority conservative but I wouldn't be afraid of telling people I'm not a conservative evangelical.
Red Bud's a sweet place year round. A friend of mine just relocated there from Belleville. If it weren't for the commute to Belleville every day, I'd look for a place down there myself.
It really is. I lived a majority of my life in the town next to it Baldwin. Defiantly not as easy on the eyes that's for sure. But I went to school in Red Bud, friends lived there so I spent most my time there. Then ended up living there later. For the area it can be a bit higher as far as cost of rent, but that's the case everywhere you go these days.
Sandwich and towns down 34 are going to be the next ones coming up. The population of Plano doubled 2000-2010. Sandwich is next. They’re building out there
You joke, but I went to a conference in Yorkville right next to Sandwich and was pleasantly surprised at the great amenities in the area. The forest preserves are superb, the state and local parks are beautiful, and the coffee, restaurants, and shops were really nice.
I came here to say I live in Yorkville and absolutely love it. I wouldn't say it's middle of nowhere, but definitely has small town vibes still. It's absolutely cheaper than living in the city. It's a quiet little town, everyone is relatively friendly, and you're a short drive away from bigger towns like Aurora, Naperville, Plainfield, Joliet.
I bet they are beautiful, I take alot of pics going through there when I do, I was born and raised in Chicago. Still live here but I understand why many rural areas are better to live in then this city. Minonk is a really nice town too, and Galena is really beautiful. I want to move out of Chicago but I can't for now.
My mom’s family is from Paw Paw! It’s a nice little town but seems like it would be hella expensive to live there unless you work somewhere close by. I laugh because my cousin who lives there now in town wants to move out to the country and I said where do you think you live now??
Monticello - it has charm (a great courthouse square area), lots of parks & walking/hiking trails, conveniences (County Market grocery store, restaurants, bars, a Rural King and a True Value), it's own DMV and excellent schools. You can access Champaign and Decatur with a ~25 min drive and there's interstate access to both (when the weather is too bad for the smaller roads). Bloomington is ~40 minutes drive away. Chicago and St. Louis are ~2.5 hours drive away and Indianapolis is ~2 hrs. There are daily trains to Chicago via Champaign. It's freakin' Mayberry on the prairie.
I'd go more central IL. I have lived in the western burbs for my whole life and am looking at Ottawa, Bloomington or Peoria area in the next 5 yrs (I'm 55). So much cheaper, near universities/cultural events and friendly. All are on the increase as opposed to many, more rural communities that are declining.
I like Galesburg. My wife went to college there (Knox) and the place punches above its weight class when it comes to restaurants, coffee shops, and amenities. We look at the real estate there and there are some beautiful homes for $80,000 to $200,000 that would be mansions in Chicago (size-wise).
Small manufacturing companies owned by Knox graduates are moving to Galesburg and beginning to offset the effects of Whirlpool leaving in the 1990s. It's also prime territory for data centers and green energy (wind/solar).
With Amtrak stopping there, it's a perfect place for a long weekend in an inexpensive Air BnB.
Dixon:
1 hour from Aurora, 1:15 from Rt 59.
1 hour from Rockford via Rt 2 (scenic)
1:15 from the Quad Cities
2 hours from Galena
1:20 from Starved Rock
3 hours from Springfield
Take I-88 into downtown Chicago in less than 2 hours
Amenities: crawling with pizza, bars, and churches. Sneezing any direction and hit all 3.
Just got a Starbucks, Dunkin is almost done. Local coffee shops like Coffee Crush and Baker Street are great. Grab a book and latte at Books on First.
Brewery *just* opened.
Discover Dixon does very well at marketing local events.
Summer time the riverfront has a Wednesday night vendor setup. Grab a beer, walk through the tents, support small local businesses.
Schools are shit. Bullying is a huge issue.
Internet options are *just* improving.
Not a whole lot of homes for sale. Growing commercial businesses.
Can’t remember if I had a friend in Carlinville or Taylorville but when I went to visit I remember him proudly showing us the highlight of the town - a roundabout near a Walmart!
Just a fun memory not intended as shade.
That would be Carlinville! Taylorville does have a roundabout of sorts around the county courthouse. Old Walmart building is a few blocks away and it's not been Wally for 25 or so years.
It doesn't really sound like Carlinville either. The Walmart there is on the edge of town.
Carlinville highlights would include the courthouse, maybe Blackburn college.
Manhatten Peotone Kankakee area is pretty middle of nowhere, with all the benefits of the burbs being just an hour's ride away.
Also Berkots grocery stores are great.
I can’t sing you a song, but I can Pee-a-tone. Lol. Am from Kankakee, glad I left. Peptone always seemed like a good middle ground to the city and a nice small town.
Southern Will/Kankakee County is definitely the region that has the best access to Chicago while also being genuinely rural. Manteno is under an hour drive into downtown and less than 20 minutes to the Metra station in University Park.
If I won the lottery I'd buy some property in that area for sure. Lots of rural space for fun activities, but also good travel options to enjoy city culture.
Princeton is along the highway and has historic homes that are not that expensive. I’d put that on your radar. Also along Route 34 is growing like a grapevine past Oswego. Although Kendall County taxes are not friendly. I moved to Plano and pay just as much tax as I did in Cook County BUT…. I got double the sq footage of house and yard for the price. Plus the area has what we need I rarely go to Chicago anymore for anything.
Yeah I think macomb is on an upward trend. I heard that WIU got a $119 million dollar grant to build a whole new center for performing arts with construction already started. It's supposed to be a huge venue that will put macomb on the map in a couple of years. So I definitely think with this new development there will more businesses coming in
Also seconding Macomb.
Number 4 on this list: https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/2022-most-affordable-small-towns-also-desirable/
Cost of living is incredibly low for a college town.
The new Center for Performing Arts is currently under construction and should be done by fall of 2024: http://www.wiu.edu/cofac/cpa/
Amtrak has twice daily service to and from downtown Chicago and the Amtrak station is across the street from the City Center Bus Station where many of the free town and campus bus routes have a stop: https://gowesttransit.com/
OP mentioned grocery stores, so in addition to the Hy-Vee and Walmart, there's also the locally-owned Jackson Street Market (https://www.jacksonstreetmarket.com/) and a newly expanded/renovated ALDI.
Internet service - There's Comcast all over town, but also if you live in certain areas around the edges of town or just outside of town, there's a local telephone co-op that offers symmetrical fiber with no data caps: https://www.mdtc.net/services/internet/
Morris is fine if you're a white conservative who likes to look down on everyone else. I would suggest looking at the WCSJ Radio Facebook page for an accurate depiction of the community.
I don't know if it counts as middle of nowhere, (it isn't Chicago so I think it counts hah), but I really loved the community in Bloomington/Normal when I was there. I went to ISU and then turned townie. You can get around by bus in town or train back to Chicago or down to St. Louis, lots of restaurant and grocery store options. (Mostly) good school districts and really great community programs. I'd move back if I could :)
Bloomington is way more expensive than even 2 years ago, I moved down here during covid, between Rivian, Statefarm, Country, and ISU/Weslyn. There’s a huge dichotomy in income, I noticed more and more locals getting slowly priced out. Unless you have a decent job, it’s not as great to live here as it used to be imo.
If you've never lived outside Chicago it certainly is the middle of nowhere. It's all about perspective, I live in southern Piatt County and to me Bloomington is the big city.
But it’s all perspective, Bloomington is small as fuck if you grew up in New York, it’s a city if you grew up in a cornfield. Objectively on a scale of all population centers it’s a pretty small city, but it’s the middle of nowhere because there really isn’t shit to do here. Unless you decide to drive to Peoria/Champaign/st Louis or Chicago 😂
If you’re serious about the 6 hours comment, consider Carbondale. Good groceries, active arts communities, breweries and wineries everywhere, most amazing views in the state. 2 hours from STL, 3 hours from Louisville, Amtrak to CHI and New Orleans. Symmetrical fiber internet.
I can understand burnout. Carbondale isn't perfect, and there are things I keep hoping will get better that just never do. Even so, I can't see living anywhere else at this point in my life. I came here for college, left for work, went even farther away for grad school, and returned for the job I have now. I've seen other places but none of them felt like "home" the way Carbondale does.
I think the issue I am having, as a 30 year old, is that I came here for college and stayed, but most of my friends have moved away. The thing keeping me here, other than my few remaining old friends, is the proximity to nature spots. I am starting to grow out of the nightlife stuff so I suppose i just need to adjust my lifestyle accordingly. I do hope Carbondale, and SIU, turn around though. Hopefully the new train station and outdoor stage will help attract businesses here or something
Consider Carbondale. The rural surrounding area is more MAGA than the town itself, but it’s a nice place to live. Good groceries, active arts communities, breweries and wineries everywhere, most amazing views in the state.
The Quad Cities could fit this. It's split 50-50 politically. Obviously the rural areas around it are very red, but you're still able to be close to plenty of non-MAGA people. Rural towns around the Quad Cities might be good overall...land/housing is still cheap, but you're only 20-30 minutes away from a bigger city.
I’ve lived in a few different small towns. I recommend adding ‘good internet options’ to your list of requirements.
I like Lexington, IL. It’s close to Blo-No if you need more variety, but it’s a cute, little town with a decent school district. It’s also close to either Pontiac or Normal if you need to hop on Amtrak.
Along I80, Princeton has always seemed nice. You will have to check out the amenities.
Utica is a nice little town with interesting shops. Not sure if there is a grocery store in Utica but Ottawa or Peru are close.
I think if I could, I’d love in Champaign. I didn’t attend, but I spent a lot of time down there because of my now wife. Has pretty much anything you could ask for. Downtown is alright, if you have a car you have access to plenty of things. Only 2 hours away from Chicago. Wasn’t that expensive either. If for whatever reason we could keep our salaries and get a home down there, by the school ideally, I’d make a move.
A gentleman mentioned Decatur. Seems like a great place too. I look at other factors as well though, that are just a bit more personal.
Wow. This thread is super weird, I don’t think people really understand what a “middle of nowhere town” really means. Edwardsville, St Charles, Woodstock, and other answers are basically suburbs of their respective metro area and aren’t anything different than other suburbs, kinda hilarious answers tbh. I don’t think college towns should be included because the majority of residents are transplants or related to the respective college and I think that isn’t the right concept for someone dropping in out of nowhere. So much of the local economy is geared toward the students/college I feel like it takes away from the idea of a town that’s its own entity.
For a previous job I travelled all over the state for a few years and agree with a few recommendations here assuming geography isnt an issue:
Genesco is pretty cool, I have a few friends from their oddly enough, and its a legit small town with cool amenities for daily life, cool vibe overall and close proximity to the quad cities. The three people I know from there are really unique people
Galena is very pretty, classic historical river town. It seems to be extremely well taken care of by the residents. Decent access to nature and close enough to some larger towns.
My vote would be for Makanda or a similar small town in So Ill, the access to nature is unparalleled in the state, you have Cabondale close by, Cape Girardeau not too far and can day-trip to St. Louis. I think a prerequisite would be interest in nature but if thats something you’re into it doesnt get better. Lots of artsy people around there too.
Marion, Carbondale, Carterville are all decent towns down south. Makanda is an awesome town but no grocery store. Goreville and Vienna are very small but pretty and have grocery stores nearby in other towns.
I really like Geneseo. They're big enough for a Walmart and a small downtown area, but small enough that it isn't a super Walmart. They also have a couple of grocery stores. There are lots of historic houses, it's a well kept town, and they're huge on supporting local. The schools are excellent if that's a factor.
The culture could be hit or miss though. It's a pretty conservative area, which I guess could be a plus or minus depending on who you are.
Anywhere around the Quad Cities might fit what you're looking for though. It's a short drive to anything you want to do to the "city" but you can feel as rural as you want too.
Red Bud, IL. It has an IGA, a hospital and it’s own hospital plus a branch of the Jr College. St Louis is about an hours drive. 20 mins drive to Waterloo for Walmart and Rural King. SIU Carbondale is about an hour and 15 minute drive.
Not crazy middle of nowhere but I actually like fox lake, a lot of outdoor things to do and there is a metra line. As long as you can get over the crazy old racists. But the houses here are affordable and even the cheaper houses have lake accessibility a lot if you like that sort of stuff.
Effingham, Mt Vernon, O’Fallon!!! These towns are in the true middle of nowhere/middle of Illinois! The last two have fairly close access to Saint Louis Missouri for all your bigger town stores/etc! Come on down!
O'Fallon's hardly the true middle of nowhere/middle of Illinois. More like the middle of suburbia. I remember when one could legitimately call that a rural community, but urban sprawl from St. Louis has taken care of that and then some. It's become the hot place to live in the metro-east.
Any college town will have enough amenities to keep you entertained but the housing won’t typically break the bank, and a good number of them are connected to Chicago via train if you wind up missing the big city and need to visit for the weekend. If rowdy college kids bother you, you can always look up where the university is located and what neighborhoods most student housing is in and buy a house in the opposite side of town. I like Galesburg, personally.
Figure out where the professors live, rather than where the students live. Professors make great neighbors in my experience.
I used to live around Galesburg as a kid, around 2003. I vaguely remember a lot of business closing and the city kinda going downhill. Is it good now and what do you like about it?
It’s fine for me. Innkeepers is good, I like Lake Storey, and they have a couple street fair things on Seminary Street every year that get a decently good turnout. Railroad days is good to take kids to. You get out of it what you put in, I think.
You want to find the most interesting towns in Illinois what you do is follow the rivers. In the early days of the state, the rivers WERE the highways and transportation routes. The first towns grew up on the rivers. Then the next towns to grow got a railroad line too. Those are the ones that have little downtowns that have character before modern zoning screwed things up. Finally the towns that thrive still (even if they are rural) have a main route highway that goes through them. The newer towns are formed along the interstate but most are bland, cookie cutter and soulless. The best or up-and coming towns in Illinois have all 3: a river (source of water). A railroad station. A main road (not necessarily interstate). Bonus points if they have a decent school. That’s how you find the hidden gems in Illinois.
I’ll second this. Drive along the Illinois. Mississippi, or Rock River valleys and you can find some great small towns with some amazing (by Illinois standards) scenery.
Grew up along the Rock River, Wife grew up along the Illinois, and now we own a home along the Mississippi. River towns are the best. Driving Route 2 from Dixon to Rockford is crazy beautiful. Hiking the Illinois River Bluff Trail you wouldn't believe you're in the Midwest.
Yo this is brilliant
Am I gonna get laughed at by someone from, like, Sparta if I call Ottawa "middle of nowhere?"
I don’t think so. It’s not a huge town, but is close enough to Chicago to make a day trip easy. Plus Ottawa’s leadership seems to care about the community and trying to do nice things. Always something to do considering the size of the town.
They do! I am from that area and my niece lives there. They are always having nice festivals. Plus Matthiessen state park is right there and I love it. Starved rock is wonderful too
I really like Ottawa (as someone who takes occasional afternoon trips and is getting married at Starved Rock) - cute downtown, a lot of community events, and some genuinely good restaurants. Plus, I love the river and hiking opportunities. (However, I have never lived there, just hung out)
And you’re close to Cajun Connection
Born and raised in ottawa. You can def call it middle of nowhere lol. Edit: and honestly it’s a good option. Housing is affordable. Schools aren’t bad (but also aren’t great). Good library. There’s a lot of little shops and a Walmart. Target 20 minutes away in Peru. A ton of good restaurants in the IV area. Three state parks. Chicago in two hours, access to a train within one. Pot shop. Osf hospital in town. Close to the river and close to i80. Has several gyms. Seneca has slightly better schools but is even more rural if you really wanna get away from it all.
Check out the radon factor though. Otherwise great area
No, Ottawa is a great town.
Ottawa is awesome. Great suggestion.
I've lived in Sparta for almost 30 years. Nobody here knows where Ottawa is either lol
I lived in Lasalle for a few years, I would consider it middle of nowhere. I concur that Ottawa is a good town too.
We vacationed in Ottawa from WI last year and the community and residents were so lovely!!
Ottawa is definitely on the list.
Gardner might be a decent choice as well. West of Ottawa and right off of I-55 for pretty much easy access to anywhere. But you will travel a minimum of 15mins for literally anything
Check out Casey, IL. A small town with the biggest things. Very fun.
Cool little town. Used to pass through there on my rides to Moonshine to grab a burger.
The big things in Casey are fun to check out. There’s also a delicious pretzel place. They didn’t seem to have enough amenities to be a place I would want to live though. The vibe also seemed much more conservative and religious than I am… just my personal opinion.
Lol wtf is this place?
An absolute dead town until they started putting random giant things around
Does it make sense? no. Do I want to go visit? You bet!
I’ve found Casey to be extremely conservative. Not passing judgment, just something to be aware of if you are considering moving there. And yes, that is truly in the middle of nowhere.
That’s every town in Illinois that’s not Chicago or one of its suburbs.
Meh, most college towns skew more liberal as well, but your point holds. Also Joliet and Peoria, and other areas of a certain size have their liberal leanings.
Ya, that’s true. I was exaggerating, but small town Illinois is conservative as hell.
You should have seen how downstate went for Bernie in the 2016 Democratic primary. Nowhere near the turnout on the flip side but you might be surprised.
You're probably right. Although we did find a proud LGBTQ+ store where we bought a bag silk screened with "I don't spew profanities, I annuciate clearly like a fucking lady!"
I mean most of the middle of nowhere towns are the same thing. Dollar General - Casey’s - Subway. I’d pick a smaller town outside one of the larger ones. Lexington - Savoy - Washington (Not really a small town) Actually I’ll revise this and go with Monticello
Lexington has had a surprising renaissance. They actually have some great restaurants. Kemp’s started the whole Renaissance with their amazing beer and food selection. An added bonus is that it’s right off I-55.
>Dollar General - Casey’s - Subway. lol, the holy trifecta. the real test is how many of each do you have in your town?
And sometimes they occupy the same building.
An old work buddy used to do air filter changes and one of his company's clients was Dollar General. Apparently they aim to have a store in any town with 2500 people, and if there are two towns with half that each, they'll put a store snack dab halfway between them.
as someone that grew up there, I would not recommend it. The town is super pretentious and the administration of the school system cares more about sports than education. they tore down a 100-year-old school to build a new gym.
A few years ago we were wanting to move from the small village we lived in with 120 people. We had no amenities like groceries or gas stations and everyone knew your business. Basically small towns kinda suck but they are usually cheaper. We spent a year or so looking at properties, and writing business plans for a move to Chicago. The numbers never really added up for us and we ended up buying acreage and a house. Everything we looked at in Chicago would have run us 500-600k but we have acreage, a rebuilt house, 1000ft shop, an apiary, an orchard, gardens, and our nearest neighbor is a mile away all for under 150K invested. We pay $700 a year for taxes. We are a 20 minute drive to the nearest Amtrak station and two hours by train to either Chicago or St Louis. We are a 10 minute drive from I55 and 30 minutes from a city of 130,000. Rural living has its challenges but it is way cheaper in the long run. Something to consider.
If the train station is Lincoln, howdy neighbor.
I’m from Lincoln! Currently in menard county. Hi neighbor!
I’m guessing you’re somewhere just south of Bloomington/Normal
acreage with enough trees for a wood stove is definitely something I'm considering. I never understood why people would want to live in the small town instead of just outside of it.
There is definitely a learning curve with living rurally but for us it’s well worth it. One thing to consider is that there is quite a bit of variation between counties with regards to regulations, zoning, and taxes. Take a look at the tax levies in whatever county you are considering. We have properties in several towns and counties in central Illinois and the taxes vary greatly primarily when it comes to school districts.
I’m not sure if it counts as the middle of no where as I’m from the city, but I absolutely love Galena. My girlfriend and I do a weekend trip once a year to ski and explore their wonderful downtown. It feels like a small mountain town hidden in Illinois, and we always have a great time
I second this! It's close to Dubuque, so you can visit a bigger city easily if you want to.
- depends on what all your needs are to begin with. I live in Decatur in a historic West End neighborhood and no way I would live anywhere else. I simply can not live cheaper than I do right now any where else with all the services at my disposal, minutes away. - I am 2 hrs from St Louis, 50 minutes from Springfield, Champaign, 3hrs from ChiTown, and hour from Bloomington for any major entertainment needs. I often catch the train to Chicago to spend time with friend up there. - My spring is 4 weeks earlier than Northern Illinois, my Fall last 4 later than Northern Illinois (where I am from originally from)
Totally off topic, but Decatur has one of the best specialty coffee shops I’ve been to ever. Such an unexpected gem
Imma need a source for those coffee shops
https://www.rivercoffee.co/ I lived in Decatur for a few years while I was attending the local college. While I was there I loved going to the River Coffee Company, they have some of the best coffee I have ever had. I am a bit of a coffee nut and enjoy the variety of coffee shops I have now that I'm up in the Chicago area, but i still haven't found a shop that does it as well as this place. Also, I second those singing Decatur's praises. Some of the best people I have ever met live there, everyone has a big heart.
That’s the one. It’s a cool space, their presentation is amazing, and most importantly, the coffee is absolutely top tier. You can tell the guys there really care about their coffee. I’m a bit of a coffee hobbyist and try to hit specialty coffee places wherever I’m at, and this place is right up there with the best few places I’ve ever been. I haven’t had too much time in Chicago, but downstate, you can get similar quality at Blueprint in STL.
My spouse loves to try out local coffee shops every we town we go. Might have to make a detour there on our trip in the spring. Thanks for the tip!
No problem! There's also a surprising amount of good food in Decatur's downtown, I'd recommend grabbing lunch as well if you guys have the time!
Will do 🫡
I live in Decatur and I personally really like Black Iron Coffee Co
I was born and raised in Decatur/Macon County. I have a soft spot for it in my heart. Looking back at my experience and reading the H&R online since I moved away, my one big issue is that local leadership doesn’t seem to have any idea how to tackle the problems that exist. This isn’t a new, but it seems like they’re more interested in slogans than making meaningful change. The last decade plus they really just seem to do what Buffett wants as long as he throws money to the local LE and to a lesser extent social programs. Had there been stronger leadership with some sort of vision throughout the past few decades maybe Decatur would be a different city.
totally agree
Decatur is my hometown, random but I love that you mentioned the H&R. My grandpa was a journalist for the Herald & Review for many years 🥰 He passed a few years ago.
I agree. I'm on the other side of the lake and not the West End. The location is great. People in other places like to shit on Decatur, but I've lived in Springfield, IL side of St Louis and in a rural community a few hours from Decatur and I feel safer here than I did in those places. As far as grocery stores go, I prefer Kroger by the airport.
top notch, especially the fresh sushi, I go there one a month to treat myself
And lots of history, yes?
Harvard is a good medium between train access and feeling rural.
Place looks a bit depressing every time I drive through there. The downtown is dead, the school on route 14 looked really run down, and then there's that massive Motorola headquarters that's rusting away. He's better off going to the next train stop east (Woodstock).
I'm in Woodstock. This is the answer. I moved from Elgin, and I really enjoy this town. The square has a small town feel, while having access to other places via train.
Featured on the Today show this morning as one of the merriest Main Streets in America. Haha but really it is great.
You also have to be within the main part of Harvard to get decent internet. A friend of mine lives just barely outside of it right before you hit that church if you're coming from the east on 14, and Comcast won't run a line to his road.
I mean you're right but it is about the same or better than many rural communities across the state. I would've said Woodstock too but to me it's increasingly becoming more suburban and expensive which is why I mentioned Harvard.
Woodstock in my mind is the very edge of somewhere.
Moonshine, IL
Lol. If you really want to go off the deep end with “middle of nowhere” this has to be the right answer.
Best burgers ever
Sullivan. Some of the best schools in the state. Located 25 minutes from Decatur and Mattoon. Close enough to Champaign for a get away night out.
Isn't meth pretty big in Mattoon? I used to go down to lake Shelbyville to camp, and always came across a bunch of meth heads.
In the 90s we used to call it Methtoon.
We still do...
Meth heads are everywhere downstate these days.
I was through there a few weeks ago, first time in a long time. The former IGA is terrific, I got a few things there I would normally have to go to Champaign for. I live south of Bement in the country and have family in Sullivan that I guess I don't see much.
go wildcats
I’m from this area. Sullivan is darling.
It really depends on what kind of amenities and local culture you want to be surrounded by. The college towns offer a lot of amenities for reasonable cost of living: Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, Carbondale, and Edwardsville. The most beautiful parts of the state are around the Shawnee National Forest but the culture is a little different. I have some favorite small towns in southern Illinois but I'm not sure I want to give them away publicly.
Same. Went to school at SIU, dream of moving back to somewhere south of C-Dale on the Shawnee border.
So-IL native here. I’d love to hear what your favorite southern Illinois towns are.
Ok. Cobden. Union county is a beautiful area. Lots of trails, wineries, and a nice town square. A couple places to go out that sometimes have live music. (Or at least there was before COVID. I haven't been back since then.) A short drive to Carbobdale. I know it's majority conservative but I wouldn't be afraid of telling people I'm not a conservative evangelical.
Red Bud at Christmas
Red Bud's a sweet place year round. A friend of mine just relocated there from Belleville. If it weren't for the commute to Belleville every day, I'd look for a place down there myself.
It really is. I lived a majority of my life in the town next to it Baldwin. Defiantly not as easy on the eyes that's for sure. But I went to school in Red Bud, friends lived there so I spent most my time there. Then ended up living there later. For the area it can be a bit higher as far as cost of rent, but that's the case everywhere you go these days.
That whole Cobden/Alto Pass area IS beautiful! I have kin down in Alto. Given the chance, I'd move there in a heartbeat!
Idk but there is a town called pawpaw and another called sandwich 🤣
Sandwich and towns down 34 are going to be the next ones coming up. The population of Plano doubled 2000-2010. Sandwich is next. They’re building out there
You joke, but I went to a conference in Yorkville right next to Sandwich and was pleasantly surprised at the great amenities in the area. The forest preserves are superb, the state and local parks are beautiful, and the coffee, restaurants, and shops were really nice.
I came here to say I live in Yorkville and absolutely love it. I wouldn't say it's middle of nowhere, but definitely has small town vibes still. It's absolutely cheaper than living in the city. It's a quiet little town, everyone is relatively friendly, and you're a short drive away from bigger towns like Aurora, Naperville, Plainfield, Joliet.
I bet they are beautiful, I take alot of pics going through there when I do, I was born and raised in Chicago. Still live here but I understand why many rural areas are better to live in then this city. Minonk is a really nice town too, and Galena is really beautiful. I want to move out of Chicago but I can't for now.
My mom’s family is from Paw Paw! It’s a nice little town but seems like it would be hella expensive to live there unless you work somewhere close by. I laugh because my cousin who lives there now in town wants to move out to the country and I said where do you think you live now??
Also Plano...town in between then.... Sandwich
Sandwich is my hometown! The Sandwich Fair is a fairly big deal and probably what most people know it for besides the funny name.
Carlyle, Breese
Not a bad choice. Close enough to STL so you’re not completely left out there, you’ve got the lake, and you’ve got Ski.
Can you still get Ski in glass bottles in Breese?
Yes, it’s available at the bottling plant as well at local grocery store/convenience stores
Monticello - it has charm (a great courthouse square area), lots of parks & walking/hiking trails, conveniences (County Market grocery store, restaurants, bars, a Rural King and a True Value), it's own DMV and excellent schools. You can access Champaign and Decatur with a ~25 min drive and there's interstate access to both (when the weather is too bad for the smaller roads). Bloomington is ~40 minutes drive away. Chicago and St. Louis are ~2.5 hours drive away and Indianapolis is ~2 hrs. There are daily trains to Chicago via Champaign. It's freakin' Mayberry on the prairie.
I'd go more central IL. I have lived in the western burbs for my whole life and am looking at Ottawa, Bloomington or Peoria area in the next 5 yrs (I'm 55). So much cheaper, near universities/cultural events and friendly. All are on the increase as opposed to many, more rural communities that are declining.
I like Galesburg. My wife went to college there (Knox) and the place punches above its weight class when it comes to restaurants, coffee shops, and amenities. We look at the real estate there and there are some beautiful homes for $80,000 to $200,000 that would be mansions in Chicago (size-wise). Small manufacturing companies owned by Knox graduates are moving to Galesburg and beginning to offset the effects of Whirlpool leaving in the 1990s. It's also prime territory for data centers and green energy (wind/solar). With Amtrak stopping there, it's a perfect place for a long weekend in an inexpensive Air BnB.
Check out the Quad cities you have options from Illinois and Iowa.
Moline is great, not sure I'd live in Rock Island.
RI is fine. It has some of the old- wealth areas of town on Watch Hill.
And none of them are good.
Do you mean like Dixon middle of nowhere or Kings middle of nowhere?
Isn’t Dixon the place where someone got caught embezzling the towns money?
Yes it is! The podcast "Swindled" has a great episode about it.
On a scale so epic that the woman that went to jail had to be a scapegoat. She supposedly stole 60% of the town's road budget for /20/ years.
Dixon: 1 hour from Aurora, 1:15 from Rt 59. 1 hour from Rockford via Rt 2 (scenic) 1:15 from the Quad Cities 2 hours from Galena 1:20 from Starved Rock 3 hours from Springfield Take I-88 into downtown Chicago in less than 2 hours Amenities: crawling with pizza, bars, and churches. Sneezing any direction and hit all 3. Just got a Starbucks, Dunkin is almost done. Local coffee shops like Coffee Crush and Baker Street are great. Grab a book and latte at Books on First. Brewery *just* opened. Discover Dixon does very well at marketing local events. Summer time the riverfront has a Wednesday night vendor setup. Grab a beer, walk through the tents, support small local businesses. Schools are shit. Bullying is a huge issue. Internet options are *just* improving. Not a whole lot of homes for sale. Growing commercial businesses.
Whoa whoa what's the brewery in Dixon? News to me.
Carlinville
Can’t remember if I had a friend in Carlinville or Taylorville but when I went to visit I remember him proudly showing us the highlight of the town - a roundabout near a Walmart! Just a fun memory not intended as shade.
That would be Carlinville! Taylorville does have a roundabout of sorts around the county courthouse. Old Walmart building is a few blocks away and it's not been Wally for 25 or so years.
It doesn't really sound like Carlinville either. The Walmart there is on the edge of town. Carlinville highlights would include the courthouse, maybe Blackburn college.
Manhatten Peotone Kankakee area is pretty middle of nowhere, with all the benefits of the burbs being just an hour's ride away. Also Berkots grocery stores are great.
I can’t sing you a song, but I can Pee-a-tone. Lol. Am from Kankakee, glad I left. Peptone always seemed like a good middle ground to the city and a nice small town.
Southern Will/Kankakee County is definitely the region that has the best access to Chicago while also being genuinely rural. Manteno is under an hour drive into downtown and less than 20 minutes to the Metra station in University Park.
If I won the lottery I'd buy some property in that area for sure. Lots of rural space for fun activities, but also good travel options to enjoy city culture.
Princeton is along the highway and has historic homes that are not that expensive. I’d put that on your radar. Also along Route 34 is growing like a grapevine past Oswego. Although Kendall County taxes are not friendly. I moved to Plano and pay just as much tax as I did in Cook County BUT…. I got double the sq footage of house and yard for the price. Plus the area has what we need I rarely go to Chicago anymore for anything.
Macomb, IL Home to WIU It's a small college town but we have a hyvee and a Walmart and a cute downtown
Hopefully the trend of incoming new businesses will continue. I was shocked when I saw that they built a mccallisters.
Yeah I think macomb is on an upward trend. I heard that WIU got a $119 million dollar grant to build a whole new center for performing arts with construction already started. It's supposed to be a huge venue that will put macomb on the map in a couple of years. So I definitely think with this new development there will more businesses coming in
Also seconding Macomb. Number 4 on this list: https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/2022-most-affordable-small-towns-also-desirable/ Cost of living is incredibly low for a college town. The new Center for Performing Arts is currently under construction and should be done by fall of 2024: http://www.wiu.edu/cofac/cpa/ Amtrak has twice daily service to and from downtown Chicago and the Amtrak station is across the street from the City Center Bus Station where many of the free town and campus bus routes have a stop: https://gowesttransit.com/ OP mentioned grocery stores, so in addition to the Hy-Vee and Walmart, there's also the locally-owned Jackson Street Market (https://www.jacksonstreetmarket.com/) and a newly expanded/renovated ALDI. Internet service - There's Comcast all over town, but also if you live in certain areas around the edges of town or just outside of town, there's a local telephone co-op that offers symmetrical fiber with no data caps: https://www.mdtc.net/services/internet/
Galena, Elizabeth or Stockton
Morris, IL is starting to regain its energy
Cornfest is of the more fun festivals I've ever been to.
Agreed!
Morris is fine if you're a white conservative who likes to look down on everyone else. I would suggest looking at the WCSJ Radio Facebook page for an accurate depiction of the community.
I have gone to a couple arts/vintage/food festivals there in the past year and really liked it!
Makanda
RIP Boomer the Dog
Avoid Lincoln and Edinburgh, Lincoln is a shit show and Edinburgh is mainly just racist old people and drama
I don't know if it counts as middle of nowhere, (it isn't Chicago so I think it counts hah), but I really loved the community in Bloomington/Normal when I was there. I went to ISU and then turned townie. You can get around by bus in town or train back to Chicago or down to St. Louis, lots of restaurant and grocery store options. (Mostly) good school districts and really great community programs. I'd move back if I could :)
Bloomington is way more expensive than even 2 years ago, I moved down here during covid, between Rivian, Statefarm, Country, and ISU/Weslyn. There’s a huge dichotomy in income, I noticed more and more locals getting slowly priced out. Unless you have a decent job, it’s not as great to live here as it used to be imo.
That's such a bummer. It seems like such a good place to have a family.
Not even remotely middle of no where but sure lol
If OP has never lived outside of the Chicago area, it may be a good suggestion for them and they might not know about it.
If you've never lived outside Chicago it certainly is the middle of nowhere. It's all about perspective, I live in southern Piatt County and to me Bloomington is the big city.
But it’s all perspective, Bloomington is small as fuck if you grew up in New York, it’s a city if you grew up in a cornfield. Objectively on a scale of all population centers it’s a pretty small city, but it’s the middle of nowhere because there really isn’t shit to do here. Unless you decide to drive to Peoria/Champaign/st Louis or Chicago 😂
Carbondale maybe
Carbondale definitely.
Petersburg definitely isn't really "middle of nowhere" but I really like that town.
Nothing on Peoria? Is it that bad?
No, just big enough to be the kind of place I'd move away from to avoid urban life.
Oregon
If you’re serious about the 6 hours comment, consider Carbondale. Good groceries, active arts communities, breweries and wineries everywhere, most amazing views in the state. 2 hours from STL, 3 hours from Louisville, Amtrak to CHI and New Orleans. Symmetrical fiber internet.
As a Carbondale resident, I agree (even though living here for so long, I am kind of burnt out)
I can understand burnout. Carbondale isn't perfect, and there are things I keep hoping will get better that just never do. Even so, I can't see living anywhere else at this point in my life. I came here for college, left for work, went even farther away for grad school, and returned for the job I have now. I've seen other places but none of them felt like "home" the way Carbondale does.
I think the issue I am having, as a 30 year old, is that I came here for college and stayed, but most of my friends have moved away. The thing keeping me here, other than my few remaining old friends, is the proximity to nature spots. I am starting to grow out of the nightlife stuff so I suppose i just need to adjust my lifestyle accordingly. I do hope Carbondale, and SIU, turn around though. Hopefully the new train station and outdoor stage will help attract businesses here or something
Following. I'd love to find a great (non-MAGA vibes) rural spot to find some acreage and pray for good grocery stores lol.
>great >non-MAGA >rural Pick 2
This. The area around Champaign-Urbana is pretty liberal (by downstate standards at least…) but 10 minutes outside of C-U proper, all bets are off.
That’s exceedingly unfair. I’d say only three of the neighbors on my block are still flying MAGA flags
😂 You must not live in Mahomet, Thomasboro, St Joe, Tolono, etc. 😂
Lol I’m mainly joking. Town definitely skews to the right, but most have good sense to take down their flags at this point
Consider Carbondale. The rural surrounding area is more MAGA than the town itself, but it’s a nice place to live. Good groceries, active arts communities, breweries and wineries everywhere, most amazing views in the state.
Any college town. Good food, coffee, cheap housing, educated neighbors (usually). Dekalb, quad cities, Bloomington, Champaign, effingham, Macomb, Carbondale. Good luck!
The Quad Cities could fit this. It's split 50-50 politically. Obviously the rural areas around it are very red, but you're still able to be close to plenty of non-MAGA people. Rural towns around the Quad Cities might be good overall...land/housing is still cheap, but you're only 20-30 minutes away from a bigger city.
Makanda, south of Carbondale, is the first thing that comes to mind.
There are areas of Northwestern IL that even have democratic representatives - Dixon, Sterling, QC
I’ve lived in a few different small towns. I recommend adding ‘good internet options’ to your list of requirements. I like Lexington, IL. It’s close to Blo-No if you need more variety, but it’s a cute, little town with a decent school district. It’s also close to either Pontiac or Normal if you need to hop on Amtrak. Along I80, Princeton has always seemed nice. You will have to check out the amenities. Utica is a nice little town with interesting shops. Not sure if there is a grocery store in Utica but Ottawa or Peru are close.
I really love Aledo and Washington
Probably unpopular opinion but I love Paxton
[удалено]
Geneseo ,Illinois
Pisgah IL. Population of like 6
Foosland.
I think if I could, I’d love in Champaign. I didn’t attend, but I spent a lot of time down there because of my now wife. Has pretty much anything you could ask for. Downtown is alright, if you have a car you have access to plenty of things. Only 2 hours away from Chicago. Wasn’t that expensive either. If for whatever reason we could keep our salaries and get a home down there, by the school ideally, I’d make a move. A gentleman mentioned Decatur. Seems like a great place too. I look at other factors as well though, that are just a bit more personal.
Wow. This thread is super weird, I don’t think people really understand what a “middle of nowhere town” really means. Edwardsville, St Charles, Woodstock, and other answers are basically suburbs of their respective metro area and aren’t anything different than other suburbs, kinda hilarious answers tbh. I don’t think college towns should be included because the majority of residents are transplants or related to the respective college and I think that isn’t the right concept for someone dropping in out of nowhere. So much of the local economy is geared toward the students/college I feel like it takes away from the idea of a town that’s its own entity. For a previous job I travelled all over the state for a few years and agree with a few recommendations here assuming geography isnt an issue: Genesco is pretty cool, I have a few friends from their oddly enough, and its a legit small town with cool amenities for daily life, cool vibe overall and close proximity to the quad cities. The three people I know from there are really unique people Galena is very pretty, classic historical river town. It seems to be extremely well taken care of by the residents. Decent access to nature and close enough to some larger towns. My vote would be for Makanda or a similar small town in So Ill, the access to nature is unparalleled in the state, you have Cabondale close by, Cape Girardeau not too far and can day-trip to St. Louis. I think a prerequisite would be interest in nature but if thats something you’re into it doesnt get better. Lots of artsy people around there too.
Wakefield IL
Marion, Carbondale, Carterville are all decent towns down south. Makanda is an awesome town but no grocery store. Goreville and Vienna are very small but pretty and have grocery stores nearby in other towns.
Love the area around Makanda
It's pretty gorgeous!
Shelbyville. Nice state park with cool lodge, trails, etc.
Harvard,Illinois. Old time vibes.
Sycamore, Elburn, Wasco, St. Charles
Not St. Charles lol. Way too crowded
St. Charles is firmly the edge of the suburbs, and Sycamore and Elburn are exurbs. Never heard of Wasco.
I really like Geneseo. They're big enough for a Walmart and a small downtown area, but small enough that it isn't a super Walmart. They also have a couple of grocery stores. There are lots of historic houses, it's a well kept town, and they're huge on supporting local. The schools are excellent if that's a factor. The culture could be hit or miss though. It's a pretty conservative area, which I guess could be a plus or minus depending on who you are. Anywhere around the Quad Cities might fit what you're looking for though. It's a short drive to anything you want to do to the "city" but you can feel as rural as you want too.
Streator. Went there for a concert last summer- very middle of nowhere, surprisingly nice. It has a Kroger
Big fan of Galena
Red Bud, IL. It has an IGA, a hospital and it’s own hospital plus a branch of the Jr College. St Louis is about an hours drive. 20 mins drive to Waterloo for Walmart and Rural King. SIU Carbondale is about an hour and 15 minute drive.
Not crazy middle of nowhere but I actually like fox lake, a lot of outdoor things to do and there is a metra line. As long as you can get over the crazy old racists. But the houses here are affordable and even the cheaper houses have lake accessibility a lot if you like that sort of stuff.
I'm kindof leaning towards lake county as a good mix of affordable but still firmly inside of civilization.
Percy, IL
Carbondale! Lots of outdoor activity and it’s just freaking beautiful!
Monmouth. Highly recommend it
Galena Illinois
Waterloo
Sterling!
DeKalb, IL. It's not too far from Chicago, but not too close. There's lots to do, too. Housing is affordable. Residents get discounts to go to NIU.
Effingham, Mt Vernon, O’Fallon!!! These towns are in the true middle of nowhere/middle of Illinois! The last two have fairly close access to Saint Louis Missouri for all your bigger town stores/etc! Come on down!
Effingham is very right wing. They are very catholic.
O'Fallon's hardly the true middle of nowhere/middle of Illinois. More like the middle of suburbia. I remember when one could legitimately call that a rural community, but urban sprawl from St. Louis has taken care of that and then some. It's become the hot place to live in the metro-east.