Living in Illinois, Working in Missouri

Until lately, Illinois seemed to be a "best kept secret"! Many are now finding however, that there are compelling advantages to living in Southwest Illinois, to almost any St. Louis based transferee.

We call it the "Illinois Alternative" ... an alternative offering distinct benefits in many ways, but especially in communting conditions ... and offering an ingredient hard to find on the west side ... that of "small town livability"! And much more, as we hope to explain here.

So we're suggesting that transferees at least to view it as a viable option ... and suggesting they take a hard look at "East County". Our promise to relocating families and their sponsors, (and even to the realty community on the west side) ... we'll simply put our best foot forward in offering Illinois as an option ... letting the relocating family decide what's best for them from selections of communities and homes on both sides of the river! That way, relocating families are ultimately served best! But they deserve to look at both! They owe it to their families to look at both!

So call this an overview of Our Best Foot Forward!

Welcome to The Illinois Alternative...

... and a highlight new chapter in your lives. We hope you're looking forward to living in the St. Louis area. You should! It's a great place to live...the quality of life can't be beat.

While part of the attraction comes from the character of the St. Louis area as a whole, to which southwestern Illinois contributes greatly, other features are totally unique to Southwestern Illinois. We think it's the best part as we'll hope to show.

It's small town Americana at its best, with good schools, a friendly midwestern way of life, strong civic pride and opportunity for involvement and identity in a broad range of activities. A short drive down the road can take you to any job in the metro area, or to professional sporting events, world-recognized cultural entertainment, or miles of relaxing country roads. Major shopping centers and malls, antique shops, auctions and craft fairs meet any shopper's expectations. World-class medical facilities are easily accessible. Hundreds of restaurants offering a wide variety of ethnic to country style cooking are easily found. It's the very best of the good life.

With this presentation, we hope to acquaint you with the general features and alternatives of living here, but it will be necessarily only an overview. Please know that we have much more information on many subjects ready for your use. We at Home Buyers Relocation Services are totally dedicated to making the transition to your new home as pleasant and comfortable as possible, addressing any concern and every necessity. We have a reference library second to none, and many community contacts that are ready to help.

First, do you know:

Metro East is called home by more than 30% of the total St. Louis are population, including thousands employed in Missouri...about 1 in 3 of our working residents in fact, work across the river...a percentage steadily growing.

Madison and St. Clair counties have more than 700,000 residents scattered over a lot of beautiful geography with gobs of open space. The cities along the arc of the bluffs are especially attractive as we'll describe under "Geography 101" below.

Several communities...Edwardsville/Glen Carbon, O'Fallon, Troy and Columbia are experiencing incredible growth...others aren't far behind. But small town livability and lots of open space are still the unique hallmarks of life in SW Illinois.

The Benefits of an Illinois Location:

1. St. Louis is an easy drive from most cities in Metro-East. 20-30 minutes or less, even during rush hours, will get you to downtown St. Louis. North and south counties are close, too, with the Chain of Rocks Bridge on the North, on interstate 270, and Jefferson Barracks Bridge on the South, on interstate 255.

Some exit distances....(from the Poplar Street Bridge..downtown...the exit numbers mean "Miles from Downtown".)

2. Illinois is on the "sunrise-side" of the city...the sun is always at your back while commuting...going and coming....a significant daily amenity sometimes completely overlooked..sort of the "don't know what you're missing" quality.

3. The interstates are far less congested.....call it more "civilized"! Only the Poplar Street Bridges is a problem, and that can be circumvented with good timing. Sometimes, the Martin Luther King Bridge can be used as a reliever, and it's preferred if your work location is on the north side of downtown. Of course, the Chain of Rocks Bridge on the north (IS 270) and the Jefferson Barracks Bridge on the south, (IS 255) are hardly ever congested. Metro-Link, public light rail public transport is already extended from downtown into E. St. Louis, and under construction through Fairview Heights to Belleville. It's already a great alternative to downtown parking.

4. Residents of Illinois have access to all of St. Louis' cultural and recreational features, just as any other "St. Louisan"....on any given day or evening.

5. Even the most popular cities, along the crest of the bluffs, still have small town livability...a highly prized quality of life factor for most families...a quality simply unavailable on the other side within the same easy commuting distances.

6. Schools are highly rated in scholastics, arts and sports. Faculty, students and parents have pride and involvement, another example of high levels of plain old citizenship.

7. Illinois' own institutions add immensely to the quality of life: Southern Illinois University, McKendree College, fine hospitals, YMCA's, parks, Illinois State Parks....and on and on.

8. There's great shopping available at major malls, and local support services everywhere...and of course, the whole St. Louis marketplace is close.

9. Home inventories are rich and varied, and come in a broad range of styles, historic to new, small to large, in broad price ranges.

10. The quality of construction is generally better in Illinois, and prices are generally a bit lower, a function primarily of lower land costs.

11. So there's generally a little more land with homes in Illinois, even newer ones, and there's lots more open space generally.

12. Illinois and Missouri are nearly on a par when overall taxes are considered, although at first blush, real estate taxes appear slightly higher in Illinois. (We have detailed comparison sheets, and examples...please ask for them.)

13. Illinois is certainly not in second place when it comes to beauty....the beautiful rolling topography along the bluffs is stunning, with some of the finest home settings anywhere....(said admitting Missouri is beautiful, too.)

14. Because of all of the above features and benefits, and expected future growth, resale should be excellent.

The overall quality of life in SW Illinois can't be beat!