"Reid E. Baxter" <[log in to unmask]> wrote in message
news:3d6e8ba8$3@skycache-news.fidnet.com...
> Well, it looks like fortune has shown down upon me (laid-off last year,
working part-time now). I will be moving from California to Bloomington, Ill
for a HP3000 position and I was wondering if anyone on the list per chance
could clue me into the approximate rental cost of say a duplex as I have
quadrupeds kids (dogs). Any other important (weather, etc) or even trivial
information regarding this area of the US would be greatly appreciated, on
or off list. Thanks for your feedback in advance.

Dang - where did you find an HP3000 position? What company?

This is actually a twin town. Bloomington to the south and Normal to the
north. Normal is the home of Illinois State U (ISU). I got my degree in
computer science at ISU. There's lots of rental units near ISU.

Large parts of Bloomington are rather run down and old (especially around
Miller Park). My folks live in Normal. Normalites kid that Bloomington (to
the south) is a little below Normal.

Bloomington-Normal (abbreviated BNM) is also corporate HQ to State Farm
Insurance, and Country Companies.

I haven't really rented my own housing there, but you can get some rather
cheap housing. Cheapest is just outside the I-55/I-74 loop. Other than the
east side, it gets REAL rural in a big hurry. It might be possible to rent
an entire house for $500-800/mo if you locate in a nearby town - say,
Carlock (which is 5 miles outside BNM). On the west side of Normal is the
big Mitsubishi auto plant. You can rent a house for, say, $700-1100. My
parent's 3000 sqft 5BR house is worth all of $140k.

The land around BNM is bare-ass naked farmland that's flat as a die. 40
miles west is Peoria. 40 miles east is Champaign-Urbana (U of Ill).

There is an Amtrak stop in both Bloomington and one in Normal on the
Chicago - St Louis line.

Nearby Eureka, IL was the college home of Ronald Reagan.

It's hot in the summer (95-100) and humid. It's actually cooler in the
summer here in Atlanta. In the winter it can get to -20F. And the wind is
like someone is driving knives into your face. A single snowstorm has been
known to dump two FEET of snow, but 6-12 inches is the norm.

35 miles west in Morton is a major pumpkin festival. The main event is a
Punkin Chunkin contest to see how far you can hurl a pumpkin. Different
categories are catapult (Trebouchet), and Air Cannon. I've seen pumpkin air
cannons 300 ft long (segmented barrel) that has hurled pumpkins 2000 yards.

Example Pumpkin catapults/Trebouchets:

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/machines/pages/apair_of_trebuc
hets_jpg.htm


Example pumpkin cannons:

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/machines/pages/airing_up_jpg.h
tm

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/machines/pages/2ndamend_jpg.ht
m

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/machines/pages/road_warrior_jp
g.htm

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/machines/pages/unisold_jpg.htm

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/machines/pages/smlin2_jpg.htm

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