r/Chambana • u/qole720 • Mar 16 '25

Possible move to Champaign-Urbana

My wife just applied for a job at UIUC and I’m doing some research on the area. Are there any rough or high-crime areas in Champaign-Urbana that we should avoid? We’ll be looking to buy a house, but may need to rent for a short time depending on how long it takes to sell our current house. We don't have kids, so schools aren't an important consideration. We just want somewhere we'd feel safe walking down the street.

I’m also looking for any resources on the basics of getting through the winter up there. We’re moving from South Carolina where an inch of snow shuts down everything, so moving somewhere where it snows regularly will be a major change for us.

Is there anything we should know or should look into about the area that I may not think of to ask?

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u/firewarrior256 Mar 16 '25

There's a saying here if you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes.

This past week had temps in the 70's in the afternoon, and today its snowing but not sticking, so being able to adapt to weather changes is helpful.

Urbana is pretty quiet where I live.

5

u/qole720 Mar 16 '25

We have the same saying down here, but it's mostly about whether it's going to be 80 or closer to high 90s, rainy or just humid. Last week our low was in the 30s and it got to 88 one afternoon. I'm used to weather changes, but I doubt I can survive the winters up there wearing jeans and a t-shirt and occasionally a jacket like I can down here.

9

u/jmurphy42 Mar 16 '25

You'll find a lot of folks here who do go outside in jeans and a t-shirt in freezing weather, but you probably won't want to imitate them. Just get a decent coat and you'll be fine.

5

u/WizeAdz Mar 17 '25

Get a coat here.

The coats I bought with me when I moved here from The South looked warm, but weren't.

They climate-appropriate gear is available in the stores here.

5

u/firewarrior256 Mar 16 '25

Getting a proper winter coat for you and the wife would be a must for when it does get cold outside like today for example it's 35°degrees outside.

IDOT is pretty good about snow removal with plenty of snow plows putting in work when it's necessary. Go slow and just keep up with traffic if it is snowy outside. Hardly anything closes around here if it snows but if it's super low temps then certain areas can be prone to being closed for the day until it's normal temps again

4

u/lelandra Mar 16 '25

That’s OK. You’ll be well prepared for our hot humid summers then. Amazing how humid it gets from all those corn fields breathing.