What’s so Great About Champaign-Urbana IL?

What’s so Great About Champaign-Urbana IL?

Even if you know very little about Champaign-Urbana, IL, you probably know that it’s flat, we have cold winters, and not many people outside of Illinois have ever heard of this town. Put it that way and it doesn’t sound too appealing.

So why on earth would you want to move to Champaign-Urbana? Believe me, there are plenty of reasons. Those of us who DO live here LOVE living here, so I’m going to share some of the reasons with you to put your mind at ease…and give you something to look forward to!

1. We’re home to the prestigious University of Illinois, a Top Ten school. The university keeps this town alive and kicking with performances and concerts, nationally-broadcast sporting events, thousands of jobs for our residents, museums, and gardens, and so much more. We’re a college town and we love it.

2. This area boasts some of the richest soil on Earth. You can load up on tasty, wholesome fruits & veggies at our farmers markets, or have one heckuva garden in your own backyard.

3. Are you “going green”? Join the club! In 2007 Champaign-Urbana was ranked 10th in a survey of the top 25 green cities by Country Home Magazine. Our streets are full of pedestrians and bikers, we’re constantly adding bike paths, and Urbana was recently awarded recognition as a Bicycle-Friendly Community.

4. Roger Ebert was born and raised in Urbana, and each year we host the internationally-known Ebertfest at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign, which brings dozens of distinguished actors and directors right here to our little town. Yes, Roger Ebert attends every year, too, so if you attend, you’ll no doubt have the chance to see him!

5. Champaign-Urbana is quite old having been chartered in the early to mid 1800s. If you like historic homes and buildings, you’ll love exploring this town, and we offer historic walking tour brochures just for the occasion.

6. We may be in somewhat of a country setting, but we happen to be centered between a few major cities. Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis are all within a 2-3 hour drive from Champaign. Or you can take the train and make it a day trip.

7. Depending on where you go for this information, the Champaign-Urbana area has about a 30-40% chance of having a white Christmas any given year. I grew up in southwest Virginia where the chances were more like 3-4%, so for me this is a beautiful thing.

8. And lastly, there are some really great people here. It may sound corny, but it’s true. The people in Champaign-Urbana are just as friendly as they come, making our town that much better.