Moving to Illinois this summer

[outwardbound]

Hello Midwest group! I'll be coming from MD this summer to be stationed at Scott AFB (an Army guy at an AFB... fish out of water). Looking forward to recommendations on local adventure in the region and to meet some new OB members. Oh, and if anyone near the AFB has housing recommendations I am all ears!!

See you soon!

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[Wanderlost]

Welcome! We're based to the west of Chicagoland near Rockford. Keep an eye on this forum and the Overland Bound- Midwest Facebook page for upcoming events and Meet-N-Greets.

 

[Kage]

Hello Midwest group! I'll be coming from MD this summer to be stationed at Scott AFB (an Army guy at an AFB... fish out of water). Looking forward to recommendations on local adventure in the region and to meet some new OB members. Oh, and if anyone near the AFB has housing recommendations I am all ears!!

See you soon!

Welcome to the area! I've been in the O'Fallon area (next town over from Scott) since 1990, so feel free to ask me any questions about the area and hopefully I can point you in the right direction.

Depending on what you're looking to do adventure wise, there is a pretty good mix of things to do. Lots of local hiking to be had with less than a 2 hour drive from Scott. Check out our website (in sig) for some ideas, and I'd also recommend picking up the book "60 hikes in 60 miles of St. Loius" to give you some more ideas.

There isn't much around for true "Overland" travel, but there are plenty of back roads to explore over in Mark Twain Forest in MO and Shawnee Forest in IL (Shawnee Roads have seasonal access though).

For the housing recommendations, what are you looking for? Married with kids? Bachelor? How long of a commute do you want? Give me some rough desires and I'll try to help you narrow your search down.

 

[outwardbound]

Welcome to the area! I've been in the O'Fallon area (next town over from Scott) since 1990, so feel free to ask me any questions about the area and hopefully I can point you in the right direction.

Depending on what you're looking to do adventure wise, there is a pretty good mix of things to do. Lots of local hiking to be had with less than a 2 hour drive from Scott. Check out our website (in sig) for some ideas, and I'd also recommend picking up the book "60 hikes in 60 miles of St. Loius" to give you some more ideas.

There isn't much around for true "Overland" travel, but there are plenty of back roads to explore over in Mark Twain Forest in MO and Shawnee Forest in IL (Shawnee Roads have seasonal access though).

For the housing recommendations, what are you looking for? Married with kids? Bachelor? How long of a commute do you want? Give me some rough desires and I'll try to help you narrow your search down.

Thanks for the info. This is great.

I do like hiking so I'll check that out. Regarding overland preferences, I like "remote" camping, so State and national forests are great. I have 3 little kids and one on the way due in September.

We wouldn't mind living on base since air force bases are usually pretty nice. Either way, I'm looking for a single family home in a safe neighborhood, close to stores, pedestrian friendly would be great, but safer is more important. I'll be there for 2-3 years so I'm hesitant to buy but houses seem affordable compared to here in DC and the rental market there looks pretty weak.



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[ShyTRex]

Thanks for the info. This is great.

I do like hiking so I'll check that out. Regarding overland preferences, I like "remote" camping, so State and national forests are great. I have 3 little kids and one on the way due in September.

We wouldn't mind living on base since air force bases are usually pretty nice. Either way, I'm looking for a single family home in a safe neighborhood, close to stores, pedestrian friendly would be great, but safer is more important. I'll be there for 2-3 years so I'm hesitant to buy but houses seem affordable compared to here in DC and the rental market there looks pretty weak.



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I'm new here but I am in Troy Missouri. Not real far away!

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[H3Coyote]

Excellent, I'm Dave, over by Rockford...
Nice to meet y'all, if you get over this way let me know, it's always good to meet cool people..!

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[Kage]

Thanks for the info. This is great.

I do like hiking so I'll check that out. Regarding overland preferences, I like "remote" camping, so State and national forests are great.

You're kind of boned there as there isn't much in the way of remote camping (with a vehicle, there is remote camping via long hiking trails though). Probably more than what you'll find in MD, but still essentially zero compared to the states out west. There are some nice state campgrounds in the area, but I'm not the best guide for that portion as my wife isn't much of a camper. Hopefully someone else will chime in with a bit more info for you them.

...I have 3 little kids and one on the way due in September. We wouldn't mind living on base since air force bases are usually pretty nice. Either way, I'm looking for a single family home in a safe neighborhood, close to stores, pedestrian friendly would be great, but safer is more important. I'll be there for 2-3 years so I'm hesitant to buy but houses seem affordable compared to here in DC and the rental market there looks pretty weak.

Congrats on the one on the way! So with kids, I'm going to take a guess that you're wanting to be in a decent school district. You're in luck in that Scott is in the Mascoutah School district which is one of the better ones in the county. If you start looking for housing off of base, I would try to stay in the O'Fallon, Maschoutah, Troy (Triad), or Highland school districts as those are also good ones near the base through all the education levels. Avoid Belleville, Collinsville, and Lebanon districts depending on the school age of the kids (some districts have good elementary schools, and some have good high-schools, and some have bad of both). There are other areas that are still good, it just depends on how far you want to commute. For reference during typical commuting times, from Scott it'll take you about 15 minutes to get to O'Fallon (West) or New Baden (East), 30-40 minutes to get to Troy/Highland (North West/East) Areas, 45-50 minutes to get to Columbia (South) or Edwardsville (North).

You're not going to find much in the area that is really pedestrian friendly, Some places are better than others, but things are just spread out a bit too far to get around without using a car. Some areas (especially closer to Edwardsville) have a very good bike trail system so it is possible to get around pretty well on a bike.

Safe areas abound. Stay out of the East St. Louis, Dupo, West Belleville area and you're golden. In general, this area doesn't really have a crime problem.

I'm not sure which way I would push you on the rent vs. buy argument right now. The O'Fallon area seems to be having a bit of a resurgence again (Lots of new construction going on, and we just opened two new hospitals in the past year). I will say there is a lack of affordable housing (3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car in the $140-180k range). So if you were to buy, I would look hard at going that route as you are extremely likely to be able to sell it when you are done with it. Most new housing in the area starts at the $190k range (really closer to $220k) which has priced alot of the people out of the market.

The folks I know renting run the gambit. Some folks have no trouble renting their houses, some have a rough go at it. With the current market conditions, an average house (with garage) rents for about
$110-120 per 100 sqft in a good school district.

Hopefully that helps you out some!

 

[outwardbound]

You're kind of boned there as there isn't much in the way of remote camping (with a vehicle, there is remote camping via long hiking trails though). Probably more than what you'll find in MD, but still essentially zero compared to the states out west. There are some nice state campgrounds in the area, but I'm not the best guide for that portion as my wife isn't much of a camper. Hopefully someone else will chime in with a bit more info for you them.



Congrats on the one on the way! So with kids, I'm going to take a guess that you're wanting to be in a decent school district. You're in luck in that Scott is in the Mascoutah School district which is one of the better ones in the county. If you start looking for housing off of base, I would try to stay in the O'Fallon, Maschoutah, Troy (Triad), or Highland school districts as those are also good ones near the base through all the education levels. Avoid Belleville, Collinsville, and Lebanon districts depending on the school age of the kids (some districts have good elementary schools, and some have good high-schools, and some have bad of both). There are other areas that are still good, it just depends on how far you want to commute. For reference during typical commuting times, from Scott it'll take you about 15 minutes to get to O'Fallon (West) or New Baden (East), 30-40 minutes to get to Troy/Highland (North West/East) Areas, 45-50 minutes to get to Columbia (South) or Edwardsville (North).

You're not going to find much in the area that is really pedestrian friendly, Some places are better than others, but things are just spread out a bit too far to get around without using a car. Some areas (especially closer to Edwardsville) have a very good bike trail system so it is possible to get around pretty well on a bike.

Safe areas abound. Stay out of the East St. Louis, Dupo, West Belleville area and you're golden. In general, this area doesn't really have a crime problem.

I'm not sure which way I would push you on the rent vs. buy argument right now. The O'Fallon area seems to be having a bit of a resurgence again (Lots of new construction going on, and we just opened two new hospitals in the past year). I will say there is a lack of affordable housing (3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car in the $140-180k range). So if you were to buy, I would look hard at going that route as you are extremely likely to be able to sell it when you are done with it. Most new housing in the area starts at the $190k range (really closer to $220k) which has priced alot of the people out of the market.

The folks I know renting run the gambit. Some folks have no trouble renting their houses, some have a rough go at it. With the current market conditions, an average house (with garage) rents for about
$110-120 per 100 sqft in a good school district.

Hopefully that helps you out some!

This is tremendously helpful! I owe you a couple drinks of your choice when I move out there this summer.

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[outwardbound]

Excellent, I'm Dave, over by Rockford...
Nice to meet y'all, if you get over this way let me know, it's always good to meet cool people..!

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Will do. Thanks

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[outwardbound]

I'm new here but I am in Troy Missouri. Not real far away!

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Great. Thanks

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[outwardbound]

Welcome to the area! I've been in the O'Fallon area (next town over from Scott) since 1990, so feel free to ask me any questions about the area and hopefully I can point you in the right direction.

Depending on what you're looking to do adventure wise, there is a pretty good mix of things to do. Lots of local hiking to be had with less than a 2 hour drive from Scott. Check out our website (in sig) for some ideas, and I'd also recommend picking up the book "60 hikes in 60 miles of St. Loius" to give you some more ideas.

There isn't much around for true "Overland" travel, but there are plenty of back roads to explore over in Mark Twain Forest in MO and Shawnee Forest in IL (Shawnee Roads have seasonal access though).

For the housing recommendations, what are you looking for? Married with kids? Bachelor? How long of a commute do you want? Give me some rough desires and I'll try to help you narrow your search down.

@Kage, I am looking to visit the area the week of April 8th thru the 13th to do some house hunting before I move my family out in MAY/JUNE. Looking at travel costs, it's going to be cheaper for me to drive than to fly, rent a car, etc... That said, are there any local camping spots near Scott Air Force Base that permit year round camping? The only camp ground I found was Northwest of O'Fallon but they don't permit winter camping.

Bottom line is I planned to camp for the week I am out there house shopping.

Oh, and if you're not too busy that week maybe we can meet up and grab a beer, or a coffee.


Cheers.


Tim

 

[Kage]

What kind of camping? Tent/RV/Car?
Will you be working while you're here, or just coming for 'visit'?

There really isn't much in the way of campgrounds in this area (as you found out), especially if you're wanting to stay close to the base. At one point in time, there use to be campsites available on the Base., I don't know if that is still the case or not, but it might be worth asking about.

There are more places on the MO side for camping, or you can run out to the Carlyle Lake area for more options, but that would be a bit of a commute to the base.

 

[outwardbound]

What kind of camping? Tent/RV/Car?
Will you be working while you're here, or just coming for 'visit'?

There really isn't much in the way of campgrounds in this area (as you found out), especially if you're wanting to stay close to the base. At one point in time, there use to be campsites available on the Base., I don't know if that is still the case or not, but it might be worth asking about.

There are more places on the MO side for camping, or you can run out to the Carlyle Lake area for more options, but that would be a bit of a commute to the base.

I'll be tent camping/sleeping in my 4Runner, depending on the situation, but I'll be prepared for both. I'm coming out to do some house hunting so that could be considered my only work, while out there, aside from general exploration of the area. I am not on any time schedule or anything aside from the "to be scheduled" home tours on post and off.

I looked for a campsite on base but there was nothing posted except a number, I'll be calling that today.