Does anyone have familiarity with Belleville IL as it relates to schools, places to live, jobs, eateries, etc? Just want to know your thoughs on the town! Safe, family-friendly, etc? Thanks!
I saw this title and was like wow. This is where I was born. Anyway went back to visit last summer for the first time in years. I have a ton of family from springfield and st. louis.
Anyway they love it there. I dont have much for you as i was little when i left but the title just gave me a blast from the past moment.
Many blessings to you
Public schools are okay from what I hear but the High Schools ARE HUGE (at least in my opinion). Pretty sure 500+ in each class?? I have friends who went there and liked it but it's too big for my taste. I would recommend smaller communities nearby - O'Fallon, Mascoutah, Trenton or New Baden. But I also have lived in a few of those areas and never in Belleville, so that may be a bit biased in my opinion!
O'Fallon/Mascoutah have great schools but taxes are much higher and they have a much higher % of military families than the other places (not completely sure about Belleville).
I have LOTS of friends from the metro area and MOST of them would not buy or rent a house in Belleville....
I lived in Edwardsville for 2 years and I prefer Edwardsville to Belleville, because I like the college environment. The schools in Edwardsville score a bit better on ACT and state scoring, or they did when we looked - but that was 8 years ago.
Here is the Chicago Tribune ranking for 2012
http://schools.chicagotribune.com/school/belleville-high-...
http://schools.chicagotribune.com/school/belleville-high-...
Even if your kids aren't in high school- these are important numbers. unless the grade school has made DRAMATIC shifts.
It looks like Belleville West has better scores.
Remember when you are looking at this compared to STATE average - that Illinois ranks in the bottom 5 because of Chicago distirct. So you can be WAY above state, and still not acceptable. Illinois is very different that way.
That being said, Belleville is a fine area. There isn't much in terms of commerce - it's considered a "bedroom" community because there isn't a giant source of income that is within the city limits - therefore most people are communting to Edwardsville or St Louis... or they work in retail / saltellite buisnesses located within Belleville.
Here is the city data report
http://www.city-data.com/school/Belleville-Illinois.html#HS
I went to school at SIUE , but that was years ago. I loved the area and it was a great place to live. As far as jobs STL isn't far away and there are tons of places to work in this area. When we went through this past winter the area had grown tremendously and is still growing. I agree with what the other poster posted. Belleville has it's ups and downs, but they do have a great private academy off the square downtown. Belleville is also just a stones throw away from STL and both places offer tons of jobs.
