Considering Moving (Back) to Peoria in the Next Few Years
I grew up in Peoria in the time there were shops and restaurants on the Riverfront and things felt a little less dead (although maybe that is childhood nostalgia) and I am graduating law school in Chicago on Sunday. My fiance has mentioned potentially moving to Central IL to be closer to my family (his parents will follow him where he goes), and I just remember all the years I spent trying to get OUT because it was so boring as I got older. I told one attorney at a bar in Peoria that I was going to law school and he just went "don't practice law in Peoria."
I'm trying to look at Peoria with different eyes. And it makes me kinda sad because there's so much potential for it to be a great city, but it's gotten so disheartened over the years as many places have since the Pandemic. And I thought that was an all-around thing, but then I went to cities that are growing and have a great community and I feel like Peoria could have that, but it's just not there.
Like my fiance and I looked at travel vlogs from the cities we grew up in, and his Grand Rapids videos were vibrant with a lot of ideas and local inside jokes and Peoria had some afterthought AI slop videos of things to do. The videos I see of people trying to get people to move to Peoria almost seem like last-ditch efforts to me.
I do love the city I grew up in. I just don't know if it's worth investing a future in. But maybe it needs more people who see what it could be too. I don't need redditors to make the decision for me lol. But I guess I wanted to put these thoughts into the void and see if the void calls back.