Guest guest Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I had NO idea what Champaign had to offer!!! We live in Mattoon! Sweet. If you have any info, numbers, contacts etc. I really am very new to this life style and VERY green on the subject of co-ops and such. (lol) Have a Great day! Sheena --- On Tue, 4/14/09, Marla Rose <marla wrote: Marla Rose <marla Re: At my witts end Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 9:38 AM That's great to hear about all the cool stuff in the Champaign-Urbana area, Linda. I may get in touch if we ever pass through and maybe you can pass me some of your tips. Marla > I live in Champaign-Urbana, IL and it can be a pretty progressive place to > live. It is a college town so we get a lot of different people and diversity. > We are close enough to Chicago, Indy, and St. Louis, but the cost of living is > less. We moved here from the DC area and I miss a lot of things about DC (the > great restaurants and the wonderful Animal Rights community and my favorite > animal sanctuary, etc.), but with three kids it is nice to live in a college > town. We wouldn't have the money to spend on restaurants if we still lived in > the DC area. One of the reasons we moved here is because I was pregnant with > our first and we knew we wanted to homeschool (IL is great for homeschooler > and the C-U area specifically) . We don't own a car and while I wouldn't say > our mass transit is wonderful (I miss the Metro), but it is a small enough > area with little traffic so bikeability is a plus. There are CSAs, several > farmers markets, a great growing co-op, > buying clubs, and a locally owned heath food store (with plenty of organic > foods in the mainstream stores as well). We have a new vegan meetup group > which meets for potlucks at different houses each month. We also have a group > of friends and we meet with them at least once a month for our own private > potlucks. I belong to a natural family living group (I've been a part of it > for nine years) and we have over 100 people on our email list. Many of us are > homebirthers, cloth diapering and/or ECing, co-sleeping, etc. parents. Even > the people who aren't vegan in our group (more veg than vegan, but most are > omnis) are interested in eating less meat and have started a sub-group about > meatless eating. There lots of ethnic restaurants in town where you can get > vegan food. We only have one veg restaurant so it is a great place for > someone to start a restaurant!! ! There is definitely a niche to be tapped. > Several of my friends have tatts and dreads. My > neighborhood is very diverse, but you can also find pretty conservative areas > of town. You have to know where to look. The downside of a college town is > people move a lot and that is tough, but this happened in the DC area as well. > My family lives here which is a pro and a con, but I think I would live here > even if my family did not. We love our neighborhood and it is much cheaper > and easier than a metro area, but close enough that we can go away for the > weekend to visit friends in the city. > > Good luck!!! > > Linda > A Marketplace for a Better World (Cruelty-free, Environmentally- Conscious, and > Fair Labor Products) > http://triballife. net/ > http://triballifein c.blogspot. com/ > My personal blogs: > http://veganlinda. blogspot. com/ > http://cucarfree. blogspot. com/ > > > > > ____________ _________ _________ __ > ERB <bakwin (AT) sbcglobal (DOT) net> > @gro ups.com > Tuesday, April 14, 2009 8:47:35 AM > Re: At my witts end > > > > > > Look into some midwestern options; you could even drive or take a train to > visit over a weekend to get a real sense. > > - Ann Arbor, MI > - Indianapolis or South Bend, IN > - Champaign/Urbana, IL > - Madison, WI > > (Notice they're all college towns?) > > Liz > > ____________ _________ _________ __ > Amity Pauley <havingagreatfulday @ > > @gro ups.com > Monday, April 13, 2009 2:34:49 PM > At my witts end > > The Easter holiday yesterday made me very frusterated and even more determined > to move. My family is becoming more and more hard to deal with on the > vegetarian issue. We try to laugh it all off but it seems that they are > becoming almost hostile about our life style. For many years now my husband > and i have been wanting to move to a new location. (we live in Fort Wayne, IN) > We had our eyes and hopes set on California (San Diego area mostly). > Unfortunately the state that California is in now doesn't give us much hope of > actually being able to stay there for an extended amount of time. I guess > what I am saying is that I need your help!!! We are very liberal, and would > love to find a community where we will not be looked at as if we are from > another planet. (along with being extremely strict vegetarians we are fairly > heavily tattooed and wear our hair in locks.) I love big cities but I love the > country too. Mostly I am looking for > suggestions on places that are more veg friendly, places where it will be easy > to meet friends that we don't have to argue with about our lifestyle. We just > want to live peacefully without drama. A good music scene would be a plus > too. Thanks in advance for any and all advice. > > Amity > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Amity, I just joined this group and read your message. I can totally relate...I am in Fort Wayne, too! We are a liberal/veg/natural family. I haven't met too many like-minded people since moving here almost 3 years ago (my husband grew up here). I'd love to get together sometime while you're still here! I have a son (5 yrs) and a daughter (8 months). Rebecca , Amity Pauley <havingagreatfulday wrote: > > The Easter holiday yesterday made me very frusterated and even more determined to move. My family is becoming more and more hard to deal with on the vegetarian issue. We try to laugh it all off but it seems that they are becoming almost hostile about our life style. For many years now my husband and i have been wanting to move to a new location. (we live in Fort Wayne, IN) We had our eyes and hopes set on California (San Diego area mostly). Unfortunately the state that California is in now doesn't give us much hope of actually being able to stay there for an extended amount of time. I guess what I am saying is that I need your help!!! We are very liberal, and would love to find a community where we will not be looked at as if we are from another planet. (along with being extremely strict vegetarians we are fairly heavily tattooed and wear our hair in locks.) I love big cities but I love the country too. Mostly I am looking for > suggestions on places that are more veg friendly, places where it will be easy to meet friends that we don't have to argue with about our lifestyle. We just want to live peacefully without drama. A good music scene would be a plus too. Thanks in advance for any and all advice. > > Amity > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 That sounds fantastic i am about to have my first child, a baby girl in 9 weeks!! feel free to email me off the list and we can get together soon! My email is havingagreatfulday. Hope to hear from you soon! Amity , " rebeccaharris214 " <rebeccaharris214 wrote: > > Amity, > > I just joined this group and read your message. I can totally relate...I am in Fort Wayne, too! We are a liberal/veg/natural family. I haven't met too many like-minded people since moving here almost 3 years ago (my husband grew up here). I'd love to get together sometime while you're still here! I have a son (5 yrs) and a daughter (8 months). > > Rebecca > , Amity Pauley <havingagreatfulday@> wrote: > > > > The Easter holiday yesterday made me very frusterated and even more determined to move. My family is becoming more and more hard to deal with on the vegetarian issue. We try to laugh it all off but it seems that they are becoming almost hostile about our life style. For many years now my husband and i have been wanting to move to a new location. (we live in Fort Wayne, IN) We had our eyes and hopes set on California (San Diego area mostly). Unfortunately the state that California is in now doesn't give us much hope of actually being able to stay there for an extended amount of time. I guess what I am saying is that I need your help!!! We are very liberal, and would love to find a community where we will not be looked at as if we are from another planet. (along with being extremely strict vegetarians we are fairly heavily tattooed and wear our hair in locks.) I love big cities but I love the country too. Mostly I am looking for > > suggestions on places that are more veg friendly, places where it will be easy to meet friends that we don't have to argue with about our lifestyle. We just want to live peacefully without drama. A good music scene would be a plus too. Thanks in advance for any and all advice. > > > > Amity > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 next time you're in town definately check out the restaurants. laughing seed is really good. they've been nominated several times in vegnews for best vegan restaurant. i have just gotten a little tired of their menu. but thankfully, they're adding some new stuff this spring! my family loves loves rosetta's kitchen. it's not so formal-restaurantish like laughing seed. it's a little more laid-back and more of home-style food with a few international things thrown in. and they always have yummy deserts! and it's nearly 100 % vegan.oh, it is so good! it's definately our favorite. with all this thinking about it, i think i have to go there for lunch now! crispy cats are sooo good! but yeah, they are quite pricey. they're a once-in-a-while treat for us. the peanut butter one is the best ever! hmm...maybe i need a crispy cat too! allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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