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you'll probably end up here a lot: http://www.thehousecafe.net

decent little coffee shop/venue that probably holds 200 people - cool kids run the place and they serve beer too.

i've only been there and the the steak & shake in dekalb. and a now closed venue that was called the rodeo.

I went there for a seminar on research in physics teaching. I found some Chicago style hot dog place with a Chicago Cardinals pennant. I think it was in a strip mall kinda thing. The dog was okay.


That's all I got.

I can only speak to the commute time (to/from Chicago) during rush hours, circa 1999. H-E-L-L-I-S-H. But then it was summer time, and I had no AC.

I got a job at a software company in DeKalb, under the false pretense given that it was a 45 min-1 hr commute. Driving mid-day for the interviews, that was about right. Rush hour was 2 hours plus each way. I lucked out and got a high fever my second or third day of work, and took the opportunity to bail out.

...I never saw much of the surrounding town, so that's all I can speak to. The extent of my DeKalb cultural environment consisted of a large cement and glass office building, trees, a boss with a fervent passion for Jimmy Buffett, and goose poop.

Thanks a lot for all the info, fellas.

THEY HAVE FLYING FUCKING CORN - SWEET JESUS! - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Lemuel Gulliver wrote:Thanks, Bob. A few additional questions: What's the cost of living there, relative to Chicago? Is this a city that's well-equiped? By that, I mean does it have the normal stores and places one'd need, or would I find myself needing to go to Chicago every week to get good groceries?

DeKalb has pretty much every big box retail store you can imagine. Grocery shopping was never a real issue. The cost of living rent wise was much lower than in Chicago. If you are sharing a place a would think that your rent would be between $350 and 400 a month- if not cheaper. I'm basing that on my last apartment that was $200 for my share in 1997. Food and everything else seemed pretty comparable to Chicago. The college has a pretty good bus system that can take you anywhere in town, but it really helps to have a car. You wouldn't need to leave DeKalb for any of your basic needs- just decent music. Overall, I thought DeKalb was pretty bland, but an easy place to live (if that makes any sense).

Also, my last year there, Denny Hasert's son opened up a decent punk record shop named Seven Dead Arson. I wonder if it's still around.

I moved to dekalb last May, having grown up south of chicago or south chicago, with the intent of finishing a bachelor's at NIU.

All above statements are true. Flying corn, I will investigate further.

DeKalb has been building like all git-out the last few years, and all the stores are here. I do see a crowd of jerks waiting in front of the House when my girlfriend and i are out and about. Never felt like going there.

The bar across the street, Otto's, is the only hangout type place i've been so far and its ok. There was some ridiculous jam band there, but I think a few cool bands have played there, now and again. Or so it would look like. (actually I have faint EA memories of the Shellacs playing here reportedly)


Costs- Yesssss much cheaper than Chicago. and boring as sin.

I rent, but if you are out for a newly-built boxhouse like so many out here, go for it...

Rent for me is 710 (2br) here with Gas paid for, yet we still get the luxury of Gas Heat (a decent furnace) and cooking. Central Air in this bad boy too. Electricity was about 90 bucks for me last month even with the central air.

I say all of this because I'd love to pressure my landlord into getting a good neighbor on my side here.

It is pretty ghost townish out here while school is out, I'm told traffic goes crazy when school comes back, but im 3 blocks from NIU so I'm not too worried.

NIU: One the most beautiful campuses I've seen , for a public midwestern university. The rest of them just looked like shitholes to me. What roped me was hearing good ratings of their business school as far as placement. Oh, hey, and Oprah went here. Yay.

If you have a good job that you can keep and still live in DeKalb, go for it. I'm not sure what your leanings/experience is but by and large the jobs out here are pretty crap. IT may not be a hard field to find work in, taking a lark and guessing you have such experience.

If you are into the "small town" thing, it has positively left DeKalb. Dead and gone is any quaint charm, save for the historic area.....

Originally I planned on moving to nearby Sycamore. Just seemed like a cooler, easier place to be. But I have no credit history really, so this apt was just as well.

if you want to rent a newly-built apt., check out

http://www.laingmanagement.com

They have the Stone Prairie development, which is really a great steal for 720 a month, if youse gotta clean record and make more than 30k a year.

however, email me in the future if you wish to get an apt in this building- i get a referral and i show apartments for the guy. 710 deposit, 710 a month, 1 parking spot , and all the other crap. close to school.

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martin.zajac@gmail.com

Is this a city that's well-equiped? By that, I mean does it have the normal stores and places one'd need, or would I find myself needing to go to Chicago every week to get good groceries?

That's funny! Like Dekalb is in g.d. Siberia, or something!

And...here's Otto's.

http://www.laingmanagement.com

This name is so funny to me. Charlie Laing (of Laing Management) is a decent guy. He built the house (Evans Scholar House) that I lived in for 4 years in DeKalb. Whenever we had any trouble, he'd send somebody over to fix a leak, plunge a toilet, etc for free. He even used to plow our parking lot for free! Then some ass sent him a bill for the basketball pole that he broke while plowing our parking lot. He stopped doing free stuff for us after that. For some strange reason, I just became very excited seeing his website. It must have brought back some repressed memories or something. Salut Charlie Laing of Laing Management!

R.F.F. wrote:Also, my last year there, Denny Hasert's son opened up a decent punk record shop named Seven Dead Arson. I wonder if it's still around.

That store closed a few years ago (2000, 2001 perhaps) and last I heard Josh Hastert is lobbying in DC somewhere