A bit depressed...

Durand is 22 miles to the center of Rockford. Not a bad drive at all.

There are back country highways between Byron and Rockford that make the commute a bit shorter.

One thing to consider, the drive home through the country gives me a bit of time to shake off the city and stress before I get home. Not 1/2 hour ago I just stopped along the side of the road for a little bit and watched a hereford calf in the finishing stages of being born. It's hard to care about my job stresses when I get to see things like that on my "commute". <big smile>
If you'd like, I can take a drive by that place by Byron and see what it looks like. Let me know......

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

I can't vouch for the Byron property but I know approximately where the Durand property is - I drove from "doo-rand" to RVC back in the day but that was before Riverside was all 4 lanes (I am dating myself too).

The S. Beloit property is about 7 miles from me, not a bad area and Rockton Road is kept pretty clear as it is a school bus route. I know not much is up in Durand but I'll need to check a bit on the S. Bluff area (e.g. any new cheap-cracker-box subdivision going in there). It is not far to Beloit WI or Janesville WI as far as that goes from S. Bluff.

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You might try checking out www.landandfarm.com

I keep checking them for the areas I'm looking at and the 2 I found and liked were under contract when I called. My search continues....

Best of luck in finding what you want.

My parents and sister live in Rockford, and I did too in the late 90's commuting 45 mins down to DeKalb to school. I hate to tell you, but it's 20 minutes to get across town in some places sometimes. I was going to suggest rural Cherry Valley, Pecatonica or Belvidere or Roscoe or Oregon, but they'd be more of a commute, and it depends on where your husband's work is in town.

My parents's house is worth about $100,000 (3bed, 2bath, fake fireplace, 2 car garage attached but no basement) on the North side by the country club. They have a nice backyard...big enough for a family garden...but their front is mostly driveway and they're fence to fence with neighbors.

I'm sorry you're disappointed. Moving should be exciting. No matter, keep your homesteading spirit.

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Dust is a protective covering.

RORY!! Are you another NIU Alumni? I LOVED that school. But I hear they closed Sgt. Peppers, so no more beer nuggets. Had some fun times at that place!

I am 5 miles N of Byron, and work aobut 2-3 miles north of RVC. Takes me about 20-25 minutes to get to work. I used to live just on the south edge of Rockford, and it took me about 20-25 minutes to get to work (same job). I would really recommend looking outside of Rockford. Rockford school system is not where I would send a child for an education, and Winnebago county keeps adding tax after tax. Winnebago, Byron, Leaf River, Stillman Valley, and Pecatonica all have good schools, they're smaller towns, and the commute wouldn't be too long.

Area Realtors:
www.oglecountyrealestate.com (Remax)
www.whitehead.com (Whitehead Inc. Realtors)
www.century21countrynorth.com (Century 21 Country North)
www.dickersonnieman.com

You can also get The Ogle County Life (weekly paper) delivered free (www.oglecountylife.com). It has tons of real estate listings.

Almost forgot! Bernard Paul Real Estate (815) 482-4293. Bernie specializes in horse properties, but if you're zoned for horses, you can probably have sheep & chickens. In Ogle county, if you're zoned ag, you can have whatever you want for animals with no limits due to property size. Bernie's a really good guy. He & his wife Deb have Standardbreds that they breed & race. Very nice folks.

If there's anything we can do, let us know!

Selena,
I'm not in rockford but south of Rock Falls. I bet the rockford airport is busy AND loud

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http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Here is the information:
http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=171425

I bumped the thread back up for you

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You are all such huge helps. Thank you all so much! I am starting to get my hope back!

My grandparents lived in Stillman and you could hear planes but not too loud but closer you get, the more noise. Too bad she wasn't moving a couple of years ago - my grandparents house would have been a decent fit and price. Garden area already in place

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How far is Forreston to RVC/Rockford approximately?

http://www.oglecountyrealestate.com/...6957&mlsid=280

Pretty nice, I like the farmhouse look. Might need some work....

Apparently this one is uninhabitable. That's not a good sign...

http://www.oglecountyrealestate.com/...5574&mlsid=280

I'd guess 75 miles or so.

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Dnw, you REALLY don't want to live near the airport.

We're by ORD, and I can tell you, traffic increases with time, it does NOT get better. As ORD gets busier, RFD will take up the slack.

Living under the flight pattern isn't quite as bad in the Winter, but come nice weather, it's awful. You can't have a conversation for the noise.

Oh! And the cicadas compete with the airplanes for volume. I am not making this up. The bugs actually increase their volume when planes fly over.

So if you can avoid the airport, I suggest that you do so.

Voice of experience.

Pony!

Thanks! Looks like the one by the airport is out!

This one looks good, but the directions on mapquest look unnecessarily long and confusing. It is in Polo.

15007 Canada Rd W AREA-POLO, Illinois 61064 $119,900

House, 3 Bedrooms 1.5 Bathrooms Status: Active

Property ID #85758


Zoned ag

My brother lived near Polo. It's a nice area, but it's just north of Dixon. It'll take about 45 minutes to an hour to get near Rockford.

Have u looked on the iowa side?

Iowa's quite far, isn't it?

Iowa is an hour and a half or a bit more straight down I 20. Not doable.

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"