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[academicprof]

Any knowledge regarding the area of Bloomington-Normal in Illinois?  

Thank you...

[rockprof]

You really need to like corn and soybean fields.  Learn the sound made by the tornado siren too.
I spent a few years at Urbana-Champaign (which has a lot more to offer than Bloomington-Normal).  Great school but HATED the area.  I like hiking and the outdoors, however.

[bungalowbob]

I did my Ph.D. there.  B-N is a nice little set of towns (each is about 50,000 but they are essentially one).  Bloomington has the historic areas but also has some economically depressed areas as well.  Normal is mostly newer and where you will find ISU and Illinois Wesleyan.  Crime is relatively low (I think there was 1 or 2 murders there in my time).  Rockprof is correct that there are a lot of corn fields but the recreational opportunities are pretty large (there are 2 nice State parks within 30 minutes, the rails to trails Constitution Trail run through the town and is great for running or bicycling).  St. Louis and Chicago are both within a few hours drive.  Unlike a lot of college towns, the major employer are not the schools, but rather State Farm Insurance and the Mitsubishi motors plant so there are a lot of non-University things to do.  ISU has a good theater program and there is the Normal Theater in the downtown of Normal that shows artsy movies (this is a real gem).  Hope that helps.  If you have any specific questions I would be happy to reply. 

[homelessscientist]

I went to grad school in Champaign-Urbana, and there were exactly two reasons for which we would make the drive to Bloomington-Normal:

1. It's home to one of the largest indoor "rock" climbing gyms in the world:

http://www.upperlimits.com/bloomington

2. The airport has more flight options than Champaign's, and parking is free.