Community Corner

New Lenox Named Most 'Boring' Place in Illinois

We don't know about you, but those look a lot like fightin' words to us.

New Lenox has topped an interesting list of towns that are "some real snoozers" in Illinois. 

We don't know about you, but we're a little insulted.

Real estate blog Movoto dug into the 100 most populated places in America and ranked them in six different categories, using data from Areavibes, Yelp, and the U.S. Census (2010). The six criteria, according to the site, were:

  • Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
  • Live music venues per capita
  • Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
  • Fast Food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better)
  • Percentage of restaurants that are fast food (the lower the better)
  • Percentage of young residents ages 20 to 34 (the higher the better)
The catty take on some of the more "dull" (can you feel our use of air quotes?) dwelling places in Illinois is all in good fun, as the site pokes at New Lenox as "not the place to find thrills." Movoto also points to how only 17 percent of the population falls between the ages of 18 and 35 (and your point is, Movoto? People over 35 know how to have a good time!). 

And they weren't shy about criticizing how there's "a ton of very boring fast food restaurants here and almost no unique and fun eateries per capita", as well as very few nightlife/music venue options. (Obviously they haven't checked out the New Lenox Commons during Triple Play. Place is jumpin'!) AND Proud American Days—c'mon. That beer tent is some solid summer nightlife, if you ask us. Not to mention the Cute Baby Contest. We'll let you slide for overlooking THAT. (CUTE BABIES. We're just sayin'.)

They did give New Lenox a little credit on its fitness level, so there's that. 

"This place actually did OK as far as active life ranking, where it placed 30th, but you can only jog and work out for so long before you’re craving something else to do.

"We’re not saying these places suck, and we’re not saying that people there suck," Movoto writes. 

Gee thanks, Movoto. We'll give you a head start before we chase you down. What with all our jogging and biking and being boring, healthy Illinoisans—you'll need it.  

What say you, New Lenox? Stick up for your hometown in the comments!


Check out the other places that made the list. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here