Cairo Illinois

Cay-roh.

Southern Illinois might as well be northern Alabama.

We drove through there once when I was a kid and my father made us lock all the doors as we drove through.

Drove through by accident in 1998. It was such a shock and made a huge impression on me. So weird to see it mentioned on DL repeatedly. It was such an extreme version of an abandoned city in the middle of nowhere. Then they built that fancy bridge - what a boondoggle. Cairo is dead and it ain’t coming back,

Their pyramids are amazing.

Little known fact: Kayro syrup was invented there.

The people in Cairo, the southernmost city in Illinois, generally despise the people in Chicago, the northernmost city. It's 370 miles that separates them but it might as well be a million miles.

It's where Huck and Jim were headed downriver.

Metropolis is nearby. Go there instead.

Are people still living there? I read a new story about the projects there being demolished about five years ago.

R2 Souther n Illinois definitely has some natural attractions. Garden of the Gods is like a Star-Trek set of another planet. Quite unusual rock formations, and cliffs.

The Shawnee National Forest is also breathtakingly beautiful. I've done some wilderness camping there twice. The geography is hilly and lush for Illinois. Really gorgeous country, if you can appreciate that sort of thing. The people in the small towns nearby were friendly, and seemed like decent folk to me.

"The people in Cairo, the southernmost city in Illinois, generally despise the people in Chicago"

The people in Chicago never heard of Cairo Illinois 😏

Makanda, a tiny village perched on the edge of the Shawnee Forest, is a lovely spot to visit if you’re nearby. The energy is magical, dreamy, time out of place.

Oh, I know the geology and nature are beautiful but I was talking about the people. Northern Alabama with pretty rocks and trees. They even have a southern accent and vote Repug all the time. Covid killed a whole bunch of them because even though there are only about twelve people in each town, they all rejected all public health measures. Fucking hillbillies.

I bought $10 Mexican blankets at a gas station in Cairo, Ill. a few years ago. My partner bought foam nunchucks. He's no longer my partner.

It's one of the main locations in the American Gods tv show. Check it out, OP

It was my mother's home town. Stories she told of her youth made Cairo sound like a pretty idyllic American small town in the 1940s. Her teenage years could have been straight out of an Andy Hardy movie. She corresponded with her high school best friend for her entire life.

We once went to visit her family there in the 1970s and it was still a cute little town, but starting to run down. I understand it to be pretty much a shithole today.

On a map, it looks like a place that would be flood-prone.

I had no idea there were so many old mansions there

Like this place which sold for $75,000

The New Madrid fault line runs through Cairo.

Well, it’s no Memphis, Tennessee.

[quote] The New Madrid

Mah-DRID

Cairo is still nicer than East St. Louis.

R13 I reckon I had some good BBQ, and corn on the cob passing through Makanda. There was a small screened in porch, al fresco dining area, and a view of the river with an old school tour boat going by. It may have even been a steamboat... not really quite sure, but it looked like it was from a page out of a history book.

Whether these people were considered actual "hillbillies" is beside the point; they were kind and welcoming to me, and my friend.

What are the cities around it like? Are most of them normal?

[quote] Makanda, a tiny village

For being such a small village, they produced some amazing superheroes.

R26 I often enjoy these small towns, especially on camping trips, or road trips off the beaten path, and none of the people seemed that odd to me really. What I can share, is that some of the locals in upstate NY whilst camping in the Adirondacks and the Catskills did seem to be sour, and not particularly friendly.

Last time I noticed this was a bit bit further up from Raquette Lake. Very noticeable disconnect, and they were noticeably impoverished people. Purchasing some firewood from them was akin to asking for a kidney I found.

^from R25

Bunp

The government killed it by redlining it against flood insurance.

R31 Interesting. Such policies in the US are often confounded, and leaving many with very few choices.

But Republicans support this kind of redlining because it hurts blacks. They don't care one whit about government over reach unless it affects the white businessman in the courthouse clique. The entire republican party does not have one honest man or woman in it. Not one.

I'd rather play in Peoria.

This page has some neat pictures

I was really hoping to hear more personal accounts of Cairo

Bump

Micah lives in Cairo, Georgia.

it's a shithole, why would you care?

Shitholes and the people who live there fascinate me.

This is a great tune using Cairo as a subject and metaphor. Proto-Elton John.

Wasn’t it Cole Porter’s home town?

Sorry, that was Peru, Indiana

Best fentanyl-tainted heroin in town.

That's MA-drid (short A), Micah @ R23.

From the link at R35, it sounds like a relentlessly racist, evil place.

The comments after the article at R35 are crazy.

I’m surprised more people don’t buy home here or in similar towns just think of all the money you’d save