What is it like living in Moline, IL (Chicago, Rock Island: property taxes, job)

[Texasgirl]

My husband and are are considering moving to Moline so he can work for John Deere. We have lived in Texas for several years, so a move up north to a colder climate would be a big change :-) What is the town like? What are the schools like? What types of businesses and restaurants are around there? Any information on Moline would be great! Thanks

[chisoxfan]

I lived in Moline about 20 years ago and still stay in touch with friends in the area, so I'll take a shot at answering this. Moline is part of the Quad-Cities straddling the Illinois-Iowa border on the Mississippi River (metropolitan population about 350,000). The other cities are Rock Island, Ill., and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa. The Mississippi Valley is very scenic and the cities don't fit the Midwestern stereotype of pancake-flat farmland, though you'll experience that soon enough if you drive east or west from the cities.

Moline had many decent older neighborhoods when I lived there; some of the houses needed some TLC, but prices were more reasonable than in most areas of the country. Bettendorf was the newer, most upscale area. Rock Island and Davenport had their fair share of areas you'd want to stay away from, not unlike most cities, and that very well may be the case in Moline now, too. I have heard that gang activity in the Quad-Cities is a problem, so it's something you might want to check out. There's no shortage of entertainment and good places to eat, and for a taste of the big city, Chicago's about 3 hours away via the interstate.

The Moline and Bettendorf school districts were well-regarded when I lived there; it's also a heavily Catholic area, so you will find many Catholic schools.

We used to joke that that there were two seasons in the Quad-Cities: July and winter. The weather will take some getting used to for Sun Belt residents.

Economically, Deere & Co. is the engine that drives Moline. When times are good at Deere, they are good in Moline and the surrounding area. The farm implements industry was slumping when I lived there and unemployment was about 15 percent, but I hear things are better now.

I do remember most of the residents have lived there all their lives and tend to be a bit suspicious of outsiders at first. But that will change once you get to know the area and the people.

[Texasgirl]

Thanks for all the great information on Moline! I think the two states, IL and IA sound like really nice places to live. As for gang activity, I'm sure we have some in the big cities in Texas also. I just try and stay away from those kinds of areas. Thanks again. My husband and I will have to visit to see it for ourselves.

[TransplantedBelle]

I moved to the Quad-Cities 14 years ago from a southern state. Do be prepared to nearly freeze to death your first winter here, and be warned -- people drive like NUTS in the snow and ice, seeming to never slow down!

The previous response is fairly accurate. The west ends of Davenport and Moline can be kind of rough neighborhoods, as is the area of Rock Island west of about 18th Street and north of about 30th Avenue. New housing developments are sprouting up in Davenport, Rock Island and nearby Port Byron and Andalusia that are really nice. Housing prices have jumped a lot in the last two to three years, especially, but are still lower than in a lot of the U.S. You can still get a really nice three bedroom, two bath home for under $200,000 in most places here. (What will kill you -- in Illinois, especially -- are the property taxes).

If you like smaller town living, there are nice communities of less than 6,000 people within 20 to 35 miles away in Henry, Mercer and Scott counties. If you want to rate school systems, look at the Illinois State Board of Education Web site for school report cards, or the Bright Star Web site.

All and all, this is a nice place to live. Crime's still relatively low, as is the cost of living. There are community festivals almost every weekend in the spring and summer, theaters (live and movie), a symphony, a pro ballet troupe, minor league baseball and hockey teams, and an arena that gets in fairly decent concert acts. Our rush hours are only about 35 minutes and for the most part people are nice and friendly. Some tend to be a might standoffish to outsiders, but no worse than the Junior League in any Southern city!

Good luck if you decide to move!

[runner]

Crime is not low in the QC, born and raised in Aledo, yes 4000 people and you can still leave your doors unlocked at night. Again read the front pages of the newspaper. I have never gone to those schools, my husband has gone to east moline and he is a tough person. My son is 17 and is not going to those schools. Try Port Byron, very expensive, but good school, Cordova good town. Andulasia good town too. Get far out from the QC and its a lot safer. As for John Deere, its a factory, my mom, dad and two uncles retired from there and they all have a better dispostion since retiring. Try to get a company position at John Deere, the factory part is mean, people want to make money there. And on strike, everybody thought the John Deere people were just being gready and wanted more money, no they just wanted to hang onto what they had, that the company was trying to take.

[ozradio]

The QCA is a typical, medium-sized industrial midwest area. Mediocre economy at best. The area seemed to have a very blue-collar persona. As big as it is, though, it also had a small-town feel. I disagree with "runner." I grew up in Rock Island in the 80s and early 90s and the place had a bad rep which was highly exaggerated and undeserved. The place is not East St. Louis or South Chicago. Use common sense and you won't have any problems. Schools are good (I turned out ok anyway). Rocky High held its own with national merit scholars and grads attending Ivy League, Big 10, and other good universities. It's a decent place to raise a family and live a relatively laid back lifestyle; plenty of places are nicer but you could do a lot worse. I would not choose to move back there but understand why many of my childhood friends have stayed and started families there.

[mfrerkes]

Here's the straight, unvarnished truth on the Moline/Quad City area:

Positives: The student-to-teacher ratio in public grade schools is 12.3 to 1. That is actually better than the national average. Saint Ambrose University and Augustana College located in the Quad Cities are both highly respected private four-year colleges. Housing prices are well below the national average (median price is around $87,000) and the 5-year gain on value is slightly above the national average at 15.9% Traffic is regarded as very moderate, so commute times should not cause you too many headaches. The i wireless center in Moline is one of the top arenas in the region, consistently drawing big-name concerts and exhibitions. The brand new Figge Art Museum and Adler Theatre in Davenport also bring nationally-reknown artists to the area. Professional sports run year-round in the Quad Cities with minor league baseball, arena football, hockey (AAA affiliation), and basketball. There is also a PGA tour stop every summer which attracts national attention. The Mississippi River runs through the heart of the Quad Cities and offers recreational opportunities on a very large scale. Three casinos operate in the area, making it one of the largest gambling destinations in the Midwest. Transportation is highly accessible from Moline, which has 3 Interstate highways. Quad City International Airport in Moline has grown steadily even during times of recession in the airline industry. The airport has five airlines providing dozens of non-stops to 9 destinations including places like Las Vegas, Orlando, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Negatives: While the area is projected to grow, it's at a slower pace than surrounding metropolitan areas. Job growth/opportunities can be sluggish at times as a result. Crime is higher than the national average. The areas of high crime tend to be very concentrated in small portions of Rock Island and Davenport, however. Moline's crime rate is significantly lower than either Rock Island or Davenport. The weather is characterized by cold winters and hot summers, but the months of April, May, September, and October are usually quite pleasant.

[Drover]

Instructions on how to gauge what the Quad Cities is like:

1) Watch an episode of the TV show "Roseanne"

2) Multiply until you reach approximately 300,000 residents

3) Throw in a dash of urban grit for good measure, but not too much since area's urban problems are not at crisis levels.

Voila, The Quad Cities.

[mfrerkes]

Everyone living in the Quad Cities is like Roseanne and her family? I'm guessing you've never been to Bettendorf (above Spruce Hills) or any part of northeast Davenport. I highly doubt most people living between MLK/9th Street and the Centennial Expressway on Rock Island's west end would resemble your Roseanne analogy, either. The Quad Cities, like most any metropolitan areas of its size, are not monolithic.

[Drover]

Well I have heretofore tended to err on the side of CD's readers being sharp enough to tell obviously figurative statements apart from literal ones, but I appreciate you setting me straight on that point so that I won't make that mistake again.