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I moved to Moline from Madison, WI. I thought that the living experience would be similar seeing that it is about the same size (although Moline is about 40,000 people there is about 150,000 in the cities combined).
The schools are horrendous, I pulled my daughter out and put her in private schools (which is the only good thing about the QCA, the private schools are very affordable compared to other cities). I was on the report card for Illinois schools and noticed that even thought cost of living is less here than most of the state (supposedly) the teachers are about the highest paid. Don't let that fool you, the teachers here don't care and as I said the public high schools are terrible. I found it funny that one of my daughter's classmates mother is a teacher at the local public high school, but she has all of her kids in private school. Also the rent is much more reasonable than Madison, but the neighborhoods are not friendly.
It has been the biggest disappointment, there are no good restaunts, they are all national chains or small restraunts serving only Asian, American or Hispanic food. Their Taste of the Quad Cities was three blocks long, expensive and no specialty food, just the normal national chains. No entertainment, the city is not pretty for the most part.
There is also no competition here. There are two grocery store chains to choose from, there are no real meat markets or deli's. The prices are outrageous. The grocery stores sell "steaks" with cuts I have never heard of. The fattest ribeye steak I have seen here is only about 1/2 an inch. If you ask the butcher to cut meat for you they look at you appalled.
You can't choose a different phone company, only AT&T, there is one cable company and their prices are sky high.
There are no grocery stores that carry Asian food (there is one, but it is so dirty I am afraid of bringing home a cockroach or getting food poisoning), we drive 3 hours to Arlington Heights to get Asian groceries.
The people are rude and if you are not from this area, you are clearly labeled an outsider. People do not smile, they are more concerned about beating you to the line at the grocery store, parking stall, etc. The city is not laid out well, their community events are lacking.
They claim to have wonderful job opportunities here, I cannot find a job in my industry or one equivelent to what I do (Accounting/Payroll clerk). I have submitted at least 100 resumes over the last three years and I rarely get a response, I think they see I am not from their community and disregard it.
I am so thankful that my husband is transferring to Chicago and we can finally put this town behind us.
Having lived in Chicago and grown up near the quad cities area....you are in for a brutal brutal shock if you weren't happy with prices, costs etc. in Moline.
You seem like you disliked it from the start which can show in your interaction with others and could be off-putting or even offensive to some.
Frankly, I think you have no clue what you are in for in Chicago...although perhaps you are moving to burbs instead of the city....your rent\housing expense alone will be immense.
I think it's fun how these threads take on a life of their own. I suspect the OP had a really rotten day, maybe one bad experience, decided to vent on this board and then got over it. She's probably forgotten she even wrote this. But it's enjoyable to read the responses ad infinitum.
Regarding homemakergirl’s original post: her comments seem to reflect her personal biases that generate more heat than light. Comparing the QCA to Madison, or Chicagoland is difficult at best. It often times depends upon a person’s expectations. She appeared to expect that the QCA would be the same as Madison simply based upon the similarity of quantity of people.
My background: I have lived most of my life in the QCA where I grew up on the Illinois side and currently live on the Iowa side. I spent sometime living in a Chicago suburb, and my wife grew up in Chicago and a suburb through high school. We have friends scattered across the Chicago land area, visit there often, and feel that we know both areas well. I will split up her tirade into manageable parts and comment on each.
“The schools are horrendous; I pulled my daughter out and put her in private schools (which is the only good thing about the QCA, the private schools are very affordable compared to other cities). I was on the report card for Illinois schools and noticed that even thought cost of living is less here than most of the state (supposedly) the teachers are about the highest paid. Don't let that fool you, the teachers here don't care and as I said the public high schools are terrible. I found it funny that one of my daughter's classmates mother is a teacher at the local public high school, but she has all of her kids in private school
My ]son attended public school in Rock Island and Bettendorf, and what we found that both schools have dual tracks for students (trade vs college prep.). I personally attended private schools here in the QCA. Compared to other communities, especially test scores, school preparedness, and likelihood to be successful in getting into and being a success in college, most area public schools are at or above average. Often QCA private schools (Parochial or Rivermont Academy) have fewer academic choices. What we have found is if children are smart, hardworking, respond to life’s challenges, and adaptive, they will find many opportunities to thrive and excel. Although most area public schools focus on sports, that is often true in most school districts. The balance must be the parent’s responsibility.
Also the rent is much more reasonable than Madison, but the neighborhoods are not friendly
Neighbors vary just like neighborhoods. Friendly people make friends, unfriendly people don’t. People tend to live full and busy lives. Families with small children focus on school events. People who live in large anonymous suburbs like Naperville, DesPlains, or Orland Park can find it difficult to find neighbors willing to share their lives. It comes down to how committed a person is in finding others with common interest and giving, and not expecting to only receive.
It has been the biggest disappointment, there are no good restaunts, they are all national chains or small restraunts serving only Asian, American or Hispanic food. Their Taste of the Quad Cities was three blocks long, expensive and no specialty food, just the normal national chains
Here are some relevant facts:The QCA has approximately 3% of Chicagoland’s population and area. There are fewer people willing to spend their resources on food and entertainment. It is difficult to attain critical mass to sustain continuous events with a smaller population base. Try living in a even smaller city in an even more rural area. It is true the QCA has few fine restaurants. If you can afford fine restaurants, you can afford to drive to other places.
No entertainment, the city is not pretty for the most part.
Compared to other cities without major post-secondary campuses, the QCA has a surprising variety of activities. Regarding prettiness, that is purely subjective. I suggest that she tell me what is wonderful with the view from the Stevenson Expressway from Harlem Ave into the Loop, or how about the traffic jams on the East West toll way at California Avenue. I got lost many years ago when driving from Lincoln Park area headed for downtown and found myself next to Cabrini Green housing project. I cannot say that the 700 block of Marquette in Davenport is pretty, but I do feel that my life is in danger when traveling through most of the inner city of Chicago, St Louis, etc.
There is also no competition here. There are two grocery store chains to choose from, there are no real meat markets or deli's. The prices are outrageous. The grocery stores sell "steaks" with cuts I have never heard of. The fattest ribeye steak I have seen here is only about 1/2 an inch. If you ask the butcher to cut meat for you they look at you appalled.
I find this comment both accurate and very in-accurate. Granted that Hy-Vee is the 800-lb gorilla in the market. When I compare their prices/selection to Jewel, Albertson’s, Dominick’s, Kroger, Safeway they are similar. Sure it would be nice to have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe’s. I believe that it is naïve of anyone to expect a small, mid size C market like the QCA to have all the amenities of a metro area 25 times it’s size. There are a number of meat markets able to cater to most people’s taste. I recently had a butcher at Fareway cut a 12 lb rib eye into individual steaks… and he did it with a smile.
You can't choose a different phone company, only AT&T, there is one cable company and their prices are sky high. I don’t know of too many people who get to choose their land-line phone or cable company. As far as prices, we have friends and family who pay about 20-30% more for Comcast in Chicago (for no more service).
There are no grocery stores that carry Asian food (there is one, but it is so dirty I am afraid of bringing home a cockroach or getting food poisoning), we drive 3 hours to Arlington Heights to get Asian groceries
That may be true. But it is of little consequence unless you grew up in Tokyo and cannot find decent Nori wraps or Sushi rice. And yet you complained a few sentences ago about how there are only Asian restaurants here.
The people are rude and if you are not from this area, you are clearly labeled an outsider. People do not smile, they are more concerned about beating you to the line at the grocery store, parking stall, etc.
I had a friend who re-located to the Charleston S.C area years ago and found that because he was a transplant he was considered an outsider. There are cliques everywhere. Tell me that you get invited to A-list events in big cities unless you have the money or reputation to back it up. I do business with people outside the Midwest, and they comment that we are much nicer, friendlier people when compared to people from the east coast. Rude people exist everywhere. They are often expecting the world to revolve around their needs and wants. People from NYC invented rude! Maybe you should move there.
The city is not laid out well, their community events are lacking
OK you tell me if you have ever driven around San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle. How about trying to get out of Chinatown at Cermak Road in Chicago. The Quads are a piece of cake comparatively. If you notice that the mentioned cities on the west coast have varied topography. That is what causes streets to be curved or cul-de-sacs. If you want simple, try Kansas.
They claim to have wonderful job opportunities here, I cannot find a job in my industry or one equivelent to what I do (Accounting/Payroll clerk). I have submitted at least 100 resumes over the last three years and I rarely get a response, I think they see I am not from their community and disregard it
Merely submitting a resume rarely get’s you the job interview anywhere. A/P positions have been plentiful on a comparative basis. Often because they require few credentials, there is tremendous competition. Automation has put these positions in danger of extinction. Admittedly, the QCA is focused on manufacturing, government and service jobs. It does help to have an engineering degree or have a CPA. Isn’t that everywhere?
Bottom Line Opportunities for employment, entertainment, and cultural events vary depending upon what any one person expects. Some people are bothered by differences between people, yet some are enriched by diversity. Some people have fears of crossing bridges, crossing city boundaries, crossing the street to meet their neighbors. Some people expect to be served, while some people believe in getting involved in their community. Always there are advantages and disadvantages to various cities and metro areas. In some respect because of the almost equal balance of population on each side of the river, neither side of the QCA has had a significant cultural or economic dominance. The QCA is an amalgamation of smaller towns that happen to have geography in common. Can local politicians, business owners and residents have egocentric attitudes to keep their traditions alive? You bet. Do people resist change? Absolutely. Is this unique to the QCA? Not by any stretch of the imagination. What makes a community great is to have committed residents who want to give instead of take.
There are thousands of communities big and small in the United States that at risk of significant changes over the next 20 years. Sometimes the most exciting places to live tend to be in areas where speculation, greed and less frugal attitudes have caused much of the angst in our social fabric. If anything, the QCA has fared much better than more exciting areas like San Diego, Las Vegas, and Miami. I contend that the QCA could be a relative “Oasis”. Perhaps we will be one of the few places in the future with what is most important: a plentiful supply of food and water. I’ll take that to collapsing infrastructure, higher crime, hurricanes, great Lyric Opera, and ridiculously high taxes anytime.
Last edited by linicx; 09-07-2009 at 10:20 PM..
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I've lived on both sides of the river and generally speaking they both suck in the same way.
If you are considering moving to the Quad Cities for cheapness of living, you MUST be prepared for it:
1. Don't move here with a family to feed. Generally, despite the hub bub surrounding the 'friendly' Quad Cities, it's not really that friendly...especially family friendly unless 1/2 of the quad citians are part of your family.
2. NEVER move here without a job with the major companies in the area and significant savings (100k to 200k this is excluding a down payment on the house of course). I would even go far to say never move here unless you are within six months of retiring from said company. All the jobs are gobbled up by the natives who have never left the Quad Cities in the first place and who have networked with family here to get and keep them.
3. Don't expect anything in line of entertainment. Once a year a small parking lot fair is set up that features a ferris wheel at one of the local 'malls'. Well there is the Riverfest fair-thing but it's prices are aimed for the uppercrust and is generally held on the most humid days of the year. They have a couple of movie theaters but if you're on a budget, it's just cheaper to buy the DVD than to go to the 'exclusive' theaters here in the area. And in the winter, well, you're pretty much snowed into watching DVDs at home.
4. There are three resturants in the whole area I would say were the best and well worth their price: The Cracker Barrel, Davenport Family Resturant and TGI Fridays. Other than that, pretty much everything tastes the same: Bland.
5. The native attitude is in line with the OP's observation. Wary and unfriendly to outsiders. Generally, the first question that pops up when a native QCer is addressing an outsider is: "Why did you move here?" Generally my response is now: "If I wanted to stay married to the man I love, I had to move here." But now that doesn't seem enough to put up with the BS the QC community keeps dishing out.
6. Have an exit strategy-Have a way to move out of the QC if you find that you don't like it here. It's expensive to move and its even more difficult to find an employer outside of this community who will pay moving expenses.
The QC area touts itself as progressive and a friendly community but don't let that fool you, stay away if you can, in my opinion, there are only two reasons that you would move here:
1. Your job moves you here.
2. You move here to retire.
Otherwise, in my opinion, after being an outsider who has been stuck here for 12 years, stay away.
Last edited by Outsider1967; 12-08-2009 at 03:57 PM..
I would describe the residents of Madison WI exactly the same way.
And considering how transient Madison is, it would be a rather inapt description.
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reply to homemakergirl's tirade
