Peoria vs. Rock Island????? (Chicago, Moline: sales, property tax rates, living)

[Scio42]

Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie

This should have been titled the Quad Cities vs. Peoria. My mistake.

Above is from the OP which is why the discussion changed to QC's vs Peoria. Just seems like the OP would like to know how the Peoria area stacks up to the Rock Island (i.e. QC's) area. Seems pretty straightforward and logical to me.

[TootsieWootsie]

Let me say that Rock Island itself is rinky-dink and always has been. I should have titled this the "Quad Cities vs. Peoria MSA." I goofed.
I don't think you could even fairly evaluate little Rock Island against Peoria; however, it would be fair to judge the Quad Cities vs. Peoria MSA. So, which would be better then?

[doll lady]

Peoria is one of my most favorite cities. No, I don't live there but I do spend a lot of time there.....I spend the weekend there quite often. I shop there...I buy groceries there....I stay at hotels there...I go to festivals. .... I go to flea markets....I see the sites....I go on the riverboats. One of the most impressive things in the Peoria area is the festival of lights over in East Peoria. This weekend we're going to one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the midwest. Starts on the west side of Peoria and ends at the riverfront festival park. And all of this for charity. Central Illinois motorcycles riders will be there to show their support for this charity based rally. A great thing for a great cause. There is always so much happening in Peoria. Even in the winter, a person can find something to do, go to , go see or just hang out.

When I worked, I spent a lot of time in the quad cities. I really tried to like that area, but for some reason, it really turned me off. My daughter had a hefty scholarship to go to Augustana but when we visited the area, she immediately refused to go there. She thought the area was dirty and scary as she put it and hard to get around. This was back in the early 90's and we went just as the big flood water was receding. That is one thing....I remember the dean telling me that when it flooded, it was difficult for people to get around. When the river floods near Peoria, the flooding doesn't make the road impassable for people.

There's always something going on in Peoria....and it's close enough to many cities that a weekend venture or getaway is possible - going to just about anywhere in the state. But that really isn't possible from the quad cities.....it's a long way up there from the middle of the state.

People are always pitting one city or area against another.....we must all remember that no two cities are alike in Illinois or any state....why the heck would we want them to be alike?? If all the cities were alike we'd have no need to visit or live in another place. Each city in the quad city area has attributes which might exceed Peoria in certain ways, and likewise Peoria would have attributes which might exceed the quad cities located on the Illinois side. If there's an airport so travel can occur I say great balls of fire.....but who the heck cares where the airport is located?!?!?!? But just for clarification the address of the Greater Peoria airport happens to be XXXXX Everett McKinley Dirksen Parkway, Peoria (exact address omitted to abide by the rules) It's NOT in Bartonville! And believe me I have flown from the airport about 400 or 500 times so the way is embedded in my mind and I probably own a part of at least one runway.

[QuadCityImages]

A lot has changed in the QC since the early 90's. During the late 80's the Quad Cities area lost 30,000 jobs during the farm crisis, so things were looking pretty bleak. However, in the last 15 years things have turned around and are looking a lot different. Unfortunately, a lot of people still judge us by what we were during those bad times.

As far as the airport thing, I was just using it to point out the weirdness of restricting a discussion to city limits.

[TootsieWootsie]

I was gone over 40 years from the area, so I can give some decent feedback on this. When I was a kid we had nothing here to do much. NOW there are tons of things to do in the Quad Cities all the time. Plus the 3 gambling facilities here. The newest one is quite fancy as I ate in the buffet once.
They have really made a huge effort here to pretty it up and appeal to outsiders because they are really trying to pull people in here for activities. They need money in this area, hence the gambling.
Anyway, the downtown area of Rock Island has The District with some little eating places and bars that make their own beer. It's really quite quaint.
I have to agree, tho, that there are sections around Augustana and below 18th Avenue in Rock Island that I would have no desire to hang around much in.
On the other hand, there are some great new sections with huge, gorgeous homes that have been built here recently. Someone has some money here somewhere, for sure.
This is the town of small homes (I mean like 750 sq. feet or sometimes less) built after WWI, I think it was. Gobs of them all over. Kinda amusing in a way.
Rock Island, at least, has improved 100% from when I was a kid and the years of the '50's when there was little here. It has doubled in size, has many new big homes and many activities to do....but those small homes..still here.

[doll lady]

Hmmmmmmmm....funny thing is, I was in the Quad cities four weeks ago.....I saw a little bit of improvement ... which is good but my vote would still be for Peoria.

[linicx]

I'm going to take this off topic. Right or wrong the subject was RI vs. Pia. It was NOT the QC area versus the Peoria area. When you hijack a topic and change to the Quad Cities then you talking about FOUR cities versus ONE city. It is an unfair advantage as one city in IOWA is nearly as large as Peoria.

If you want a FOUR vs. FOUR cities discourse then we let us debate Peoria, Springfield, Bloomington, and Champaign versus Davenport, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

I've been to both state fairs. They are as different as is the Tulsa State Fair and the Heart of Illinois Fair in Peoria. I actually like the Iowa State Fair better.

Iowa and Illinois are the #1 and #2 corn producers in the nation. Illinois has 102 counties, Iowa has 99 counties. Iowa has about 90,000 farming families while Illinois had about 10,000 farm families less. The Illinois farm population is aging. Both states have about the same type of weather, soil, and crop failures. Iowa and Illinois both have a long list of state parks. The Nature Conservancy is very active in Iowa and Illinois. Maps seem to indicate Illinois may have more major routes, and I don''t see a river that divides Iowa as does the Illinois. Both have Indian mounds and US Presidents who lived in each state. Illinois has the Shawnee National Forest, but I did not find a national forest in Iowa.

I do not know that Iowa has mountains. The Illinois Ozarks are over 1000 ft above sea level, but the highest point is the Charles mound at over 1200 feet above sea level. Illinois is approximately 390 miles long, however Iowa is nearly as wide. The length of Iowa and the width of Illinois are about the same. .

With the exception of Lake Michigan at the northern border and the Confluence at the southern border, there is not a great difference between Iowa and Illinois and we both share a common border with the Mississippi. Illinois may have more hills and forested areas that can not be farmed, and a more moderate temperature in the southern part of the state.

The US Census Bureau sets the land area at about 2000 square miles in each state. However the Iowa population is 2 million and IL is over 12 million.

Unless someone wants to start another thread, the topic is still the Rock vx Peoria.

End of Off topic.

[TootsieWootsie]

Yes, I get that Peoria may win this one; however, within the last 40 years. there has been an amazine improvement in the city of Rock Island only. Since I titled this post incorrectly, we won't even go into how much the entire Quad Cities has improved.
But, like I said, Peoria still may get the blue ribbon on this one. I imagine it really does, too.

[linicx]

Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie

Yes, I get that Peoria may win this one; however, within the last 40 years. there has been an amazine improvement in the city of Rock Island only. Since I titled this post incorrectly, we won't even go into how much the entire Quad Cities has improved.

But, like I said, Peoria still may get the blue ribbon on this one. I imagine it really does, too.

TW, I don't know if your last statement is true or not as with size comes problems that require a bigger band aid. To get a handle on whether one area is better or not for you, is not as simple as comparing local events. It is taxes and utilities, gasoline. types of transportation, schools, doctors, weather, cost of housing, grocery stores, churches, etc..

I lived in Peoria for a lot of years. What I can tell you from experience is that Illinois offers more across the board in quality health care, and senior services, diversity and availability of products than any other state I ever lived in. I find the same to be true in Peoria.

Peoria is a city of many colors, many faiths and many cultures as does Chicago and I love that about both cities. Peoria has its faults to be sure, but to me the good far outweighs the bad. In the end it's probably the only thing that counts.

For me, it is knowing simple things like where to buy a printer and office supplies. Knowing where I can get the best deals on clothing. It's knowing I can find what I want for my kitchen at the restaurant supplier. It's knowing I can take out a pizza and go to Grandview Drive and eat while I watch the boats. It's knowing the Mennonites serve breakfast on one weekend at the HOI Fair. It's knowing the vacuum cleaner repair guy will come to the house. I know where to have the sewing machine and the TV repaired. It's knowing FOLEPI will light up every winter. It is knowing I can buy fresh fish 6 days a week. It's knowing where I can find the chocolate breakfast cake, the Maid Rite sandwiches, well made furniture, where to bank, and where to buy tires. So I guess it is the little things that makes Peoria feel like home to me.

[Scio42]

Originally Posted by linicx

Unless someone wants to start another thread, the topic is still the Rock vx Peoria.

The topic is whatever city-data appropriate topic the OP'er wants it to be, in which case the OP'er has stated numerous times she wants it to be Peoria area amenities compared to Quad City area amenities (despite the original title). A fair area of discussion I'd say.