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Old 11-19-2009, 12:45 PM
 
38 posts, read 124,827 times
Reputation: 14

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I may be looking for employment in the QC. I have visited several times but never really thought about moving there. Until now I've live in two 100,000 people college towns (Columbia, MO and Champaign, IL).

I like bigger cities and wouldn't want to live in a place smaller (in terms of population, amenities, entertainment, etc) then where I live now.

So my question is does the QC "feel" like a city of 377,000 (wiki number) or does it feel like like 4 distinct areas with no cohesion between them?

Thank you!
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Old 11-19-2009, 06:02 PM
 
Location: Davenport, Iowa
415 posts, read 1,732,047 times
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Its all one big metro. The downtowns don't have a skyline like a city of 300k+ would, but that doesn't mean they're small town Iowa downtowns. Downtown Moline has the iWireless Center and that area, downtown Davenport has the QC's main art museum, a number of theaters and music venues, etc, downtown Rock Island has the District. So in some ways multiple downtowns causes us to have more entertainment districts than we'd have with one bigger downtown. It just might keep us from having that 50 story building.

Other than downtown areas, like I said, the QC is one big metro area with no real dividing lines. The airport and the arena are in Moline, children's museum is in Bettendorf, the art museum, science museum and baseball stadium are in Davenport, botanical center is in Rock Island, etc. Everything is pretty divided amongst the cities, and if you try to just stay within your own city's borders, you'd be missing out on a big chunk of what the area has to offer. I know a few people might hesitate to cross the Mississippi for an errand, but for me I don't even think twice. Crossing the invisible borders between cities on each side of the river really doesn't even feel like you're going from one city to another, so I doubt anyone hesitates to do that.
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Old 11-19-2009, 06:51 PM
 
Location: Chicagoland
4,027 posts, read 7,258,687 times
Reputation: 1332
Short answer: It feels like one cohesive place but it does not feel like a big city.
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Old 11-19-2009, 07:57 PM
 
Location: Rock Island
31 posts, read 104,953 times
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this is all subjective and obviously not everyone will agree with me. But i believe that the qca feels like a city. sure it doesn't feel like the same as stl or chi. but a city none the less.
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Old 11-19-2009, 09:43 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,111,599 times
Reputation: 6422
No, it does not feel like Columbia nor Champaign. It is four cities in two farm states that are divied by a river. Davenport is the largest city and it dominates the Iowa side. John Deere manufactures fram equipment; it dominate the Illinois side. If you remove Davenport out of the equation you have a collection of towns that have a population of less than 50,000 on the IL side and on the Iowa side. .

The cultures in the two states are different. I have friends who live on the IL side that say they have no reason to go to Iowa unless they are visiting friends who live in the mountain states - or they work in Iowa. I have friends in Iowa that the same about Illinois. Here are some area newspspers and local TV station I found online where you can get a feel for the Quad Cities. And links to stats for the four towns. All four areas area surrounded by farms and ranches. Champaign was too. QC is not only the midwest, the four towns are located in the two largest corn producing states in Amreica. You will find terrific people in both states.

Quad-City Times: Quad Cities, IA/IL
KWQC-TV6 News and Weather For The Quad Cities - - KWQC-TV6 Home
The Bettendorf News
Quad-Cities Online

http://www.city-data.com/city/Davenport-Iowa.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Bettendorf-Iowa.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Moline-Illinois.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Rock-Island-Illinois.html
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Old 11-19-2009, 09:56 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,111,599 times
Reputation: 6422
The facts are. Iowa and Illinis are the #! and #2 corn producers in America. Iowa and Illnois are as different as Columbia and Champaign - and I have lived there. .

Last edited by linicx; 11-19-2009 at 10:32 PM..
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Old 11-19-2009, 10:15 PM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,435,597 times
Reputation: 1761
So let me get this straight. The Quad Cities actual four city populations combine to be about 135,000. And included with the Quad Cities population is all of the towns in four counties totaling around 377,291 at a total density of 163.19 /sq. mi. in 2,314 sq. mi.? Making it 133 population wise (for a metro area) in the country and people honestly believe this area feels like a big city?

Indianapolis does not even feel like a big or large city and its (1.7 million) metro population is 5 times that of the Quad Cities.

I am not stating the Quad Cities area is bad and no offense to those towns, but where is the rotfl emoticon?

In all serious, if you have lived in college towns of 100k, I highly doubt the Quad Cities area is going to seem much different at all from the towns you have lived in.

You might like the Quad Cities. I am not trying to dissuade you from moving there. But if you truly want a "big" small city try Madison, Wisconsin.

Last edited by Avengerfire; 11-19-2009 at 10:36 PM..
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Old 11-19-2009, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,111,599 times
Reputation: 6422
Avenger, yes it really will feel different. One large town does feel different than four smaller towns that are lumped together in name only - especially when the common border is in the middle of a river. The cohesiveness you feel going from Chicago into the suburbs is missing. When you cross the river you know you are in Iowa. Without the river, and as it is farm country, it would feel more like going from Aurora to Sandwich with about as much traffic.
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Old 11-20-2009, 08:58 AM
 
Location: Davenport, Iowa
415 posts, read 1,732,047 times
Reputation: 546
I never tried to claim the QC was a world class big city like Chicago. "Big City" means a lot of different things depending on what size area a person comes from.

I disagree with linicx's opinion, and apparently that's all I'm allowed to say. I'll send you a PM Slice57.
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Old 11-20-2009, 10:25 AM
 
38 posts, read 124,827 times
Reputation: 14
Thank you for all the replies.

I guess I wasn't clear enough with the quesiton. Even though the total metro has close to 400K I know that it isn't going to be like Des Moines, Madison, Indy, and definately not Chicago.

Basically I was wondering if the cities combined seem like one continuous area (much like Champaign, Urbana and Savoy) or if it really feels like 5 detached areas of 100k or less.

Again thank you for all the replies
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