Davenport -- fine/performing arts, snow? (Fairfield: appointed, 2013, home)

[NLDad]

I don't think there's all that much snow, certainly not like the snow-belt - I guess it's a matter of perspective. "Cold never bothered me anyway."

No davenport isn't the first place that springs to mind if you're looking for a vibraant arts community, neither is it bereft of art. Really depends on specifically what you're looking for. If you liked the town, and can find a neighborhood you like today, and want a very good symphony orchestra, a move back may be good for you.

I guess what I'lm trying to say is "arts" can be a bit of a catch all - do you really care if there are 20 art galleries per 1000 if you're only going to go to symphony? Do you care if they have a ballet if you're into Opera? If there's not much going on for bluegrass and it has some great blues you'd go to then do you care?

I apprecitate the negatives - I certainly don't want to paint Devenport, anywhere in Iowa or anywhere else as perfect. so I'd suggest if anyone has arts gems in the qc to share they do so, and the OP can decide what's most imporatant to him.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by NLDad

No davenport isn't the first place that springs to mind if you're looking for a vibraant arts community, neither is it bereft of art. Really depends on specifically what you're looking for. If you liked the town, and can find a neighborhood you like today, and want a very good symphony orchestra, a move back may be good for you.

The OP seemed to put an emphasis in the fine arts as a requirement. That leads me to believe they're looking for an area where such things exist in substantial numbers. Davenport is not that place. There's no argument that Davenport has "some" art offerings, but most people really into art would find them to be rudimentary or perhaps even lacking in choice.

The Quad City area tends to get more excited about rodeo and NASCAR than they do about Van Gogh and Picasso. It's not a place where art enthusiasts are going to feel right at home.

[NLDad]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

The OP seemed to put an emphasis in the fine arts as a requirement. That leads me to believe they're looking for an area where such things exist in substantial numbers. Davenport is not that place. There's no argument that Davenport has "some" art offerings, but most people really into art would find them to be rudimentary or perhaps even lacking in choice.

The Quad City area tends to get more excited about rodeo and NASCAR than they do about Van Gogh and Picasso. It's not a place where art enthusiasts are going to feel right at home.

Yeah, looks like we're pretty much saying the same thing.

[ipkl07]

Some years you get snow almost daily. Other years you get almost no snow at all. I am very thankful and blessed to have an opportunity to leave the quad cities for good after being here almost four long miserable years. No disrespect to people who like the area, but I cannot in anyway shape or form in good faith recommend this area to anybody.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by ipkl07

Some years you get snow almost daily. Other years you get almost no snow at all. I am very thankful and blessed to have an opportunity to leave the quad cities for good after being here almost four long miserable years. No disrespect to people who like the area, but I cannot in anyway shape or form in good faith recommend this area to anybody.

What did you hate the most about the Quad Cities? Was it the weather, or the lack of culture/shopping/jobs/etc?

[Betsy84]

Bix Jazz Festival
Beaux Arts Festival
Ballet Quad Cities
Adler Theater
Ballet Folklorico
Figge Art Museum....actually a very nice place.
Quad City Symphony Orchestra

OP, have you checked out the website for any of these groups?

[QuadCityImages]

There's not much in the way of facts in this thread. I've considered wading in, but there are so many people determined to convince everyone that Davenport is a pit of despair that I don't always have patience to battle it out.

To add to your list, Bucktown Center for the Arts, which is practically a year-round art fair, numerous small art galleries, the River Music Experience, jazz and blues fests, Broadway series at the Adler, etc, etc etc. Davenport also had the first municipal art gallery west of the Mississippi, and has one of the oldest continuous Symphony Orchestras in the country.

But, yeah... we don't like the arts.

[atler8]

Yeah Quad... It's almost like regular clockwork how it can be counted on that negative folks will drop in and dump on Davenport & the Quad Cities as if it is the "pit of despair" as you phrased it.
By comparison I've been around the U.S. & seen some real pits & dumps of despair, crime & poverty & places with no soul or hope.
Though far from perfect as it is, nevertheless it's an appealing place for me personally.
One of the charms of Davenport proper is how it successfully embraces The Mississippi River & the culture of the river perhaps moreso than only a tiny handful of cities on that great river.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

There's not much in the way of facts in this thread. I've considered wading in, but there are so many people determined to convince everyone that Davenport is a pit of despair that I don't always have patience to battle it out.

To add to your list, Bucktown Center for the Arts, which is practically a year-round art fair, numerous small art galleries, the River Music Experience, jazz and blues fests, Broadway series at the Adler, etc, etc etc. Davenport also had the first municipal art gallery west of the Mississippi, and has one of the oldest continuous Symphony Orchestras in the country.

But, yeah... we don't like the arts.

It's not that there's nothing to do...it's just that everything there is to do is rather unimpressive in scope. People who are seriously into the arts look at Davenport and just laugh at what is available. The local scene is amateur hour. It's a problem. Davenport is trying to position itself as some sort of hip, artsy place...and it is missing the mark badly.

The reality is it's a stagnant, Midwest farm-industrial town that fears change. People who are creative and art-minded wouldn't have Davenport anywhere near their top 20 places to live.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by atler8

Yeah Quad... It's almost like regular clockwork how it can be counted on that negative folks will drop in and dump on Davenport & the Quad Cities as if it is the "pit of despair" as you phrased it.

There seem to be quite a few people who have this impression of the Quad Cities. Major US companies tend to stay away from it as well because they know attracting quality folks to work in such an area as Davenport/Moline would be difficult. Is it the worst area in the United States? Probably not. But, it definitely needs a massive makeover to even consider itself as a decent place to work and live.