Commuting from the Quad Cities... (Davenport, Waterloo: real estate, apartments, renting)

[omnivore]

I am moving from Wyoming back to the Midwest in a few weeks to take a new job at a college. I'm very familiar with the area as it is where I did my undergraduate work.

After seeing some of vibrant pictures of things to do in the QCA and just looking for a more interesting place to live after spending a few years in very beautiful, but very not-much-to-do-unless-you-love-the-outdoors Wyoming, I am allured by the idea of possibly living in the city and commuting to Western Illinois (Galesburg) where I'd be working.

Any advice regarding places to avoid? Excitement is one thing, but crime is another...but there isn't a ton of information online to give me a clearer idea of where things are.

Thanks a lot.

[metro223]

Moline isn't bad, and it would certainly be easier to get to Galesburg because you wouldn't have to deal with potential i-74 bridge traffic in the morning as you would on the IA side.

However, have always favored Davenport-Bettendorf over Moline/Rock Island. If you decide to go with the IA side, I'd recommend Bettendorf, or NE Davenport near 53rd.

[omnivore]

Originally Posted by metro223

Moline isn't bad, and it would certainly be easier to get to Galesburg because you wouldn't have to deal with potential i-74 bridge traffic in the morning as you would on the IA side.

However, have always favored Davenport-Bettendorf over Moline/Rock Island. If you decide to go with the IA side, I'd recommend Bettendorf, or NE Davenport near 53rd.

Any thoughts on the Crescent Lofts development? I'm considering it, mostly because after living here, it'd be nice to be part of a downtown again..it's been a long time.

[metro223]

Yea I've seen pictures of exterior and interior, the place looks really nice! Actually I think "QuadCityImages" ... another user on here, knows a lot about it... maybe if you message him he would be able to provide you with more information, but obviously I'm not sure.

QuadCityImages:
Hope you don't mind I referred him to you, but I think I remember you talking about this place quite a bit...

[omnivore]

Funny enough, he's the reason I considered moving there. I do know the area well, but never considered commuting. I'll drop him a note, thanks!

[QuadCityImages]

I'm glad that my showing off of the QC area is doing some good!

Here are a few more pictures of the Crescent Warehouse District, which currently is made up of 3 buildings: The Crescent Macaroni Building (where I lived), the Waterloo Mills Building, and the 4th Street Lofts building.

This first one was my apartment in Crescent Macaroni.




The same building at night


The front of the 4th Street Lofts during construction. (I probably have a more recent one somewhere that I can post later)


A couple of apartments in the 4th Street Lofts, from the Grand Opening tour.



View from the roof of the 4th Street Lofts


View to the opposite direction from the roof of the Crescent Lofts. (The area to the West is still semi-industrial, although this is changing slowly)

[omnivore]

Thanks for this! It really helps.

[HeneryHawk]

Thats a long commute. Are you hooked on the area, or being in the city. If its a matter of being in the area, but not necessary to live in the city there are various reasonable options to make the commute more livable.

Moline, as mentioned, would be okay, the avoidance of the I74 morass would save some time and hassle daily.

LeClaire is a nice town, right on I80 ( thus easy to cross the river and bolt to Galesburg ), and is close enough to the various cities to pretty much anything you want in a timely manner ( of course, Rapids City and Port Byron are on the Illinois side of the river across from LeClaire and offer much the same ).

Geneseo is a real nice town, out of the area by 15 to 20 mintues from Moline, easy to get to Galesburg, and a change of pace.

You can look at other cities and see various opportunities, its really a matter of what you want, for lifestyle, driving ( how much of your life do you want to give up commuting ). Why no tlive in Galesburg and commute to the QC for fun?

[omnivore]

My initial thought was to be connected to the city, because I've pretty much done the opposite (live in the quiet place and commute to the city for 'fun'.) But when you're going somewhere new with no real connections, it's very difficult to cultivate real links to the larger metropolitan area unless you live there.

But that all being said, it's seemingly a needless set of expenses to add to moving, which is itself a hassle. So I'm weighing my options.

[bobxl21]

I have lived in the QC area my whole life. I know it like the back of my hand. If you are going to work in Galesburg, living in Iowa is going to push your commute to atleast an hour, since Galesburg is 48 miles into Illinois going I-74. Thats just to get to 34 as well, so depending where you work in Galesburg depends on how many more miles you would have to drive. Iowa is the better side of the QC. Its cleaner, has much newer parts, and the schools are good. LeClaire is a good upcoming town, PV schools are good. So are Bettendorfs. A nice house is going to run you atleast 120,000 in any of the main QC cities. If you want a very nice home, less than 10 years old, its going to be atleast $200,000. Renting houses is impossible unless you are going to spend $2000 on a nice house, or slum it in a dirt hole for $500. Not much in between. What I did I moved to Galva, IL. They have good schools, the whole town is pretty friendly, you may gets some suspicious looks, but everybody for the most part is very friendly. You can also pick up a nice house that would cost you $100,000 in the QC for about $40-50 thousand. It would also cut your drive in half. You can get to Galesburg in about 25 minutes. I used to work at the hospital there, so thats a dead on time. Another nice thing about living here is you are only 45 minutes from the QC, which would be the same time you were planning on driving everyday anyways. So, you can save your gas everyday on the drive, and spend it on your weekends. Also, Peoria is only 45 minutes away, Chicago is just over 2 hours away, and Bloomington is only 1 hour and 15 minutes away. Being centered between all those cities will give you an endless supply of entertainment. I would not move to Galesburg though. The schools suck and the real estate has dropped like 25% in the last 2 years.