Moving to Davenport Area (Des Moines, Bettendorf: for sale, real estate, apartment complexes)

[teenybop23]

My husband may be getting a job in Davenport and we would have to be moving from WI. Wondering if you can give any insight as to where we can find rentals that would be available for our family. We have 4 children ages 7 & under, so schools are a definate important factor to us. Low crime obviously would be important.

Thanks much for your help!!

[QuadCityImages]

Are you looking for a house or apartment?
Rental houses are tough to find, because while there are some in the paper, it seems like 75% of them just stick a For Rent sign in the yard. This is especially bad for people coming from out of town.

[teenybop23]

If we would get an apartment it would obviously have to be a large one, atleast 3 bedrooms. Are there any complexes that you would know of that would have websites? Luckily Davenport is only about 3 hours from us, so it would not be a huge deal if we had to take a weekend to drive around and look for rental signs! Would you recommend Davenport or a town surrounding Davenport for a large family?

[QuadCityImages]

Personally, I like Davenport. You'll probably hear a lot of stuff about Bettendorf, which is essentially the main suburb of Davenport. Housing prices there are higher, but there is less crime. There's also quite a bit less to do in Bettendorf, and most of the retail and cultural activities are in Davenport or the Illinois QC.

As far as apartments or houses, I didn't even think about the 4 kids thing. That definitely limits some things. This area of the Quad City Times website has listings for rentals (houses and apartments) you can search through. There's a pretty wide range of apartment complexes, from the high end Alexis at Perry Pointe (website) to various downtown lofts, to cheaper apartments like Winding Hills. (website) It really depends on what you're looking for. I'm happy to help give info though, as I enjoy helping people considering moving here.

[DMRyan]

There are probably plenty of people trying to sell homes out of necessity but would entertain the idea of renters in the home if their property is not selling fast enough. The problem is those folks probably don't advertise in the most obvious of places, so it may be beneficial to check the Craig's List site for some spur of the moment, yet quality house rentals.

This was in the Des Moines area, but my future better half listed her townhome for rent on Craig's List and had quality tenants in her place after only 4 days of posting the listing. I know other people that have had success finding a place to live or renting their place out by using Craig's List as well.

[Dport7476]

I would look in Bettendorf for sure if I had school age kids (the school systems are night and day)
And as far as there not being anything to do in Bett. compared to Davenport, the cities over lap....so....anything to do in the Quad Cities is 5-10 minutes from Bettendorf.
Think of Bett. and Dav. as one big town with Bett. being the nice side of town.

[teenybop23]

I've been noticing quite a few rentals that are near St. Ambrose. What would this neighborhood be like for a family? I am assuming with a university nearby that it would not be a great place for young kids? How big is Bettendorf as far as size? I come from a small town of about 15,000, so small town is really more our style anyways. Thanks for all the help so far! It is very much appreciated!!!

[QuadCityImages]

It depends which side of St. Ambrose. South of there, in other words south of Locust, has some crime issues. Its not Chicago crime, but its present. To the west and north of Ambrose are pretty nice neighborhoods (especially north) but you may occasionally have the drunk college student stuff. The area around Vander Veer park is especially nice.

[teenybop23]

All great tips. Thanks so much! What are the names of the hospitals in the area and are there any preschools that you would suggest, and what would be the typical cost for a preschool/nursery school for my little ones? Also, what would be a typical cost for daycare in the area? I know, lots of questions, we just want to be fully prepared for our move and what to expect for our new home! Thanks again for all the help!!

[jeffs]

The two main hospitals in Davenport are Genesis West and East (formerly Mercy and St. Lukes). East is more for heart and cardiovascular care, west is more for cancer treatment. Trinity is also close by and has very good facilities.

I cant say much about the preschools as I am 28 with no kids. Davenport's website is City of Davenport, Iowa | City*Homepage. Im sure it will say something about or have a link to that info.

As far as the rentals close to St. Ambrose. Most of those are for college kids. Some of the neighborhoods to the north of Ambrose are nice. As one person said stay away from the south side past locust, it can get a little rough down there. Here is a link for Davenport Real estate. Davenport, IA Real Estate on Yahoo! Real Estate - Houses for Sale & more. Qctimes.com has a lot of info too. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Good luck.