Why We Love Raising a Family in the Quad Cities

Why we love raising a family in the Quad Cities.

There are so many reasons we love raising our family in the Quad Cities but these top the list: arts, athletics, diversity, green space, affordability, and community. This is a great area to raise a family and grow interesting, engaged, fun citizens of the world.

My name is Meghan, and my husband and I went to Augustana College and stayed in the Quad Cities after graduation. I spent 20 years working at Augie and Luke has now worked at Modern Woodmen of America for even more years than that. We are raising four boys (ages 4 to 12) in Rock Island. I grew up in a west Chicago suburb and Luke grew up outside of Galesburg. Rock Island is our family’s home and we are proud Quad Citizens. There are a lot of reasons we love raising our boys here.

Photo: Family photo at Camden Park, Milan, IL

We love the arts and entertainment scene.

Whether our kids are performing on stage or going to the Adler Theatre in Davenport to see a traveling Broadway performance of The Wizard of Oz or attending the opera Amahl and the Night Visitors at Augustana College, we definitely find lots of opportunities to immerse them in culture. There are even three dedicated children’s theatres: Davenport Junior Theatre, The Center for Living Arts and The Spotlight Theatre as well as numerous other performing ensembles, troupes, venues and opportunities.

For more entertainment there are so many fun places for families: The Putnam and Family Museums, the QC Botanical Center, the Figge Art Museum, the Adler Theatre, Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, the planetarium at Augustana, the John Deere Pavilion and, on top of that, there are outdoor concerts and shows like those offered at Moline’s Bass Street Landing. From tractors to painting and crafts to concerts, the family entertainment scene is tremendous!

Photo: Lion King Jr. at The Center for Living Arts in Rock Island, IL

We love the sports events: playing and watching.

I can’t even begin to list all the sporting our family does right here in town. We love to cheer so we are drawn to local events showcasing Augustana’s basketball team, Rock Island’s football team, or Quad Cities River Bandits baseball. Those don’t even scratch the surface of all we see. Showing our boys the excitement of arena football or the thrill of Monster Jam at Vibrant Arena are so much fun! We also love watching friends play, so we see softball at Camden Park in Milan or catch a game at the Volleyball Factory in Davenport.

We also play hard in our family. The kids are involved in dozens of teams through the Parks and Recreation Departments and sports organizations in multiple towns. If the flag football season doesn’t work in one, we look at something in the next city or see if one of the local schools or teams is offering something. There are SO MANY choices! There are even great opportunities for grown-ups. We play on an indoor rec volleyball league in Moline, Luke enjoys taking part in the Vintage Football game hosted each year at Douglas Park in Rock Island, and we’ve both competed in the Quad City Triathlon. It’s great for our kids to see us being active and having fun. GOOOOOO QUAD CITIES!!

Photo: QC triathlon at West Lake, Scott County Park, IA, Vintage Football game at Douglas Park in Rock Island, IL, soccer at TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf, IA, Tennis Camp with Rock Island Fitness & Activity Center at Hodge Park, Rock Island, IL, and Up to bat with Jr Rocks travel baseball.

We love the diversity.

Luke and I grew up in cities with mostly white people. We want better for our boys and we found that here in Rock Island. I was almost moved to tears watching our sons’ holiday music program. The theme was Jewish, a song was in Spanish and some of the dialogue was in Karen (originally spoken in Myanmar and Thailand). My sons are exposed to new cultures and different perspectives daily. Their school hosts a culture night to appreciate the various ethnicities. Learning to appreciate diversity is going to make our kids better global citizens. 

As an added bonus, the food options in the Quad Cities as a result of the cultural diversity is nothing short of fantastic. My mouth is watering as I think about everything from Pee-Wee’s soul food to Curry Out Indian cuisine to La Rancharita’s Mexican spiciness. 

Photo: Earl Hansen Elementary School Holiday program and Family Cultural Night 2019

We love the green space.

All the parks and pools and fields and trails are simply amazing! And that doesn’t even touch on the opportunities that come with living along the fourth largest river in the world. While I don’t know the exact statistic, I’m certain the per capita green space in the QC is very impressive.

Our family enjoys so much of the outdoor fun available here. In the winter, we tube at Snowstar; in the spring, we enjoy Longview Park; in the summer, we swim at Whitewater Junction; in the fall, we hike at Blackhawk State Historic Site. We bike along the river and camp at Loud Thunder. We go to Niabi Zoo and play in the fountains at Schweibert Park. There is so much nature for families to dive in and appreciate!

Photo: Camping at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve in Rock Island Co, riding the yellow slide at White Water Junction in Rock Island, IL, Sitting on the lion at Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, IL

We love the affordability.

Things don’t cost as much in the Quad Cities. From a pint of beer to a seat on the boards at a QC Storm hockey game to purchasing a home, our money goes farther here than in other cities we’ve lived. There's a lower cost of living and access to so much! It's this combination that makes the Quad Cities a great place. Plus, there are great discount stores both chain (Aldi) and local (the Book Rack) to help stretch a penny. If you want to live an extravagant lifestyle here, you can. If you want to be frugal, you can. Either way, you’ll find things to do and places to go to fill your life and days with necessities and luxuries however you define those. 

We are able to offer our kids more because we can afford the fees for Little League; we can pay to go to a concert and we don’t have to scrimp and save to go out to dinner once in a while. Knowing we can budget and afford the opportunities we want for our kids is a big draw for us.

We love the Midwestern community feel in a town with big city advantages.

The Quad Cites is a metropolitan area with over 400,000 people…but it has a small town feel sometimes. I see people I know everywhere I go: friendly people that say hi. Four way stops can be slow…with cars politely waiving each other on. Quad Citizens look out for each other. This is a community of people who like to make connections, not just with each other but to help advance their neighbor. “I know a guy that can help” could be the area motto. Unlike a smaller town, though, there are so many things to do, see and access. The job market is varied and there are lots of options for work, play and daily living.

We love that our kids can ride their bikes to a friend’s house even though we live “in town.” We chat with shop owners who also live down the street and are dedicated to thriving right here where we both live. In Rock Island every eating establishment (except for fast food) is not a chain restaurant. We are proud of our community, of what it offers, and support our local shop owners. It’s fun to have places that are just “ours” and it’s even better when friends visit and our family can take them to Whitey’s Ice Cream, Arthur’s Deli, or Cool Beanz Coffeehouse for a local treat. The embrace of small town community and the advantages of living in a city make our lives richer.

We love raising our family in the Quad Cities.

Photo: our 17th attempt at a family selfie on Sylvan Island in Moline, IL

Written by Meghan Cooley

Meghan Cooley moved to the Quad Cities from St. Charles, IL, as an Augustana College student over 20 years ago. She left briefly after graduation and then returned to work in admissions and then marketing at Augustana College for 18 years. She now works as a consultant for admissions marketing and social media. She also does copy editing and writes for the Quad City Moms Blog. Now a true Quad Cities transplant, Meghan lives in Rock Island with her husband, Luke (R.O.W.V.A. and Augustana grad and Modern Woodmen employee) and four boys. She loves living in the Quad Cities and finds it the perfect place to raise a family, plan a date night, and go on adventures.