Hey all, I may have a "too good to pass up" job opportunity in the quad cities area and would like to hear all about living in that area.  I want the good and the bad...cost of living, quality of life and basically, do you like living there or are you just there for the job you have ?
We have family there, so we wouldn't be like fish out of water.
Obviously, one of my main concerns is RKBA issues and Illinois apparent leaning towards Kali style laws.
I would also have the option of living across the river in Iowa, would that be a better choice ??
I have been a desert rat all my life but we have family in Moline and go back often to see them. We do like the area (it's so green) and we know there's this stuff called snow there.
Sooooo, sell me on your state or tell me why I should stay away !!  Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks !!

Quoted: Hey all, I may have a "too good to pass up" job opportunity in the quad cities area and would like to hear all about living in that area.  I want the good and the bad...cost of living, quality of life and basically, do you like living there or are you just there for the job you have ? We have family there, so we wouldn't be like fish out of water. Obviously, one of my main concerns is RKBA issues and Illinois apparent leaning towards Kali style laws. I would also have the option of living across the river in Iowa, would that be a better choice ?? I have been a desert rat all my life but we have family in Moline and go back often to see them. We do like the area (it's so green) and we know there's this stuff called snow there. Sooooo, sell me on your state or tell me why I should stay away !!  Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks !!

Illinois is colder than AZ
Much, much more expensive than AZ
The gun freedoms you enjoy in AZ, not in IL
IL is lame

Speaking as a recent refugee from the People's Republic of IL, all I can say is I don't think there's a job with enough money that could bring me back.  I love shooting and hate snow; I've spent a bunch of time in the SW US and I can't believe you'd wanna leave, let alone for IL.

Cost of living is high anywhere within about 90 miles of Chicago.  Outside of that it's reasonable though you can still get killed on property taxes in some areas (as high as 2-4%) in some areas.  Income tax is a flat 3%.  Sales tax varies by county and municipality but the base state sales tax is 6.75%.  

Neither IL or IA allows any of the fun NFA toys.  IL requires a FOID card for possesion and purchase.  IA has CCW but it's not easy from what I hear unless you can justify it for business purposes.

Oh yeah, and take a look on the map at where Ottawa, IL is because unless you buy or know somebody with a LOT of property on which you can shoot it's where you're going to be driving if you're living about anywhere in the northern half of the state and need a good outdoor range to shoot at.  There are some great guys from the ARF.com group from IL and WI but the culture when it comes to shooting (let alone carrying) is radically different than anywhere in the SW US.  You can't just strap on a pistol and drive to the nearest BLM land 1/4 mile from anything and start shooting like in AZ.

Good luck either way.

Fantastic deer hunting, the rest of the state is going the way of KALI, fucked up chicago dictates the whole state, welfare, illegals, prisons, fees, etc. Check out IA first.

dc899 is correct.  AWESOME deer hunting downstate,  but generally not the most gun friendly state.  I'm guessing IA would be better, but that is a guess.  Good Luck ! !

My problem with this state is actually that it has too much sunlight and humidity for me (it burnsss usss! hatesss it forever!), but I'm sort of weird, I hate light and heat.  Winter is alright here, nice and cold, with nice snow.  RKBA is heavily restricted.  If you move here, bring/buy all the toys and extra mags before they ban them here.  FOID is required all ammunition and firearm purchases, public ranges are far and few (if there are even any).  I don't care for hunting, but if you're into it, they have shotgun hunting for deer which is supposed to be fairly decent.  Rifle hunting is for the most part illegal IIRC.

The politics are mostly neo-conservative in the more rural areas, moderate Republican in the medium sized cities, and overwhelmingly Democrat in the Cook county area.  There is a decent sized socialist movement too, but a lot of the actual socialists actually tend to be pro-gun.

Just scratch off the idea of any NFA weapons, no fun toys allowed at all!

I should also mention that this is the only state I know of where a locally elected official (Mayor Daley of Chicago) can basically dictate state law (i.e. trying to push through SB1195- ban semiauto mag fed rifles in IL).

Cost of living is quite high in the suburbs/Chicago area, and rent and property values are pretty outrageous.

If you can tell, I am not too pleased with my home state at the moment.

Quoted: Fantastic deer hunting,

if you like deer hunting with a shotgun.

IIRC, no black rifle deer hunting.  shotgun only. :(

If you like firearms, be prepared to fight to keep them. Right now, a VERY anti-gun puppet government is installed in Springfield, controlled by Chicago.

The weather is hot and humid for about 2 months. The winter is cold for a couple months. The rest of the year is nice or tolerable. We usually get by with about 5 months of no furnace or air conditioning. There's not much snow to speak of, maybe a few good storms a year. Up in Northern Il might be different.

Most of spring and summer is tornado season. Lots of warnings and sightings, but not a whole lot of actual on-the-ground-stuff (I say this with never having any damage done, others will have a different opinion). We probably had less than 10 on the ground in my area this year. I was chased by one once, that is some scary stuff.

I hope you can adapt to flat cornland  easily. The buildings are taller than the elevation changes. Along the river is a little better.

Over all, I like Illinois. I don't like the current ( or past) regime, and I don't like the denied rights. But, I'm not looking to move away, either.  

It sounds like a big decision. It would have to be an awesome offer for you to consider moving here. Good luck.

i would leave if it wasn't for having a job i love.  my wife was about to lose her job (a teacher, no less) and I was really exicted about moving to Col. or AZ.  IL is abou the same as Kali.
weather is weather, i hate the heat and love the snow.  I miss Colorado.  anyway, jobs are getting hard to come by in IL, especially downstate and west central IL.  Quad cities is a little better, but its still a sh*thole.  if you come here, go to IA.  you'll have better chances with gun laws in the future.  Chicago tried to sue firearm makers for causing crime.  Nobody ever sued cars for causing traffic crashes....

if it wasn't for work, i'd leave...yet i still look for work in other gun friendly states though.

Actually I like archery hunting better, this state is to flat for all the dickheads from Chicago with shotguns in their hands. When I see all these motherfuckers every year I always why they keep voting for the Daley and the like. Almost as bad as the duck hunting crowd.

Well, I was born in Illinois and pretty much lived here all my life (almost).  

In my opinion,

It sucks!!!

Geographically and climactically, it is ok if you can get used to the flatness.  I don't mind it.  I actually like having 4 seasons, but it doesn't really matter that much to me.

But as a gun owner, the politics in this state are just horrible and BACKWARDS.  As other states, especially ones near us, are passing laws  to increase the rights of gun owners (ie CCW in MO, MI), Illinois Democrats (who are in charge here) are doing their best to deny us all our rights.

As for me, I would move if I could find a job that would support me and my family.  I would either go to the Southwest, or Missouri (have family there and they just passed CCW).

Well that's my take on things here in Illinois.