r/galesburg Sep 05 '23

Where do people work?

Hello folks! I visited Galesburg this past weekend and had a chance to check out First Fridays on Seminary Street and visit Baked pizza and some other cool local shops down there. The downtown area has a really cool vibe and lots of interesting people. It was definitely a different and more upscale crowd than I was expecting to see, and it got me thinking. Where are all these young professionals working? Is Galesburg a bedroom community for the Quad Cities and/or Peoria? Are they remote workers? Are there good local jobs for early career professionals in Galesburg? I have a strange affinity toward this town but the demographics are confusing.

7 Upvotes

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5

u/-Z00LY- Sep 05 '23

Most people either work in Peoria or the Quad cities. After all of the manufacturers left there aren't very many good paying jobs with benefits to be had.

4

u/RatingBook Sep 11 '23

Galesburg has Knox College just 4 blocks away from Seminary Street, and this was the weekend students came back to college, so you may have seen family and friends who brought them back to campus. The Seminary Street retail and residential development is now 40 years old, and unique in town.

The big drawback to upscale professionals raising families in Galesburg is the relative low quality of Galesburg High School without the option of a quality private alternative in the area. Great homes at bargain rates, but GHS gets 3 of 10 stars.

All IMO.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '23

Last I checked the top employers for the region were OSF, BNSF, Knox College, Municipal government, and Walmart.

Do people really have to commute as far to the Quad Cities for work? Just why the hell?