This is What the Rest of Illinois Thinks of Rockford

I remember the first time I told someone that I got a job in Rockford like it was yesterday.

I had just been offered a part time position with 97ZOK and I couldn't wait to share the news with the world; I was elated. Unfortunately, my excitement wasn't felt by others and it quickly turned into uncertainty.

The first thing people said when I told them I got a job here was, "you aren't going to move there, are you" and "you might want to think about buying a gun." Say what? These were people who've never even lived here and maybe stopped at a Road Ranger to pee on the way to Chicago.

What was I missing? What did everyone else know or think of Rockford that I needed to know?

I'm not the only one who's had these questions about the Forest City. Numerous people have turned to Reddit to get honest opinions about Rockford and a recent post by Moufasa garnished some of the most candid responses.

Moufasa asked, "What does the rest of Illinois think of Rockford? Do you guys hate us as much as we hate us?"

The replies ran the gamut from praise to contempt; here are some of the best:

How can you hate a place that makes Mrs. Fisher's chips?
The best Mexican restaurant in Rockford is taco bell. That's a damn shame.
It used to just be boring, now it's somewhat dangerous and boring.
Trailer races!
The best people I have ever met live in Rockford, or at least they did a few years ago when I was there. It's a shame it has so many issues.
It's a bigger Decatur, but with awesome people and Beef-a-roo
I won't filter - I think of it as being a high crime, rough town without a lot of economic opportunity and longstanding racial issues. That's how people talked about it when I was growing up. I know there's some good folks out there though - when I ran a painting company my best employees drove an hour from Rockford every day and were never late, never the first ones to leave at the end of the day - so they raise y'all a lot tougher than these suburban kids.Magic Waters is the t**s also.

See, Rockford isn't that bad and isn't hated as much as we think it is. I mean, we have Mrs. Fisher's Chips, Beef-a-Roo and Magic Waters...sorry for the language, it was a direct quote.

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