Oakwood Village/Coral Ridge Mall (Iowa City, Ames: crime, houses, school)

[Katarand]

Hi,

I will be a student at UI in the fall and I am considering living in the Oakwood Village a few blocks from the Coral Ridge Mall. This means that I will probably be taking the bus since parking is so expensive. I wanted to know how safe catching the bus is in the morning and returing in the evening would be in that area. I am a single female afraid of harrassment at bus stops, etc. and not from Iowa.

Any input would be very helpful, thanks.

[Pearlbob]

The whole area is safe. IC/Coralville has the lowest crime of any city I've lived in...I never felt in danger the entire time I was in school there. The scariest people I ever saw were just drunk college guys acting like idiots on a weekend night. If I remember right, the houses around Coral Ridge were very new and seemed to be full of families (not sure what Oakwood Village is).

[DBQer]

Iowa City and Coralville especially are very safe. The student population there is very dominant, so you'll be among peers, if that helps. 28,000 out of ~70,000, so around 40% of residents are students. Although, I must say, there are sometimes assaults and harrassment of single women in I.C., but again, it is infrequent, and seems to mostly happen on the East Side. I would not hesitate if I were you, its about as good there as anywhere. Good luck in your studies!

[SharpHawkeye]

I agree. You have very little to worry about waiting for or riding the bus in Iowa City and/or Coralville. Coralville Transit is a very well-run service, with nice buses and simple to understand routes that pretty much always seem to run (close to) on-time.

If one knew the schedule well enough , I imagine you could manage to time your morning schedule to get to a stop at the same time as the big blue bus, if waiting bothers you.

[Pearlbob]

IC has 62,000 and Coralville has 15,000 people in the 2000 Census. The student population is not included in that. UI has around 30,000 students. So during the school year, about 107,000 people. Not 40% student - that figure sounded way off to me! But regardless, yes, it's a big student population there so you will always be around similar people.

Just one thought....are you a grad student? That would make more sense. Most undergrads live on/near campus though. I'd be afraid as a single undergrad you'd be quite out of the loop way out in Coralville like that.

[DBQer]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

IC has 62,000 and Coralville has 15,000 people in the 2000 Census. The student population is not included in that. UI has around 30,000 students. So during the school year, about 107,000 people. Not 40% student - that figure sounded way off to me!

You are NOT correct. College/University students are counted as residents where they attend school, NOT where they live when school is out. The census is a snapshot of the nation's population in APRIL of a census year, so that would be when school is in session. Iowa City's non-student population is more like 34,000. If you need an example, look at Ames: 40% of the population is between ages 18-24, and the median age is also 24. No other city in Iowa even comes close to that percentage. That would HAVE TO include university students. If it didn't, the population would be ~60% between 18-24, and that is un-doable.

[Pearlbob]

Yikes. IC is TINY then!!!! I guess it seems bigger because there is so much culture and things to do there.

[SharpHawkeye]

Well, not that tiny. Wikipedia (because I'm too lazy to look elsewhere) says that the Iowa City MSA--or Johnson and Washington Counties has a population of 139,567 as of the 2006 est.

I wonder if some of that discrepancy is due to more of the growth being in Coralville and North Liberty as opposed to Iowa City. Also, I wonder how agressive Iowa City has been in incorporating the newer developments into the city limits.

[DBQer]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Yikes. IC is TINY then!!!! I guess it seems bigger because there is so much culture and things to do there.

Yes, but keep in mind that 9 out of 12 months have the extra 28,000 students, so its almost year-round.

Coralville has been able to capture a large share of the population growth in the area. In fact, according to the 2006 estimates released today, Iowa City has actually SHRUNK in size from last year, but that has to be taken with some skepticism, of course. In any case, Coralville's growth is undeniable, and the county as a whole has grown despite I.C.'s recent sluggishness.

[Pearlbob]

I don't get it...the 2000 Census gives a total of 77,000 in IC+Cville. So how does Wikipedia give 140,000? I can't believe there are an extra 70,000 people living in the outskirts of those counties. ??