Moving to Cedar Rapids (Sioux City, Marion: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[MariaNY]

Hi all,

We are at lost..

My husband and I will be moving from Columbus, OH to Cedar Rapids sometime in July.
We are really in need to find some nice neighborhoods where we can start looking for housing.
I am looking on craigslist, and besides some apartments, there's nothing really. Of course, we plan to visit the area anytime soon (maybe this week or the week after).

We might consider living in an apartment, but we would prefer to rent either a townhouse or even a house. We don't have a set budget, but it should be something decent (maybe a maximum of 1200 for a two bedroom house - at least these are the prices in Columbus area). I am thinking more of a townhouse or house because we would like to have a patio.
We would also prefer to be somewhere near Rockwell Collins, but I don't know which area is nice (I read about Marion, though).

Is it possible to find a nice house if we come there and just drive around and look for "for rent" signs?

Can you recommend some place where to look for?

Is Marion a good choice? Was Marion affected by the flood?

Thank you for your input!

[postmortem]

Hi, congratulations!

Marion is surely nice area, so is the most of NE part of Cedar Rapids. Nether were affected by flood.

There is nice apartments complex very near to Rockwell Collins, it is called Grand Reserve.

For 1,200 you can rent nice house!

HR people from Rockwell Collins should also be able to help you.

[MariaNY]

Thanks!


Not many options for houses though. Unless they are not posted on craigslist.

How is this area 42nd Street Southeast with 14th Ave?

It is close to Mt Vernon from what I see on the map.

We are coming next week to see some options, so I appreciate any thoughts:-)

Is commuting from North Liberty or Coralville an option?

[Chicago60614]

I had friends who's parents worked up in Rockwell Collins when I was growing up in Coralville. It's certainly something people can do fairly easily. The commute from North Liberty to Rockwell is around 30 minutes, but it's a pretty quick ride and very easy. Jump on 380, get off at Collins Road and you're pretty close.

I wouldn't think traffic will be an issue, although there might be annoying crowds on 380 - but normally not enough to create jams and stopped traffic.

North Liberty is definitely going to have a ton of newer housing, lots of condos that go as rentals by the owners, and is a good community. That said though, you can find those options in Cedar Rapids as well since it's much larger. That area on the Northeast side of town (and Marion) has a lot of new housing, but of course you just need to know how to find it.

I THINK 14th Ave and 42nd St SW is a pretty decent area, but not too familiar. It would be an easy drive up Post Road to Collins.

Have you tried calling local brokers and real estate groups? They might have better options if you're looking for actual houses/townhouses to rent as opposed to just apartments in complexes that advertise on Craigslist.

Cedar Rapids Apartments for Rent | Cedar Rapids Apartment Finder

Maybe even try the Chamber of Commerce and see if they can give you #'s of good groups.

Welcome to the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

[MariaNY]

Thanks for the reply!

I've been in contact with a couple of real estates agents, but unfortunately, they only have some apartments. We will see what we can find when we get there.

[JMsioux]

Originally Posted by MariaNY

Thanks for the reply!

I've been in contact with a couple of real estates agents, but unfortunately, they only have some apartments. We will see what we can find when we get there.

My family and I moved here about a year ago and reluctantly went the apartment route after owning our home in Sioux City, IA. We found a 1030 square foot, 2 bed / 2 bath in the St. Andrews golf area for $750 that we felt we could deal with for the duration of our year-long lease. I think that half of the tennants in our building are Rockwell employees, too. Our lease is nearly up so we'll be departing for a townhouse or single family home shortly to get back some privacy. There are several property management firms in town that have houses for rent but be careful which one you choose. Some have application fees and other don't. Some are more responsive than others when issues arise, etc.

[My1Grace]

Look for housing in the College Community (SW Cedar Rapids, Ely, Swisher, Fairfax, Walford)) or Linn-Mar (NE CR - Marion) School districts. College Community was largely unaffected by the flooding and is a GREAT school district, so people always want to buy homes there. Most of the housing there is close to I-380 or Hwy 30 and you can be just about anywhere in town within 30 minutes or less. Homes are a little more high end, but the neighborhoods are great and you are very close to shopping, groceries, recreation, and Kirkwood Community College. The biggest drawback to living in SW Cedar Rapids is the occasional smell wafting on the right breeze from the ADM and Gereral mills plants, the landfill and the Equestrian center/agriculture school at Kirkwood CC, but worth it for the convenience.

Marion will give you more bang for the buck in housing but the water table is very high and the water itself is very hard so you WILL need a water softner and sump pump. ALWAYS make it a contigency that the home is not in a flood plain, as Marion just re-drew theirs because of booming home development. Linn-Mar is the better, larger school district and home values hold there. It is a sleeper community so traffic in and out of town at peak hours is a bit congested, but nothing like a large citiy's.

Mt. Vernon is a quaint college town just outside of Cedar Rapids if you don't mind small town living and is also worth a look. Good luck.

[Oldrustycars]

I just moved to the area. I looked at many apartments in Cedar Rapids, I was NOT impressed. Sorta ghetto, in my opinion. I ended up in a small town 1/2 hour away.

[CRMAN21]

I would check around boyson road ne there are townhouses by the flag football fields. St Andrews could also work

[Teriqua Jones]

This is a reply to Maria who is relocating to Cedar Rapids with her family. I think you've got a pretty good idea where you want to be.
If you want to live close to Rockwell, your idea to check out Marion is good.
It is a nice, quiet, clean town. It was not affected by the flood and is adjacent to the East side of Cedar Rapids. FYI... Cedar Rapids is building up the East side. The west side is primarily residential with a few nice Condos; but not much for businesses or restaurants.