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Old 04-01-2011, 03:57 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,781 times
Reputation: 12

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We have decided to move from Arizona and we have chosen to relocate to the state of Iowa. We are a family of 3, my husband, my 7yr old son, and me. I've been researching between Iowa City, Cedar Rapids or Des Moines, but would like to hear some suggestions of or about other cities or towns around that area. Im interested in renting first, and would to live in an area close to a good school for my son and with good job opportunities. I am currently working as an Administrative Assistant and my husband will soon be a Veterinary Assistant. Thank you for your help...
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Old 04-01-2011, 05:56 PM
 
Location: Coralville, Iowa
7 posts, read 24,339 times
Reputation: 28
Iowa City is a great place. You have tons of great places to work and lots of things to do on the weekends. All of the schools here are wonderful. I used to work in the school district and even the lower tax bracket schools are great. Cedar rapids is cheaper but remember Iowa city was voted high on the charts for best City!


www.icgov.org
www.coralville.org

The rich cultural attractions, historic charm, and convenient central location all make Iowa City, IA a great place to live. There is an array of cultural and historic attractions, as well as fantastic performing arts and sporting event opportunities. If you are relocating to the Iowa City area, you will find a wealth of things to do, see, explore and experience. This treasured community is surrounded by picturesque rolling hills, forests, lakes and the rivers in
Eastern Iowa. Owning real estate in Iowa City, IA is a smart decision: our values are stable, and so is our economy. Sure, we do not experience the real highs of the real estate cycle, but we are also insulated from the real lows! Iowacityblog.com
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Old 04-01-2011, 07:09 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,781 times
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Thank you so much for your reply. Any good advice will help my family and will help me in not being so scared.
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Old 04-02-2011, 02:15 AM
 
1,429 posts, read 2,447,589 times
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My wife and i moved to cedar rapids earlier this year. We bought our first house here, and are very happy with the decision. We chose cedar rapids over iowa city because we didnt care for the younger, party college town vibe iowa city has. Too much dodging students as you drive within the city as well. Cedar rapids provides the quieter, low key lifestyle were after, while being only 45 min away from the younger iowa city crowd! Also as has already been said, cedar rapids is more affordable than iowa city.

I moved here from southern texas, and i think driving on ice has been the scariest adjustment so far, but its much better in the city than it was when we lived in kalona.

do yall have jobs lined up or family you plan to stay with?
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Old 04-02-2011, 09:45 PM
 
412 posts, read 1,153,886 times
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If we had the money, we would love to live in Cedar Rapids. I love the deaf community over there. :-) Iowa City is nice but too college worthy town for us to live in.
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Old 04-04-2011, 08:12 AM
 
30,087 posts, read 18,704,527 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FERNY0217 View Post
We have decided to move from Arizona and we have chosen to relocate to the state of Iowa. We are a family of 3, my husband, my 7yr old son, and me. I've been researching between Iowa City, Cedar Rapids or Des Moines, but would like to hear some suggestions of or about other cities or towns around that area. Im interested in renting first, and would to live in an area close to a good school for my son and with good job opportunities. I am currently working as an Administrative Assistant and my husband will soon be a Veterinary Assistant. Thank you for your help...

Depends on what you like

If you want to go to college sporting events frequently as well as plays, Iowa City would be the best. The southeast part of town has become undesireable, but the rest of the town is fine. Property values tend to be high in Iowa City, as in any college town. It is definately a college town, as students make up nearly half the population.

Cedar Rapids is somewhat of an industrial town with grain processing as the dominant industry. Not the "culture" of Iowa City, yet it only twenty miles away. One can live in CR cheaper and just drive to sporting events, ect..

Des Moines is dominated by financial buisness and insurance. Unemployment is relatively low as a result. Much larger than CR or IC, but easy to get around. Home prices higher than CR, but lower than IC. Suburbs are very nice, but the "inner city" not so nice (however, this "inner city" would be a paradise compared to "inner city" Phoenix).
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Old 04-05-2011, 09:03 AM
 
3 posts, read 6,781 times
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Thank you all for your great advice... Thats pretty much what we needed to know to decide. We dont have any jobs lined up yet or any family in Iowa. I believe the best thing for us to do is rent for a year then look into buying.
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Old 04-09-2011, 09:05 AM
 
8 posts, read 29,708 times
Reputation: 14
Chiming in for Des Moines! We live in the DSM suburbs and LOVE it here. We were located for 8 years in Eastern Iowa (Bettendorf, Quad Cities) and relocated here 3 years ago. I'm a southerner and have fallen totally in love with Des Moines. The schools in the suburbs and some of the DMPS are great. We have 2 elementary age children. I have all the great things about living in a city, but few of the hassles. Rarely do I encounter traffic problems. (Going 40 miles a hour on I-235 doesn't constitute a traffic jam folks!) I can be just about anywhere in the metro in 30 minutes or less. Iowa State is only 45 minutes away with all that a large college community can offer. (Hawkeye folks, I'm not a ISU fan just stating facts. lol)
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Old 04-10-2011, 07:20 AM
 
1,114 posts, read 2,427,247 times
Reputation: 550
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRCinIA View Post
Chiming in for Des Moines! We live in the DSM suburbs and LOVE it here. We were located for 8 years in Eastern Iowa (Bettendorf, Quad Cities) and relocated here 3 years ago. I'm a southerner and have fallen totally in love with Des Moines. The schools in the suburbs and some of the DMPS are great. We have 2 elementary age children. I have all the great things about living in a city, but few of the hassles. Rarely do I encounter traffic problems. (Going 40 miles a hour on I-235 doesn't constitute a traffic jam folks!) I can be just about anywhere in the metro in 30 minutes or less. Iowa State is only 45 minutes away with all that a large college community can offer. (Hawkeye folks, I'm not a ISU fan just stating facts. lol)
It may be that I've lived in IA City too long, but I read that at first as "Iowa State is only 45 minutes away with all that a large community college can offer."

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Old 04-12-2011, 07:55 PM
 
Location: Marion, IA
3 posts, read 7,387 times
Reputation: 10
I just moved from Colorado to Marion (Northeast corner of Cedar Rapids) and it's close to everything you need and is nice if you prefer a slower pace than the city.
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