Maybe moving to Cedar Rapids...

[missncr]

Originally Posted by flgatorgirl

So, here is a new question:
What are the best and worst things about Cedar Rapids?

One of the best things about Cedar Rapids is there are a lot of good looking people that live there. This coming from someone that used to live there.

[SykoByte]

Positives:
- Nice good size midwest city with population about 125,000. Not too small and not too big. And slowly growing too.
- Good place to raise a family and pet-friendly.
- Traffic isn't bad except maybe Collins Rd. on the NE side (which will be widening soonish)
- Downtown is improving and is pretty at night.
- Good job market.
- Schools in the area are good.
- Crime isn't too bad... doesn't seem to be any worse than any other city this size.
- Close proximity to a lot of rural and nature areas.
- Experiences the full 4 seasons.
- The city has a lot of good ideas but are just taking forever in implementing them. I think the city will be even better in 5-10 years.


Negatives:
- Not quite enough to do there.
- Too many factories that yes can smell pretty bad at times (but not always, also depends on which part of CR you live in).
- The river through downtown is pretty but can also stink pretty bad at times.

There's more pluses and negs of course but overall the positives outweigh the negatives. It's a nice livable city. MUCH BETTER than a lot of cities in Iowa IMO. In fact if I lived in Iowa again, it would be either Cedar Rapids or Des Moines (or their suburbs). I really like how CR is layed out.. divided into 4 quadrants.. not very congested, and has nice parks and the river. We moved last year and I will always miss that city (the place of my birth) but we just want to experience other parts of the country. I think you would like CR, but then again coming from Florida, that's a pretty big change.

[metro223]

Originally Posted by SykoByte

- Experiences the full 4 seasons.

He meant the full 5 seasons of course.

[flgatorgirl]

Thanks everyone for such good feedback. I will not be able to visit before my husband makes a decision about the job offer, but hey, life's an adventure right?
I will have to send him up with a camera so I can see the layout and of course, whatever one of five seasons you are experiencing now. Down here in Florida, we just moved from the "its slightly cooler, thank God" season to "oh man its hot again."
Thanks again for the opinions!

[SykoByte]

Originally Posted by metro223

He meant the full 5 seasons of course.

LOL.. I forgot all about the 5th season.. silly me!

[smpliving]

I am originally from southern California amd have lived in Cedar Rapids the past 10 years. The smell is not noticeable unless you live near the factory which is a very concentrated area. I commute daily to Iowa City and have never noticed any smell outside of a 10 mile radius of the factory. The people here are very friendly, and our humidity doesn't compare to Florida's humidity by a long shot. Iowa has been a wonderful place to raise our children, the schools here are excellent and CR is a very family oriented town.

[J & J]

Hi - the only thing I would add is the Marion Square Park is not dog friendly if there is an event going on, so don't plan on taking your dog to any music event there. Also Thomas Park in Marion does not let dogs in the shelter areas. The Marion police do not handle this very diplimatically either which is a total bummer. One fun event in August is the Noelridge Park Jazz Night, this is held every Thursday in August (free event) and all the dogs come and picnic with their owners. So pack your dog, picnic and wine and you will enjoy this. It is also a fun place to meet people. Iowa City is pretty cool, and if you have a very well behaved dog you can take them to many of the outside restaurants. That is where we go every weekend in the summer Hope you have a great experience in our area.
BTW I am not in real estate but my brother is selling a beautiful home if you are interested in it, I don't think it will be on the market long. It is in a pet friendly area and has a totally fenced back yard. $279,900

[CincyIowan]

IOWA = Extremely Hot and Humid in Summer and Freezing Cold in the Winter.. pretty much the same through out the entire Midwest.