How is Clinton? (Cedar Rapids, Morrison: apartments, rent, crime)

[Spudcommando]

So...doing some research online, one would get the impression that Clinton is nothing more than a depressed crime ridden dump. I have a job opportunity right across the river in Illinois and Clinton would be a very reasonable commute for me(15 Minutes), the negativity surrounding Clinton is kinda concerning. What's the real deal on Clinton? Should I just look at the Quad Cities which would add another 40 minutes to my commute?

[Mathguy]

I grew up in that area and most of my family is still around there.

There are a number of towns in that area where you could still have a short commute.

Savannah, Morrison, Fulton etc. on the Illinois side and of course Dewitt west of Clinton as well as LeClaire etc.

Without knowing your personal details and interests it's hard to give much advice as we don't know what is important to you. (like if you have school aged kids and so forth)

What I would say about Clinton is that it covers a wide range of living area and I would think you'd find something you would like around it somewhere. Just like in the town I live in now there are 500k subdivisions in one area and low-rent apartments a mile down the road. *shrug*

Personally, I would go with the short DAILY commute to work and if that meant a longer drive to occasionally get groceries then so be it.

[Spudcommando]

No kids and I'm not married, so I'm not worried about the quality of the local schools. I'll check out the towns on the Illinois side.

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by Spudcommando

No kids and I'm not married, so I'm not worried about the quality of the local schools. I'll check out the towns on the Illinois side.

Frugal people live in Iowa because IL taxes are so high.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by Spudcommando

So...doing some research online, one would get the impression that Clinton is nothing more than a depressed crime ridden dump. I have a job opportunity right across the river in Illinois and Clinton would be a very reasonable commute for me(15 Minutes), the negativity surrounding Clinton is kinda concerning. What's the real deal on Clinton? Should I just look at the Quad Cities which would add another 40 minutes to my commute?

And HE has always been that way.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by Spudcommando

No kids and I'm not married, so I'm not worried about the quality of the local schools. I'll check out the towns on the Illinois side.

Illinois has a credit situation (aka bond rating) worse than any other state last time I checked.

This means that property taxes and state income taxes are going to be an issue for you vs. Iowa. (you can and should verify this for yourself)

I grew up in Illinois and most of my relatives are there (others in Iowa) and I would not move back to Illinois all else being equal. I do not say that with any joy. It's a sad admission for me. (I've lived in KS for around 20 years now and will not be moving back in retirement.)

That being said, Clinton and other areas along the Iowa border will be fine for you if you look for the right pockets and that shouldn't be a problem.

Why not rent for a year and get to know the area first and then make an informed choice?

[mustang84]

Originally Posted by Spudcommando

So...doing some research online, one would get the impression that Clinton is nothing more than a depressed crime ridden dump. I have a job opportunity right across the river in Illinois and Clinton would be a very reasonable commute for me(15 Minutes), the negativity surrounding Clinton is kinda concerning. What's the real deal on Clinton? Should I just look at the Quad Cities which would add another 40 minutes to my commute?

I've been to Clinton several times and it's not that bad. It's definitely a blue collar, rust-belt river town, but I don't know that crime-ridden is an accurate statement. Like any community, there are good and bad neighborhoods. The nicer parts of Clinton seem to be west of Bluff Blvd / N 3rd St.

If you're looking for more of a small town atmosphere, DeWitt is about 15 miles west of Clinton and is a nice, well-maintained community.

[insidyr]

I think Clinton is a popular city for people to dump on. Sure, there are parts of town that have seen better days, but I would have no problem living there. You have most of the stores you need in town. If I didn't like living in Clinton, but still wanted to be close then I would live across the river in Fulton, IL. I would not advise a long commute in that area as it can get rough in the winter.

[Dport7674]

A lot of eastern Iowa cities have that rustbelt look to them. Clinton has it. Its better than a podunk farming community.

[Kraftask]

Seems like if or when US 30 gets widened to 4 lanes passed Dewitt then Clinton would have a better connection to Cedar Rapids & that might help the city get out of the slump their in because people might be attracted to Clinton for the cheap housing then just commute to where the jobs are.