Cedar Rapids here we come??

[DMRyan]

Can't argue with that. Iowa City has the culture and nightlife thing locked down for this metro region, Cedar Rapids has the minor league sports, airport, and museums found in comparible cities.

Seperated, each city is lacking something comparitively, but combined it's a very well put together metro area in terms of city pissing contest amenities.

[Busch71]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Really? I think metro areas are a much better way of describing a city's size than just the central city.

Then say metro area. Cedar Rapids has never had 200,000 people so don't say that it does. If you want to claim 200,000 people then say the C.R. metro area. Not hard to do, is it?

[Roy G. Biv]

Yes Iowa City has a lot of cool stuff in it, but its the sort of town that is better to visit while CR is better to actually live in.

Because of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, it has more crime. The town itself is very cumbersome to get around in, the water there is horrible tasting, the high schools aren't places I would send my kids.

As far as socialization and niceness of the people goes, it really depends from neighborhood to neighborhood. Some areas are brand new housing developments which can lead to everyone feeling like strangers. But on the other hand you can move into a neighborhood with a lot of older well-established people who may inadvertently ignore you because they already have a network of neighbors and other people in town they know. Neighbors are always a crap shoot no matter where you live.

[Roy G. Biv]

Busch, who gives a crap? People in very large cities would make a distinction between "city" and "metro area" because the surrounding suburbs can be quite huge and self-sufficient themselves. Meanwhile, the towns that surround Cedar Rapids are tiny and for all practical purposes they are part of Cedar Rapids. For example, many of these surrounding towns completely depend on CR for utilities, schooling, medical care, and other basic needs and infrastructure.