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| Do not move here. - 3/11/2011
Unless you need to come here for graduate school or are already from Iowa, please do yourself a favor and avoid this place. I grew up in IN and thought it was awful until moving here. To make a long story short. I moved to Phoenix after college and loved it. Met my husband there and he ended up getting a fellowship at the University of Iowa. We have been trying to escape this place for the past 8 years.
Why?:
I hate to generalize, but most (not ALL but most) people I have met here are rude, unfriendly and cliquey (sp?). Customer service is nonexistent. The best way I can describe it is - most service people I have come in contact with act like you are annoying them by making them do their job. Most of the friends we have made are people who are also from out of state. I made more friends in my year in AZ than I have in 8 years in this place.
I think there is a misconception that IC is safe. It depends on your perspective, but I've seen a definite downward trend in the past few years and most people who live here agree. Look up the crime ratings ON THIS SITE! They are high for a town this size. Lots of attacks downtown, robberies and assaults in middle class neighborhoods, etc.
There is nothing to do, especially if you have kids. Winter is torture because there is no place to go. There is one bowling alley that is run down and crowded (because, you know, it's the only one), an overpriced mediocre children's museum, a small indoor jungle gym, and the university's natural history museum (loses it's sparkle after about the fifth time you've been there because there's nothing else to do). After that it's pretty much boring, awful restaurants (don't get me started) and going to the movies. Oh, and going to football games. Yes, there are art and music festivals in the summer but the ones I went to were basically a place to go and walk around for an hour before going home.
Need to fly somewhere? It will cost you an arm and a leg unless you want to drive 4 hours to St. Louis or Chicago.
People looooove to talk about how great the education is here. Out of 12 elementary schools in the IC school district 5 have a rating BELOW 3! There are a few in the 5-8 range and only 2 with a 9 rating and 1 with a rating of 10. Look it up on a school review website. The High Schools are rated very highly but are getting overcrowded and there's a big redistricting mess going on right now.
Housing is ridiculously overpriced for what you get and for it's frigid midwestern location.
Traffic is horrible for a town this size. Bad city planning.
One really positive thing is there is a great park system and an awesome recreation department for lessons and sports for kids. Thats about all I can think of.
[read more...]
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| Iowa City - 2/1/2011
Great college town[read more...]
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| Do not move here! - 1/9/2011
Unless you need to come here for graduate school or are already from Iowa, please do yourself a favor and avoid this place. I grew up in IN and thought it was awful until moving here. To make a long story short. I moved to Phoenix after college and loved it. Met my husband there and he ended up getting a fellowship at the University of Iowa. We have been trying to escape this place for the past 8 years.
Why?:
I hate to generalize, but most (not ALL but most) people I have met here are rude, unfriendly and cliquey (sp?). Customer service is nonexistent. The best way I can describe it is - most service people I have come in contact with act like you are annoying them by making them do their job. Most of the friends we have made are people who are also from out of state. I made more friends in my year in AZ than I have in 8 years in this place.
I think there is a misconception that IC is safe. It depends on your perspective, but I've seen a definite downward trend in the past few years and most people who live here agree. Look up the crime ratings ON THIS SITE! They are high for a town this size. Lots of attacks downtown, robberies and assaults in middle class neighborhoods, etc.
There is nothing to do, especially if you have kids. Winter is torture because there is no place to go. There is one bowling alley that is run down and crowded (because, you know, it's the only one), an overpriced mediocre children's museum, a small indoor jungle gym, and the university's natural history museum (loses it's sparkle after about the fifth time you've been there because there's nothing else to do). After that it's pretty much boring, awful restaurants (don't get me started) and going to the movies. Oh, and going to football games. Yes, there are art and music festivals in the summer but the ones I went to were basically a place to go and walk around for an hour before going home.
Need to fly somewhere? It will cost you an arm and a leg (well, more of an arm and a leg) unless you want to drive 4 hours to St. Louis or Chicago.
People looooove to talk about how great the education is here. Out of 12 elementary schools in the IC school district 5 have a rating BELOW 3! There are a few in the 5-8 range and only 2 with a 9 rating and 1 with a rating of 10. Look it up on a school review website. The High Schools are rated very highly but are getting overcrowded and there's a big redistricting mess going on right now.
Housing is ridiculously overpriced for what you get and for it's frigid midwestern location.
Traffic is horrible for a town this size. Bad city planning.
One really positive thing is there is a great park system and an awesome recreation department for lessons and sports for kids. Thats about all I can think of. [read more...]
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| Do not move here! - 1/8/2011
Unless you need to come here for graduate school or are already from Iowa, please do yourself a favor and avoid this place. I grew up in IN and thought it was awful until moving here. To make a long story short. I moved to Phoenix after college and loved it. Met my husband there and he ended up getting a fellowship at the University of Iowa. We have been trying to escape this place for the past 8 years.
Why?:
I hate to generalize, but most (not ALL but most) people I have met here are rude, unfriendly and cliquey (sp?). Customer service is nonexistent. The best way I can describe it is - most service people I have come in contact with act like you are annoying them by making them do their job. Most of the friends we have made are people who are also from out of state. I made more friends in my year in AZ than I have in 8 years in this place.
I think there is a misconception that IC is safe. It depends on your perspective, but I've seen a definite downward trend in the past few years and most people who live here agree. Look up the crime ratings ON THIS SITE! They are high for a town this size. Lots of attacks downtown, robberies and assaults in middle class neighborhoods, etc.
There is nothing to do, especially if you have kids. Winter is torture because there is no place to go. There is one bowling alley that is run down and crowded (because, you know, it's the only one), an overpriced mediocre children's museum, a small indoor jungle gym, and the university's natural history museum (loses it's sparkle after about the fifth time you've been there because there's nothing else to do). After that it's pretty much boring, awful restaurants (don't get me started) and going to the movies. Oh, and going to football games. Yes, there are art and music festivals in the summer but the ones I went to were basically a place to go and walk around for an hour before going home.
Need to fly somewhere? It will cost you an arm and a leg (well, more of an arm and a leg) unless you want to drive 4 hours to St. Louis or Chicago.
People looooove to talk about how great the education is here. Out of 12 elementary schools in the IC school district 5 have a rating BELOW 3! There are a few in the 5-8 range and only 2 with a 9 rating and 1 with a rating of 10. Look it up on a school review website. The High Schools are rated very highly but are getting overcrowded and there's a big redistricting mess going on right now.
Housing is ridiculously overpriced for what you get and for it's frigid midwestern location.
Traffic is horrible for a town this size. Bad city planning.
One really positive thing is there is a great park system and an awesome recreation department for lessons and sports for kids. Thats about all I can think of. [read more...]
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| Do NOT move here!! - 1/8/2011
Unless you need to come here for grad school or are already from Iowa, please do NOT move to Iowa. Don't say I didn't warn you. I grew up in IN and thought it was an awful place until I moved to Iowa. I moved to Phoenix after graduating from college and loved it. To make a long story short, my husband ended up getting a fellowship at the University of Iowa and we ended up here. We have been trying desperately to escape for the last eight years.
Why?:
Most of the people (not ALL but most) we have met here are extremely rude, narrow minded and cliquey(sp?). Not friendly at all. Almost all of the friends we have made are also people from out of state. I hate to generalize but I want to be honest and spare others from this awful place. Customer service? LOL. No such thing.
There is nothing to do. Especially if you have kids. There is one bowling alley that is run down and pathetic (and packed since there is only one), one indoor jungle gym, an overpriced children's museum, and the universities natural history museum (which loses it's appeal after the first five times you go for lack of anything better to do). Other than that it's all mediocre food (don't even get me started) and going to the movies. We drive an hour and a half in the fall just to get to a decent pumpkin patch (Carroll's Pumpkin Farm), you get my drift. Oh, and you can go to football games. Yes, in the summer their are art festivals and whatnot, but the ones I've gone to are not much more than a place to walk around for an hour and then go home.
People have the misperception that Iowa City is safe. I guess it depends on your perspective, but I've definitely noticed a downhill trend in the last 8 years. There are lots of assaults and attacks downtown. It got so bad that they started a bus service for people after the bars close so they wouldn't get attacked. There have been break-ins in my neighborhood ( a nice quiet middle class one) and a couple of bank robberies in the past 6 months or so. Look up the crime ratings ON THIS SITE! They are high for a city of this size.
Property is outrageously overpriced for what you get and for it's frigid midwestern location. Just go to realtor.com and look at the properties in Iowa city and you will see what I'm talking about.
People loooove to talk about how great the education is here. Well, it is if you live in one of 3 elementary school districts, the rest of them are not good. Google "great schools" or find a school review website and look up Iowa city schools. The elementary schools have really gone downhill. Out of 12 elementary schools 5 of them have a rating lower than 3. There are a few in the middle with 5-8 ratings and only 3 with a rating of 9 or 10. The High Schools are supposed to be good but are getting overcrowded.
If you need to fly somewhere it's going to cost you way more money and you will have to drive to Moline, IL to get a decent flight and price. Flying out of Cedar Rapids will cost you an arm and a leg.
I could go on, but I think I'll stop here. You get the point.
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| Look around - 5/12/2010
Iowa City is a great place to live, there is always something to do, if you are not able to find anything Des Moines is not too far away. When it comes to finding a place to live if you are planning on renting look around first. There are good cheaper places to live if you keep away from downtown or the football stadium, if you are willing to pay more go closer to downtown. [read more...]
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| ICY HELL - 2/18/2010
Iowa City has very very harsh winters.
From December to late March I have been miserable and I cannot wait to move because I'm most def NOT a winter person. I HATE snow and there's a lot of it here, along with freezing rain and many potholes that jack up your car.[read more...]
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| Great for families - 2/10/2010
Great schools, low crime, University brings cultural opportunites. Not so hot for singles 30 years and older.[read more...]
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| Jewel in America's heartland - 4/30/2009
Throughout the nation, and perhaps in many parts of the world, the Iowa City area is known as “a “jewel in America’s heartland” - a place with a world-class university, an abundance of natural beauty, and civic and cultural amenities that give true meaning to the term, “high quality of life.”
Iowa City, home of state’s first capitol, is a place with a sense of history and a vision for Iowa’s future. The city’s history and tradition of civic involvement and leadership helps transform the region and state’s economy.
Iowa City's diversity shines through its bustling commerce and industry; first-rate education; arts, culture and entertainment for all ages; beautiful rolling landscape bursting with recreational opportunities; and metro, historic and family-friendly neighborhoods that welcome residents home at the end of the day.
[read more...]
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| Great schools - 10/31/2008
I have lived in Iowa City for over ten years. I came to the University of Iowa and graduated with a great education. I now work as a teacher in the area school district. The teachers and administrators of this district are extremely caring, well- educated, dedicated, and hard working individuals always looking for ways to enhance student achievement.[read more...]
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| Climate - 7/7/2008
The weather here is horrible. Absolutely horrible. Every season. A handful of nice days in the fall.[read more...]
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| Iowa City - 2/24/2008
Iowa City is a beautiful town. Iowa City has many parks. Iowa City has
many nice rests and shops/stores. Iowa City has an excellent school system.
Iowa City is a nice town to raise a family. Iowa City has a very low crime
rate. The people in Iowa are loyal, passionate and die hard fans of the Hawkeyes. Iowa City is a bit on the expensive side in terms of cost of living.
University of Iowa has an excellent reputation academically. The job market in
Iowa City leaves a lot to be desired. Pick wisely the part of Iowa City in which
you chose to live unless you enjoy listening to Univ of Iowa students partying.[read more...]
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| Iowa City - Pros/Cons - 2/16/2008
Pros:
1. Very low crime rate
2. Excellent school system
3. Affordable place to live
4. Diverse, stable economy
5. Home to the University of Iowa
6. An overall good place to live and raise a family
Cons:
1. Not very much to do
2. High housing costs[read more...]
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| perfect family site - 6/25/2007
I lived in Iowa City all my life. Iowa City is a great place to raise a family. The public schools are great, the people are friendly, the crime is very low and never serious. You could leave you car and house doors unlock (my mothers bad habit) and can sleep tight all night. Iowa City is a wonderfull place for a family. Great place for adults, and entertaining enough for children.[read more...]
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| Great place for families - 5/1/2007
This is a great place to raise a young family. There is a ton of family activities including; a children's museum, an abundance of parks, tot lots, and great schools.[read more...]
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| great town - 4/5/2007
I lived in Iowa City and went to U of I. What an amazing place to live. I did not think so at the time since I was raised in Iowa, but now having lived in Phoenix for so many years, I cannot wait to get back. The only drawback is the winter. It gets very, very cold. However, if you invest in long johns and the appropriate outerwear, that takes care of that.
I never saw a tornado, although there were plenty of warnings they were near. I miss the nice people, the 4 seasons, thunderstorms, fireflies, green grass, the beauty of rolling hills and the calm quality of life that only the smaller town mid-west can bring.[read more...]
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| airport - 10/1/2006
What is the best airport to fly in to see Iowa city?[read more...]
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| smart place to Live is Iow City - 7/28/2006
The weather is fair and the cost of living in Iowa City is pretty pricey for Iowa. The schools are great if you have kids and great bus system plus the University just has a great enviorment[read more...]
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