Do NOT move here!!
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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.
Amy | Iowa City, IA