Life in Cedar Rapids area?

[Flag Guy]

Ehh I don't remember. It's possible, we did have an award winning paper...

I remember more of the Al Gore coming to visit, Governor Vilsack, a kid bringing an empty hand gun to school to scare off a bully, a different bully skipping class then some how being a ******* and falling over the railing into the foyer... ect

 

[cytech]

Yes, I am seeing this pattern and it's proven difficult to get a true unbiased preference on location. I completely understand where people who have grown up in one area might prefer that area. In fact the receptionist for the company I might work for said she graduated from Prarie and liked that area real well. Now her and her husband with their newborn are living around that area. So again, I'm getting a mix.

But with that said, it does seem like the NE CR might be the best option. It's just the matter of finding the right area and right complex to rent from.

Any suggestions?

I'm also interested in childcare and gymnastics places. I found Twisters Gymnastics online, but I'm sure there has to be others.

Well Twisters is the only one I have known people that have gone there. They have been around for quite a while. It is also convenient if you pick Hiawatha or NE side CR.

I have never rented so can offer advice for the area except to stay away from properties owned by Robert Miell.

I imagine the selection can't be that great right now with the flood and all. But you might want to consider buying a home. Probably won't costing you much more. And if you stay for 2 years or more you can do a tax free exchange when and if you move.

 

[DMBclone]

That's easy Prairie would be the Urbandale, Linn-Mar/Xavier/(maybe)Kennedy would be your Valley/Dowling and Jeff/Wash would be Lincoln/North. Not too hard to figure that one out.

I understand that you're being sarcastic here but Washington has won 3 Blue Ribbon School Awards. Which they are the only school in Iowa to do so. According to Newsweek they are the 489th best public school in America, which is the highest scored school in Iowa. According to US News and World Report they received a Silver medal along side Kennedy. Which they were the two highest rated schools in Iowa.

http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf
America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com
Best High Schools Search - US News and World Report

I'm just saying that Washington is a very good school

 

[JHudd]

I understand that you're being sarcastic here but Washington but... Washington has won 3 Blue Ribbon School Awards. Which they are the only school in Iowa to do so. According to Newsweek they are the 489th best public school in America, which is the highest scored school in Iowa. According to US News and World Report they received a Silver medal along side Kennedy. Which they were the two highest rated schools in Iowa.

http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf
America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com
Best High Schools Search - US News and World Report

I'm just saying that Washington is a very good school

I agree, everything I have been saying has been all in fun. Cedar Rapids as a whole has a good school system, though if/when we move back I would be lobbying very hard for the College Community SD. I just love the location along with having all the sports fields/areas on campus in one central area. Plus I enjoy living on the edge of a city being able to take advantage of not feeling cramped and being able to make a quick drive to get downtown.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

We live on the NE side in the Bowman Woods area. We love it. Great school (Linn Mar), and we have about everything we need within 5 minutes of us.

 

[Longhorns3131]

That's easy Prairie would be the Urbandale, Linn-Mar/Xavier/(maybe)Kennedy would be your Valley/Dowling and Jeff/Wash would be Lincoln/North. Not too hard to figure that one out.

Lincoln isent really that bad, trust me there are alot worse schools in Des Moines, than Lincoln. Examplle- East, Hoover, North.

 

[ceeboe]

Alright well I plan on Friday driving around the NE part of town, Hiawatha, and then heading a bit over the SW part of town as well.

Anyone have good central road names for these parts of town so I know that I'm in the right area when driving???

 

[ceeboe]

Alright, I'm back from my very long day adventure to CR. I got a deacent drive around town.

-The NE side is definately the more happening side. Way more going on around there, way more to find. The nice thing is it's only 15-20 min from almost anywhere in CR.

-I was impressed by CR Kennedy. It looked nice and had a good location. I would've hated to be the mason on that building though.

-The SW side does seem to be growing. There are newer buildings surround some of the older stuff and seems to be taking on the look of the new part of Altoona where NE CR would be Ankeny. I only got as west as Edgewood around Menards and Super Target, so is there even more farther west?

So far we found some apartments over in the SW area that would probably be the best fit unless something else comes around. Anyone know a lot about the Wiley Ridge Development. I've heard there are some very untrusting renters out there and wasn't sure if this one fell into that group. It's only about 5-10 min away from my work, and within disitance of just about everything else.

Anything else I should know about that area? Things I should've looked for?

 

[fccy]

Other people are much more qualified to answer housing questions, and I will let them.

I have taken several trips on I-380 through Cr and some that have gone past IC. Collins Road (Hwy 100) goes into Marion, and is exit 25. IC exits end with either 0 or 1, I can't remember. It should not take 50 minutes from CR to IC, except in rush hour.

Or if someone were to get trapped in IC by an ice storm around St Valentines Day, then tries to leave and ends up stuck behind a big rig doing 20 mph with its flashers on. Then it takes about an hour or so.:wacko:

 

[fccy]

Oops. I didn't see page 2. Maybe reading the whole thread might help.:wacko:

 

[wxman1]

I grew up and lived in Marion until I started at ISU this past summer. It is a bit harder to be a Cyclone in cr but with all the engineers at rockwell it's not that hard. The worst part is finding clothing. Linn county does have the largest cyclone population outside of the des moines metro.

Linn-Mar is the best but that's my own very biased opinion. Don't go southwest cr or southside marion.

It's an awesome area to live in my opinion not a ton to do but still fun big but yet still small.

 

[wxman1]

Alright, I'm back from my very long day adventure to CR. I got a deacent drive around town.

-The NE side is definately the more happening side. Way more going on around there, way more to find. The nice thing is it's only 15-20 min from almost anywhere in CR.

-I was impressed by CR Kennedy. It looked nice and had a good location. I would've hated to be the mason on that building though.

-The SW side does seem to be growing. There are newer buildings surround some of the older stuff and seems to be taking on the look of the new part of Altoona where NE CR would be Ankeny. I only got as west as Edgewood around Menards and Super Target, so is there even more farther west?

So far we found some apartments over in the SW area that would probably be the best fit unless something else comes around. Anyone know a lot about the Wiley Ridge Development. I've heard there are some very untrusting renters out there and wasn't sure if this one fell into that group. It's only about 5-10 min away from my work, and within disitance of just about everything else.

Anything else I should know about that area? Things I should've looked for?

You hit pretty much everything. I would have taken a spin around Marion, it's more suburbany if you like that.

 

[ceeboe]

I did get right up into Marion and then my daughter got car sick. I guess driving around for about 3 hours right after a 2 hr trip could make for an unsettling trip. So I had to turn around right at Town Square and didn't get to see much.

So the SW area is the Jefferson area right? So how does that stack up to the others?

 

[cytech]

There are good and bad parts in each of the quadrants. Generally the further you get from downtown the nicer the areas are.

The immediate area around jefferson is not a bad area at all. Close to the minor league baseball and hockey arenas. Also right next to where alot of the areas high school football games are played.

 

[CY22]

I would highly recommend the NE side of CR or the surrounding communities. If your job is actually in CR, I would also recommend Center Point as a town you might be interested in. It's only 2A for sports, but is growing to 3A size quickly. Great education and opportunities for younger kids with a few parks and only about 15 minutes from CR. Far enough from CR to get your peace and quiet, but close enough for fun, groceries, and other needs.

And for the real deal breaker.....if you want to know where the idea for putting Cy in a tornado came from, it was us at Center Point-Urbana High School! We're the Stormin' Pointers, which was a combination of both schools' mascots when they merged to form the current school district. It was the Center Point Pointers and the Urbana Cyclones, so put a dog and a cyclone together and you get.....Stormin' Norman!! Seriously.....there's proof at the bottom. And for all doubters, yes our logo was created well before Cy was put in a tornado. But anyhow....Center Point is a nice small town community close to the city if you want that kind of feel and is a great place to raise a family.

 

[JHudd]

I did get right up into Marion and then my daughter got car sick. I guess driving around for about 3 hours right after a 2 hr trip could make for an unsettling trip. So I had to turn around right at Town Square and didn't get to see much.

So the SW area is the Jefferson area right? So how does that stack up to the others?

The areas around Westdale/Wiley and SW to Fairfax and East along 30 out towards C St would be in the Prairie School District unless it has changed.

 

[ceeboe]

The areas around Westdale/Wiley and SW to Fairfax and East along 30 out towards C St would be in the Prairie School District unless it has changed.

Well now if that's the case, that might just be the double bonus.

I trid the school map search on CR School Districts Website, but that kept turning up 0 matches every time. I may just have to put a call in Monday to know for sure.

I would like to search a little farther SW into Fairfax as well, and maybe a little farther west off 16th or so.

It really is two different worlds though between the SW and NE.

 

[Cydkar]

I have multiple friends that live in Fairfax that seem to like it.