Moving to Cedar Rapids area...

[bornaclone]

Hey Fanatics:

The wife and I are moving to CR and were hoping to get some feedback on a couple things...

1. I'm going to be working on the SW side of CR. What are some good neighborhoods to look at renting? Currently contemplating North Liberty and Coralville too. Commute isn't a big deal but would like to keep it under 20 - 25 minutes.

2. Cell phone service? Currently with Sprint but from what I've found it sounds like they don't have even decent coverage in the area.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks!

 

[BigSkyCy2]

I've lived in four apartments in the Cedar Rapids/Marion Area, but all have been on the Northeast side or in Marion. Can't be much of a help on the Southwest side, other than I know the smell down there is pretty nasty from the plants. If you are working out there, North Liberty shouldn't be too much of a drive for you and might have some better options.

As for Cell service, I don't know much about Sprint. I had US Cellular the first three years I lived here and switched to Verizon in March. Had no service problems with either of them, just wanted the nicer and newer phones from Verizon.

Let me know if I can help you with anything else...and welcome to CF!

 

[Wesley]

Buy on a high lot.

 

[jsmith86]

You might try the swisher/shueyville/ely area or in walford or fairfax. If you did want to live in CR, the newer subdivisions right next to the prairie school district are pretty good. The main thing in town is to stay away from the north side of kirkwood and also to stay away from living near the ADM plant if you don't want it to smell like fermenting corn all the time.

As far as cell service goes, US Cellular, and Iwireless (the eastern iowa company that runs on T-mobile's network) both have pretty good reception anywhere. Verizon can be iffy if you get too far away from the more populated areas, such as around coralville reservoir and even in some of the suburbs that are away from the interstate.

Don't be afraid to ask if you have any more questions about the area.

 

[Judoka]

Hey Fanatics:

The wife and I are moving to CR and were hoping to get some feedback on a couple things...

1. I'm going to be working on the SW side of CR. What are some good neighborhoods to look at renting? Currently contemplating North Liberty and Coralville too. Commute isn't a big deal but would like to keep it under 20 - 25 minutes.

2. Cell phone service? Currently with Sprint but from what I've found it sounds like they don't have even decent coverage in the area.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks!

I currently live in North Liberty, so here is my take:

1.) If you don't have kids, I'd recommend going to Coralville or North Liberty, you are far enough away from the U of I to avoid the close to campus premium on apartments, but close enough to go for a tailgate, game, or night at the bars (Might be sacrilege on these boards, but I have no problem with Iowa being in second place, as long as Iowa State is in first, so I enjoy the Big Ten atmosphere when I am not in Ames for a game).

I work in the Northwest side of CR and my commute is about 20-25 minutes, if you are in the SE side you would be at 15 minutes(in North Liberty) or 20ish (in Coralville) for your commute.

2) I have Verizon and I have never had less than 4 bars in my apartment in North Liberty or my girlfiends place in Coralville. I can't speak for other carriers.


Also, Cedar Rapids is boring, Iowa City has much, much more going on if you are in your twenties or thirties.

 

[JP4CY]

I currently live in North Liberty, so here is my take:

1.) If you don't have kids, I'd recommend going to Coralville or North Liberty, you are far enough away from the U of I to avoid the close to campus premium on apartments, but close enough to go for a tailgate, game, or night at the bars (Might be sacrilege on these boards, but I have no problem with Iowa being in second place, as long as Iowa State is in first, so I enjoy the Big Ten atmosphere when I am not in Ames for a game).

I work in the Northwest side of CR and my commute is about 20-25 minutes, if you are in the SE side you would be at 15 minutes(in North Liberty) or 20ish (in Coralville) for your commute.

2) I have Verizon and I have never had less than 4 bars in my apartment in North Liberty or my girlfiends place in Coralville. I can't speak for other carriers.


Also, Cedar Rapids is boring, Iowa City has much, much more going on if you are in your twenties or thirties.

That's all pretty sound advice. I did a co-op for Amana when I was in college and lived in Coralville and really enjoyed it.

 

[Scott34]

I lived in Cedar Rapids for 6 years and lived in CR and lived on the SW and NW sides and loved it. Very nice homes and good neighborhoods. I would recommend living on these sides if you are wanting to live in town. But if your not, I have only know people to live in the surrounding areas as I have never. So im not very much help with that. But I have never heard anything bad though.

 

[wxman1]

I would go with the NE side or Marion, you can easily make it to the SW side from the north side of Marion in 25 minutes. Those are the nicer area's less crime and closer to more of what the city has to offer. I would avoid the SW and SE sides.

 

[clones_jer]

Welcome to CR - be sure to partake in Naked Thursdays, its a tradition.

 

[cytech]

There is nice housing on all sides of town. There are lots of smaller houses where you will likely find some for rent in a area called lincoln way village near the intersection of highway 30 and interstate 380.

It will all depend on what kind of money you are looking to spend and how big of a place you need. I have storage garages near by there if you need a place to store stuff when you come to town.

As for cell service I have sprint and I am very happy with the service. Though if you choose the ely/swisher/shueyville area you may have some problems.

 

[MeanDean]

I have had Sprint for 9 years and service in CR is fine pretty much everywhere. You'll also have no trouble anywhere near the 380 Corridor. It's when you get too far off the main highways you can lose service. Even here in Clarence (nowheresville) Cedar County IA I have adequate service.

I currently (since April) live 35 minutes E on US 30. If you like small towns (and want to keep your distance from the Dirt and Urine) you might consider Mt. Vernon, too. It's a nice small town with a college and nicely situated on a hill.

 

[ruxCYtable]

Hey Fanatics:

The wife and I are moving to CR and were hoping to get some feedback on a couple things...

1. I'm going to be working on the SW side of CR. What are some good neighborhoods to look at renting? Currently contemplating North Liberty and Coralville too. Commute isn't a big deal but would like to keep it under 20 - 25 minutes.

2. Cell phone service? Currently with Sprint but from what I've found it sounds like they don't have even decent coverage in the area.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks!

I grew up on the west side but live in Marion now. Although I enjoyed growing up on the west side, I would never consider moving back there. With a few exceptions, the neighborhoods are aging and becoming run down. The retail market is struggling: Westdale Mall is dead and the newer surrounding retail locations have vacancies. Most of the west side schools are low-income.

That is not to say you can't find a nice place to live on the west side and have an enjoyable experience there. But given a choice between the west side and the east side and Marion, I would not choose to live on the west side.

 

[MoreCowbell]

We've lived in CR for almost 10 years. You can find "nice" and "bad" neighborhoods in all parts of CR. If you haven't already, drive around and figure out the areas you and your wife like (it'll also help you get used to the whacked-out streets in some parts of CR). You can basically get from one side of the city to the opposite side in around 30 minutes for the most part.

We have Sprint and haven't had any issues with coverage in Cedar Rapids. Obviously, the farther away from the city/interstate you get, the lower the coverage will be, but we've been happy with it.

I don't think CR is boring, but it's definitely a family-friendly city as opposed to IC - who caters to the college/20-something crowd. There are plenty of things to do, but you have to make a little more of an effort to find them/go to them. Plus, the downtown area is still rebuilding from the floods.

 

[sportsfandave]

If you want sw try the Praire schools sub divisons very nice schools and homes. NE side is over crowded avoid Colllins road.