moving to monti?
Monticello is a pretty nice town for its size. People for the most part are pretty friendly there. Unlike Cascade-the next small town up the road, there is a nice mix of people from different Christian faiths. It seems that helps in pretty well accepting people and letting them in, regardless of their faith - or lack of it. They really aren't too much of a "judgey" kind of town.
The schools for the most part are full of nice kids. It is probably the nicest group of kids. I was amazed that when we first came here, my daughter came home and told me that many girls actually took the initiative to introduce themselves-she was so impressed. I thought at first it was because the administration, staff and teachers must lead by example. But it didn't take long to discover it was all in the parenting! The middle school has fabulous teachers. There are a few really good teachers at the High school. However that is in spite of administration at both schools. I had good kids who never got into any trouble like most of the parents there. But that won't stop you from butting heads if you care about education. The principal at the highschool has no expectation of accountability for her staff or her teachers. If a teacher will call you back or return an email, you are very lucky. And there are a few that will really go the extra mile and that does make a HUGE difference. The office staff is really awful. They're all the stereotypical "I have a desk and a phone and so I am in charge" Very rude. VERY condenscending. Very negative. We've all been around people like that. It isn't pleasant. I avoid the administration/office staff as much as possible, as do most parents. They are just seeminly very unhappy people in general and it shows. I think the school could be really fantastic if they had any sense of accountability. They just don't. It's a new building - at the highschool. The middle school is very old - but FULL of character.
The town is clean. Just got a gorgeous new library. Fareway (grocery store) is very reasonable to shop at - it's clean and has very nice employees. The best thing is, it's only an easy 35 minutes to Cedar Rapids on a 4 lane highway-and it's a gorgeous drive - Grant Wood Country, and it shows!!! There's always a ton a TON of stuff to do in Cedar Rapids! Movies - the theatre, skating, there's a hockey team - the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. I grew up there and it's a fantastic community. I do not know where that comment came from in another post about Cedar Rapids being dirty or full of Gangs - but....that's crazy. There is a certain section - actually called "the section" where you aren't going to want to hang out - but all towns have that. Be careful driving through Marion though. Very Very nice town. But Marion cops like to be very tough boys. I've heard many horror stories about how they like to throw their weight around....So drive the speed limit!!!
One more plus - Cedar Rapids-marion area is growing like crazy. Marion is growing toward monticello and the property values are only going to go up, up up!!! Buying a home I would think would be more than the usual good investment - particularly just west of town.
The best of luck to you!!! And I hope you move to Monti. It's always good to have new people and new perspecitves!!!
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Moving to Monticello area
My family and I will be moving to the Monticello area soon, and I was wondering if anyone could give me any info on this area???
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