Would love to hear your views on Council Bluffs (Des Moines: house, neighborhoods)

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by cheese_procedure

My fiancee and I just moved to CB about a year ago. It looks a bit different after you lived here for awhile. It is overshadowed by Omaha, and it sounds like a lot of people in CB don't care for Omaha. But then again, I've heard a lot of people in Omaha not care for people in CB. Also, CB could do a lot better in keeping the city cleaner.

We moved from a small town to here (we've also lived in Iowa City) We moved to get away from rednecks and ignorant people. We wanted art and social culture...we didn't find much at all. We found that there are a lot of wonderful, smart people here, but there is a large redneck population.

I really don't want to step on any toes, we are hippie types and rednecks tend to really not like us. There is a lot of white trash here too, but we grew up around that, so we are kind of used to that. There doesn't seem to be much of a housing market here, and rent for apartments seems high. It is also hard to find a place to live if you have pets as well.

Overall, we have decided to move from here, but this town could really be a great fit for some people. Seems like a lot of people are really happy here.

Thanks for your honest views. I need to hear opinions and not fighting back and forth about who is right and who is wrong. Thanks again!

[Steve_W]

You can find a plethora of art and culture 10 minutes away in downtown Omaha. Also, Omaha is nationally known for its local music scene.

I agree with everything that was said about C.B. It has definitely changed for the better as of recent though.

As a self-proclaimed hippy, Colorado is definitely a hippy haven in some areas from what I observed and you may love the area. I’m not a hippy and I loved it.

[Go Ne]

well west omaha would be a good area to live great school systems low crime rates and very thriving buisness districts. what kind of commuted are you looking for though? i think the maximum i've ever had is maybe 30 minutes

[katychicago]

I registered on this site just so I could reply to your thread. If there is anyway to avoid moving to Iowa, please do so. I've lived all over the United States - big cities, small, mountains, desert, just about any size town you might think of. I have never been so miserable as I have since I moved here to Iowa. As you can tell by the rest of the posts, most of the people here are more concerned about race - being white myself, i'm appalled at the Jim Crow attitudes that remain here - especially in any community with less than 20,000 people.

Politics are good old boy and everyone knows everyone - and the politics are more crooked than Chicago was during the 1960's when the Daley machine ran things. I was moved here by a newspaper to be one of their reporters. Once I got settled, I overheard the editor reading one of my stories to the police chief to get his stamp of approval before it could be printed. Talk about yellow journalism...when I complained, I eventually was demoted.

A friend of mine came here from abroad and was asked to help get an art gallery going - he is a brilliant artist and musician - and he offered to do the work on a "volunteer" basis until the gallery could get funding. Well, they kept him on long enough to use his name and work to obtain a special arts grant - the day after the "big bus of judges" left and it looked fairly certain the town would receive this large, hundreds of thousands of dollars, grant, he was basically left on his own - told there was no certainty of a salary even when the grant was dispersed.


From the city clerks all the way up to the big guys in the legislature, it's all about who you know. If you don't belong to the movers and shakers clique (which means your family founded the town or you have enough money to make up for it) or your not willing to fit inside the little box they draw for you, you get nowhere fast. Jobs are bought and paid for - we have teachers working at Wal Mart and social workers working at snack bars, while one woman who hasn't finished college holds three jobs with the school district and gets paid for all three - talk about triple dippin'.

You can be a criminal and get away with anything so long as you are willing to also be an informant for the various police departments who are about as valuable as the Keystone Cops - i've seen them in action - last fall they surrounded an old lady's house because her granddaughter didn't want to go back home to her mom's for some legit reasons. They had snipers in trees outside th apartment and finally stormed in and took the six year old, claiming the woman had been holding her hostage.

There are employers here who somehow manage to pay $5.00 an hour for wages. That's criminal but they get away with it by putting special little laws in their city codes. I don't know how I would live if I had to depend on a job in this area for my income. Fortunately I freelance to earn my living.

I've only lived here seven years but it gets worse with every passing season. I'm waiting until my last two children graduate from elementary school, then I'm getting out of this state. Please think long and hard before you move here. Anywhere in the country is better than Iowa. Consider Indiana - now that's a great place to live. Especially in the middle - southern part. Take a look at Brown County or Terre Haute and all points in between. Now there's a paradise.
good luck
katy

[metro223]

^^^
you know, I respect other peoples' opinions... but I will say this is as about off base as it gets.. it kind of made me laugh to tell you the truth.

well katychicago, welcome to the forum, hope you'll read some things that help you understand this state is not what you think it is.

-cheers

[katychicago]

Glad you could laugh - If these things weren't true, I'd be laughing to. There isn't anything I've written above that I can't document or prove....thanks, katy.

[Steve_W]

I could point out many things I don't like either but it would be stupid to think these problems belong to Iowa exclusively.

[star_gazer]

There's one of these guys in every crowd!


Seriously though, as to the misplaced hippie (cheese_procedure)... one must understand Council Bluffs' blue collar/railroad/manufacturing roots. It's done a remarkable job of re-inventing itself over the past couple of decades (with the help of gambling dollars)... but you don't 'clean up', much less change a prevailing attitude... overnight. Council Bluffs does bring to the Omaha metro... an entirely different topography in the bluffs... I would think some of these bluffside neighborhoods would indeed be very appealing to an 'artsy' type... and downtown Council Bluffs is a real historic gem just waiting to be discovered by the 'cultural crowd' (that is... those who would locate their trades there and make it a real draw for the rest of us). I will say that Omahans have a much better attitude towards Council Bluffs than they have had in decades past... they aren't blind to all the change which has occurred. Once upon a time... it was 'just' the strip clubs and adult books stores on Broadway to most.

Now... if you're looking for more 'progressive' open minded types to surround yourself with... you definitely should be residing in the older areas of Omaha. This map showing how people voted on a number of revealing issues... gives a glimpse into where the people fall across the river... kind of interesting.

[lisajromesburg]

I live in Council Bluffs as of right now and we have many things to do such as movies cowling and many places to shop. there are many new businesses popping up sucha as hooters, getting a Lane Bryant store , Kohls. But over all I enjoy living Council Bluffs for the volience is not high but it is there.

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by lisajromesburg

I live in Council Bluffs as of right now and we have many things to do such as movies cowling and many places to shop. there are many new businesses popping up sucha as hooters, getting a Lane Bryant store , Kohls. But over all I enjoy living Council Bluffs for the volience is not high but it is there.

Where is the hooters?