Build or Buy in Cedar Rapids or Iowa City?

[Growing2Boys]

We just moved here from Ohio, via Texas.
The first thing you will notice is that you won't get nearly the house in Iowa City that you had in Texas for the money.
We decided on Iowa City & we built on the west side of town. We got almost 4000sq ft for over 500K. We had over 6000sq ft in Texas for that price. The builders do not budge on prices here. You will pay list. You can find prebuilt homes in the 3-4000 sq ft range in North Liberty or the far east side of Iowa City for under 500K. North Liberty is a burb about 15 minutes from where your hubby will work.

I really don't like Iowa City. People are outwardly friendly, but I haven't been able to make any real friends that want to get together. The winters are horrible. We have had 50" of snow so far & it's darn cold. There isn't any nice shopping here. (there are the basics & a small mall. The Target parking lot looks like Christmas week every weekend. It's a zoo because it's one of the only places to shop) However, while Cedar Rapids has more shopping it would be a very hard/long commute for your husband in the winter months when the roads are bad. There are currently cars spun out on the side of the highway about every 500ft here. Cedar Rapids is also much more run down looking. However, housing is much cheaper.

Good luck on your move!