Small towns near Coralville (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City: house, school districts, to live)

[smalltownteacher]

Hi,

I am an elementary teacher looking to move around the Coralville, Iowa area with my boyfriend, who works in coralville. I am looking for some recommendations of small towns around the Coralville area where we could live and I could work, as I prefer working in smaller school districts.

Thanks in advance.

[Dewey59]

Kind of matters which school district has openings, no? Or are you just going to pick a town and then wait until they have an opening? Also, can you provide more specifics of what you are looking for? Otherwise, just look at a map and pick a town!

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by Dewey59

Kind of matters which school district has openings, no? Or are you just going to pick a town and then wait until they have an opening? Also, can you provide more specifics of what you are looking for? Otherwise, just look at a map and pick a town!

There will always be openings at West Liberty, but don't go there. Packing house town with real issues.


Most of the other schools around there would be somewhat comparable.


Two interstates converge at Coralville so don't be adverse to a commute of maybe 40-50 miles. Also, what's to stop the boyfriend from commuting half the distance?

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by jmgg

Also, what's to stop the boyfriend from commuting half the distance?

Well, nothing, apparently. In fact it looks like the boyfriend is planning on doing all the commuting.

Originally Posted by smalltownteacher

Hi,

I am an elementary teacher looking to move around the Coralville, Iowa area with my boyfriend, who works in coralville. I am looking for some recommendations of small towns around the Coralville area where we could live and I could work, as I prefer working in smaller school districts.

Thanks in advance.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by duster1979

Well, nothing, apparently. In fact it looks like the boyfriend is planning on doing all the commuting.

Missed that part. In that case, possible job locations has just expanded to 60 miles.

[Chicago60614]

What about Tiffin? The Clear Creek Amana school district is active and growing and has around 2,000 students total in a population area of around 12,000 and directly borders Coralville to the west. It's a good district and you would have much better chances of getting a position there than trying to go further away and a much smaller district where the timing of turnover might be more tight.

It's still more rural and out of the city, but your boyfriend would only be 10-20 minutes away from work. Commuting 40-50 miles every day for work would be terrible, especially in winter.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

What about Tiffin? The Clear Creek Amana school district is active and growing and has around 2,000 students total in a population area of around 12,000 and directly borders Coralville to the west. It's a good district and you would have much better chances of getting a position there than trying to go further away and a much smaller district where the timing of turnover might be more tight.

It's still more rural and out of the city, but your boyfriend would only be 10-20 minutes away from work. Commuting 40-50 miles every day for work would be terrible, especially in winter.

CCA would be a decent choice. There are 3 grade schools in this school district. One is right up the road from Coralville in North Liberty. The other 2 would be in Oxford and Amana.


A couple towns around Iowa City/Coralville that I really like and are quite close are West Branch and Solon. Decent size schools in decent size clean, self supported towns. All within an easy commute to Coralville.


One little note. According to my oldest daughter who used to lived in Coralville for 6 years, the rush hour traffic on I-380 between IC/Coralville and Cedar Rapids can be pretty rough, especially with winter driving.

[TLG2101]

I’d suggest that you look into Tiffin or Solon. Those two communities are growing quickly, and new schools are being built in both. North Liberty might also be a possibility for you. It’s also a fast growing community and runs right in Coralville.

I commute on Interstate 380 between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids every day, and the traffic can be a bear, but once you get used to it it’s not that bad. I also have the benefit of working from home on bad weather days.

[rayman29]

Originally Posted by jmgg

CCA would be a decent choice. There are 3 grade schools in this school district. One is right up the road from Coralville in North Liberty. The other 2 would be in Oxford and Amana.


A couple towns around Iowa City/Coralville that I really like and are quite close are West Branch and Solon. Decent size schools in decent size clean, self supported towns. All within an easy commute to Coralville.


One little note. According to my oldest daughter who used to lived in Coralville for 6 years, the rush hour traffic on I-380 between IC/Coralville and Cedar Rapids can be pretty rough, especially with winter driving.

CCA has four elementary schools now, soon to be 5. One in North Liberty one in Tiffin, plans are underway for another one in Tiffin, one in Oxford and one in the Amana Colonies. Its not really a small district anymore. The elementary schools in Amana and Oxford are pretty small, but that's it.