Cedar Rapids, Iowa looks good! Recommend other good cities too. (Des Moines: crime, how much)

[DSMGuy]

Also, no offense to CR, but you'll find the air in DM much cleaner than CR. CR has many ag processing plants that spew odors into the air.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Cedar rapids, IA is affordable. A good selection of houses between $40k and $70k. The crime is about par with national average. 125k people in that city. The only bad thing is the winters can get down to near zero accroding to city-data! Yow that is frigid! Oil city's winters are a milder 12 degree lows and Knoxville, TN has almost no winter with temperatures not less than high 20s. The houses shown below are nice and are priced at what I can afford.




2 Bed, 1 Bath
1,144 Sq. Ft.



3 Bed, 1 Bath
1,344 Sq. Ft.
0.05 Acres







I like this big 2000 square feet house and at $57k it hopefully is affordable too!


What do you think of Waterloo? Any other good cities besides Cedar Rapids?
I know Cedar Rapids costs about double what Oil city costs but its a better location too with 10x the population! Crime isnt bad in Cedar Rapids, about 1.5x higher but for a city with 125k that arent too bad. Another question, is there any big hills or mountains to enjoy?

I'd forget Waterloo. It's economically depressed and the crime rate is higher than CR. IMHO, it's an astoundingly ugly city. Don't know your age, but if you are younger, Iowa City would be a good choice, Housing higher than CR, but crime is lower andbeing a University-town, it's gota more youthful outlook and a livelier ambiance than CR. If you don't mind ssmall towns, you'll find some cheaper housing in towns within 15 miles of IC, such as West Brance, Riverside, Hills, Tiffin and Oxford.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by DSMGuy

If you are looking at Iowa, I would definitely look at Des Moines. You like amusement parks, festivals, etc. Des Moines is definitely the place for all of that. It has the only amusement park in Iowa, the 5th best arts festival in the United States, as well as a weekly Farmer's Market that includes entertainment and things to do that is in the top 10 for size in the US.

There are many festivals in the summer and fall and it has many cultural things to do that you find in larger cities. Because it is Iowa's capital, it has many of the amenities of larger cities. You won't be disappointed.

With Jordan Creek Mall (the largest and newest in Iowa) you have the best shopping in Iowa.

Des Moines is zone 4b-5a which can get up to -25! Crime index is in the low 400s. This could be a fun place but the question is, how expensive are nice houses in safe neighboors? Could someone with a low income like me afford a proper house? Cedar Rapids is cheaper and also lower crime.

If you don't mind ssmall towns, you'll find some cheaper housing in towns within 15 miles of IC, such as West Brance, Riverside, Hills, Tiffin and Oxford.

West Brance doesnt exist? Maybe you meant Branch? No affordable houses in that town. Neither in Riverside nor the other towns you mentioned. Those prices arent reasonable and almost as bad as north Florida!
Cedar Rapids is much more reasonable and if you look at the pics in my first post, youll see I can actually get a nice house without going broke.

[DSMGuy]

I'm not sure what you mean by the zone status, but I am pretty familiar with both places and for your interests (amusement parks, culture, shopping), Des Moines is far and away the best place to locate. I would hate to have you move to CR and then find that you are driving 2 hrs to DM everytime you want to do fun things.

DM has inexpensive suburbs on the east side of town (Bondurant, Runnells, Carlisle), I would suggest looking there. Or even 25 mi north of DM would be good (Slater, Huxley).

Also, CR's science museum is on the verge of closing and I believe another museum has closed there, so I would question how well they support their cultural attractions. Things to consider.

[Need_affordable_home]

All the suburbs are out of my price range, you need over $100k for the cheapest house. Ill have to live within the city, theres several affordable houses to chose from. I am PMing you this, please let me know if those are good choices. That city sounds like it could be fun, I just need one good affordable house(3 bedroom minimum with basement and at least 1000 living square feet for cheap) Check your PMs. Oh and positive reputation for you, thanks for your help!

[SpeedyAZ]

I grew up in Iowa and know the state fairly well. There are a few cities that you should DEFINETLY stay away fron, notably Sioux City and Waterloo.

But there are some nice places such as Dubuque, Okoboji, and most of Des Moines. Dubuque is right on the river and has plenty of attractions, shopping, and a very laid-back feel. Next is Okoboji, this is a PARTY town. Great resturants, great shopping, beautiful lake, but fairly expensive. Finally Des Moines; it's a great city but for $50,000 you won't find a very nice house and it'll probably be in a fairly crime-ridden neighborhood.

I say your best bet is Dubuque, you'd love it. I'm not sure the housing prices but they should be comparable to Cedar Falls. Avoid Sioux City and Waterloo at all costs!

[Need_affordable_home]

Waterloo's crime index is 380 which is less than that of Des Miones. Please be specific what problems Sioux City and Waterloo have. Are those two cities so bad that they are worse than Oil city, PA?

Theres only 9 houses in Dubuque under $50k and 25 under $70k. Fortunately some of them look good. Nothing affordable in Okoboji. I will add Des Miones and Dubuque to my list of affordable cities I can relocate to. Thanks for your help. I still want to know how safe those two cities are, if I buy an affordable house there, will crime be a worry?

[SpeedyAZ]

Waterloo's crime index is 380 which is less than that of Des Miones. Please be specific what problems Sioux City and Waterloo have. Are those two cities so bad that they are worse than Oil city, PA?

Theres only 9 houses in Dubuque under $50k and 25 under $70k. Fortunately some of them look good. Nothing affordable in Okoboji. I will add Des Miones and Dubuque to my list of affordable cities I can relocate to. Thanks for your help. I still want to know how safe those two cities are, if I buy an affordable house there, will crime be a worry?

Waterloo may have a lower crime rate but it's very depressed and border-line poverty. You don't need to have a ton of crime to be poverty-stricken.

Sioux City is doing much better now than when I was little. We always called it "Sewer City"; very depressed, many questionable areas, a ton of illegals, and just not very good place to live. Unfortunately while they are improving it still has many of the same problems. Give them 10 years and then I'd take another look.

Des Moines is a very working-class city. There are a few gang-ridden and unsafe neighborhoods but overall it's a great city. Dubuque is pretty safe and it has beautiful scenery all around. I know you'd love this city, it also has quite a bit of history for a small, Iowa town (Al Capone once had a residence there).

[MattDen]

Cedar Rapids might not be impressive, but Iowa City is a BIG college town just 20 miles to the south. I was in Iowa City its an amazing place but very expensive as opposed to Cedar Rapids.

Cedar Rapids is okay, but Iowa City (just 20 miles away) is an amazing college town with an amazing downtown for such a small city and its always active for 9 months of the year.

Cedar Rapids is best for work and affordable living and Iowa City is best if you like restaurants, nightlife, entertainment etc.

[metro223]

There's a lot to do out in the Omaha Metro Area, but would probably want to stay on the east side of the river or in suburban areas. Waterloo/Cedar Falls Area isn't as bad as everyone makes it seem just because the East Side sucks......i live in the northern outskirts of the city and would know. i drive through all sections of town everyday.

My brother lives in Cedar Rapids, reading what you're looking for, i think you'd like it. 3 Malls int he Metro Area, Westdale, Lindale, and Coral Ridge which is only 20 minutes from CR.
Go an hour East out to the Quad Cities for stuff to do too.