Cedar Rapids, Iowa looks good! Recommend other good cities too. (Des Moines: appointed, amusement parks)

[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?

[Steve-o]

LOL Oh boy.

IA might get cold, but youll get a better education there than in nasty Tennessee, so IA is prob your best bet. We all know how stuck on Oil City you are, what made you change your mind?!?!?!

[Need_affordable_home]

I havent changed anything, just considering other options besides Oil city. Most people dont think highly of Oil city so ive been reading the forums and someone mentioned how great Cedar Rapids is and how affordable it is. So I started this thread to learn more. As for education, im finished with college and self employeed. I just need to choose a city to relocate to and it doesnt have to be Oil city but it has to be affordable for someone not rich like me

[mylasttry]

It sure looks better then Oil City. I would consider Cedar Rapids over Oil City if those are your choices.

Most of the midwest in general is fairly inexpensive. There are probably exceptions. But as far as I can tell it's probably the cheapest overall region in the US. The lack of coastline probably pays a role as well as usually harsh winters.

[Need_affordable_home]

64 Cedar Rapids, IA 123,100

Wow its ranked #64 on the top 100 cities to live! Thats pretty good, much better than Oil city for sure. Crime is average there which isnt too bad. Theres some affordable $50k houses as well

[HKB]

I don't know if you're joking about the hills/mountains or what... but if you're looking for mountains, Iowa isn't the right place for you. There are some gentle rolling hills, but that's it.

I've spent a lot of time in CR. It's an okay place I guess, but there is nothing special enough about it to make me want to live there. Plus, the whole town smells like oatmeal from the Quaker Oats factory downtown. There is also some kind of meatpacking plant (Farmland?) just south of CR that gives out a funky smell too.

CR is better than Waterloo though. Waterloo is kind of a dumpy town.

[Need_affordable_home]

Isnt CR a big city of 125k people? What do people do for fun? Hows the shopping? CR should be better than Oil city, houses cost twice as much

[HKB]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Isnt CR a big city of 125k people? What do people do for fun? Hows the shopping? CR should be better than Oil city, houses cost twice as much

That's the thing... there isn't much to do there. They have minor league baseball (AA level) and a Tier-1 junior hockey team. There is a pretty standard shopping mall, and Iowa City (where the University of Iowa is located) is only 30-45 minutes to the south, so you have all of the things that are associated with a major university.

[Need_affordable_home]

Im not interested in sports. What I like is lots of shopping and I wouldnt mind some great restaurants. Some carnivals, festivals, amusement parks, clubs and other forms of entertainment would be great. Im trying to determine how much better Cedar Rapids is vs. Oil city to make it worth the fact houses cost twice as much!

[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.