Burlington!!!

[siwilliams]

Good luck! I lived in Burlington for approx 3 years and found it a wonderful place. I've recently relocated to Texas for a job...still looking to sell/rent my house though. If you know someone - send them my way.

Sivon
618-407-7825

[tickytack]

Originally Posted by jinxer

No ticky tack never a bitter loser! Loser's don't go on to complete triple majors and a masters degree and receive wonderful jobs helping those LESS FORTUNATE than myself! You seem to be full of hot air all the time and the expert on EVERYTHING! I doubt that because a city smells bad it would be enough to discount it as a place to live! Stop being so judgemental unless you personally know everyone who posts here!!

Sorry- I will back off. I forgot that everyone that finishes a triple major is super sweet. I too am working on my masters, so I guess I am also super sweet. I only have a double major though, so I am sure I am just a small mind with old ideas.

[jinxer]

I didn't say I was super sweet just motivated as you seem to be! Everyone has a different perception of a town based on their experiences - good or bad! As I said I lived there all my live and I hated it! I have never met more prejudiced, power hungry policemen then there is in Burlington. Judges so biased that if you looked at their record to see how many times they convict minorities versus whites it would shock even someone like you. They tried to make the school more balanced racially and it caused such an uproar because most of the people didn't want their children going to school with low income, bad behaviored children from the "bad side of town". They built a new middle school on the edge of town where only 31 kids were in walking distance and the rest had to be bused to school. It depends on who you are and the color of your skin how accepted you are in Burlington!

[Old Gringo]

I've passed through Burlington several times over the years on road trips. Stayed overnight a couple of times. Enjoyed the summertime "Steamboat Days" festival about 20 years ago. Great live music and outdoor atmosphere down by the riverfront. Burlington impresses me as a very picturesque small city in a beautiful natural setting on the bluffs above the Mississippi River, with a lot of nice things going for it. The parks in that town are an example that all small cities in America should use as their model.

I can't comment on the economic atmosphere, though. From what others have posted it sounds like it's suffering the same effects as the rest of the Midwestern "rust belt."

But it's a place I'd put on my "retire to" list.

[Wachular]

i lived in burlington in the early 40s to the middle fiftys. something sure must have changed since then, i remember burlington as being a great place to live, as a teen ager there was always plenty to do. the old spiderweb was a favorite hang out for us. Crapo park,swimming bowling,and some of the prettest girls. I know I married one. I am sorry to hear how much it has changed. [email]chiefchuwa@aol.com[/email]

[shyarrow]

If this site is still going, I'd like to reply that I'm a 6-generation Burlingtonian, and I LOVE living here. This is my town, and I'm quite HAPPY to be living here. If you want to see pictures of Burlington---go to Facebook. We have hundreds of pictures, old and new, on there and the FANS are growing exponentially---current citizens and former as well. Read the comments and they're all positive about what living here meant to them. Iowa is a great state as anyone who has ever ridden across it on RAGBRAI knows quite well. And Burlington is one of the top five cities in the State for being a really great place to live . . .

[batman007]

indeed, there are bars all over the place. as a matter of fact, there are more bars than churches, which says a lot. and crime is plentiful. from meth labs, to armed robberies, to forgeries, to check frauds, to sexual assaults, thefts, residential and business burglaries, to just flat out people beating other people up for no apparent reason (take note the bars). that's just the tip of the ice berg because the newspaper is being run by a bunch of boosters, who have no clue — or denies the fact that it exists — what the hell is going on outside their office. a lot of retail chains, you have to be kidding me.
true there are big box stores like target, lowes, but that's it. everyone goes to walmart, shopko or menards. a lot of people drive to iowa city, or even des moines to do shopping. forget about the so-called mall. it's an empty building with noting but three stores in it, oh, plus the "new" movie theater.
kidding aside, without the anchor store such as JC Penny and Younkers, the mall would fold.
Friendly people????? If you have a lot of money, and you volunteer for the sole purpose of getting your name in the so-called paper, or the sorry piece of radio station they have, then you may well fit in. Oh, and if you have kids who go to notre dame, then you'll be snug here. don't forget to give money, and get a megaphone to announce how much you gave and what you did, then you'll fit right in.
need work on your house? No problem. call a contractor and get jabbed in the butt. the worker can either ********* with the price; get convicted felons working on your project, or insult you by saying you can't afford what you want done. and that's when you're lucky enough to get anyone call you back or at least give you an estimate.
we tried getting an estimate on having the house repainted, porch work, chimney and other things, but no one even bothered to call back, or show up. except for the one time this arrogant contractor showed up, and said we could not afford it. how the hell would he know.
no one is going to tell you the defect of homes, so beware. there are bats all over the friggin place. in the attic, basement, walls, garages and even inside your clothes drier.
snake alley? it's not even a street, so how can it be the crookedest street in the world. that's BS. it's just one example these boosters are putting out there to exaggerate, and sell this dump. granting it's a pretty neat site, but don't overplay it to the point of misrepresentation.
oldest newspaper? it was a newspaper back in its golden years...a very long time ago. now it's a reminder paper, a rag ran by inexperienced wannabe editors and reporters. the managing editor, city editor and some of the desk editors don't even have experience as reporters. they are not only ignorant, but arrogant and have a know-it-all complex. they push their agenda to their readers. sadly, the community is the one that suffers because it does not get the whole truth.
everyone is a big fish. they intimidate. they are right, always. and you are wrong, always. if you are not from here, you're nothing.
schools are the same, especially the public schools where teachers and administrators treat children and their jobs like a production line: just another day in the factory. no wonder most end up in the police blotter, or the juvenile court system. the teachers go to work for the paycheck, not because they want to teach the kids. children are not allowed to think outside of the box, or speak for themselves, or formulate their own opinion. the school district intimidates and punishes kids who have the nerve to stand up for what they think is right. they get penalized for being different than the stupid standards set up by the district.
graduation rate is very low, but you won't see it because they pass everyone. bottom line, you attend school, you pass. it's that simple. doesn't matter whether you learned how to read and write, as long as these so-called "educators" meet their quota so they can get state money.
and there is no such thing as downtown burlington. empty and rotting buildings are all there is. parking for less than 30 minutes. yes there are shops, a few, but they are not open the weekends, when most people are off. they are not open the evenings, when most people are off. they are not open extended hours during the holidays, when most people are off.
and then they complain of not having enough business. go figure.
fun during steamboat days???? if you call getting invaded by may flies, mugged and robbed fun, then yes it's a blast.