Swisher / Cedar Rapids / North Liberty questions! (Waterloo, Iowa City: insurance, daycare, houses)

[sjmrun1]

Hi. I am originally from Waterloo but we currently live in Wisconsin. We are relocating to the Cedar Rapids/IA City area to get closer to our families. We have two small children (2 and 4). My husband will be working in Cedar Rapids, either downtown or a little north of there. However, we don't want to live north of CR (like in Marion) because we want to try and be equal distances from our families (mine is in Waterloo, his in the quad cities area).

We are looking at a subdivision right off of 380 in Swisher (the Swisher/Shueyville exit) that we really like. It is very convenient to everything but the downside is we won't have bike trails or parks we can easily get to. We have looked a little at North Liberty but it's a little less convenient from what we can tell. Does anyone have comments on the Prairie schools (that's what the Swisher subdivision goes to). Thoughts on living in that area? I'm struggling with daycare too, there is a center at the College Community district but it has a long wait list.

How is the housing market overall? It seems like most houses we started looking at are still sitting.

[SharpHawkeye]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by more convenient. It's closer to Cedar Rapids, sure, but Swisher/Shueyville is pretty much in the middle of a cornfield!

I would take another look at North Liberty. It's well connected to Coralville and Iowa City by bike paths, has lots of parks and is closer to the Coralville Res/Lake MacBride--which has beaches, trails and boating. Very safe, excellent city services--police, fire, ect. It's also much closer to retail--about 15 minutes from Coral Ridge Mall and the big-boxes in that area.

I've heard a lot of good things about Prairie schools. It's a pretty popular destination for student teachers and volunteers from the college here. Iowa City schools are very good also.

When it comes to the housing market, the word around the Iowa City area is that the national slowdown hadn't really affected the housing market around here--things are continuing in sort of a "slow, steady growth" pattern. But that was pre-flood, so we'll have to see.

[Roy G. Biv]

Yes it depends what price range for housing you're looking at since right now there are several thousand people in CR who are flooded out of their homes and may be looking to buy. A lot of those homes are in the $100k and under range.

I'm a high school teacher in Marion and I know a number of teachers at Prairie. Some of them don't really like it because of the largely rural makeup of the students which can affect overall expectations of parents (not as high). I know some people who went to school there and didn't have any complaints, but they weren't very bright to begin with. They do seem to have ample resources, a lot of new construction, good fine arts programs, etc.

Also, its none of my business but I'd reconsider the cost in gas and time of commuting to North of CR every day vs the cost of occasionally driving 20 extra minutes to get to the quad cities. They predict $7 a gallon gas in the near future. But you're right about Marion. A lot of new housing but don't move there because it is too difficult to get to to from 380 (trust me, I do it every day and its horrible, congested, tiny roads, etc). I'd think about CR or Hiawatha, or Robins.

[LuvinIowa]

Roy G. Biv
I'm a high school teacher in Marion and I know a number of teachers at Prairie. Some of them don't really like it because of the largely rural makeup of the students which can affect overall expectations of parents (not as high). I know some people who went to school there and didn't have any complaints, but they weren't very bright to begin with.

Hi Sjmrun1,

I grew up in Swisher.

Lived in Swisher in my younger years, and then my folks built a home on the outskirts of rural Swisher where I lived until I left for college. Both of my parents have college degrees and one has a Master's. After college (undergrad and postgrad) I moved around and decided to come back to the Prairie School District to start a family. We have easy access to Cedar Rapids AND Iowa City, AND, at the end of the day we get to come home to peace and quiet. The neighborhood has children of all ages and everyone is very respectful to watch out for each other. Our street block has frequent "block parties" that are children friendly and reinforce why someone would want to be a part of a smaller community.

Roy G. Biv. I do not even know where to start. I can only say that your words sound as uneducated as the "rural" people you depict.

[Roy G. Biv]

Well I'm just telling it like it is. I teach AP classes and I've talked with my counterpart at Prairie and there are struggles there with getting students and parents on board with high expectations in a rigorous course. This is a problem that does not exist as much in Marion because a very large percentage of parents are professionals and perhaps push their kids harder simply because they are more familiar with the post-high school demands of a competitive academic environment. I'm not depicting any group as being ignorant, just different in their educational values and concerns.

As far as the "not so bright" prairie alum I know, they were my neighbors in town growing up--they were not rural

[macfraser]

A nice option for you with Quad-Cities and Waterloo family would be North Liberty. It is one of the fastest growing communities in Iowa and we just hosted a very successful over night stay of Ragbrai (The Great Annual Bike Ride Across Iowa) in North Liberty.

I am an insurance agent with Country Insurance in North Liberty and I live in Iowa City and have family, also, in the Quad-Cities and I find this area to be super convenient for getting back to the QCA. I also go to Waterloo because I am an avid Harley rider and our bikes came from the Harley dealership in Cedar Falls.

Glad that you will be moving back this way!!!!