Is Iowa a good place to live during this economic crisis? (Des Moines: apartments, rentals)

[DMRyan]

The U of I has a highly regarded journalism school. That would likely be your best bet for a university in Iowa.

[swmrbird]

There are plenty of small towns around Iowa City that will likely have less expensive housing although less exciting to live in as well. Cedar Rapids is about 20 miles north of IC if your family is looking to be close, have more housing options as well as job opportunities in a bigger city/town. A lot of people live in one (IC or CR) and work in the other - but that commute might be a bit much for a college student to make - not impossible though.

[QuadCityImages]

The Quad Cities are only 45 minutes or so east of Iowa City, which may not seem that bad to someone from a bigger metro like Vegas. We haven't been affected very much at all over here by the economic problems, and our unemployment is currently 5.5%, and pretty much always under the national average.

The QC area also has a lot of things to do culturally, especially for an area of around 400,000. Iowa City is great too, and if you live there then all the QC stuff is only 45 minutes away, so either way you're close to both.

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by DMRyan

The U of I has a highly regarded journalism school. That would likely be your best bet for a university in Iowa.

I agree. I think Iowa is more well-regarded for writing and Iowa State is more geared toward technology.

Just to get an idea of rental costs in Iowa City, I'll provide you with some links:
iowa city apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist
Iowa City / Cedar Rapids*Iowa Apartment Finder | Search Southeast Iowa Apartment Rental

I think Iowa City, despite being somewhat expensive for the area, will still be significantly cheaper than Vegas. You could easily live in Coralville, North Liberty, or Tiffin and still be within 20 or 25 minutes of campus, and there may be cheaper options available in those communities. Oxford and Hills are cheaper options a bit farther out, although the commute to Oxford can be rough in winter. I wouldn't recommend going too much farther because of winter weather, especially if you are unfamiliar with it, but many people do drive in each day from Cedar Rapids or places even farther away, so it would be do-able.

And on the subject of the economy, I actually heard on the news tonight (KCRG) that unemployment dropped this month in the state of Iowa, I believe we're hovering around 4%.

[SleepingSun]

Wow those rents are significantly cheaper than Vegas! lol. We pay $1,000 for a 2 bedroom condo and lets not even talk about groceries and gas prices. I guess Iowa city or some small town around it would be a good idea. I can't believe there was actually a 2 bedroom in Coralville for just over $500. That would never happen in Vegas.

How are the apartments in IC and around that area? Are they pretty big? I wish Craig list had pictures.

Does anyone know if there are any jobs that are in demand in Iowa? I know my mother had a friend who was able to move somewhere because the job she got paid for her to move there. I'm hoping to find some jobs like that. It would make moving there much easier. I want to check out some iowa job sites. Does anyone know a good link?
Thanks for all your help by the way!

[natahoa]

Originally Posted by pepe1

Anyone else find these paragraphs odd? When top rated public education systems are discussed, one usually hears of the Wisconsin, Iowa, and New Hampshire school systems. Never once have I heard Virginia mentioned in that conversation...Sour grapes, maybe?

The schools we attended in Northern Virginia were public. Except for the local Catholic schools, the only people who attend private schools in that area are very wealthy--the public schools are so good, the area doesn't have a lot of small private schools. Here in Des Moines there are oodles of private schools, far more than in the Washington DC suburbs. But I couldn't find any private schools here that were better than the public schools academically--they are about equal.

It isn't really possible to compare school systems statewide or nationwide, except perhaps with national tests such as the SAT or the AP tests, and the college board doesn't release data that easily lets you compare states or school districts within states. In Iowa, only the very elite students take the SAT (those looking to go outside the state for college), most kids take only the ACT. On the east coast, most kids only take the SAT. So, Iowa's SAT test scores are skewed and can't be compared with states where all college-bound kids take the SAT.

We were in Fairfax County Virginia. I don't know how Virginia ranks as a whole, I'm sure many parts of Virginia have poor school systems, because many parts of Virginia are economically poor. Fairfax is a very wealthy community, and the weathiest communities always have the highest test scores.

I'm sure there are better schools systems in Iowa than those in the Des Moines area. From what I can gather, the public schools in the University towns are the best. I certainly hope they are better than the schools in West Des Moines, where the focus is on sports and seems to actively discourage kids from being "smart" from an early age. The gifted program here, for example, is a joke, and kids who take part in it are considered odd.

[natahoa]

[quote=swmrbird;6633945]So I'm pretty sure one of Iowa's slogans is ' First in the nation in education'.

As a product of the Iowa public school system - it lives up to it no question. While I can't speak for NoVa I tend to think that they also have a variety of private and charter schools to choose from as well. Here we rely heavily on the public school system.

Iowa's education reputation is from decades ago, when it was one of the top states in the country. It is not any longer. If you watch the papers, state regulators in Iowa are trying hard to establish better standards and more updated programs, but they get a lot of resistance. Most people here don't have a point of comparison. The vast majority of people in Iowa seemed to have grown up here. I have the advantage of having come from an area where the education system is much different.

Northern Virginia only has a few private schools--except for the Catholic schools, they are extremely expensive ($25K a year and up), so they are only for the elite wealthy. Charter schools are only found in DC, where they are established as an alternative to failing schools. We were from Fairfax County, which is a very wealthy community. The wealthiest communities always have the best schools and highest test scores.

Fairfax differentiates itself because it is always trying something new. Not every new thing is successful, but their schools constantly evolve. Where we are in WDM, the schools are a lot like when I was in school 30+ years ago. They just aren't very forward thinking. I'm sure the schools near the big universities are the better ones in Iowa, since they will be more focused on academics and have robust economies.

Having said that, the city of Des Moines has a much more forward-thinking program. Central Academy is one of the best high school programs in the country. My daughter goes there, and it's a perfect high school environment for a gifted child. West Des Moines could send lots of kids there and it would be an advantage for both the kids and the city, but instead WDM is establishing new rules that are making it harder for kids to attend Central. Valley High School simply can't match the academic environment there.

It would be SO much better for Valley to take advantage of Central for its most gifted kids, and use WDM's resources to specialize in other academic or technical programs. Instead, Valley offers the same classes as Central so it can refuse to send kids there, then hires idiots (i.e. sports coaches) to teach them. I am so disappointed with Valley, I can't tell you.

I wish Iowa would plop a big state university in the Des Moines area. Then these high schools could no longer get away with offering an "AP" course that is taught by no-show teachers who, when they do show up, spend most of the class time having the kids grade their own papers. It's rediculous what goes on there. My older daughter is struggling in three AP classes because the teachers just don't teach them. My younger daughter will stay at Central Academy if its the last thing I do on this earth.

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by SleepingSun

Wow those rents are significantly cheaper than Vegas! lol. We pay $1,000 for a 2 bedroom condo and lets not even talk about groceries and gas prices. I guess Iowa city or some small town around it would be a good idea. I can't believe there was actually a 2 bedroom in Coralville for just over $500. That would never happen in Vegas.

How are the apartments in IC and around that area? Are they pretty big? I wish Craig list had pictures.

Coralville is the closest suburb, so depending on the apartment, it may only be about 10 minutes from campus. A lot of students choose to live here because it's cheaper to rent. In case you're curious, there really aren't any "bad" areas in the Iowa City area, especially for someone coming from a big city. The only area which is at all questionable is the far southeast side of town, and really there isn't that much crime in that area either. (I have family that lives there.) So don't worry too much about the location.

As far as apartments go, it really depends on the place. If you are looking at a specific apartment complex, I may be able to tell you my impressions of it based on the outside but I don't know very much about the apartments in the area.

Originally Posted by SleepingSun

Does anyone know if there are any jobs that are in demand in Iowa? I know my mother had a friend who was able to move somewhere because the job she got paid for her to move there. I'm hoping to find some jobs like that. It would make moving there much easier. I want to check out some iowa job sites. Does anyone know a good link?
Thanks for all your help by the way!

Here's our local paper's classified section: Iowa City Jobs from press-citizen.com, Iowa City Press-Citizen and CareerBuilder.com

I think that's pretty much the best list you'll get, but you could always Google "Iowa City jobs" and there might be other sites to look at. The ones I saw looked kind of lame, so I didn't link to them, but that doesn't mean they're not out there.

[Alec-Writer]

"We were in Fairfax County Virginia. I don't know how Virginia ranks as a whole, I'm sure many parts of Virginia have poor school systems, because many parts of Virginia are economically poor. Fairfax is a very wealthy community, and the weathiest communities always have the highest test scores."

Foreclosures in Fairfax are epidemic. Fairfax county employees are being furloughed or have cuts in their hours. One out of every three people that you meet here can not speak English (actually getting closer to one in two) and getting service in stores is unbelievably a chore.

The drivers here (Fairfax) are some of the rudest in my experience and that includes driving in NYC, Chicago, Houston and LA.

The most courteous drivers that I've met, have generally been in the MN-IA regions.

The Fairfax region is just one great big suburban wasteland and I can't wait to finally get out of it.

[SleepingSun]

Good info to know. So does any know what the residency requirements for the U of Iowa is to pay only in-state tuition? I know in Vegas, a person who just moved to the state has to have lived here for six months or so to get in-state tuition. It sucks being out of school for that long, but I noticed the out of state tuition for any college is way too much.