A few Waterloo FACTS (Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls: low income, section 8, renting)

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Chien

A poster and I seem to be in disagreement over the quality of life in Waterloo.

Obviously, you failed to mention that Waterloo,IA had only one murder in 2005. The Atlanta suburb of Marietta,GA had 6 murders(and Marietta has a slightly smaller population.).

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by summer grace

Well, I think that's a fairly good assessment. I think the whole point with Waterloo is that it is bad by Iowa standards. But, Iowa standards are nothing, exactly. I agree about near downtown, the bad neighborhoods look to be there, although I've not seen that much of Waterloo. By the standards of most cities, it is fine, it's just by Iowa standards that it's bad. I've never lived there of course, but that's my judgemebt from passing through.

By Atlanta standards, Waterloo looks like a walk in the park.

[Chicago60614]

Well yeah, you're talking about an entire state of 3,000,000 people who only have barely half the number of murders as the Little Rock metro area alone.....

To worry about crime in Waterloo compared to most places in America is wasting your time....

[summer grace]

Yes, I think Waterloo is nothing compared to many major cities. It is certainly nothing compared to Atlanta. If it was anywhere other than IA where it stands out, people would see it as nothing at all, but it's IA, so that makes it stand out more.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by summer grace

Yes, I think Waterloo is nothing compared to many major cities. It is certainly nothing compared to Atlanta. If it was anywhere other than IA where it stands out, people would see it as nothing at all, but it's IA, so that makes it stand out more.

I agree. It is like Mpls. In Minnesota it's crime rate is considered high, but place it GA, CA, or FLA, it doesn't look so bad, especially when compared to Atlanta, Miami, or Los Angeles. Waterloo is the same way. Actually, it might be considered less violent than Marietta,Ga, which isn't that bad either. It has its bad parts like Waterloo. I'm not going to say Waterloo(or Marietta) are perfect, far from it. I should know. I used to live in Marietta and just by reading posts about Waterloo, I know better, but to each his own. If someone wants to live in Waterloo, perhaps it is because there is something there for that person.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Chien

Although I am certain readers are intrigued with the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureaus's site- I think it is somewhat expected that this agency will put the best shine on the city they can.
Now , do you have opposing statistical data to refute what I have posted?
I will accept anything from the Waterloo Police Department, the FBI, any of the state agencies I quoted, the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, or any of the three major news agencies there.
People want facts, not the spin of a website of an agency whose sole purpose is to attempt to draw people in.
( In anticipation, a MySpace on Waterloo will not convince me either, nor will a link to Waterloo bumperstickers or...well...you get the idea. I just want the factual data as I provided. )

Atlanta(and even its suburb Marietta) is more violent than Waterloo and people are moving to the the metropolitan Atlanta area in droves(people are actually moving to the city of Atlanta as well). I don't necessarily believe crime is much a consideration for those who move to Atlanta.

[green_mariner]

I did some research on this website and according to the research on city-data.com, Waterloo has a much lower crime index than Davenport, Des Moines or Council Bluffs.
Waterloo crime index(2005): 396.1. # of murders in 2005:1
Des Moines crime index(2005):525.8. # of murders in 2005:5
Davenport crime index(2005): 688.8. # of murders in 2005:7
Council Bluffs crime index(2005):760.8. # of murders in 2005:0

Even with the one murder in 2005, I hardly believe Waterloo is the most violent place in Iowa.

[h20loo-iowa]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I did some research on this website and according to the research on city-data.com, Waterloo has a much lower crime index than Davenport, Des Moines or Council Bluffs.
Waterloo crime index(2005): 396.1. # of murders in 2005:1
Des Moines crime index(2005):525.8. # of murders in 2005:5
Davenport crime index(2005): 688.8. # of murders in 2005:7
Council Bluffs crime index(2005):760.8. # of murders in 2005:0

Even with the one murder in 2005, I hardly believe Waterloo is the most violent place in Iowa.

They have not givin waterloo's true murder-rate since 1993 the year that it had the most murders in the state,
they did this to get people to move there to replace those that leave or move-out because of the high murder-rate.

[mustang84]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I did some research on this website and according to the research on city-data.com, Waterloo has a much lower crime index than Davenport, Des Moines or Council Bluffs.
Waterloo crime index(2005): 396.1. # of murders in 2005:1
Des Moines crime index(2005):525.8. # of murders in 2005:5
Davenport crime index(2005): 688.8. # of murders in 2005:7
Council Bluffs crime index(2005):760.8. # of murders in 2005:0

Even with the one murder in 2005, I hardly believe Waterloo is the most violent place in Iowa.

Don't believe it. The 'Loo has more murders than one or two per year. I can think of two murders off the top of my head so far in the last couple months, and a dozen or so robberies and shootings since the first of the year.

I'm not saying Waterloo is an East STL or anything, but it has a considerable amount of crime compared to other Iowa cities.

[UnusualSuspect]

Originally Posted by mustang84

Don't believe it. The 'Loo has more murders than one or two per year. I can think of two murders off the top of my head so far in the last couple months, and a dozen or so robberies and shootings since the first of the year.

I'm not saying Waterloo is an East STL or anything, but it has a considerable amount of crime compared to other Iowa cities.

Meh. I'm not sure where you live, but growing up in Waterloo and then going to UNI for four years, I found that people who grew up in smaller Iowa towns had strange ideas about what went on in Waterloo. It's not a dangerous place unless you put yourself in dangerous situations. As with any city, don't hang out in the not-so-great neighborhoods late at night, and you'll be fine. I never had any problems, and I don't know anyone who has. As you say, it's not East St. Louis. Heck, it's not any big city, for that matter, and it doesn't really compare to any of them.