Possible move to Coralville (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City: housing, condo, rent)

[hmccrum]

I currently live in Garland, TX (suburb of Dallas). My husband works for a company which may be combining offices and one is near Iowa City/Coralville area.
This is supposedly 2 years in the future, but you know how that works. Possibly A LOT shorter b/c of people quitting d/t this announcement.
I know a great deal of planning (emotional, financial) goes into a big move like this. And I like to completely prepare myself on what to expect. We have NEVER lived out of the state of Texas (I was born in Indiana, but moved when I was 2). I do know it is a great deal colder there. What type of winter gear should I have? Of course, Texas does have it's cold snaps, but I'm sure not like you guys get. I have winter gear for about 20 degree above weather.
And some other basic questions...middle-income home value, types of stores, internet service school performance.
I have been in the Dallas area for several years and can safely say, I will not miss the traffic crime and noise. I will miss the convience of stores, malls, zoos and children's museums.
Also, if anyone has gone through a big move because of a company-what steps did you take? I must seem like a "Monica"; but sometimes we forget the simplest things.

[FIREFIGHTER]

Dear Texas,
My Wife And I Just Returned From The Iowa City / Coralville Area. I Am A Firefigher, ( Just Outside Chicago ) Looking To Retire To Iowa And We Had Heard That The Area Was Nice. By The Third Day We Had At Best Judged The Area As Just Ok. The Area Is Growing Fast, Esp. Coralville And North Liberty. All The Const. Looks The Same And The Prices Are High For The Type And Quality They Are Building. My Wife And I Call Them Crackerjack Homes And Condo's. They All Look The Same. There Is All The Shopping In The Area You Could Ask For. We Talked Quite A Bit To The Locals And They Told Us That The Town Fathers Had Did A Study And Came To The Conclusion That Iowa City Was Too Rich, Well Educatated, And Needed To Be More Racilay Diverse So,they Imported Low Income People For Chicago And Elsewhere And Really Caused Them Self Alot Of Problems. Sorry For The Bad News, But I Have Also Got Good News. There Is A Small Town About 20 - 25 Miles West, Just Off I - 80 Called Williamsburg. Great People,great Homes And School Dist. Is The Best In The Area. Well Worth The Short Drive From Iowa City. The Winters In The Mid West Have Been Very Mild For Some Years Now. I Would Guess That It Is Not Much Of A Change In Climate Form Chicago. There Is A Town Called Vinton That Is Past Cedar Rapids Off Of 1-380 That We Fell In Love With. The Bad News Is That It Is About 45 - 50 Miles From Coralville. Cant Tell You Much About The Schools Ther But The Town Is Really Great. Our Children Are Grown And We Just Happened To Get That Info. On The Schools In Williamsburg By Chance. removed. Hope This Helps, Feel Free To Respond Back To Firefighter On This Web Site.

[hmccrum]

OK, thank you for the input.

[iowastate]

My husband and I grew up in Iowa and his company transferred us to Arizona. Big move with a 9 month old, and we have never left the state. I grew up in NE IA, what they call Gods country. We just moved from Victor which is 45 miles east of Iowa City. Nice little town of about 1500. We went to Iowa City alot for shopping and doctors. But as previously mentioned that town is growing so fast and is soo expensive for housing. The University of Iowa is located there and so the houses do look alot alike and very costly. North Liberty which is North of Corallville/IC is a nice area but again growing fast. They will soon be hooked together. Vinton is a wonderful and beautiful town, but would be just too far to drive. Cedar Rapids is a larger area also but has many small suburbs that you could look at. Another option close to IC/Corallville is Williamsburg. I was a substitute teacher and this school system is FAR best of any school I have been too. Also have a nice outlet mall there and 15 minutes from Corallville. I would love to move back to that area as well!! The winters can be brutal but lately have been pretty good. You will soon get aclimated to it. This town has older and new homes, it is growing in size but pretty reasonable. Good luck!!

[Pam]

I currently live in Coralville. My husband is originally from Maybank Texas, 60 miles east of Dallas. He really enjoys the change of seasons that we have here in the midwest. Doesn't miss the boiling heat in the summer. But it does take some getting use to the winter cold. I really enjoy living in the Iowa City area. It has the feel of a small town but with the University of Iowa here there are many activities that you won't find in other towns in Iowa. Such as sporting events and shows. Lot's of summer activities such as Arts festival, Jazz fest, and every Friday evening a live band plays down in the pedestrian mall, downtown Iowa City. There is a lake just north of town that offers camping, fishing, boating, and swimming. The town is pretty liberal for Iowa. During the school year when all the students are here the down town is very busy and parking can be difficult.
We have 3 hospitals, the VA, a smaller catholic hospital, and the large U of I hospital (800 beds). Both Mercy and U hospital have good reputations. The U is nationally known for many of it's specialty areas. The school disctrict here is good as well. There are 2 high schools. Both have good athletic departments.
Housing is higher priced compared to the rest of the state. As the others have mentioned there has been a lot of growth in the past several years. If you prefer a smaller town I would recommend Solon. It is 10 miles north of Iowa City. It has a very good school district and has that small Iowa farm feel. I have friends that moved there just for the school. It is also close to lake McBride. I hope this helps. Good luck.

[Tipton Travis]

You should definitely consider Tipton. It's the county seat for Cedar County (just next door to Johnson County, where Iowa City/Coralville is located) and although it is a relatively small town (approx. 3,200 residents) it has a great downtown business district and a very active community. You get lots of house for your money and if you like historic victorian-era homes, Tipton is full of 'em! (My wife and I just bought one ourselves in March and love it!) We moved here from Coralville and haven't looked back. Tipton is about a 30 minute drive to Iowa City, 40 minutes to Cedar Rapids, and 40 minutes to the Quad Cities - great location. Check out www.tiptoniowa.org for more info.