Johnson County (Iowa City, Coralville, Lone Pine, North Liberty, Solon) (Lone Tree: environment, property taxes)

[QuintusCinna]

I am curious about Johnson County's entertainment, housing costs, and environment. Any information or opinions would be much appreciated. I specifically am curious what Lone Pine has for an industry.

[chad murphy]

This used to be a great place to live. Now the property taxes are so high you cant aford to own anything and to rent is very high too because of the taxes.
the Johnson Co. supervisors are nuts they aproved 3 million more for 09.
Do not more here you pay 3 times as much property tax as the big cities in AZ.

[SharpHawkeye]

I have heard some people complain about the property taxes here, but in Iowa City's defense--we have excellent city services. There's an absolutely fantastic library, water system, great schools, a well-staffed police force (hence low crime), good fire protection, extensive bus service, parks and trails, city-sponsored programs and events, etc. So in the end, it's a trade off...higher taxes for better city services. If it really bothers you, you could always move to those cities in Arizona (and other places) where they pay less, but also get less.

As to the OP, the Iowa City area has a lot to do, and it's a great place to live. Housing costs are higher than other cities in Iowa, but reasonable on a nationwide scale. A lot of it depends on what you're looking for. I and others could get on here and write you a whole book on it if you get us started so if you have some more specific questions, we'd be glad to take them on one-by-one.

By "Lone Pine" do you mean "Lone Tree"? Lone Tree is a small town about 30 minutes south of Iowa City. To my knowledge, Lone Tree has little or no industry. There's a big casino between there and Riverside, but that's about it. Most people there commute to Iowa City.