Preschools in Iowa City (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: for sale, apartments, renting)

[Caribbeanheart]

I will be moving to Iowa City with my husband soon. My husband is a post grad student but I desperately need assistance with finding a preschool for my daughter. I am interested in a school that teaches spanish and music. Any ideas?

[Betsy84]

I don't know is there are any preschools that do both. Preucil has a music oriented preschool, and I think Willowwind teaches Spanish. You'd have to research, but I'm guessing both are on the pricier end of the spectrum.

[nicolep824]

I can support willowwind. My son goes there for K. They have a really good program there

[lurtsman]

I'd suggest not moving to Iowa City. It's not much of a place for raising kids IMO. Hard to get access to cultural activities. Des Moines provides options if you don't mind 2 hours drive.

What is your husband studying? If he is in the nursing program there, you've got to go. It's top notch. One of the best in the country. That applies to most anything in Medicine. Anything else and he can probably get into a better school in a better place.

There is a pre-school in North Liberty (north of Iowa City) that got some pretty great reviews from people that actually went there. I was by their facility occasionally for trips to the park. The park is called Penn Meadows Park. It's a decent park. I can't recall the name of the facility because I didn't have kids at that time. If you have no option other than Iowa City, you might as well have a nice day care.

BTW. I turned down the MBA program at UofI before moving out of the state. It's a great place for people that really love that environment, but I wasn't going to fit. Iowa City isn't for everyone, so make sure you research before you move.

If you are renting a place, the most cost effective options are going to be in North Liberty -- you'd want to be near the little park just off 965. You'll have easy access to that day care, the library and gym within walking distance, and a great little pond. There are houses and condos for sale. I personally found that the best deals were going to be renting from private owners there. The apartments near the post office went downhill dramatically when a manager moved into the property and started doing nightly patrols.

This is the neighborhood that appears to be have the best values:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=bradl...owa+52317&z=16

Best of luck to you

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by lurtsman

I'd suggest not moving to Iowa City. It's not much of a place for raising kids IMO. Hard to get access to cultural activities. Des Moines provides options if you don't mind 2 hours drive.

What is your husband studying? If he is in the nursing program there, you've got to go. It's top notch. One of the best in the country. That applies to most anything in Medicine. Anything else and he can probably get into a better school in a better place.

There is a pre-school in North Liberty (north of Iowa City) that got some pretty great reviews from people that actually went there. I was by their facility occasionally for trips to the park. The park is called Penn Meadows Park. It's a decent park. I can't recall the name of the facility because I didn't have kids at that time. If you have no option other than Iowa City, you might as well have a nice day care.

BTW. I turned down the MBA program at UofI before moving out of the state. It's a great place for people that really love that environment, but I wasn't going to fit. Iowa City isn't for everyone, so make sure you research before you move.

If you are renting a place, the most cost effective options are going to be in North Liberty -- you'd want to be near the little park just off 965. You'll have easy access to that day care, the library and gym within walking distance, and a great little pond. There are houses and condos for sale. I personally found that the best deals were going to be renting from private owners there. The apartments near the post office went downhill dramatically when a manager moved into the property and started doing nightly patrols.

This is the neighborhood that appears to be have the best values:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=bradl...owa+52317&z=16

Best of luck to you

The Englert Theatre, Iowa City, Iowa

Hancher Auditorium / The University of Iowa

Orchestra Iowa

Friday Night Concert Series

Iowa City Jazz Festival

Riverside Theatre & Shakespeare Festival

Fine Arts Council and Art Markets

University of Iowa Dance Program

[lurtsman]

LoL. Well played 1stpontiac.

For linking those things in addition to naming them, I'm giving you rep.

I would've been comparing Iowa City to cities that were significantly larger. Compared to other cities of the same size it does better than average on presenting arts. Perhaps I should've phrased that differently. I'm generally looking at things offered in larger cities that are not offered there--and it's not your typical expectation when someone talks about cultural activities.

I'm talking about the lack of a zoo, professional sports teams, big name concerts, etc. Things that don't really make sense in a small market, and the challenge is that the closest mid sized market in des moines. The nearest professional sports are Chicago, and the next great zoo is Omaha (though it is quite a zoo!).

To me, it felt like the opportunities present often involved paying big city prices for admission, costs for parking, and then having less than professional level presentations. However, that is largely a matter of opinion rather than fact.

[1stpontiac]

It is true that you won't find those things in Iowa City (I'm actually a little suprised that there isn't a little more big-name concert activity in Iowa City/CR). Big city/small city is always a trade off. I live in a much larger metro now, and there is no end to big-name concerts, plays, all 4 major league sports, and a couple zoos. The thing is, I go to much less stuff now, because it inevitably involves at least 1-hr round-trip of driving, just to get across the metro. Personally, I miss being able to drive into DT Iowa City, pay the $5 to park for the evening, and be listening to music on the ped mall within 10 minutes of leaving home.

Different strokes for different folks, though.

[lurtsman]

I can sure agree to that. I found parking in Iowa City impossibly hard. In part, because I don't like to pay 5 bucks to get someone to leave my car alone. It felt crazy that parking was so limited when there were so many undeveloped spaces. I'm all for having the nature in the city, but driving a car through Iowa City is a nightmare. I didn't mind Cedar Rapids near as much, but when I got a chance to get out--I grabbed it and held on for dear life.

I find I actually have almost everything I need within a 15 minute drive now and have only paid for parking (less than a buck) once in the last 8 months. Yet now I live in a city with about 500,000 and access to all the major events (for an hours drive, rather than a 3-4 hour drive to chicago/minneapolis) The commute to work in Iowa City took almost an hour to cover ten miles. (North Liberty to Iowa City bus lot to take a bus into the UofI hospital) Now even the farther work locations are still under 30 minutes.

I wasn't made for the large town (I'd consider Cedar Rapids a small city). I hope for the OP's sake that if they decide to move to Iowa they are ready for that large town life. All the costs of living somewhere bigger without the higher paychecks.

[Betsy84]

I don't really get the comment about it not being a good place to raise kids. Sure it has flaws like any other place.

You can drive an hour to Moline Illinois for big name concerts. Niabi Zoo In Coal Valley isn't too bad.

There are many summer camp offerings, nice pools, etc.

The library is great for kids.

[smpliving]

Some of these posts have nothing to do with the OP's original question concerning preschools. Way off topic.