Waverly, Cedar Falls/Waterloo (Des Moines, Lake City: fit in, for sale, rental)

[bbh42]

I may have an job opportunity that would have us relocating to Iowa. The two possible towns that we would live would either be in Waverly or the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area.

Can anyone tell me what these areas are like. We have two children(13,9). We currently live in the Midwest just outside of Indianapolis. I know we would be going to a much smaller town.

What are the schools like in that area? Whats housing inventory like? How concerned should we be about tornado's? Do most houses have basements or storm cellars?

Any information would be appreciated. I've been looking at these threads and searching the internet, just don't have a good idea of what its like there.

I have been to Des Moines in the past but that's my only experience with Iowa.

[sequoias]

Waverly, a nice low crime town with a good number of new homes in the southwest part of the town. It is growing fairly steady with about 9,500 in the city. There is a small waterfall where Cedar River runs thru downtown Waverly and has a park where you can picnic, go for a walk, etc. Some people commute to work in Waterloo/Cedar Falls from Waverly. It's about 15 mile drive from Cedar Falls/Waterloo.

Waterloo, a blue collar town with lots of historic landmarks in downtown vicinity. Most of the safest areas are in the west part of the city, avoid the east side of Cedar River. The population has been stable for a while, currently in a transition. They have been demolishing lots of vacant homes and several eyesores. Downtown waterloo is warming up with good number of development, there's nice shopping/dining on 4th St. on the east part of the river. The schools are generally better in southwest part of the city. You can research on school scores and ratings to be sure what you want.

Lastly, Cedar Falls is a college town which is home of University of Northern Iowa. It has higher cost of living and overall lower crime than Waterloo. Most of the town is safe, but the north of downtown is a little shady, I believe. The schools are better in Cedar Falls than in Waterloo, you get what you pay for. Cedar Falls has tons of growth, added more than 3,000 people in the last decade. Lots of new development are in west and southwest of Cedar Falls. There's also a nice park in downtown where lot of events are held in summer months. Lots of local shops in downtown with interesting stores, if you're into shopping.

As for tornadoes, they are rare in this area. The last tornado that hit Waterloo/Cedar Falls was in 1980's, it was not a strong one tho. The F5 tornado did pass between Waverly and Cedar Falls in 2008. Plenty of houses do have basements, yes.

House inventory is plentiful, plenty of homes for sale and rent, depending how much your family can afford. Most of the 3 bedroom rental houses in West Waterloo are $800 a month or more, in Cedar falls usually about $900-1,000 or up.

Where is the job opportunity will be at? Anywhere in the city has no stop in go traffic, you won't have to worry about getting late to work.

If you got any more questions, I will try my best. I've been here for almost 2 years.

[bbh42]

Job opportunity would be in Waverly. Not for certain that things will work out but the process is far enough along that I need to start thinking about relocation.

Commuting from Cedar Falls to Waverly wouldn't be any concern for me. I currently drive about 22 miles to work in Indy.

I'd like to downsize a little in house and try to stay under $300k but could go up as high as $350k.

My wife doesn't work so I want to make sure she has things to do during the day. Now she usually volunteers at our children's school.

I don't think we would look at Waterloo so it really would be between Waverly and Cedar Falls.

[sequoias]

Originally Posted by bbh42

Job opportunity would be in Waverly. Not for certain that things will work out but the process is far enough along that I need to start thinking about relocation.

Commuting from Cedar Falls to Waverly wouldn't be any concern for me. I currently drive about 22 miles to work in Indy.

I'd like to downsize a little in house and try to stay under $300k but could go up as high as $350k.

My wife doesn't work so I want to make sure she has things to do during the day. Now she usually volunteers at our children's school.

I don't think we would look at Waterloo so it really would be between Waverly and Cedar Falls.

You could probably get a house in Waverly, I'm not sure about the schools though. More choices are in Cedar Falls and plenty of them under $200k for a 3-4 bedroom. Housing is cheap in Iowa, generally.

[Iowa Proud]

I currently live in Waterloo and have for 7 years. Waterloo/CF is a great place to raise a family. Both cities are small, but for the small size, Cedar Falls has 1 large highschool and Waterloo has 2 large highschools. My wife and I are going to relocate to Waverly and commute to our jobs in Waterloo/CF. There were several reasons why we are moving to Waverly. Waverly is a great town with a lot to offer. It is home to a small private college, Wartburg. The tax base is very high, so you get what you pay for. The high the tax, the better facilities. The school is 2nd to none. My wife is in the education field, and has a lot of data on the schools in the state. There is a lot of data on efficiency of students performance in school. The state average is 79-80%. Waverly school is 92%. The graduation rate for the school is 98%. Their sports and academic record is one of the highest in the state. Waverly just build a state of the art highschool and they offer students almost any study there is available. There is plenty of shopping also. You will be able to buy a very, very nice house for $300-$350 thousand. I can assure you, you will be happy with Waverly if you choose to move to the area. If you have lived in a big city like Indy, it may be an adjustment for you at first, but after a year you will appreciate the quiet life and minimal crime. Good luck with your adventure!

[IowaTraveller]

My sister went to Wartburg and always said people in Waverly were "abnormally nice and happy", even for Iowa. They are also super-involved in everything it seemed. If you must have a bigger city (or conglomeration thereof in this case) then Cedar Falls away from UNI is the way to go, but it isn't a step up in quality of life imho. I would also like to note that redevelopment in Waterloo has really taken off of late.

[sequoias]

Originally Posted by Iowa Proud

I currently live in Waterloo and have for 7 years. Waterloo/CF is a great place to raise a family. Both cities are small, but for the small size, Cedar Falls has 1 large highschool and Waterloo has 2 large highschools. My wife and I are going to relocate to Waverly and commute to our jobs in Waterloo/CF. There were several reasons why we are moving to Waverly. Waverly is a great town with a lot to offer. It is home to a small private college, Wartburg. The tax base is very high, so you get what you pay for. The high the tax, the better facilities. The school is 2nd to none. My wife is in the education field, and has a lot of data on the schools in the state. There is a lot of data on efficiency of students performance in school. The state average is 79-80%. Waverly school is 92%. The graduation rate for the school is 98%. Their sports and academic record is one of the highest in the state. Waverly just build a state of the art highschool and they offer students almost any study there is available. There is plenty of shopping also. You will be able to buy a very, very nice house for $300-$350 thousand. I can assure you, you will be happy with Waverly if you choose to move to the area. If you have lived in a big city like Indy, it may be an adjustment for you at first, but after a year you will appreciate the quiet life and minimal crime. Good luck with your adventure!

Sounds about right. The price of the house doesn't sound right for a normal family house, sounds more of a price range for a mansion.

[Squeamish]

When I lived in Waterloo, a co-worker who had recently moved to Waverly said that most of the people there were not interested in getting to know newcomers and already had their social circles. Their only new friends there were also recent newcomers. I can't comment to the validity of this beyond what he said, but it's something to consider. Unless you fit in really well with them in terms of values and interests, you may find yourself driving into Waterloo/CF whenever you want to see friends.

[bbh42]

Thanks for all the responses. I am still in the interview process but hope to know more in the next two weeks about a possible move. I've been looking these past few weeks on the internet about both Waverly and Cedar Falls. Both places look pretty nice. I know it would be an adjustment for us coming to a smaller town. Cedar Falls reminds me a lot of where my wife and I went to college in Tennessee so if its anything like that then I know we would do fine.

One thing I've learned about moving is if you have kids then making friends and getting to know people seems to be a lot easier since you have a common connection. If it was just my wife and I then I could see where it would be harder to break into some social circles.

I think the harder adjustment is going to be not having as much to do or places to shop. I currently live within 5 miles of 3 malls, 2 Wal-marts, 2 Targets, Costco & Sam's Club. You get spoiled living in a bigger city. We also would be moving farther from our family in Atlanta, GA and it doesn't seem as easy to get to Cedar Falls/Waverly from Atlanta.

Can anyone tell me about things to do around the area? What do people do for fun on weekends? I see there are some nice trails in Waverly and Cedar Falls for biking. What other activities are there for families?

[znelc]

I'm a little late to this, but I've been in Cedar Falls for 6 years (went to college in both Cedar Falls and Waverly). I'm probably on my way out...to Salt Lake City, but I thought I've give a little insight on this.

Waterloo is a nice place...if you avoid the east and north side of the river. Really, the closer to Cedar Falls the better. Although, I'm sure what we view as "bad areas" aren't really that bad compared to Indianapolis at times. Cedar Falls has been a great place to live, and grow, into the adult I am. It's just big enough to be mostly anonymous and live you life but small enough to make some really good friends and be actively engaged in the city. During the winter the city is closer to 45K with the college students, and during the summer about 30-35K. Great school system in Cedar Falls as well.


Waverly is a smaller town (just shy of 10K). I lived in CF and worked in Waverly for about 9 months, and it was about a 20 minute commute and it "seemed" shorter. The only downside was my late nights driving home during winter storms as no plows had gone out yet. Waverly has a very good high school as well, and has a very nice D3 school in Wartburg. The idea that Waverly people are "overly nice" is partially true, but not more so than any other Iowa town I've been too. I do agree that it seems more "grouped" than other towns, and it is harder to break into those groups.

Janesville may be an option for you as well. Many kids from Janesville open enroll to both Cedar Falls and Waverly. Much lower prices than either town...much smaller town as well. About 10 minutes into Cedar Falls and 5 minutes into Waverly.



300-350K will get you a VERY VERY nice house in this area. I have family in the Shelbyville, KY area and they have told us the house we paid 130k for would be about 220-250k in their area. I know that is still a couple hours from Indianapolis, but just some insight.