A Few Cedar Rapids Questions (Marion: affordable apartments, to rent, crime rate)

[dakota79]

I am needing some honest opinions and answers about a few things concerning Cedar Rapids!

I have an untreatable, but stable eye condition which restricts me from driving. I receive some money in disbaility, and work part time. Most of the work I can do is the equivilent of what high school or college students do (retail, hotels etc)

I am needing to move from my current city and someone I work with who is from Marion suggested Cedar Rapids. The main reasons were:

Decent selection of affordable apartments

Fairly safe in most areas

Public transit - I know some will argue the transit system there is not much, but it is better than where I live, and they have a service through NTS to provide rides when the buses aren't running, even overnight and on Sundays. I don't want to live in big city, and this is very rare for a city this size.

So here are my questions:

Jobs - I may be able to transfer with my current employer, since they have stores there, but maybe not. Some things I've read make it sound like CR is not that hard to find a job, but then I just saw some stats that say Linn County has lost like 5,000 jobs since last summer, although I can't find a lot of news articles about that and the unemployment rate has actually dropped. I did see an article that said the city is about to have a major construction boom and is worried about worker shortages. I am not in construction though. So how hard do you think it would be to find a low-paying, part time job there? Do you see "Now Hiring" signs around?

Also, I have found a place to rent on the NE side near Lindale Mall. It is in a very convenient location for me, close to shopping, restaurants, several bus lines, and movie theaters. Is this a pretty nice, safe part of town. Is it out the flood zone?

So if anyone can help me out by letting me know how the job situation really is there and if the area I am considering is safe, I would appreciate it.

[sbronemann]

That side of town(lindal mall area) is not a bad place to live. There are a lot of apartments around there. It is very accessible for public transit as well. There area always jobs in CR, especially in the retail/housing segments. I grew up in a small town about 40 mins out from CR and spent a lot of time there as I have a lot of family and friends that live there. The crime rate has definately gone up with all of the Chicago influence coming this way. Definately would carry pepper spray with you. I do, my wife does, and most friends do just for the simple fact that it's a great deterrent if the 1 in 1 million chance a crime would happen against you. Always be safe in any city/town.

[defdumbandblonde]

Cedar Rapids has certain types of jobs available. I, and many other people I know, have been unemployed for so long we are about to drop off the rolls, or unemployment has already been discontinued. That being said, I moved to Cedar Rapids 14 years ago, and have loved it. The people are nice, something you take for granted until you leave for a while. NE side of town is the safest part. It is also near a lot of places you will need, since you can't really drive. The crime is up, but mainly in a couple of sections of the city. I live in one of those sections unfortunately.