Greetings from Michigan! Looking for info... (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City: rentals, school district, living)

[Mickey_Lynn]

Hello everyone!

I'm Mickey, currently living just outside of Lansing Michigan. My husband is getting a job in Cedar Rapids so we're making the move to your great state! Other than a short stint in Louisville Kentucky we have lived in Michigan all of our lives so I don't expect to run into any issues with the culture. We have already visited the area once and it didn't bring up anything unexpected. I really like the Cedar Rapids area, but the more I read and look into Iowa City/Coralville the more I'm leaning towards that area to live. It reminds me a lot of Lansing. Also I am used to very small towns so places like North Liberty and Tiffin don't scare me a bit, I love small towns too!


I would love some input though from people who, obviously, know the areas better than myself. We have three kids, two in elementary and one in middle school. So good schools are a huge concern. My oldest is into soccer, band, science Olympiad, future problem solvers and pretty much anything he can get himself into. Our main concern with him is making sure he doesn't get bored. A school that doesn't hesitate to challenge gifted kids is key.
Our middle child does not concern us in the same way, in fact she will probably need some extra support with reading and spelling. She is going into fifth grade and expects to go into band as she would be if we stayed where we are, so a school starting band in elementary would be great but not absolutely necessary.
My youngest will need a lot of help with reading. We passed him on to second grade against what his teacher advised. I was not impressed with her (whole other story) and we are working intensely with him this summer but we will need a school with good support for that.

I have done some looking around and I see that most people say that all the schools in such and such city are pretty much equally good. So I guess at that point it would be nice to know if Iowa City schools are better than Cedar Rapids...etc. If all schools in one school system are good then I would be interested in knowing what area would be good to live in. Does this make sense? Am I asking too much? I have a husband who plans to the nth degree and questions everything so any info I can give him would be great.

So basically where we live is going to be mainly dependent on schools. With three kids there's no way we can afford to go private. Any input would be greatly appreciated! I'm sure I'll have more questions soon and I hope I can get to know some of you as I love to get out and socialize, which will be hard at first since we won't know anyone.

Thanks for reading, hope to hear from someone soon! :-D

[rayman29]

I would recommend living somewhere within the Clear Creek Amama School District. The school district includes the historic Amana Colonies, located about halfway between Cedar Rapids and Coralville, the town of Oxford which is is a little bit closer to Coralville then the Amana Colonies, the town of Tiffin, just a few miles away from Coralville, and part of North Liberty. For your 5th grader, there is one elementary school in the Amana Colonies, one in Oxford that also serves Tiffin, and one in North Liberty. The Middle and High school are located in Tiffin. It is a great school district, and I have relatives that go to school there, and are involved in middle and high school band. The test scores are not the highest possible, but still respectable.

CCA School District

[steel03]

The Iowa City and Cedar Rapids districts are both great. I know most about Iowa City West High School and Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, and I have very little negative to say about either. You absolutely don't need to worry about going private. I think you'll also be pretty impressed by the school band culture in Iowa. Your older son will have great fun with All-State Band in high school.

Long story short - the public schools in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City are both quite strong.

[Mickey_Lynn]

Sorry I haven't been able to revisit this thread, we've been so busy!

I want to thank you for the information you have provided! It's very helpful! I'm happy to hear that it sounds like all the schools are very good. Here in Michigan the schools are typically much smaller, with every community except for the very tiniest ones having their own school district, so that'll be something to get used to. But at least its a relief that all the schools are basically good because finding a place to live looks to be our biggest challenge right now so its not looking like we'll have our choice of cities for the first year (we'll be renting).

We are coming out this weekend for a job interview and to look at some rentals. It should be interesting to see what we find. I look forward to visiting and I don't doubt I'll have more questions after we return!

[Mickey_Lynn]

Well we moved in last week. We found a place in Marion. So far it's ok, a lot like Michigan. We are amazed that we live in a cornfield and yet everything is like ten minutes or less away. In Michigan if you live in a cornfield you have to do much more driving to find a city of substantial size. I'm sure Iowa does have those areas too though!
The kids are enrolled in Linn-Mar schools and so far they're really enjoying it. Everyone seems to be really friendly. Hopefully soon I'll find myself a job so I can get out and meet people myself!

Looking forward to getting to know Iowa

[smpliving]

Welcome to Iowa! Glad to hear you are getting settled in.