Job in Muscatine- Where to Live? (Davenport, Iowa City: apartment complexes, to rent, lofts)

[Seppy]

BF just received his first job offer to start after he graduates. It's a great opportunity for him, and that first job is so important to start a career.

He was offered (and has accepted) a job in Muscatine, IA. We're East Coasters, and as such, we have no idea what the area is like, what areas are safe, etc. We will be visiting in mid April to try and suss out a good place for him to Rent an apartment, but I'm turning to you lovely CD forumites for the lowdown on living in the area.



Muscatine is a consideration of course (though after reading a few threads, I get the impression that it is a very small town).

Quad Cities are of interest- especially Bettendorf and Davenport (though the other two are under consideration as well.) -would like to hear which is the best to live in for young professionals, and please- what areas of town are safe? Anyone have any input on the apartment complexes around (those to stay away from, and those that are good)? I've seen some listings on craigslist for Market Lofts in Davenport, does anyone have any experience living there?

Iowa City is also a possibility..Again, areas of the city to look in/good apartment buildings would be appreciated.


Thanks in advance.

[Qwerty]

Muscatine is actually not a bad town. It's certainly not NYC but it has a fair amount of retail for day to day living and no commute. It's a 35/40 minute drive to the Quad Cities area and for the most part, not a horrible drive, but in the winter it could be brutal. I wouldn't want a daily commute to Iowa City from there either. That would end up being nearly an hour each way.

The Iowa side of the Quad Cities is nicer than the Illinois side in general. There are good and bad places all around but they are pretty easy to spot when you are searching for places to live too.

I prefer to live where I work and then do the occasional drive to Iowa City or the Quad cities for entertainment vs having a long commute every day for the one or two nights/week you might go out.

[Seppy]

Unless there's something I'm not quite grasping about snowfall in Iowa, I don't really expect it to be a problem- we're from the New England area, and we're pretty familiar with snow and cold. Are the roads particularly bad, or is snow drifting a problem? I'm trying to look up historical data on snowfall in the area and I'm not seeing anything that really sticks out as a red flag..

As far as living in the same town as one works, while it's a possibility and something that's being looked at, I'm not sure it's the ideal situation in this instance. For Muscatine, we had been looking at the Cobblestone apartments as a possibility.

[wingit]

Seppy,

I agree with qwerty, commuting to & from Iowa City would definitely be my last choice. The quad cities is just an all around much easier commute. To get to Iowa City from Muscatine, you will be driving a minimum of 15 miles or so, on two lane road. That's to get to Interstate 80, any other way, will be 40 plus miles of two lane highway. While we may not get as much snow on average as the northeast, we do get some pretty nasty snow storms here at times. They may not always have a lot of snow, but very gusty winds, with some pretty wide open country, can lead to some very miserable road conditions. You can be dealing with black ice often, or drifting that can get pretty treacherous at times, especially on two lane roads. Getting to Davenport/Bettendorf would be all divided four lane highway (61), you can be on the western edge of Davenport from Muscatine, in 25 minutes or so.

As far as Cobblestone apartments, that is in a pretty decent area of Muscatine. I can give you the name of a realtor here that may be able to help you with a house/apartment if you're interested. You may find that you can rent a decent house here, for what some of the nicer apartments go for.

My nephew lived in a loft apartment in downtown Davenport for the last year, moved out this month, he just bought a house, so the loft deal is done. As far as I know he liked the loft setup, he just needs something that better suited a family, as he is going to become a father in September.

Muscatine is definitely a smaller town, and it has it's issues, as does most everywhere. Being a young couple, you'd probably find the quad city area to be more interesting/lively than Muscatine. Personally, I like living where I can drive across the whole town in 15 minutes or less.

What company offered your bf a job?, was it HON/Allsteel, Stanleys, GPC/Kent, or something else?

[Qwerty]

Originally Posted by Seppy

Unless there's something I'm not quite grasping about snowfall in Iowa, I don't really expect it to be a problem- we're from the New England area, and we're pretty familiar with snow and cold. Are the roads particularly bad, or is snow drifting a problem? I'm trying to look up historical data on snowfall in the area and I'm not seeing anything that really sticks out as a red flag..

As far as living in the same town as one works, while it's a possibility and something that's being looked at, I'm not sure it's the ideal situation in this instance. For Muscatine, we had been looking at the Cobblestone apartments as a possibility.

Like wingit said, the roads on which you would travel are wide open, 2 lane roads and just not a fun commute. We may not get as much snow, but there is often ice and when it does snow, those roads do drift. There is also pretty much nothing between the two towns so if something did happen, there isn't much help available. Not to mention just the waste of time driving 2 hours/day when you really do not need to. When you come to visit, spend one night in the Quad cities and drive down and another night in Iowa City and make the commute, see how it goes...keeping in mind it's spring.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by Seppy

Unless there's something I'm not quite grasping about snowfall in Iowa, I don't really expect it to be a problem- we're from the New England area, and we're pretty familiar with snow and cold. Are the roads particularly bad, or is snow drifting a problem? I'm trying to look up historical data on snowfall in the area and I'm not seeing anything that really sticks out as a red flag..

If you're used to driving in New England snow storms, the Muscatine-Quad City area will pose no challenge to you. In fact, it seems our Midwest winters have been less of a hassle in recent years than those experienced in the New England region.

I wouldn't waste much time worrying about the commute, especially if you're commuting from Davenport to Muscatine. US-61 is four lanes all the way, and except on those rare days with excessive snowfall, the highway is easy to navigate in the winter.

[AZtruthteller]

If I were you I would definitely look at Iowa City. I grew up in Muscatine, have lived all around the country (am now in Rhode Island) and have moved back there several times for economic/family reasons, but never could survive the cultural void. There are two strategies I would suggest you consider: live in Iowa City and commute (Iowa City, because of the University of Iowa, has much more going on culturally than Muscatine);or live in Muscatine and spend every spare dollar/minute travelling somewhere interesting. I am sorry to sound so down on Muscatine. It is in a beautiful setting on the Mississippi River and has some wonderful old houses, whereas Iowa City is much less pretty. What are you going to do while your bf is at work? The commute between towns is 36 miles and mostly rural. Quad Cities are closer but not as vibrant IMO.

[Movingrightalong...]

The Mississippi River towns tend to be a little dumpy for whatever reason. Muscatine is probably a little better than average, certainly better than Burlington and Hannibal to the south.

If you're looking at QC, Bettendorf is probably better than Davenport.