Cedar Rapids is the Best City On Earth

[mayhem_223]

Originally Posted by jlo82585

Total B.S.

roads suck here, crime is getting horrible in the SE side, the still haven't fixed/plowed over the damage from the floods, the Mayor is a baby and raised property taxes to a now retarded level. Sure there are a lot of good jobs, if your union. over policed in the wrong area, traffic cameras on pointless intersections. No entertainment unless you want to drink, horrible stenches,.... this place is great!!!!! Unless you are a die-hard liberal, you will not like this town..

Liberal? I thought CR is conservative. I had acquaintances from CR and I can assure you they were conservative.

But I agree the topic is provoking. I'd like to know how visitors from other states felt, if they visited Detroit forum and saw headline "Detroit is best city on earth". I'd take it as megalomanic compliment from a local resident who fell in love with his town, but I would not take this statement seriously.
There is whole world to see and appreciate, not just one city.

[Stavemaster]

I remember a family friend moving there for a job about 20 years ago into a really terrible neighborhood and regaling us with stories about his local grocery store which was dubbed "The Hy-Vee From Hell". Bums wandering in and busting open packets of cookies to eat right there in the store, people getting into fights in the parking lot, the works. I can't remember what part of town it was. He only lived there for a year before moving back up north.

On the other hand, a lot of my family is from around that general area so we would come in to visit fairly regularly and it always seemed like a decent place to me (apart from the occasional odd smell). Some cool stores and restaurants downtown. The only part I didn't like was the drive there- Highway 30 between the Belle Plaine turnoff and CR is one of the most BORING stretches of road in the state. The hills along the river are pretty though.

So my verdict: It's a place. It has some good parts, some bad parts, and there's a movie named after it that was filmed somewhere in Michigan. Also some very nice people I knew lived there for a while, until they didn't anymore.

[jlo82585]

CR is a post conservative town, the lower income class ( which I am part of ) no make up a big majority of the population. The only conservatives left are people in the upper middle class and they are leaving the city in droves after all the new taxes. As for the Hy-Vee, my guess would be the one one the main drag commonly referred to as "Ghetto-Vee" and yes, its pretty bad. its the only grocery store in town that has Police inside at all times, and the bank nearby ( mine ) has been robbed 3 times in the last 12 months so.....

[sketch125]

Originally Posted by mayhem_223

I'd like to know how visitors from other states felt, if they visited Detroit forum and saw headline "Detroit is best city on earth".

An outsiders view of Cedar Rapids - May 2012

I have a career opportunity- that if I was to pursue would consist of me moving to the area to manage our regional branch. Not knowing anything of the area, I packed up my wife and son for the holiday weekend and we stayed 2 nights in Cedar Rapids.

We stayed on the near north side of the city. We wanted to be close to the shopping area of Cedar Rapids, which we figured was the Linwood area on the NE side.

Our first impression was that the stores, mall, restaurants, were all dated. This is a superficial judgement, but one that shows a lack of investment the business were making to the community. I did not notice any new construction as well. The nearby HyVee was priced equal to - if not higher than our local Dominick's.

Commuting around the city was a positive. The highways are efficient albeit quite rough and bumpy. The Downtown area shows signs of a slow rebirth yet lacked any personality. The south end of town looked quite Industrial which is fine as it = $$$ to me. However, I would not prefer to be located anywhere near the factories for quality of living concerns.

We spent a good 7-8 hours driving around Cedar Rapids (we seen a lot of the city as it is not a large area) - shopping, eating out, exploring neighborhoods. At each opportunity, I would ask the person working what they thought of Cedar Rapids and 9/10 people told me the same thing. "This used to be a great place, before the flood." "Things have changed - there is nothing exciting to do".

I think Cedar Rapids would be a fine place if you grew up there or had family local. It is just adequate in many ways, it is a safe bet. Life would be tolerable there. I can say with a certainty that it is not the best city on earth.

For a professional looking for a nice work/life balance the IC/ Coralville area is a far better place to invest in a home and raise a family in my opinion. These communities seem more affluent, diverse, educated. This is where I will invest if my career path travels this road.

[sketch125]

I also got a $75 dollar photo violation to boot. Shame on me for supporting the local economy.