In 2016 Iowa City moved up to the #3 spot on the Best College Towns list. This is up one spot compared to when I originally wrote this post back in 2012. This is a continuing trend in Iowa City – It shows up on lists as a great place to live all the time. Not too long ago I wrote about Iowa City’s #2 spot on the List of Cities for Successful Aging. When you think about it, those are two very different lists to be on. One list focuses on the younger members of the community, the other on older members of the community – Proving once again that Iowa City has something for everyone!
One of the motivating factors for Iowa City being such a hit with both young and not so young is the focus in the Iowa City area on Arts & Leisure. A college town has its perks in this department. What’s an even bigger motivator is the stable economy that also comes from being a college town with a thriving learning hospital at the UI Hospitals. These two facts alone are good reasons to consider relocating to the Iowa City area. Iowa City is a great place to work AND play!
Before making any decisions,
you want to know as much as possible about the economic climate and future stability of an area before you move there. You also want to know what kind of amenities are offered for your free time. It’s not surprising to me that Iowa City shows up on so many lists. The economy is relatively stable. Unemployment is typically quite low. The level of education is high – Clearly if you live in a college town you’ll have a lot of educated people around you! Healthcare is covered with the UI Hospitals and Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. There’s a very good transportation service in Iowa City and Coralville. The quality of life is further improved by an abundance of parks and biking trails. And then there are the obvious benefits of having the UIOWA on our doorstep with a strong focus on the Arts & Humanities.
As if those weren’t enough reasons right there to make Iowa City a great place to live, Iowa City has even more to offer purely due to where it’s located. Chicago and Minneapolis are both easy drives for a getaway weekend. And if the weather doesn’t suit you, (which I have to say is the only down side to living in the Iowa City area for me), Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids is just a 20 minute drive from Coralville and an easy way to head for a warmer climate in winter.
Want to talk through your options and figure out whether Iowa City is the right destination for your relocation? Give me a call at 319-400-0268 or drop me an email. My approach to real estate is more consultative and I won’t try to “sell” you anything. I relocated to the Iowa City area myself in 2000 and have insights on the process, not to mention the challenges involved with moving to the Iowa City and Coralville area.
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