3 Things I Noticed That Were The Same Between Cedar Rapids And Quad Cities After Moving

I've lived all over Iowa, I grew up in Solon Iowa, then moved up to Cedar Rapids my 8th-grade year, and lived there for the rest of my childhood, and early adult life. I was a bit nervous when I finally decided to move up to Davenport thanks to this job, but thankfully both cities are really similar... For better and worse. I honestly felt right at home when I got here.

Besides a few more bridges, and possibly a handful more one ways, OH, and having five cities making up one big one, Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities are quite similar. Here are three things I noticed right off the bat.

Get our free mobile app

1. Dirty River City

Something I always loved about Cedar Rapids is that they accepted that they were a dirty river city. I basically grew up there, and while we residents loved it there we would also joke around about how it was a dirty river city. SOME places in Iowa are the opposite they hype themselves up as these beautiful spots that are a must-see, and while they are beautiful, and many river cities have breathtaking views, it was awesome seeing the QC also have the same mentality as Cedar Rapids about being a proud dirty river city, and not over-hyping themselves.

2. The Road Work

I bet most Midwest cities have this, but I felt right at home when construction works came to tear up the road in front of my new house and didn't come back to fix it for a month. I grew up watching roads get closed off for months mostly because road work would start and then just out of the blue stop. It happens in CR and in the QC, and really is the perfect annoying taste of home.

3. Diversity

Both Cedar Rapids and The Quad Cities have great diversity giving us a chance to see other cultures, beliefs, lifestyles, and vice versa.

Overall there is just enough of a difference to make it a fun change of scenery, while also being similar enough not to make me homesick.