Are you serious!?

We've had rain here in DC for a week, but not just the tolerable summer rain, I'm talking 48 degrees, no sunlight, catch strep throat kinda rain, and it sucks.

It's starting to hit me for real now, the prospect and fact that I'm MOVING HALFWAY ACROSS THE U.S. to start over with a new career. It's VERY scary to say the least, but at the same time the reward is better than anything Spacely Sprockets is doing right now. There are folks at Spacely's that I'll miss for sure, and there's a few that have pissed me off to the point of no return, the ones that now seem to be twisting the knife since it's been know I'm on the way out.

I craigslisted some of my stuff, so my lil apt will start to get more and more bleak. It's gotta go though.

While staying dry at home, I looked up a cool forum for people that are relocating, city-data.com, and it's been helpful to say the least. I already know OKC is gonna be silly come summertime, but I'm legitimately worried about being in Rust Belt Hell (Cedar Rapids) for two years..so I signed up for the forum and asked some questions....

.....here's what I got:


To work at the Eastern Iowa Airport (Air Traffic Controller). I'm originally from Germantown, MD (a suburb of DC) and wanted to know some things about CR.

Is there public transportation (to the airport specifically?)

Barely. The stop is out on Wright Brothers Boulevard, which has a lot of parking and circle drive space between it and the airport proper. Here's the transit map: http://www.crbus-parking.org/_routes/Route11.pdf

Any nightlife worth checking out?

Downtown has acquired some sophisticated options such as The Piano Lounge (sounds awful, but is very nice) and a couple of great restaurants. If you want bands and rowdiness, though, you'll probably end up in Iowa City.

Are the winters as bad as they say (we have snow and ice storms here in DC, so it wouldn't be TOO bad)

This winter sucked like a Hoover. Ask us some other year! I'd say the difference from DC is that the cold weather lasts a lot longer, and there are probably longer stretches between thaws / more pleasant conditions. You'll recognize the humidity here, though!

Should I move to Iowa City and commute? Or stay near or in CR.

That depends entirely on what you are looking for in your spare time. The airport is way on the south end of Cedar Rapids, so a commute from Iowa City or even North Liberty (or Swisher or Shueyville or Fairfax or Amana) is super easy. If your second question is about nightlife, I bet you should strongly consider IC or somewhere that will allow you to easily head there for your recreation.

What's the airport like? I'm training with the FAA Academy in OKC now and that's where I've been assigned.

Small. Growing. I've always thought it was quite well kept up and the cafe is under management by my favorite coffee shop, The Blue Strawberry (yum!) The airport has had a good "feel" to it for as long as I can remember -- no scandals, no horrible management, no real trouble, and generally responsive to customer needs.

(ed. note THIS ONE KILLED ME, or as Steve Buckhantz would say...."DAAAAAAGGERRRRRRR!")

Is there diversity in CR? (I'm a brotha!)

Simply put: no. I explain it to people this way -- we went to visit my in-laws in Phoenix and were horrified to learn that our dog barked at people of color. Simply put, she'd never seen anyone that wasn't either the fishbelly white of Iowa's wintertime complexion or the strawberry white of Iowa's sunburned complexion. It was SO embarrassing! As someone who has lived in Cedar Rapids for a long time, I'm always glad to hear of people considering a move here, but I've got to be fair and tell you how the numbers stack up. All that aside, there is particularly a dearth of professional African American men and so you'd have to think those numbers could work in your favor...?

Are there any good gyms in the area (I'm a personal trainer as well, and would like a few clients)

Lots of gyms, some probably more professional than others. Again, Iowa City, with the college athletes and wanna-be college athletes and former college athletes, probably has more to offer in this area.

Any information would help, as it looks like I'll be in CR for 2-2.5 years while I get certified.

It's definitely going to be an adventure, and I hope it's a positive one. My biggest suggestion would be to start a blog -- I'm serious -- and then see whether the local media/newspapers want to link to it and/or feature your posts. I think it would be a real eye opener for our area citizens to see how they look to someone of a different background, and could teach us all something about each other.I hope it is a wonderful experience for you. Best of luck!


........God Help Me!!