4 ms·

"Poetry City": Iowa City, Iowa

54 points by samclemens 1y ago

_dark_matter_ 1y ago
I lived in Iowa City for several years while my kids were young. It is an amazing city. Everyone is lovely, the restaurants are great, home of an active local grocer, tons of activities by the university, great schools, low CoL, completely walkable, and nothing was ever more than 5 minutes away (yes, when we moved, I had to reorient myself on what "far away" was). I think my kids were lucky to grow up there!
billjive 1y ago
I'm from Iowa City! It's awesome to see this pop up on HN. IC has a number of great older bars like this. Sadly my favorite (The Sanctuary) closed recently and may be lost forever.
- pixl97 1y ago
  I was from that area as a kid, West Liberty. Been awhile since I've been back up there.
- cartothemax 1y ago
  Iowa City natives raise up! There has got to be less then a dozen of us (on Hacker News)!
  - billjive 1y ago
    Any City High grads here? The School That Leads... :)
- JKCalhoun 1y ago
  As it happens, I'm looking at a travel guide to include Iowa City. I had the "Hamburg Inn No. 2" as a food-stop and "Devonian Fossil Gorge" as a tourist-stop. Am I missing something? (I'll probably head out there for research in May, ha ha.)
yesfitz 1y ago
Everyone should live in Iowa City at least once in their lives. I love downtown Iowa City. Absolutely adore it. I've spent a lot of time trying to convince family, friends, and anyone who will listen to move here. It's everything people say: active, friendly, community-oriented, walkable, safe, smart, rebellious, affordable. I only recognize 2 claims against it: 1. It gets cold in Winter. But you learn to live with it. The whole city's living with it too. 2. Natural beauty is harder to see. There are no mountains or beaches. 99% of Iowa's land is unnatural[1]. But it sure does make you appreciate the smaller-scale natural beauty that is available every day, and especially the grandeur of the traditionally beautiful areas of the country. 1:https://www.iaenvironment.org/blog/iowa-environmental-voice/relay-of-voices-the-altered-state https://www.iaenvironment.org/blog/iowa-environmental-voice/...
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- throwaway894345 1y ago
  I’m in Des Moines and have always kept a wide berth from Iowa City because I have always had it strongly associated with the “binge-drinking-and-college-football are my entire personality“ crowd; I’m happy to hear there is another side of it and I’d be interested to check it out. Any recommendations for a chill day trip? Favorite cafes or museums or similar?
  - aprilthird2021 1y ago
    It's funny because Iowa City has almost the exact opposite reputation among all professional American poets
  - yesfitz 1y ago
    Absolutely! There's no shortage of drinking and football, we are still a college town, but Summer's right around the corner and while the students are (mostly) away, the townies come out to play. The Iowa City Arts Festival or Jazzfest would be great times to visit. I'd recommend stopping by Kindred for coffee, and Prairie Lights for the books and ambience. Museum-wise, the Museum of Natural History, the Old Capitol Museum, and the Stanley Museum of Art are all worth your time and free to the public. Dinner is hard to go wrong, but Trumpet Blossom Cafe is very popular, and Vue is on the 12th story of a hotel has great views of the airport and city, and outdoor seating. I'd also recommend checking out the Iowa City Public Library and the rest of the Pedestrian Mall, and maybe catch a movie at FilmScene in the Chauncey on the next visit. World of Bikes rents bikes for the day, and the river trail is a pleasant ride between City Park (where you may catch Shakespeare in The Park in the Summer) and Big Grove Brewery, and extends down to Terry Trueblood Recreation Area in the South. I think the biggest thing that's hard to communicate with a day/weekend trip is how incredibly lovely living here is every day. The hardest part is choosing between all of the activities available.
100k 1y ago
If song lyrics count, Eleni Mandell's "Iowa City" is the poem that will always stick in my mind about that town. Girls, the boys don't cheat in Iowa City Iowa City nothing to do Now they're crisp and they're clean Iowa City Iowa Iowa Skies are blue Not so, Chicago Never, New York When you're off and you're looking for something What will you do? Where will you go? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_mpBLD6_V0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_mpBLD6_V0
- JKCalhoun 1y ago
  And I think of "Iowa City Adieu" by Autumn Defense: https://youtu.be/8r55RdA8BZE https://youtu.be/8r55RdA8BZE
Boogie_Man 1y ago
Nearby Amana Iowa hosts a yearly Bratwurst festival at which you can learn about the history of an attempt at a utopian society and watch dachshunds race while very very drunk
- quuxly 1y ago
  Why do they get the dachshunds drunk??
BSOhealth 1y ago
Iowa City has great aspects. New Pioneer Co-Op: having spent more life afterwards in Boulder, CO, I can safely say IC still holds the prize for ideal progressive food grocery option in the US (admittedly I haven’t been to Portland, and imagine they might compete). Prairie Lights is cool and all but I’d rather be at The Strand. Or Goblin Market or Samdmeyer’s in Chicago. Or Old Town in Stockholm. Iowa City starts feeling small VERY quickly. The winters are cold. There are no amazing natural areas for activity. Downtown is getting more sterile every year (circa 20 years ago). University of Iowa is a great example of a University scene, but if you are not a student or professor, you’ll quickly bump up against the guardrails of small town US economics.
shishy 1y ago
I always say that Iowa City is the Paris of the Midwest ;). Except when there's a home game. The art culture is incredible. Two of our favorite artists spent a considerable amount of time there, so we made a few trips when researching trying to find pieces.

54 points by samclemens 1y ago

I lived in Iowa City for several years while my kids were young. It is an amazing city. Everyone is lovely, the restaurants are great, home of an active local grocer, tons of activities by the university, great schools, low CoL, completely walkable, and nothing was ever more than 5 minutes away (yes, when we moved, I had to reorient myself on what "far away" was). I think my kids were lucky to grow up there!

billjive 1y ago

I'm from Iowa City! It's awesome to see this pop up on HN. IC has a number of great older bars like this. Sadly my favorite (The Sanctuary) closed recently and may be lost forever.

pixl97 1y ago
I was from that area as a kid, West Liberty. Been awhile since I've been back up there.
cartothemax 1y ago
Iowa City natives raise up! There has got to be less then a dozen of us (on Hacker News)!
- billjive 1y ago
  Any City High grads here? The School That Leads... :)
JKCalhoun 1y ago
As it happens, I'm looking at a travel guide to include Iowa City. I had the "Hamburg Inn No. 2" as a food-stop and "Devonian Fossil Gorge" as a tourist-stop. Am I missing something? (I'll probably head out there for research in May, ha ha.)

yesfitz 1y ago

Everyone should live in Iowa City at least once in their lives. I love downtown Iowa City. Absolutely adore it. I've spent a lot of time trying to convince family, friends, and anyone who will listen to move here. It's everything people say: active, friendly, community-oriented, walkable, safe, smart, rebellious, affordable. I only recognize 2 claims against it: 1. It gets cold in Winter. But you learn to live with it. The whole city's living with it too. 2. Natural beauty is harder to see. There are no mountains or beaches. 99% of Iowa's land is unnatural[1]. But it sure does make you appreciate the smaller-scale natural beauty that is available every day, and especially the grandeur of the traditionally beautiful areas of the country. 1:https://www.iaenvironment.org/blog/iowa-environmental-voice/relay-of-voices-the-altered-state https://www.iaenvironment.org/blog/iowa-environmental-voice/...

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
throwaway894345 1y ago
I’m in Des Moines and have always kept a wide berth from Iowa City because I have always had it strongly associated with the “binge-drinking-and-college-football are my entire personality“ crowd; I’m happy to hear there is another side of it and I’d be interested to check it out. Any recommendations for a chill day trip? Favorite cafes or museums or similar?
- aprilthird2021 1y ago
  It's funny because Iowa City has almost the exact opposite reputation among all professional American poets
- yesfitz 1y ago
  Absolutely! There's no shortage of drinking and football, we are still a college town, but Summer's right around the corner and while the students are (mostly) away, the townies come out to play. The Iowa City Arts Festival or Jazzfest would be great times to visit. I'd recommend stopping by Kindred for coffee, and Prairie Lights for the books and ambience. Museum-wise, the Museum of Natural History, the Old Capitol Museum, and the Stanley Museum of Art are all worth your time and free to the public. Dinner is hard to go wrong, but Trumpet Blossom Cafe is very popular, and Vue is on the 12th story of a hotel has great views of the airport and city, and outdoor seating. I'd also recommend checking out the Iowa City Public Library and the rest of the Pedestrian Mall, and maybe catch a movie at FilmScene in the Chauncey on the next visit. World of Bikes rents bikes for the day, and the river trail is a pleasant ride between City Park (where you may catch Shakespeare in The Park in the Summer) and Big Grove Brewery, and extends down to Terry Trueblood Recreation Area in the South. I think the biggest thing that's hard to communicate with a day/weekend trip is how incredibly lovely living here is every day. The hardest part is choosing between all of the activities available.

100k 1y ago

If song lyrics count, Eleni Mandell's "Iowa City" is the poem that will always stick in my mind about that town. Girls, the boys don't cheat in Iowa City Iowa City nothing to do Now they're crisp and they're clean Iowa City Iowa Iowa Skies are blue Not so, Chicago Never, New York When you're off and you're looking for something What will you do? Where will you go? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_mpBLD6_V0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_mpBLD6_V0

JKCalhoun 1y ago
And I think of "Iowa City Adieu" by Autumn Defense: https://youtu.be/8r55RdA8BZE https://youtu.be/8r55RdA8BZE

Boogie_Man 1y ago

Nearby Amana Iowa hosts a yearly Bratwurst festival at which you can learn about the history of an attempt at a utopian society and watch dachshunds race while very very drunk

quuxly 1y ago
Why do they get the dachshunds drunk??

BSOhealth 1y ago

Iowa City has great aspects. New Pioneer Co-Op: having spent more life afterwards in Boulder, CO, I can safely say IC still holds the prize for ideal progressive food grocery option in the US (admittedly I haven’t been to Portland, and imagine they might compete). Prairie Lights is cool and all but I’d rather be at The Strand. Or Goblin Market or Samdmeyer’s in Chicago. Or Old Town in Stockholm. Iowa City starts feeling small VERY quickly. The winters are cold. There are no amazing natural areas for activity. Downtown is getting more sterile every year (circa 20 years ago). University of Iowa is a great example of a University scene, but if you are not a student or professor, you’ll quickly bump up against the guardrails of small town US economics.

shishy 1y ago

I always say that Iowa City is the Paris of the Midwest ;). Except when there's a home game. The art culture is incredible. Two of our favorite artists spent a considerable amount of time there, so we made a few trips when researching trying to find pieces.