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Living In Iowa City

The Essentials

Iowa City

Downtown Iowa City

The City of Iowa City’s website provides an extremely useful introduction to what Iowa City has to offer.

Climate

If you like experiencing all four seasons, then Iowa City is for you. Iowa City is located in the heart of the Midwest, which means cold winters, mild springs, hot, humid summers and crisp autumns. Seasonal allergy sufferers take note: spring and summer pollen counts can be high.

Housing

Iowa City ’s site provides a comprehensive guide for renting apartments.

In addition, The University of Iowa Campus Information Center, located in the Iowa Memorial Union, is a great resource for incoming students looking for housing and information about Iowa City and The University of Iowa.

Finally, while it is not an extremely popular option, graduate students also have the opportunity to live in university residence halls. The Graduate Admissions site provides a list of links to help, if this form of housing interests you.

Helpful Housing Hints

  • The closer an apartment is to the downtown/campus area, the more expensive it will be. Most apartments on or near Oakcrest Street., for example, are within walking distance to campus and tend to be more reasonably priced than apartments on Burlington Street.
  • South Johnson Street, while close to downtown, is considered to be a “party” area. Mostly undergraduates rent apartments on this street, so you may wish to keep this in mind when searching for a new home.
  • Cambus provides The University of Iowa with free transportation around campus.
  • Iowa City has a good public transportation system, with buses running all over town. Iowa City Transit bus passes are available for students at the UI Parking Ramp. The cost is $50 per semester (Aug. 1 –Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 –May 31), and you will need to provide a copy of your semester schedule to receive student pricing.