it's time to move on. let terre haute and waterloo fight it out for a while.

[Aargh]

Brilliant Joey - absolutely brilliant suggestion.

Terre Haute is French for something. Waterloo is also famous in French history.

What is Terre Haute in English - it seems it would be "hot dirt", but that doesn't seem quite right.

I'm an adventurous vacationer who despises tourist attractions and loves offbeat places. Why would I want to visit Terre Haute or Waterloo and which would be my best destination?

[outpost]

With a sister Who lives in Indy....I can respond in limited fashion on behalf of Terre Hautians (catchy, ain't it?).

I normally have to pass through Terre Haute to get there (I-64 south of there is the optional scenic route).

Terre Haute is the springboard for one of many potential self-guided covered bridge tours to the north or south. Get off the beaten path, and you'll find lots of scenic drives through wooded areas.

I don't know if it's still there (I doubt it), but I ate a reuben sandwich at Larry Bird's Boston Connection. Not too bad, it was definitely better than truck stop food. One of the best family dining options in Terre Haute in its heyday.

Well, there's my lame effort to nurse this thread along. Can't say much about Waterloo, it's been 10 years since I've even set foot in the state of Iowa, and much longer since I've been that far north. Hills, farmland....those are my vague, faded memories of the northern part of Iowa.

[brokeback shocker]

Have you heard of "haute" cuisine? Doesn't that mean fancy?

So Terre Haute is Fancy Dirt? Fancy Land?

[outpost]

Literally translated, haute is the equivalent of the English word high.

So Terre Haute means "high ground."

The only thing that comes to mind regarding Waterloo is "The end of Napoleon."

Still waiting on residents, students, citizens, etc. from either place to market themselves....

[brokeback shocker]

Ah, "high" cuisine.

Haute cuisine.

[MikeKennedyRulz]

It looks to me like Evansville might actually have us all beat. Also check out who is also in the top 50 of smartest places to live according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine. This study was based on a survey of readers, cost of living, cost of housing, health care, low crime rate, weather, education, culture, transportation, and economic opportunity. Also, note that Omahaha is nowhere to be found:


The Kiplinger 50
To come up with this list of cities, we began by surveying you, our readers, to see what factors you consider most important when choosing a place to live. The top two were cost of living and cost of housing. Quality health care and a low crime rate were also among your top requirements.

We then asked Bert Sperling, co-author of Cities Ranked & Rated (Wiley, $25) and host of BestPlaces.net, to design a database to take these factors into account. Other key criteria used were weather, education (primary, secondary and higher), cultural amenities and transportation.

Unfortunately, no database could allow for another top priority: proximity to family.

To broaden the appeal of the cities on the list, we also factored in economic vitality -- we gave points to well-diversified economies that are good places to start or expand businesses. In addition, we looked at quality of life, which by our definition means the variety of cultural and recreational activities available.

With this tentative list in hand, we sent six writers out to investigate the top cities, with instructions to examine in particular the price of housing, the character of neighborhoods and the ease of living. Were commutes reasonable? Did suburbs have personalities? Were downtowns clean, interesting and vibrant? Based on all of our findings, a panel of eight writers and editors ranked the cities.


1) Nashville, Tenn. 1,398,214 7.0% $166,300 6.2% 84 x x x
2) Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. 3,138,324 6.2 232,500 9.3 100 x x x x
3) Albuquerque, N.M. 782,916 7.4 171,600 8.7 89 x
4) Atlanta, Ga. 4,765,845 13.2 171,200 4.9 88 x x x
5) Austin, Tex. 1,415,324 14.0 165,400 2.0 86 x x x x
6) Kansas City, Mo. 1,934,400 5.6 153,500 6.0 85 x x
7) Asheville, N.C. 387,970 5.1 153,300 9.0 89 x x x
8) Ithaca, N.Y. 103,641 7.4 220,900 8.5 92 x x x
9) Pittsburgh, Pa. 2,402,483 -1.1 113,200 5.5 85 x x
10) Iowa City, Iowa 138,941 5.5 133,800 6.2 85 x
11) St. George, Utah 110,515 22.3 209,400 18.5 89 x x
12) Harrisburg, Pa. 521,971 2.6 143,600 8.0 87 x
13) Lexington, Ky. 429,410 5.3 148,700 4.9 85 x x
14) Indianapolis, Ind. 1,626,173 7.4 124,300 3.5 81 x x x
15) Logan, Utah 110,632 7.7 158,700 6.3 86 x
16) La Crosse, Wis. 129,118 1.8 127,200 7.2 86 x
17) Rochester, Minn. 176,606 8.0 153,800 6.2 93 x x x
18) St. Louis, Mo. 2,754,233 2.4 139,100 9.0 86 x x
19) State College, Pa. 144,311 6.3 152,700 7.9 87 x x
20) Madison, Wis. 534,567 6.5 225,100 10.5 91 x x x
21) Provo, Utah 424,127 12.6 154,300 4.6 89 x
22) Philadelphia, Pa. 3,888,163 1.2 219,100 15.4 106 x x x
23) Fargo, N.D. 181,586 4.2 132,900 9.1 82 x
24) Columbia, Mo. 153,706 5.6 156,500 7.4 88 x
25) Ann Arbor, Mich. 345,128 6.9 184,000 5.3 97 x x x
26) Richmond, Va. 1,160,347 6.0 205,400 14.1 89 x x x
27) Olympia, Wash. 224,064 8.1 199,900 14.2 97 x x
28) Bismarck, N.D. 97,858 3.4 128,600 6.9 85 x
29) Morgantown, W.Va. 115,519 3.9 141,900 11.5 90 x x
30) Lafayette, Ind. 187,749 5.2 95,800 1.5 78 x
31) Sioux Falls, S.D. 203,375 9.4 139,400 5.8 84 x
32) St. Cloud, Minn. 177,225 6.0 132,900 10.1 89 x
33) Evansville, Ind. 347,584 1.5 104,300 4.0 77 x x
34) Fort Collins, Colo. 270,414 7.5 199,800 4.7 98 x x x x
35) Jefferson City, Mo. 144,081 2.9 139,100 6.3 83 x
36) Tacoma, Wash. 756,177 7.9 214,200 15.0 98 x x x x
37) Lancaster, Pa. 488,738 3.8 167,100 10.3 90 x x
38) Virginia Beach, Va. 1,645,236 4.7 219,900 21.8 91 x x x
39) Charlottesville, Va. 185,936 7.8 315,200 18.2 108 x x x
40) Boise City, Idaho 530,294 14.3 164,800 7.3 84 x x x x x
41) Abilene, Tex. 157,871 -1.5 117,300 9.6 78 x
42) Lynchburg, Va. 225,751 1.5 193,100 16.5 89 x
43) College Station, Tex. 200,336 8.4 110,500 4.1 75 x x
44) Bloomington, Ind. 181,149 3.2 151,800 9.5 87 x x
45) Oshkosh, Wis. 159,972 2.0 131,600 6.2 84 x x
46) Wichita, Kan. 587,939 3.0 108,100 2.3 79 x
47) Eugene, Ore. 334,865 3.7 207,700 15.0 94 x x
48) Burlington, Vt. 205,359 3.3 186,500 15.3 100 x x
49) Ogden, Utah 476,959 7.8 171,700 4.2 83 x x
50) Holland, Mich. 253,985 6.6 140,900 5.4 85 x x

[MSNSaluki]

Brilliant Joey - absolutely brilliant suggestion.

Terre Haute is French for something. Waterloo is also famous in French history.

What is Terre Haute in English - it seems it would be "hot dirt", but that doesn't seem quite right.

I'm an adventurous vacationer who despises tourist attractions and loves offbeat places. Why would I want to visit Terre Haute or Waterloo and which would be my best destination?

thanks, my brother. the only problem? i'm not sure any uni or indiana state folks are paying much attention right now!:original:

unless there's been a boom in construction since i was there last, you almost have to stay in waterloo and navigate your way to cedar falls because there are no freakin' hotels in CF to speak of. they've got a holidome that's a piece of crap. i do believe they are building something new out by route 20 but overall, i'm disappointed in the lodging choices there.:panthers:

terre haute is a little more compact and filled with all the interstate hotel chains we all know and love. lots of fast food places. haven't spent a bunch of time there but you can satisfy your basic needs.:sycamores:

in summary, neither place is wichita or omaha!:shutup: :shutup: sorry ... had to do it.:shockers: :jays:

in other building news, carbondale just opened a new holiday inn convention center right next to a 2-year old hampton inn to double the number of decent places to stay there!:salukis:

i'll critique the hotel offers of springfield, bloomington/normal, peoria and des moines at a later date.

[outpost]

http://www.huf.com/images/727Landing1-small-blue.jpg <--- Terre Haute has an international airport, complete with a flight school.

Here are links.

http://www.huf.com

http://www.terrehauteaircenter.com/

[MSNSaluki]

http://www.huf.com/images/727Landing1-small-blue.jpg <--- Terre Haute has an international airport, complete with a flight school.

Here are links.

http://www.huf.com

http://www.terrehauteaircenter.com/


all that really means is they have a flight every now and then that goes to canada or mexico.
i don't think virgin atlantic added service from london to terre haute, but i could be mistaken.

[outpost]

Hey, give me credit!!

I'm trying to help 'em out......:sycamores:

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

I'll be honest, coming from Cedar Rapids to me Cedar Falls is nice, but Waterloo is a damn ghetto. You couldn't pay me enough to live there. Their downtown is pathetic and nasty their public schools are lacking, and the city just plain doesn't look nice.

Cedar Falls on the other hand, beautiful little downtown with specialty shops and bars along Main Street. And near Highway 20 they are building many new cool buildings including the Pipac Center and they do have a new hotel out there as well.

[Jayball]

there is a great little mexican restaurant/grocery store in DT waterloo. Just a couple blocks from City Hall.

It is worth the trip alone!

[ten~39]

I hear there are a few mexican restaurants in south Omaha and north-central Wichita.:ermm:

[MSNSaluki]

One big advantage Waterloo/Cedar Falls has over Terre Haute?
The Iowa folks get to enjoy the Kum & Go experience!

[ten~39]

One big advantage Waterloo/Cedar Falls has over Terre Haute?
The Iowa folks get to enjoy the Kum & Go experience!

Eww, we have those down here. You can keep them, lol.:shutup:

We're happy with our Quiktrips.:yes:

[goshoxgo]

Eww, we have those down here. You can keep them, lol.:shutup:

We're happy with our Quiktrips.:yes:
no doubt, Quicktrips are by far the best convience store/gas station. It's the one public restroom I feel comfortable taking a poog in:horse: , I hate when I have to hold one in:shutup:

[MSNSaluki]

no doubt, Quicktrips are by far the best convience store/gas station. It's the one public restroom I feel comfortable taking a poog in:horse: , I hate when I have to hold one in:shutup:

Dude ... that's a lot of information for us right there.

[SycamoresRule]

Things to do on a visit to Terre Haute: "A Level Above." (our new tagline -- not sure what we are above, but hey...)

-Have a two part breakfast: first grab some Square Donuts on Wabash Avenue, then cross the street and go to the Clabber Girl (the baking powder people) Bake Shop for some biscuits and gravy and a coffee.

-After breakfast, check out the Clabber Girl museum, which has some pretty cool stuff about Terre Haute history. If you're lucky, they will be having one of the free cooking demonstrations in the Clabber Girl test kitchen. It's like watching the Food Network live, and you get to eat the food. It's really neat and you get free food.

-You can head down the street to the Eugene V. Debs home on the ISU campus if you're a history/politics buff. Debs was a labor leader and socialist presidential candidate back in the day, for those of you who don't know of him.

-Visit Inland Aquatics, "the Hautian Ocean," which is a huge indoor coral reef, fish breeding, ocean type place where you can see lots of cool fish.

-Visit the famous covered bridges of neighboring Parke County.

-Spend a day at Turkey Run State Park, which is really cool. There are a lot of wierd rock formations and things and some great hiking trails. Canoeing down Sugar Creek is a good time.

-For dinner, go to Stables downtown (you sit in horse stables in an old horse barn in the Terre Haute brewing district) for great steaks. You might go to Magdy's in the old Farrington's Grove neighborhood.

-See a movie for $3 (I think) at the Indiana Theater downtown.

You might want to bring a canned good or two to donate to a soup kitchen since our community has the highest poverty rate in the state too! :doh:

All in all, it's not a bad place to live or visit.:sycamores:

[outpost]

Thanks for the info, Sycs-rule!!

My wife would be interested in the Clabber Girl stuff, but I'm enthused about the canoeing...

Last summer, we visited my sisiter-in-law, her husband and two boys in Lexington, KY. We did a canoe trip over around Frankfort (Elkhorn Creek, I believe it was). Great time!! We stopped over in Marengo and toured the cave over there on the way back home. Quite a ways from Terre Haute still.

We'll definitely look for a few things to do around T/H next time we head that direction.

[Vondadon]

Waterloo and C.F. both suck.

[Panthera Pardus]

No, YOU suck. :ranting:

Seriously, though, Cedar Falls is a beautiful place that I would love living in for the rest of my days. Waterloo kind of reminds me of the post-apocalyptic future they offer in the Terminator movies. Cedar Falls has a lot of nice shops downtown, with a lot of culture and shows going on constantly. Waterloo makes me sad whenever I drive through it. That's just my opinion.

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

No, YOU suck. :ranting:

Seriously, though, Cedar Falls is a beautiful place that I would love living in for the rest of my days. Waterloo kind of reminds me of the post-apocalyptic future they offer in the Terminator movies. Cedar Falls has a lot of nice shops downtown, with a lot of culture and shows going on constantly. Waterloo makes me sad whenever I drive through it. That's just my opinion.

I agree 100%.

Except the only Iowa areas I would ever live in would be Des Moines or Cedar Rapids...I need a bigger city.

[Rasputin]

I personally like most of Iowa's cities (except Sioux City and the Quad Cities, yikes). Des Moines and Dubuque are my favorite IA cities. Des Moines is about the size of Wichita (physically a little larger, except more sprawled), more modern, a nicer downtown, and cleaner. Dubuque has a great and very underrated riverfront. I visited Dubuque for the first time in 7 or 8 years last month and I couldn't believe how much it has changed. Very beautiful setting in the hills overlooking the Mississippi, historic, you honestly don't feel like your in Iowa.

I was born in Cedar Falls, so I do have some family and ties there. I agree with the opinions that Waterloo sucks, its dirty, run-down, and the only time I ever hear of Waterloo in the news it has something to with racial violence or something similar. Cedar Falls is a charming city, not big, manicured (I love the residential areas), and just an overall nice place, IMO. I can't really pass judgement on Terre Haute, I have only passed through a couple of times, but based on what I saw, it looked somewhat blighted.

[ISU87]

as an ISU grad, I can honestly say that you are correct in your judgement there.

I can't really pass judgement on Terre Haute, I have only passed through a couple of times, but based on what I saw, it looked somewhat blighted.

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

I personally like most of Iowa's cities (except Sioux City and the Quad Cities, yikes). Des Moines and Dubuque are my favorite IA cities. Des Moines is about the size of Wichita (physically a little larger, except more sprawled), more modern, a nicer downtown, and cleaner. Dubuque has a great and very underrated riverfront. I visited Dubuque for the first time in 7 or 8 years last month and I couldn't believe how much it has changed. Very beautiful setting in the hills overlooking the Mississippi, historic, you honestly don't feel like your in Iowa.

I have to agree with you. I think Des Moines and Dubuque are amazing cities. I would add Cedar Rapids in too. All three are very clean, modern, and in some parts very rich and upper class cities (especially West Des Moines and Marion/Robins by Cedar Rapids).

Davenport, Waterloo, Sioux City...and dear God Clinton.:no:

[MSNSaluki]

I have to agree with you. I think Des Moines and Dubuque are amazing cities. I would add Cedar Rapids in too. All three are very clean, modern, and in some parts very rich and upper class cities (especially West Des Moines and Marion/Robins by Cedar Rapids).

Davenport, Waterloo, Sioux City...and dear God Clinton.:no:

what about ottumwa?:no: :no: :no:
des moines is pretty cool, except i always get lost when i'm drunk wandering through the downtown walkways.

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

what about ottumwa?:no: :no: :no:
des moines is pretty cool, except i always get lost when i'm drunk wandering through the downtown walkways.

The only thing I know about Ottumwa is that my high school basketball team beat them by 35 during state boys basketball my senior year. That was after the 50 point massacre of Marshalltown on our way to state champs.:yes:

[Rasputin]

The only thing I know about Ottumwa is that my high school basketball team beat them by 35 during state boys basketball my senior year. That was after the 50 point massacre of Marshalltown on our way to state champs.:yes:

Ottumwa is a nasty place...My fondest memory was getting food poisoning at their finest dining establishment, Pizza Hut.

http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/obscene/eck25.gif

[MSNSaluki]

Ottumwa is a nasty place...My fondest memory was getting food poisoning at their finest dining establishment, Pizza Hut.

http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/obscene/eck25.gif

that's what i thought of my short trip there ... nasty.

[Panthera Pardus]

Ottumwa is a nasty place...My fondest memory was getting food poisoning at their finest dining establishment, Pizza Hut.

:lol: :lol: Ottumwa is the land that God forgot.

[MikeKennedyRulz]

Des Moines is about the size of Wichita (physically a little larger, except more sprawled), more modern, a nicer downtown, and cleaner.


:lol: :lol: You can't be serious? Des Moines is the biggest pit, besides Springpatch, that I have been to in the valley. Modern? Cleaner? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[DUBulldog]

:lol: :lol: You can't be serious? Des Moines is the biggest pit, besides Springpatch, that I have been to in the valley. Modern? Cleaner? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Based on your response, I'm guessing you were either in the inner city, or the east side.

[shockball]

Urbandale and the west side are nice. Of course, then there is the West End.

Cedar Falls is a nice little community. Omaha is great. Springfield is OK. My favorite road trip each year is St. Louis. The beer's born on date is the day I'm drinking it.

[outpost]

My favorite road trip each year is St. Louis. The beer's born on date is the day I'm drinking it.

Maybe that's why the prices are so outrageous......never thought about that.

[DUBulldog]

Urbandale and the west side are nice. Of course, then there is the West End.

The West End Lounge....I have met many a ValleyTalker there. It will never be in any Des Moines tourism booklets, but the place kinda feels like home.....cheap, cold beer.

Urbandale is nice, but West Des Moines, Johnston, Clive, Waukee and Ankeny are all nicer. Urbandale has great housing, but it's really limited in the retail area.

[Rasputin]

:lol: :lol: You can't be serious? Des Moines is the biggest pit, besides Springpatch, that I have been to in the valley. Modern? Cleaner? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Wow, what part of town were you in? Des Moines is probably the cleanest and most modern Valley city, IMO. Seriously, compare downtown Des Moines to downtown Wichita...No comparison (size-wise and business-wise). They probably have the most impressive skyline of ANY U.S. city under 1 million. Granted, it is a very 9-to-5 place (actually the whole city and suburbs feel like that) and there are very limited entertainment options unless you head out to West Des Moines or Clive. Of course Des Moines has crappy areas like any city (east side, NE side, etc), but its suburbs and city core are VERY nice (WDM, Clive, Urbandale, Johnston, and Ankeny).

http://www.blackapolis.com/des_moines/images/skyline.jpg

http://www.traveliowa.com/images/galleryhires/C007_Des_Moines_Skyline_Des_Moines.gif

http://www.captainjack.com/dm/downtown.jpeg

http://www.absolutedsm.com/images/City%20Gallery%20Main/West%20Des%20Moines%20Gallery/JCTC%20Area/JCTC/JCWaterfall.jpg

http://www.absolutedsm.com/images/State%20Capitol%20Grounds/good%20capitol.jpg

[MSNSaluki]

this site is gonna blow with all these pictures ...

[Vondadon]

No, YOU suck. :ranting:

Seriously, though, Cedar Falls is a beautiful place that I would love living in for the rest of my days. Waterloo kind of reminds me of the post-apocalyptic future they offer in the Terminator movies. Cedar Falls has a lot of nice shops downtown, with a lot of culture and shows going on constantly. Waterloo makes me sad whenever I drive through it. That's just my opinion.



Have you ever left the dump that is waterloo/c.f.? I can see how C.F. might look great if the only places you have ever been to is Janesville, Waterloo, and Cedar Rapids.

I have spent 23 years in waterloo and c.f. and both are dumps. Waterloo is definitely alot worse off then C.F. C.F. atleast trys to hide its mediocrity. Waterloo gave up trying along time ago.

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

Have you ever left the dump that is waterloo/c.f.? I can see how C.F. might look great if the only places you have ever been to is Janesville, Waterloo, and Cedar Rapids.

I have spent 23 years in waterloo and c.f. and both are dumps. Waterloo is definitely alot worse off then C.F. C.F. atleast trys to hide its mediocrity. Waterloo gave up trying along time ago.

In my opinion, Cedar Rapids is A LOT nicer than Cedar Falls. Sure it has bad parts of town (parts of the SW side) but the NE side, Marion, and SE are really nice. Plus is is the only Iowa city besides Des Moines that is actually "big" with a nice skyline. Plus, the Cedar Rapids metro area is growing like CRAZY, in our lifetime CR and Iowa City will become one huge metro area.

http://www.coe.edu/images/cedarRapids.jpg

[Vondadon]

In my opinion, Cedar Rapids is A LOT nicer than Cedar Falls. Sure it has bad parts of town (parts of the SW side) but the NE side, Marion, and SE are really nice. Plus is is the only Iowa city besides Des Moines that is actually "big" with a nice skyline. Plus, the Cedar Rapids metro area is growing like CRAZY, in our lifetime CR and Iowa City will become one huge metro area.

http://www.coe.edu/images/cedarRapids.jpg



True, I like Cedar Rapids also, but it does have its rough areas. More than C.F. but C.R. doesn't actively try to run poor people out of town like C.F. does. Des Moines and Davenport are also nice places. Both have lots of great areas, but they have rough sections also. Off the top of my head I would list Souix city, Dubuque, Iowa City, Charles City, Clear lake and Corralville, over C.F. Des Moines, C.R., and Davenport would over take C.F. depending on what attributes of a city you were looking for. (opportunities, scenery, size, entertainment, etc) :original:

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

I agree with you. Let's put it this way, I like Cedar Falls, nice little town. But once I graduate UNI I am moving directly to Des Moines or Cedar Rapids.