Choosing an Iowa City Neighborhood: A Mom’s Guide to West Liberty

Moving to the Iowa City Area?

Check out our “Moving to Iowa City Guide” and learn everything you need to know, from buying and selling your house, to schools, grocery stores, neighborhoods, and more! Brought to you by The Bails Team at Urban Acres Real Estate.

Updated March 24, 2022

West Liberty is a welcoming city approximately 17 miles east of Iowa City. The community is strong in volunteerism, supportive of education, and celebrates the rich diversity of their population. It’s a short drive to Iowa City (or to Muscatine in the opposite direction), so this location gives you a small-town experience with easy access to bigger cities.

It’s a small but mighty town that certainly stands on its own with plenty of options for dining out, entertainment, and recreation. The city boasts nine public parks, including three with playground equipment, a great assortment of locally-owned restaurants, a swimming pool with a water slide and fantastic wading pool, a wonderful public library, a quaint and affordable movie theater, a skate park, multiple ball diamonds, soccer fields, frisbee golf, tennis, fitness centers, a walking trail and much more.

The diversity found in West Liberty is refreshing. In fact, it proudly offers the only K-12 English/Spanish dual-language program in the state of Iowa. It’s a wonderful place to raise a family with cultural awareness and genuine respect for others.


west liberty iowa city neighborhoodsView a map of West Liberty


A Local Mom’s Guide to West Liberty

Restaurants and Food

West Liberty features a variety of locally-owned restaurants including authentic Mexican cuisine, comfort food, traditional bar food, pizza, and subs.


west liberty iowa city neighborhoods


Churches

The community has many welcoming churches for new families and offers a popular non-denominational Community Youth Group (CYG) for students grades 6-12. CYG allows local youth to explore and grow in their faith with regular gatherings including games, fellowship, and worship. CYG also organizes an annual mission trip.


Parks and Recreation

  • Dutton Park: Softball/baseball fields, covered playground area, soccer fields, tennis courts, pickleball, sand volleyball pits, skate park
  • Friendship Park: Swings and slides
  • Kimberly Park: Public swimming pool, playground, four shelters
  • Railroad Park: Swing set, slide + wooden train playground
  • Ron-De-Voo Park
  • Sesquicentennial Park
  • Veterans Memorial Park
  • Wapsie Park: Nine-hole disc golf course, three softball fields, batting cage, soccer field, swing set, basketball courts, volleyball courts, shelter, mile-long wooded trail
  • Hoover Nature Trail: .8 mile paved trail

west liberty iowa city neighborhoods


Gas Stations and Convenience Stores

There are two convenience stores to choose from, both serve whole, cooked pizzas and various meal options. There are additional gas stations available between West Liberty and Interstate 80.


Healthcare

There is one local medical clinic in town, which features bilingual providers and staff, and offers routine and diagnostic care. There are also options for local chiropractic care, dentistry, and physical therapy. Take care of your pets, too, at the West Liberty Veterinary Clinic.



west liberty iowa city neighborhoods


Public Schools

The West Liberty Community School District includes West Liberty and the two smaller neighboring communities of Atalissa and Nichols, as well as rural students. The district has a notable Dual Language Program, which gives parents the option of enrolling their pre-k student(s) on a path towards bilingualism. The dual-language program at West Liberty is one of only a handful of similar programs in the nation. The program is about half native English speakers and half native Spanish speakers and its regular curriculum is taught in English half of the time and in Spanish half of the time. It is a longstanding and successful program for the district.

Early Learning Center (Pre – K, and Kindergarten)
Elementary School (Grades 1-5)
Middle School (Grades 6-8)
High School (Grades 9-12)

In addition to the public schools, there is also an impressive state-certified community child care center and before and after school program.


Entertainment

There are no excuses for being bored in West Liberty – this small town has a great lineup of public amenities to keep you and your kids entertained. It is also home to the Muscatine County Fair each July.


west liberty iowa city neighborhoods


Shop Local

Last but not least, as Iowans we love to shop local, and this town has you covered with food, hardware, gifts, and more available just down the street.

Check out West Liberty! You just might want to call it home!


Check out more neighborhoods and suburbs in the Iowa City area!


Photo: Bails Team Urban Acres

ABOUT THE BAILS TEAM: URBAN ACRES REAL ESTATE

Hiring the Bails Team at Urban Acres Real Estate means you’ll have access to the real estate expertise you need anytime, anywhere. This real estate team includes Mike Bails, Phil O’Brien, Marcy Willier, Chelsey Riggan, Briley Desmet, and Matt VandeBerg. Together, they have over 50 years of combined experience and a deep understanding of the entire residential and commercial real estate picture in the Iowa City area – it’s what they like to call a panoramic view of real estate.

If you are ready to buy or sell, give them a call today and tell them Iowa City Moms sent you!

REALTORS®
Mike Bails | 319.321.5500
Phil O’Brien | 319.331.1701
Marcy Willier | 319.936.5899
Chelsey Riggan-Kuepker | 319.631.1434
Briley Desmet | 319.330.5078
Matt VandeBerg | 605.321.1700

Angelica
Angelica was raised in West Liberty just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Iowa City. After getting married to her high school sweetheart and living in the D.C. metro area, they decided it was not where they wanted to raise a family, and moved back to Iowa in 2012. They welcomed their daughter nine months after moving back. Then in 2018 added a yellow lab to their family. Angelica enjoys running, reading, and binge watching shows with her husband. She loves Disney, Reese's, and being a mom.

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