Pella, IA (Des Moines, Iowa City, Ottumwa: fit in, house, employment)

[WIFERN]

I just posted a question about finding a small town outside of Iowa City to move to but with more research I've stumbled upon Pella. I understand this isnt close to Iowa City, but we can live anywhere in IA. I just wanted to be close to the university so I can take classes.

Then I found what looks to be a quaint small town. This looks like a great little community with high rated schools and lots of sport activities and 2 seasons of swim team for my kids, what a find! Why would I not want to move to this little town?

Not that I want a bunch of negatives about Pella but anything I should be aware of, for example if it had an unually high drug use in the high school or something like that.

I'm not afraid to come into a new community and fit in. I can dive right in and become active. We are a conservative church-going family so I'm hoping there are some contemporary styled churches in this area with like minded people.

By the way, I'm german, would that be held against me in a predominantly Dutch community, LOL.

Thanks

PS Any other quaint communities with great schools I should be aware of in IA?

[pepe1]

Pella is absolutley the best maintained small town I have ever been to. It is very clean and buildings and streets are meticulously maintained. Pella has an excellent public school system with great facilities. It is also home to a small liberal arts college that brings yet another dynamic to town.

Given the employment base in Pella, I am always surprised the town isn't bigger than it is. Pella Windows and Vermeer Manufacturing are headquartered there as well as some other mid sized manufacturers, yet the community is only around 10,000 residents.

If the nature of my job allowed me to make a decent living in a small town, Pella would certainly be tops on my list. Another similar sized community I have always loved is Clear Lake, Iowa - You might do some research into that town as well.

[El Rhino]

I was actually thinking about recommending Pella to you in that thread, but I think Pella might be an hour away from Iowa City, give or take ten minutes.

You may be able to take classes at Central College in Pella. I don't know anything about it except their mascot is the "fighting Dutchman" or something and I once ate at their dining facility, which was top-notch.

Pella is a real cool town. If you ever read "Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson, he dubs it "The Best Small Town in America".

[SharpHawkeye]

Ah, Pella!

Pella's a beautiful little town, with a great (some would say overinflated) pride in their town, history and heritage. It's near Lake Red Rock, which is probably the most underrated lake in Iowa. It's about an hour from Des Moines on nice four lane highway--good for day trips, although a bit long for a regular commute. It's actually about 2 hours from Iowa City, and part of that is backwards country roads. Good schools, very competitive athletic programs.

My best friend in high school is going to Central and he loves it. It's a pretty low-key school, a private, more conservative church-affiliated college. Good reputation in the state, excellent language programs (he's a linguistics major) and study abroad. (It's just "Dutch" though, although my friend agrees with you on the cafeteria!) One caveat though--Central is pretty pricey.

There are some things you should know about though. Pella-ites (sp?) have sort of a reputation for being snooty and elitist. Their saying is supposedly "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much". I think people like to make too much of this sometimes, but like most things--there's a grain of truth to it. Pella is also seen as too uptight by many--it's a pretty conservative place.

[a1sspiked]

Hello
I have been browsing through the forums for info. abotu Pella, IA. Most of the post are a few years old, so i was wondering if anything has changed in the town. Also, i was interested to know what kind of night life there is for the college kids coming into town for school, and maybe things to do for their families when visiting. I read a passing mention that the city is a "dry town", is this correct or just not a bar on every corner town?
Thanks

[RdytoGo]

Originally Posted by a1sspiked

Hello
I have been browsing through the forums for info. abotu Pella, IA. Most of the post are a few years old, so i was wondering if anything has changed in the town. Also, i was interested to know what kind of night life there is for the college kids coming into town for school, and maybe things to do for their families when visiting. I read a passing mention that the city is a "dry town", is this correct or just not a bar on every corner town?
Thanks

I actually just graduated from Central. I think it's safe to say that Pella generally stays the same. The recession hit some local businesses hard (Vermeer, Pella Corp.), but from a college kid's point of view, it didn't change much over the four years I was there (though we did get a couple new restaurants). Pella doesn't have a whole lot of "nightlife" to speak of. The local Mexican restaurant serves drinks, but closes early. There's a bar called Billy Jak's, and one of the new restaurants in town, the Sports Page, turns into the "Spunker" on the weekends - kind of like a club. That's about it as far as off-campus nightlife. Then there is always stuff going on at Central. When my parents came to visit, we would usually go to a football game, the Tassel Ridge winery (in Leighton), the shops downtown, maybe a movie. My parents always stayed at Holiday Inn, which has a nice golf course - they loved the course. The shops are really cool, and there are some nice restaurants - Kaldera (Greek), George's Pizza, El Charro, Applebee's, etc. We also loved to go to Udder's, a grill-your-own steakhouse in nearby Knoxville.

[julierob29]

Just my input: The only people happily living in Pella have been living there for generations. Newcomers are not appreciated AND you'll have trouble finding a job if there is a "native" applying for the same position. I once tried to buy a house there while attending William Penn and the realtor flat out told me that they didn't welcome outsiders.

But hey what a great (cheating, whiney) football team, eh? Too bad the refs had to help the fb team cheat in order to make it to State.

[Movingrightalong...]

Originally Posted by julierob29

Just my input: The only people happily living in Pella have been living there for generations. Newcomers are not appreciated AND you'll have trouble finding a job if there is a "native" applying for the same position.

It's a clean little town and nice to visit for a day on the weekend but julierob nailed it. It's very unlike the rest of Iowa in this respect...

...Oskaloosa (15 miles SE), Knoxville (15 miles SW), Newton, Grinnell, Ottumwa and Des Moines would all be better choices if you're moving in to the area.

[Mercruiserdr]

I agree with "MovingR.A." and others who warned of Pellas penchent towards being a closed community.
The people of Pella are nice and polite to visitors, however they are not to cozy with outsiders moving into their area.

You would find Oskaloosa , Big O ( Ottumwa ) and even weird fairfield far friendlier in the tolerating newcomers category.

I have a couple of compadres who were born and raised in Pella and even they admit their town is not famous for being open to newbies.
The blonde hair blue eyes thing is the law in tulip and wooden shoes country.

I have never figured out the clique ideology of some communities , maybe its from being raised here in the laplands with all these mutts and mongrels descended from hole diggers and potato and pig farmers.
We accept anybody , especially if they are of the fairer gender.