Moving to Ottumwa, any advice? (Des Moines, Waterloo: for rent, crime, how much)

[Dan-O]

Hey everyone,

I'm moving to Ottumwa from Los Angeles for a short time for work and need to find a place to live, are there any areas I should avoid? How much is reasonable for rent? Any tips in coping with snow? I'm not used to the idea of having the snow come to me. I've heard a lot of opinions about Ottumwa, but something objective would be really helpful.

Also, I just graduated college and was wondering what the social/nightlife scene is like around there for someone my age, so bar recommendations are awesome too. Thanks for all the help. any info at all would be real nice, because I am expecting it to be a little different from home.

Cheers!

[Pearlbob]

Ottumwa is definitely a very small town. I have friends from there, and most say there is not any nightlife to speak of, unfortunately. Of course there are some bars, but not really "nightlife" in terms of a general area for young adults to hang out in. Maybe it has changed in the last few years though.

From what I understand, much like any other small town, you can find very cheap housing. coming from LA, you can probably make your first month's rent in Ottumwa by checking under your couch cushions. Or at least that is what it will seem like to you.

I don't know for certain, but I can't imagine there are too many "bad" areas of Ottumwa. Some look a little run-down, as it's a blue collar type city and not wealthy like other towns maybe, but I've never heard of any danger or crime problems there. Again, compared to LA....

Good things though, you'll be close to Des Moines and Iowa City if you want to go somewhere else for a night, and reasonably close to Chicago and St. Louis if you ever want to get away for a weekend.

As for the snow....good luck. That's about all I can say Make sure you are well prepared with clothing, your car is well supplied, have plenty of snow gear for your home, and brace yourself. The coldest I have ever felt in Iowa is -30. Windchill of maybe -60. It hurts.

[SharpHawkeye]

You want advice on moving to Ottumwa? How about....don't move to Ottumwa!

Now that that's out of the way...as Pearlbob noted, Ottumwa is not wealthy, in fact very far from it. The town as a whole is very very blue-collar, in the manufacturing and meat-packing industries. As a whole, the town is, well, kind of dirty and run-down.

Ottumwa doesn't really have neighborhoods, so I can't really tell you any places to avoid. I would live north of the river though, rather than south. Coming from L.A. you'll find the rents and the cost-of-living to be much, much lower than what you're used to.

Nightlife? Eh, there's not much. There is Indian Hills CC in town, so that generates some nightlife activity, mostly confined to one or two bars.

Snow? Unless you're going to be working outside, a big coat, hat, gloves, and snow boots should be fine. Be prepared for off-and-on snow storms and cold from about November through April.

[bungeebrain]

I'm with sharphawkeye I grew up in Ottumwa and I will never move back. There really are no bad places that I could think of, I would go north of the river too although I grew up on the "south" side which just simply means the houses are older and smaller. As for nightlife, there is none I think there is a small sports bar in the "downtown" (please regard the quotation marks as sarcasm) but that's about it.

Ottumwa is a retirement community, it's quiet and theres nothing to do, that's why almost everyone that grows up there leaves. If you like quiet Ottumwa is your place, if you want nightlife and good job opportunities try Ceader Rapids or Desmoines mabey even Iowa City but it's a college town.

[wuggywugs]

Kinda sorry to hear you're moving to Ottumwa. I have personally lived here for 15 years. I have also lived in St. Louis and Des Moines area previously. We will be moving shortly, though. You probably won't want to be here long. Although it's not a teeny tiny town, it's still small. Boredem will probably set in very quickly. We find ourselves in Iowa City or Des Moines quite alot, for shopping or entertainment. Lots of old people here, for sure.

As far a rent goes, I think it's expensive for what you get. You can easily pay $500 + for a dump. If you are paying less than that, you are definately getting a step below a dump. You are almost better off to purchase a small house (depending on what you can put down), and then keep it for investment (rental) purposes once you move on down the road.

I don't think it matters, being a southsider or northsider, as the longtime town people call you. If you are not older, this seems to be a transitional town, not for long timers, really. I NEVER thought I'd be here this long, frankly. Lots of people from John Deere, Cargill, Pioneer, etc move in and out within 2-3 years. I do believe there are only two types of people that live here...the kind that have money or the kind that don't.

I wouldn't call it a peaceful town, per say. Lots of city officials fighting amongst themselves, which in turn, seems to divide the community.

Winter not soo bad, really. A couple of good snowfalls, then it's all over. I barely break out my winter coat. If you want real snow, you would be worried if you were moving to Minnesota. Fall really is a beautiful time here, though.

So, anyway, hopefully your time here will be short and sweet. I personally would rather be in the California sunshine!

Good Luck!

[sw1978]

Advice about Ottumwa. Well lets just say I have spent the last 29 years here, and I have been ready to leave since I was 15. I grew up here and can honestly say there is nothing here. There are plenty of bars and churches but that is about it. No night life that you would find in LA, only one place to eat that is open all night hope you like McDonalds. People here leave town to find stuff to do. Rent is cheap, but you get what you pay for. I agree with alot of the others when I say it's not all its cracked up to be.

[SoccerMom811]

I think Ottumwa gets a bad rap - I have spent lotsof time there since college because my only Iowa relatives have lived there since the 70's. If you are working at a place where you will meet other young people, you might find that you enjoy your time there. Sure there are problems in the town but I always found it extremely friendly, the schools are reasonably good, you can actually join the country club unbelievably reasonably and the golf course is on the short side but pretty and hilly, it's just not that bad. It is a blue collar town, and it went downhill economically when Hormel pulled out 15 or 20 years ago, but somehow it hangs in there. I would find a place on the north side though, and I hope I don't offend anyone by saying that.

[Karen N.]

My best advice is not relocate there.(Unless you have a great career there) The city is all messed up. You are young! Don't get trapped there! It's the armpit of America. The town officials run everything, regardless of the the city votes, and it is so mis-managed. It could be a pretty town....but politics and $$ are bringing it down. The bridges are scary (considering the bridge tradgedy up north -this one is considered 3 on a scale of 1-10), the sewer system sucks and their proposed plan is to tax these poor people more for what they should have been working on in the first place instead of building a million dollar civic center which only the priveledged or richer can utilize. The majority of people here just want the roads, the sewer, etc fixed without the city taxing them anymore. As for night life....girl....it depends where u come from...It's not Dallas...Vancouver...Portland....just some bars...nothing kicking.....Try Iowa City...Cedar Falls /Waterloo...Monticello....Dubuque is awesome!
I know because we just relocated from Wa. state.....

[therrboomer]

If looking for house, see if anything available on Bryan Road.

[Bloviator]

Um, my advice? Don't do it! LOL!