What are Iowans like? (Oakland: neighborhoods, college, to live in)
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When I used to live in Rhode Island, a female co-worker of mine was considering relocating to Iowa after graduating from college. She had been told by one of her professors at Rhode Island College that the people in Iowa were friendly, polite, courteous, and outgoing. Her professor also told her that Iowans are not Bible-wielding folk that preach to you at the supermarket or at your child's soccer game. My co-worker was irreligious and did not want to relocate to a place where everyday folk (neighbors, co-workers, townsfolk, etc.) would discuss with you their religious beliefs and/or confront for having no particular religion. Basically, she did not to move to a place where people were constantly in your face with talk of God or religion. This hindered my former co-worker from relocating to the South and a large swath of the Midwest. Apparently, her college professor had lived in many different states and she believed that out of all of the places she had lived, she thought that Iowa may suit my co-worker, her student, the best. What is an Iowan's take on this matter? All y'all Iowans need to shed some light on this matter for me since I've never been to Iowa and have only ever known one Iowan. What are Iowans like, for the most part?
For the most part, they're really nice people. I recently moved up here from the south, and comparing it to "good ole southern hospitality", they're great. Some people on these boards say that Iowans are "standoffish", but I find that the exception, not the rule. The locals that I work with are all easy to get along with and very helpful.
As for being approached about religion, that hasn't happened to me yet after almost 9 months.
I grew up in small-town Iowa, went to college there, and worked there for years after college. When I was growing up I was Christian but thought religion was boring; in college I just didn't care; after college I was agnostic, and now atheist. The only time I remember ever feeling even a tiny bit put off was when I first started work the wife of one of my co-workers gave me suggestions for which church I should go to without even asking if I was interested. I did not take offense because she was just trying to help. She was fine once I explained that I didn't believe in God. I highly doubt you'll have an issue with this more than say once a year. Iowans definitely won't be in your face about it. If they take issue with it they'll probably keep their issue to themselves. Although there are a lot of traditional rural folks in Iowa, I'm sure that Iowans are far better from this perspective than people from most parts of the country; although they wouldn't be as good as the primarily young and liberal neighborhoods in say Minneapolis or Chicago proper.
I was born in Iowa. And lived in Johnson county. Which is more libral than many places in the state. Being more like Oakland or San Francisco than anywhere in the bible belt. I must say tho. It varys a lot from town to town. From a mini version of San Francisco to Amish community's. Where can see horse and buggy's along side Humvee s. Just a few miles outside of Iowa city Iowa. And appears to be becoming a mecca for senures. Much like Florida. It is also very family friendly. Little too much for my taste actually. The climit would be famuler to anyone who has lived in the american south east. Half the year that is. The other half being more familer to anyone who has done time in the former soviet penal system.... Oh and should you get sick. Which you will! (Frost bite and heat stroke come to mind here for some reason... Iowa also has a rather high rate of cardiovascular disease. Rely depends on the town tho.) It dos have very good health care. Which I missed dearly for the first time in my life today. Nothing like waiting for four hours in a crowded west Oakland clinic. To make one long for home. If only not for that world famous Iowa weather... Which darn near killed me after about the fifty second year... And still managing to steal four more hours just a few yards from palm trees... I would have packed up and headed back home. But that weather... If your student or just out of collage? I would suggest one of the collage towns. Iowa city in particular has seen fairly steady growth over the years. That has pretty much avoided the worst of the effects of the depression we are currently in.
Most of my family lives in Iowa and I did as well as a small child. People in Iowa are some of the friendliest I have seen anywhere I have lived or traveled in the USA. My only problem is that the state is what I call insulated. While many people in Iowa do travel and have a sense of the world around them, there is this belief that the state is perfect in every way. When I was engaged I had several members of my family think that my fiancee hadn't traveled much just because she never had been to Iowa, forgetting the fact that it is not a tourist destination and someone from Montana would pretty much have to be going to Iowa to travel there as it's not even really on a route from that state to any tourist destination. We also became black sheep when we moved out of Iowa to Montana and now even 20 years on people think we are moving back, which, incidentally, most people who move out of Iowa never seem to move back.
Has it really come to this? Have we really reached the point where we have to asy "Oh my GodthatIdon'tbelievein, I just hope that I don't wind up in some GodthatIdon'tbelievein-fosaken area where there might be a slightly higher statistical probablility that a random friend, neighbor, or co-worker might actually want to talk to me about something that means a lot to them that I don't agree with?"
I mean, I get it, I wouldn't want to live close to a group like the Westboro nutjobs, and the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses can be annoying knocking on your door. But those groups are everywhere. When the primary deciding factor for where we want to live is the likelihood that someone will invite us to church I think we've started to go off the deep end.
Okay, enough of the soapbox. I've lived in Iowa for a few years now, in three differet communities. Beyond inviting me to church or church-related functions, I've never had anyone come up to me on the street and start sharing their religeous views. So if that's your major deciding factor I think Iowa will be to your liking. Personally I'm much more concerned with the generally narrow-minded view toward education, the tanking economy, general acceptance of adult behavior in adolescents, and the hypocrisy regarding gay marriage.
Has it really come to this? Have we really reached the point where we have to asy "Oh my GodthatIdon'tbelievein, I just hope that I don't wind up in some GodthatIdon'tbelievein-fosaken area where there might be a slightly higher statistical probablility that a random friend, neighbor, or co-worker might actually want to talk to me about something that means a lot to them that I don't agree with?"
I mean, I get it, I wouldn't want to live close to a group like the Westboro nutjobs, and the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses can be annoying knocking on your door. But those groups are everywhere. When the primary deciding factor for where we want to live is the likelihood that someone will invite us to church I think we've started to go off the deep end.
Okay, enough of the soapbox. I've lived in Iowa for a few years now, in three differet communities. Beyond inviting me to church or church-related functions, I've never had anyone come up to me on the street and start sharing their religeous views. So if that's your major deciding factor I think Iowa will be to your liking. Personally I'm much more concerned with the generally narrow-minded view toward education, the tanking economy, general acceptance of adult behavior in adolescents, and the hypocrisy regarding gay marriage.
I never indicated that I was not a religious person. I consider myself to be religious and I am a frequent church-goer. However, my former co-worker was a not a religious person. She's either an Agnostic or an Atheist. I am the original poster and I asked my initial questions on behalf of my former co-worker. I, myself, am not considering relocating to Iowa; whereas she is. Also, you have to understand that many native New Englanders are not inherently religious people. In fact, statistics have shown that the New England states (with the exception of Connecticut because of it's particularly large African-American and Hispanic populations, at least by New England standards); are among the least religious states in the entire country. For those New Englanders that are inherently religious and/or are church-goers, many hold the belief that religion is a private and personal matter and that there should be a separation of one's own religious beliefs from politics.
As an aside, the absenteeism of religious beliefs from politics and the general lack of religiousness across the region are considered some of the reasons why the New England region has been the nucleus of the same-sex marriage movement in the United States. Only three jurisdictions outside of New England; the District of Columbia, Iowa, and New York; have legalized same-sex marriage, with New York just legalizing it a few days ago. Not including the District of Columbia, Iowa was the only state outside of the New England region for about two years that issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. After gay marriage was legalized in Iowa and four out of the six New England states, I began to think that maybe the social culture of Iowa was somewhat similar to that of New England, seeing as how very few states were moving towards the direction of marriage equality two years ago. Also, Iowa has been a vanguard when it comes to racial equality and women's rights. Since I've never to been to Iowa, I would just hoping someone could explain if the aforementioned statements are true or false.
And, there are very few Mormons in New England and South Florida! LOL.
My post wasn't intended to be a direct response to yours, it was more of a throw-up-my-hands reaction to several comments similar to those of your friend's professor that I've heard lately. The use of "you" was directed toward the world at large and not WhatUpFLA directly. I meant no offense to you or anyone else and if any was taken I apologize. I understood your post to be more of a general question, which it seems it was.
Don't worry, the Mormons are coming. They just broke ground on a new temple in Ft. Lauterdale!
My post wasn't intended to be a direct response to yours, it was more of a throw-up-my-hands reaction to several comments similar to those of your friend's professor that I've heard lately. The use of "you" was directed toward the world at large and not WhatUpFLA directly. I meant no offense to you or anyone else and if any was taken I apologize. I understood your post to be more of a general question, which it seems it was.
Don't worry, the Mormons are coming. They just broke ground on a new temple in Ft. Lauterdale!
Thank for your apology and clarifying what you meant to say if your previous post. There was no harm done.
Iowans are religious, but as a non-religious person who grew up for 22 years in Iowa, I've realize it's very much a live-and-let-live kinda place. I always knew religion was out there, and many of my neighbors would actually go to church every sunday, but it wasn't until after I moved away that I realized how Iowans give people a lot of breathing room as far as ever thrusting religion down your throat.
It was never anything that people are going to come right at you with. If you go to church, you go. If you don't, you don't.
I went down south to visit friends a few times to some really isoldated small towns, and I have to say it was some of the most awkward conversations I've ever had. I would literally shake people's hand and say my name and they'd ask what church I was a member of. I was like.....umm.....what?
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