Sioux City--good or bad? (Des Moines, Hills: city hall, crime, job market)

[MarissaYC]

I've read so many pros and cons about Sioux City "Sewer City". Is it really that bad to live there? I was looking at jobs and only came across the city hall but not a lot of job openings. What info can you give me about Sioux City or where can I go to search for job openings? I have 2 children so I'm also looking for great schools.

Any HELP, please e-mail me at foxyfashion81@yahoo.com

[khuck]

i would check Sioux City Journal for jobs. i don't have kids so can't give you any insight into the school system. good luck!

[vincolo1]

basically just avoid Sioux city......just to be safe.....there are plenty of other areas that have more to offer, better life styles and employment stats then the tri-state area.

[TommyG]

"Real" jobs are hard to come by here. There's not a lot available that pays well - Gateway, MCI, Tyson, et al. have all scaled back or evaporated. There's plenty of retail/restaurant work, if you are looking for $7 an hour positions, and there's always the telemarketing and/or outsourcing industries that have come to town in the last few years, but again they don't pay a lot.

[Mnhky1]

As someone who lives here and is trying to leave, I would not live in Sioux City again. I agree with much of what has been posted here already. Drugs...crime rising...a business climate that love minimum wage jobs and nothing else...and a population not wanting to do what it takes to progress...that's Sioux City in a nutshell.

[MJ1986]

I agree with past posts... I would avoid Sioux City... It's just not progressive and have a dirty feel to it. It has some nicer areas on the outskirts, like Dakota Dunes SD
I'm biased but check out Sioux Falls... it's pretty much the opposite of Sioux City.

[Chris19]

I think that there are better cities than Sioux City, but Sioux City has its good areas too such as the northern areas, Morningside, and areas near Southern Hills Mall along with nearby communities such as Seargant Bluff and Dakota Dunes. Downtown is better than what it used to be in the 1990s but there is still a strong stench along I-29 south of downtown and it occurs where there are billboards for restaurants, etc. (I am not sure if that leaves a good impression for a passerby or tourist going through the area).

If you find a professional job, you will get by well in Sioux City. Housing is priced lower, but the job market is not as good as you would find in Sioux Falls, Omaha, or Des Moines.

There are nice people in Sioux City, but I find it to be more unfriendly and distant as a whole compared to Omaha and Sioux Falls and there are some in the area that are snooty and clicky. The city is cleaning up but still needs to make a few major changes to get back on track. Infrastructure improvements to the interstate system and connections is ove, economic improvements (diversification, addition of professional/higher paying jobs, etc.), and continued cleaning up of its industrial image along with improvements in its zoning and urban planning.

Sioux City is a blue collar town and has suffered heavy losses in industry in recent decades and could use the progressive leadership that cities such as Sioux Falls and Omaha have. Oddly enough, Sioux Falls and Sioux City were about the same size in the early 1980s at a little over 80,000 people. Now, Sioux Falls is a little over 150,000 people and Sioux City is at 85,000 people. The difference is that Sioux Falls has diversified its economy and has the leadership that encourages and manages growth well and Sioux City has stagnated to some extent and has continued to concentrate too much in cetain areas such as call centers and manufacturing and not pushed for additional industries.