good/nice/lazy towns in iowa (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: rent, job, high school)

[gt6mk31]

If you really do mean small, check out north central or northwestern Iowa. I prefer the northcentral part. Most towns are very small. Property values are also quite low. There are a couple ethonol plants and a biodiesel plant going up. I have also seen ads for hog farms needing help. (not looking for work so don't pay much attention)

Grab a map

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/unite...es/iowa_90.jpg

Pick some areas away from large towns. Try Kossuth, Emmet, Palo Alto, Winnebago, Hancock, and Humboldt

Search Job Openings

https://www1.iowajobs.org/jobs/seeke...ch/search.seek

[esya]

My sister left Colorado (oh my god, what's wrong with you, is the typical reaction) to settle in Vinton. She really likes it--they have a reasonable city tax or fee that covers a pool, rec center, etc, and it's driving distance to Cedar Rapids and everywhere is within walking or biking distance in town.

[patmc]

Originally Posted by Mouser

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I'm not very good with this linking stuff. I'll try again.

HeyIowa.com

[dubuqueaskme]

I'd recommend

Dubuque County; Peosta, 1100, Epworth, 1600, Farley, 1700, Dyersville, 4,050, Holy Cross, 400, Luxemburg, 300, and Dyersville being the largest with a little more than 4,000. All are towns with a lot of character and a lot of friendly people.

Jackson County; ESPECIALLY Bellevue, a little town on the Mississippi that is very small, friendly, quiet, scenic, and is the typical midwestern small town. The population is 2200. Sabula, 700, St. Donatus, 175, Andrew, 300, La Motte, 200, Zwingle, 95, and Maquoketa 6,500 are all nice choices as well.

Clayton County: Just north of Dubuque, has a certain charm about it. It is very scenic, probably the most scenic in Iowa along with Allamakee, Winnishiek, Jackson, and Dubuque. Little towns like Volga, Edgewood/Colesburg (partially in Delaware County,) Strawberry Point, and Elkader, Guttenberg, the list goes on and on, all are under 2,000 population, the largest of them being Guttenberg, 1900.

Western Iowa Counties, and central Iowa, especially Dallas County, Story County, and other cities like Lamoni, and Burlington, and LeMars, and Adel are all very good choices too.

[GoHogsGo]

How could I forget Bellevue!

It may sway my opinion, but I like the old-time Downtown up against the Railroad Tracks thing going on there. Not a very busy line, but 2 or 3 times a day a train goes rolling through downtown Bellevue. Not embedded in the street, the tracks are separated from the concrete.

[faith64]

Check out Kalona. Small town living, close to Iowa City where the contruction business is busy year around. Plus the town is full of charm, with the Amish community, the antique shops and my favorite... the cheese factory. I'd move there if I was looking to move

[tonya_leigh73]

In southern Iowa if you really are looking for a small town atmosphere: try Albia, Bloomfeld, Melrose, Chariton or Bloomfield.

[metro223]

Eldora!!! (home of pine lake state park!)

[summer grace]

Two words: NE Iowa- Cresco is there- good choice!

[nascar9girl]

In terms of construction, Eddyville may be a great bet for you... It's a very small town in between Ottumwa and Oskaloosa (in the S/SE part of the state), and about 1:30hr from Des Moines - a straight shot up 163, 4 lane all the way. Cargill is the BIG employer in town and has a 10-year project starting this spring (was supposed to start in winter, but got pushed back), plus the latest (or maybe just recycled) news is that Pepsi is getting ready to start their big construction build spring/summer across from the Cargill plant. Eddyville has a ton of contract companies that work out at the plant, or you could try to get on with Cargill themselves (who, by the way, just happen to be the largest privately owned company in the United States). Housing in the area is cheap, schools are well-known (in a good way!), everybody knows everybody, good people. Do a search for Eddyville and I've put some other info in other posts!