Regions/People of Iowa... (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: fit in, homes, to buy)

[Mrsgeraci]

We recently moved here from Washington State and would like to buy a home here. We are South of Iowa City near Kalona and though we love the community feel of it here, we are having trouble finding a church (Anabaptist type) that will accept us due to divorce in our past. My questions are this, are there different regions here with different people and lifestyles or beliefs? In Washington State there is an Eastern Washington and a Western Washington. Western Washington is mostly fast paced and a bit busy for conversation, while Eastern there is more farming and a slower way of life. How about here? We want to find where to start looking and where to avoid all together. We love the farming type/family communities... we do love Kalona, Wellman, Washington area but I see too much growth down the road. I wouldn't mind a little slower but not isolation either. Any thoughts anyone? How's the NW corner or NE area, etc... ? Thank you... : )

[smpliving]

In general, Iowa has no problem with divorce. Perhaps the Kalona area (which to my knowledge has a strong Amish and Mennonite presence) have stricter views within their religion. You will find very diverse views here (especially within Iowa City), and as is usually usual in more rural areas, they tend to be more conservative.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by iagal

In general, Iowa has no problem with divorce. Perhaps the Kalona area (which to my knowledge has a strong Amish and Mennonite presence) have stricter views within their religion.

Mennonite = Anabaptist, which the OP is looking for. Scripture teaches that those who divorce for any reason other than infidelity, abuse, or abandonment aren't to remarry. So if none of those is a factor in a divorce it can be hard to "fit in" with a conservative congregation.

So anyway, as to other regions of Iowa the Op may like........ Most rural parts of Iowa are pretty much the same as far as pace goes. Nobody gets in too big a hurry. It sounds like you're not tied to any particular sized community?

You should come a little farther south and check out Van Buren County.

[Stavemaster]

Iowa is generally more conservative the further west you go, more liberal as you get further east. As duster mentioned, the slow pace of things is consistent throughout the rural parts and small towns of the state, which is basically everywhere but Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and maybe Waterloo and Dubuque. Iowa City and Ames of course have the whole college town vibe, but that doesn't sound like what you're looking for.
Since you mentioned the NW corner, I've heard that it can be a hard place to fit in if you don't already have some roots in the area. However I've never spent more than a few hours at a time in that part of the state, so I can't confirm that. YMMV.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Stavemaster

Since you mentioned the NW corner, I've heard that it can be a hard place to fit in if you don't already have some roots in the area. However I've never spent more than a few hours at a time in that part of the state, so I can't confirm that. YMMV.

That is the area of the state with strong Dutch influences that tends to be very insular and quite conservative.

[Stavemaster]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

That is the area of the state with strong Dutch influences that tends to be very insular and quite conservative.

That's always been really odd to me, considering that the Dutch were historically very cosmopolitan and tolerant, even going back to the 1600s. Hell, New York became the city it is in large part because it was founded by the Dutch, who ran it mostly on the principle of "we don't care what you do as long as it's not bad for business". Religiously they were very tolerant (by 17th century standards) of different ideas for fear of a sequel to the Thirty Years' War.

And then they moved to NW Iowa and elected Steve King to Congress. Repeatedly.

[steel03]

Generally, don't south and west of Des Moines is conservative and north and east of Des Moines (including Des Moines itself) is liberal.
If you want a bigger city, I recommend Des Moines, Iowa City, or Davenport. If you're okay with a small town, you should check out Decorah. It's a Norwegian-Lutheran college town of 8,000 in northeast Iowa, about an hour and a half south of Rochester, MN, or two hours north of Cedar Rapids. Absolutely has the community feel, but it's also quite liberal, and full of mainline protestant (mostly ELCA Lutheran) churches that have no problem with divorce. Definitely comparable to eastern Washington.
So that's my shameless plug!

[Mrsgeraci]

Thank you all. We actually are more conservative though not always accepted so we aren't attracted to the liberal type cities. We are going to look at a couple of homes South of Des Moines in Russell and Lucas. I'll keep in mind that the Western part of Iowa may be more of what we are after, but I think just getting more away from the bigger cities will be fine too. Thanks again everyone. : )

[Rynldsbr]

Interesting comments - looking at Emmetsburg, IA (Western) as a relocation possibility myself due to a career opportunity. I also am generally conservative and consider the comfortable fit in a good local church important. Anyone have particular thoughts on the Emmetsburg, Spencer areas? Prefer not to drive too far to get to work in Emmetsburg.

[EastIowa]

Spencer is a very friendly community from what I've seen. I lived there for a couple of years and really like it there.