Impressed with Iowa! (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport: insurance, how much, house prices)

[nep321]

So I was on a road trip earlier this week and spent the night in Davenport, IA. First of all, I thought the natural beauty of Iowa was actually nice. I live in Connecticut, so it was refreshing to see open fields, but still some concentrations of trees here and there. The traffic was minimal and the people seemed nice and actually somewhat tolerant/liberal. And the area was very convenient, too. I have consistently heard good things about IA, such as the cost of living, quality of life and easier pace of life. Not to mention, I am glad to know that the state has legalized gay marriage (I'm gay), which is good for me someday if I want to settle down with someone. I am a 28 year old male with a master's degree in accounting and 5 yrs of experience.

I've always wanted to live in a place that's less urbanized, but still reasonably tolerant of diverse peoples. I'm also an atheist.

Do you think I would like living in Iowa? I know, I only spent a day there, and in one city only. But from what I saw, I liked it. It didn't feel like a stressful place at all!

[steel03]

Glad you enjoyed our little state. Urban Iowa is very similar to urban Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois (outside of Chicago). I'll give you the rundown...

I'm gay as well and perfectly happy living in Des Moines. It's a growing city on the order of Madison and Omaha that's getting quirkier by the minute. Des Moines is actually sometimes called the Hartford of the West because of its insurance industry. I believe the top three insurance centers in the world are London, Hartford, and Des Moines, or at least that's what they tell us. It's incredible how much the city has changed in the last ten years.

Dubuque is comparable to Davenport, though reasonably smaller, and more into its river culture. It's also at the bottom edge of the Driftless area, which is home to the most breathtaking scenery you'll find in Iowa. Drive two hours up to Decorah for an ultra-liberal and completely charming college town in the middle of some pretty dramatic bluff country.

Waterloo and Cedar Rapids are both fairly blue-collar river cities. Waterloo's smaller neighbor Cedar Falls is a state college town, so it has a bit more of that culture. Cedar Rapids is very big on its Czech heritage. They have a cute little neighborhood called Czech Village as well as the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library.

Iowa City and Ames are the two massive state college towns. Iowa City is very trendy and young, a bit like Burlington, VT. It and Des Moines are probably the two most happening cities in the state, despite IAC's small size. Ames is an even smaller metro, and frankly not nearly as endearing as Iowa City, though still very much a lively college town.

Sioux City and Council Bluffs are the big cities in western Iowa, which is the more conservative part of the state. It's sort of the "it" thing to detest Council Bluffs specifically, since it seems to have trouble deciding whether it's its own city or just a very bland suburb of Omaha.

If you liked the Quad Cities, I'd say it's a safe bet the best fits for you in Iowa are Des Moines, Iowa City, and the QC area itself, or maybe Decorah if you're fine with a small town and moderate isolation. But I do think it's a great place for gay people to settle down. Coming from the east coast, you'd be especially happy with house prices.

One big difference to get used to living in the Midwest, as I'm sure you noticed on your road trip, is that it's very spread out compared to the Northeast. It takes some driving to get from place to place. But within that environment, Iowa is in quite a good location. It's an easy drive to get to Omaha, Lincoln, Sioux Falls, the Twin Cities and Rochester, Madison, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City, and traffic is hardly ever an issue.

I do get very bored of cornfields, there are some truly scary suburban Des Moines moms, and I miss living in the Twin Cities sometimes, but Iowa has been a great place to live for me.

[smpliving]

"I've always wanted to live in a place that's less urbanized, but still reasonably tolerant of diverse peoples."

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit here! Steel03 gave you a great description of Iowa. I live in Cedar Rapids and work in Iowa City, moving here 18 years ago from Los Angeles. I am not gay, but have a couple of gay friends. For the most part, I think Iowans are very tolerant and respectful of diversity. It's more of a live and let live attitude here.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by iagal

"I've always wanted to live in a place that's less urbanized, but still reasonably tolerant of diverse peoples."

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit here! Steel03 gave you a great description of Iowa. I live in Cedar Rapids and work in Iowa City, moving here 18 years ago from Los Angeles. I am not gay, but have a couple of gay friends. For the most part, I think Iowans are very tolerant and respectful of diversity. It's more of a live and let live attitude here.

I agree with this. I am not gay, but also have many gay friends. Pride Fest last month in Des Moines was an absolute blast and the parade was also fun. Where else do you see a float with guys dancing in their Calvins shooting confetti and glitter from a cannon? Yes there were a few anti-gay protesters but everyone just ignored them, as they should

[tollfree]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I agree with this. I am not gay, but also have many gay friends. Pride Fest last month in Des Moines was an absolute blast and the parade was also fun. Where else do you see a float with guys dancing in their Calvins shooting confetti and glitter from a cannon? Yes there were a few anti-gay protesters but everyone just ignored them, as they should

While it has come a long way, comments like this embody what people in Iowa still think about gay men...all are super flamboyant divas and act a certain way. It's simply not true, but someone in Iowa still might be surprised if they met a "non stereotypical" gay man. It hasn't quite gotten past this idea that all gay men probably act like Richard Simmons.

[steel03]

Oh here we go. Try to ignore RonnieJonez, he's a bit of a grandstander. He hasn't realized no one takes him seriously yet.

[capitalcityguy]

Ronnie is in our heads again! Amazing!!

[Newsboy]

I drove across Iowa for the first time last summer on a return trip from Montana to Georgia. The scenery was amazing! I've never seen so much corn in my life, and it was lush and green last year. Those giant windmills weren't too much to look at -- kinda creepy. But the rest of the state was surprisingly scenic, unlike much of the Midwest (Illinois -- yuck!)

Here's one thing I noticed: all the Iowa cities we passed through felt MUCH larger than they actually are, especially Des Moines. I couldn't believe it was a metro of barely 500,000 -- not much bigger than Savannah, GA where I live.

Any theories on why Iowa cities FEEL bigger than they are? Is it because there's so much corn in between?

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

I drove across Iowa for the first time last summer on a return trip from Montana to Georgia. The scenery was amazing! I've never seen so much corn in my life, and it was lush and green last year. Those giant windmills weren't too much to look at -- kinda creepy. But the rest of the state was surprisingly scenic, unlike much of the Midwest (Illinois -- yuck!)

Here's one thing I noticed: all the Iowa cities we passed through felt MUCH larger than they actually are, especially Des Moines. I couldn't believe it was a metro of barely 500,000 -- not much bigger than Savannah, GA where I live.

Any theories on why Iowa cities FEEL bigger than they are? Is it because there's so much corn in between?

Simply because in the midwest, there is so much open land outside of our cities that it's much less expensive to build out instead of inside the city and up. The new outer subburbs will gobble up lots of land for their malls and chain stores as well as larger lots for the suburban homes.

Good example and maybe on the extreme side is the square miles within the city limits of Sioux Falls SD vs San Francisco CA. Of the 2 SF's, Sioux Falls with a current city only population of approx. 160,000 is the same size and will soon be (if it isn't already) actually larger than San Francisco with a population of over 800,000. Granted, San Francisco is known for it's building on top of one another more than most cities, but it helps make a point.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

While it has come a long way, comments like this embody what people in Iowa still think about gay men...all are super flamboyant divas and act a certain way. It's simply not true, but someone in Iowa still might be surprised if they met a "non stereotypical" gay man. It hasn't quite gotten past this idea that all gay men probably act like Richard Simmons.

Oh please! You need to start moving away from this firm belief that no matter what Iowans are ignorant on all "civilized" aspects of humanity. The Chicago gay pride parade is exactly like that poster stated, and this is coming from a gay person.