Decorah, Iowa (Nevada, Luther: apartments, co-ops, hotel)

[Norsk]

We're thinking of moving to Decorah.
1. Is it really as idyllic as the hype on their web page?
2. Is there a meth problem in the town or county?
3. Are there any mega farms nearby (now or planned) that spoil the air quality in town?
4. How long is the snow season, typically? (We've lived in ND and MN for 30 years, so we know what six full months of snow is like.)
5. How friendly is the town?

If not Decorah, where would you go to find a nice, quiet, midwestern, rural town over 6,000 in which to work and retire? We've been to the Pacific NW for seven years and are headed back to the Midwest for a more "normal" way of life.

[Southside Shrek]

Norsk
Decorah is about the nicest place to live in northeast Iowa.

[b.a.d.]

I live in Decorah and orignaly from Mpls. Nice and calm here, people nice, and the weather is great! about 10 degrees warmer than Mpls area in winter and the winters are about a month shorter. Decorah also has plenty of festivals. They are very much into musical culture and art and is a college town so lots of events at the college

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by b.a.d.

I live in Decorah and orignaly from Mpls. Nice and calm here, people nice, and the weather is great! about 10 degrees warmer than Mpls area in winter and the winters are about a month shorter. Decorah also has plenty of festivals. They are very much into musical culture and art and is a college town so lots of events at the college

b.a.d
They do indeed have some very colorful festivals there. About how many people actually live in Decorah who are of Norwegian descent?

[editor]

Don't know about the meth problem. I don't think you'll find many large confinements. I know the county recently refused to let an egg plant come in.

I don't beleive the website is hype - Decorah is a wonderful place to visit.

[SpeedyAZ]

1. Is it really as idyllic as the hype on their web page?
2. Is there a meth problem in the town or county?
3. Are there any mega farms nearby (now or planned) that spoil the air quality in town?
4. How long is the snow season, typically? (We've lived in ND and MN for 30 years, so we know what six full months of snow is like.)
5. How friendly is the town?

1) Is any city as idyllic as they say? On it's webpage, Flint, MI seems like a paradise.
2) Not much of a problem in the city but the country has a few problems.
3) Not that I know of and most farms are a ways out of the actual city itself.
4) I hate Iowa winters with a passion. On a scale from 1-10 I'd rank them as a 22.5!
5) Very friendly, we stayed at the Hotel Decorah a couple years back and had a great time.

Decorah is a nice area, they have a walkable downtown area and they underwent a revitilization project a few years ago. Eastern Iowa is VERY hilly so make sure you are careful on some of those country roads.

[patience]

i am from saint augustine florida, my father is from iowa, i spent alot of time there when i was younger on the family farm. alot of post are right, people are a little tight together, but very friendly, and the hunting and fishing are great, and the weather is cold, can get very cold there, in the winter, and it is beautiful, especially in the early fall. but if you are looking to leave there, do not look towards florida, it is becoming a terrible place, another california. house prices are going up and up, no end in sight, and it seems this is "the place" for new englanders to dump all their unwanted "senior citizens" here in homes,then expect floridians to pick up the medical and care expense tab. it is getting harder and harder to find someone "from florida" here and it is getting that almost everyone here either has a new england, new jersey, new york,and very very verry rude, etc accent or they dont speak english at all,,,a large majority do not, and it is the same as the previous post of the oregonians who have a lot of californians moving there with the hurry hurry mind set, when i was younger here two weeks late here was still three days early. taxes are starting to get terrible here, looking to move out of here soon myself, but not sure where to go, would like to say i will miss my home here, but truthfully it has been gone now for about 8 or 10 years, it is now a suburb of new jersey. anyways, iowa is beautiful, and if you put something positive into living there, and get out and meet good people, they are there, you will not have a bad experience.

[Chief_Wiineshiek]

I came from the twin city area (MN.) and would not consider going back.

Meth production here is much less a problem than in parts of Iowa further west. I imagine if you want it you can find it - like anything else. But it is not pervasive.

The winters here are much milder both in snowfall and temperatures than found in the Mpls. area. We do get some freezing rain making it unsafe to drive or even walk for a few hours. Roads (and sidewalks) are cleared quickly. If you live in a rural area you have to get your electric from a cooperative with very high costs. But you can burn wood, or corn (plenty of that here), or use LP. The city of Decorah has good utilities and public services.

There are many great social opportunities thanks to the infuence of Luther College.

For now there are no "Factory Farms" within a wiff of Decorah.

The things posted on the web site are only the things that the TVB can absolutely committed to. In reality there is much more.

[stromssa]

I am a Decorah native, and really think it is an ideal small town. Firstly, it has a nicely renovated downtown area that is actually doing well. It has that real 'mainstreet USA" look. There is a great bookstore/coffeeshop near the end of the main street called "Bookends and Beans" that opened a few years ago. There is a Mediterranean bistro called "La Rana" that also has great drinks. The Hotel Winneshiek, right downtown, was renovated (from apartments) back to its original splendor and re-opened (along with the adjoining opera house) a few years ago. The downtown has a lot of charm and appeal. Vesterheim Museum is also a big draw, as it focuses on Decorah's Norwegian heritage.
There is also a community food co-op downtown, which is great if you are into eating organically.
Luther College is another big asset to the community. There are lots of cultural events (orchestras, dance performances, and the like) offered for a fraction of the cost of what they would be in a major city. It's a picturesque campus (it's my alma mater), and is particularly well known for its music program.
There are a number of nice residential areas, particularly along the historic Broadway Street (also home to a number of Decorah's churches). Phelps Park and Dunning's Spring are two particularly beautiful parks in Decorah.
As for the political climate, I'd say it's about equal parts liberal and conservative, depending on the crowd you hang out with. It's perhaps slightly more progressive overall than other small towns might be, simply due to the college and the community co-op. Decorahians are always actively battling community issues, as is evidenced by reading the editorial page of the Decorah Newspaper. This, I think, is a sign of health in a community: to care about it enough to battle the tough questions.
There is a JC Penney store right downtown. On the outskirts of town, going east, is a Super Wal-Mart, built within the last few years to much back-and-forth squabbling among the locals. But, as I said, the downtown is nice, featuring numerous restaurants, two coffeeshops, an art gallery, some other local clothing stores, antique shops, discount shops, a Norwegian gift shop, a chick hatchery, a jewelry store...and Decorah also has a ton of banks.
Hope this all helps! I really like living here; it offers small-town charm while still being forward-thinking enough to thrive.

[Boof]

Stromssa..and others,

First off, thank you for sharing.

Can anyone describe the winters in a little more detail, please? How many months of snow do you get? How DEEP does the snow get? What would be the worst thing about winter? What are typical/normal temps? What would some of the 'must have' snow equipment be to a resident of your area?

The summers are in triple digits here, so we're not too worried about being able to handle that. But, what is the typical high temp there for summer?

My husband and I are looking to relocate to a small town where we can work, relax and become more involved with the community, and the Decorah area sounds great! Especially with the food co-ops and organic farming.

However, we're in the Central Valley of Ca, and snow isn't part of our routine. And although we aren't opposed to the snow...we'd actually look forward to it....I just don't know about massive amounts.

I know up in Truckee, CA, near the Nevada border going to Reno, they really get dumped on! Like waist to neck high sometimes. Is that what it's like there?

Any help would be very appreciated...Thanks in advance.