So You Are Thinking of Moving to Iowa (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: how much, homes)

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by down to earth

Hi,
I have a job transfer to Des Moines. Please share with me what areas of town I should NOT....move too? Any other words of wisdom??? How's the housing market?

Des Moines proper is like any other city that's grown. The inner areas are not taken care of and end up being "slummy". That's not to say there aren't good people there, more to say they can't afford to maintain their property. Large areas are rentals and the local slum lords (you know who you are) really don't care if the housing is terrible.

In general, the farther you get from downtown the better. I lived on the East side in a very nice area east of the I235/Euclid interchange and the last time I drove by that pocket it still looked good. Drive too far in some directions and it gets run down. I also lived on the South side. What the Hell happened over there? I have clients on the near North side and it's gotten really bad. I was shocked the first time drove over there. It had been maybe 10 years since I was there and I almost didn't recognize it. Too bad, that was a nice area.

I know all this sounds really negative, but I have a tendency to tell it as I see it, and that's how I see it.

The housing market is starting to flatten out just like everywhere else.

Does anyone know what that Ronnie is talking about? Does it connect to anything in this thread?

[quazmar]

for anyone giving you advice to moving to iowa, DONT DO IT!!! ive lived in iowa city, coralville, and clinton, and Iowa is way behind the times. Clinton is a center of stereotypes, along with the majority of small towns in the area. There is hardly any diversity, and it is not welcomed. Diversity to an Iowan means a Black neighbor and an Asian restaurant. That is not diversity. Boredom will have you on the edge unless you like tipping cows, no pro team, and there are really cold winters. I rather live next to the "slums" then talk to a hillbilly that still calls people colored people. If you want a glimpse of how 1955 was like, then move.

[CertifiaBully]

Originally Posted by quazmar

for anyone giving you advice to moving to iowa, DONT DO IT!!! ive lived in iowa city, coralville, and clinton, and Iowa is way behind the times. Clinton is a center of stereotypes, along with the majority of small towns in the area. There is hardly any diversity, and it is not welcomed. Diversity to an Iowan means a Black neighbor and an Asian restaurant. That is not diversity. Boredom will have you on the edge unless you like tipping cows, no pro team, and there are really cold winters. I rather live next to the "slums" then talk to a hillbilly that still calls people colored people. If you want a glimpse of how 1955 was like, then move.

I couldn't agree with you more on all of this if I'd have written it myself!! Lived as a disillussioned, misinformed, misguided Iowan for 30 years...There is NO DIVERSITY! And the residants of that state bend over BACKWARD to ensure that there are only 2 ways diversity can come to Iowa: 1) Come to Iowa! But if you do things differently, speak differently, eat strange things or want to change the Iowan ways, they hope you are only in their state for a short visit and, hey, 'can I help you pack?' & 2) Iowans would embrace differences a lot easier if those who brought the culture weren't so...well...DIFFERENT!

I have seen many an adult Iowan (have yet to see this in Texas) shake a mans hand, smile and wish him well then turn to leave and hurl racial slurs and mock their accent or their way of life! It is vile, dispicable behavior that I have only seen in that state. I am not a world traveler, by any means, but I HAVE been to enough places to know that the shallow, sheltered, carbon-copy existance that Iowa offers is bland; tolerable AT BEST!

If you visit and you feel out of place...rest assured: you are! Don't unpack the boxes unless your sure you fit in. Took me a long time to get out of Iowa because the "big cities" in other states had REAL CRIME and REAL TRAFFIC, but what Iowans have yet to understand is that they also have REAL PEOPLE!! I have NO intention of ever returning to that state. If ignorance is bliss, I have the new motto for it--IOWA: In The State of Happiness!! How sad that I am honestly ASHAMED to tell people that I am from Iowa? On to bigger and better things...

[DaninEGF]

Originally Posted by CertifiaBully

I couldn't agree with you more on all of this if I'd have written it myself!! Lived as a disillussioned, misinformed, misguided Iowan for 30 years...There is NO DIVERSITY! And the residants of that state bend over BACKWARD to ensure that there are only 2 ways diversity can come to Iowa: 1) Come to Iowa! But if you do things differently, speak differently, eat strange things or want to change the Iowan ways, they hope you are only in their state for a short visit and, hey, 'can I help you pack?' & 2) Iowans would embrace differences a lot easier if those who brought the culture weren't so...well...DIFFERENT!

I live up in far northwest MN attm....but graduated from Iowa State Univ in
Ames in 1988. I am originally from Kentucky. After being on this board/forum site and looking through all the comments nationwide...it is clear everyone has their own idea of what is good/bad, etc. Question I run across is in places like Iowa and certainly in the area where I live in far northwest MN and North Dakota why would one expect "diversity". I do think people in the Midwest are very tolerant and accepting of others, but more of the opinions are based on people's actions. I personally perfer to live in a place where people are all about the same in attitude and actions....I dont like to create any big waves in town and go with the prevailing mood of the place I live. This has nothing to do with whether one is white/black/brown but of the people attitudes. I am sorry for the ramble....but I prefer a place where everyone knows everyone and what you do is somehwat controlled by the masses....not big on individuality. That is why small town midwest is for me. I am sorry you had negative experiences, and am glad you have moved to a place of more your liking. That is what is good in the U.S. is that you are free to move around to find your niche.

Hope I made some sense....

Dan

[MissCee]

Originally Posted by quazmar

for anyone giving you advice to moving to iowa, DONT DO IT!!! ive lived in iowa city, coralville, and clinton, and Iowa is way behind the times. Clinton is a center of stereotypes, along with the majority of small towns in the area. There is hardly any diversity, and it is not welcomed. Diversity to an Iowan means a Black neighbor and an Asian restaurant. That is not diversity. Boredom will have you on the edge unless you like tipping cows, no pro team, and there are really cold winters. I rather live next to the "slums" then talk to a hillbilly that still calls people colored people. If you want a glimpse of how 1955 was like, then move.

I find your response very funny, however I have the perfect job that will have me in Iowa for a little while. I'm a city girl and it will be quite an adjustment. Is there ANYTHING to do in CR, IC or any of the surrounding areas??

[ic-epi]

Originally Posted by MissCee

I find your response very funny, however I have the perfect job that will have me in Iowa for a little while. I'm a city girl and it will be quite an adjustment. Is there ANYTHING to do in CR, IC or any of the surrounding areas??

MissCee,

I'm glad you could see the humor in quazmar's post, LOL. To reassure you a bit... I was born and raised here and have never used the term "colored people" and I have no idea what tipping cows means. (I assume it means tipping as in money, but I don't know -- or care) As for pro teams, that might be an issue if you sit around and watch sports all the time for fun. (I prefer to play sports, myself -- better exercise and a lot more fun).

As for diversity, it's true that a relatively small town in the midwest would have less diversity than a big city. Not sure why anyone would expect otherwise? However, the comment about Iowans defining diversity as living next door to a black person and having an Asian restaurant is not true at all, as you will find when you come here. Rest assured that most Iowans are very tolerant of others, even if we can't claim to be as "diversified" as a big city.

The CR/IC area will be an adjustment to a city girl, but there are things to do. What types of activities are you interested in?

Congrats on the good job; I hope you like Iowa and welcome

[brad88]

I also live in Northwest Iowa, and although it's nice enough for me, I don't know how much I'd recommend living here.
Spencer definitely is a nice town though, I'll give it that.
Sheldon is definitely not a very nice town, and I would never recommend living in Sheldon.
Although not in northwest Iowa, Sioux Falls, South Dakota is by far one of the best places to live. With a population well over 100,000 it really does have everything (except for an international airport, but if you're not a big air traveler, not a problem).
The Iowa Great Lakes is highly overrated in my book, and wouldn't even think about spending the price they charge for housing around there. Spencer is less than a half hour away and I would imagine housing prices are considerably less, and Spencer offers much more. For the lower housing costs, I would drive everyday to the Lakes instead of live there.
Sioux City would be a city I'd stay far away from, I have never liked Sioux City, and many people around here would most likely agree with me.
Thinking smaller?
Hartley definitely would not be on my list, trust me, the town is a dump. Yet the addition of a new Ethanol plant may help to revive the town (somewhat).
Sanborn is a wonderful town of about 1,300 people. Very clean, well kept town. Residents are very friendly and the town has a lot of community pride. There are new housing developments and industrial developments on the east side of town. One draw back would be the fact that there are quite a few older people living here (more so than the typical small town). Definitely a Dutch community. Which I'll talk about Sioux county ("Little Holland") in a minute.
Sibley is a dump, could possibly be worse than Hartley.
Sioux Center and Orange City are decent sized towns of around 5,000-6,000 people in Sioux county. Manufacturing is pretty big in each of the towns with Pella Windows in Sioux Center and numerous businesses in Orange City. Both are definite Dutch communities, with Orange City holding the annual Tulip Festival every May. Sioux Center, along with Sioux county, has seen a large recent increase in the Hispanic population. Both are very clean, well-kept communities, and offer many big city conveniences in the smaller town atmosphere, and are situated almost dead center between Sioux City and Sioux Falls.
Outside of northwest Iowa, Cedar Rapids would be my best choice, or possibly one of Des Moines' western suburbs (West Des Moines or Clive).
Definitely though do give Sioux Falls, Spencer, and some of the other cities I listed above a chance. You might just be surprised.

[Kiwi]

Brad88 said: "Sioux City would be a city I'd stay far away from, I have never liked Sioux City, and many people around here would most likely agree with me."

Tell me about Sioux City. What don't you like about it?

Kiwi

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

Tell me about Sioux City. What don't you like about it?

To paraphrase the 'Two Stupid Dogs' (silly old cartoon) ...

"It smells like caca."

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by quazmar

for anyone giving you advice to moving to iowa, DONT DO IT!!! ive lived in iowa city, coralville, and clinton, and Iowa is way behind the times. Clinton is a center of stereotypes, along with the majority of small towns in the area. There is hardly any diversity, and it is not welcomed. Diversity to an Iowan means a Black neighbor and an Asian restaurant. That is not diversity. Boredom will have you on the edge unless you like tipping cows, no pro team, and there are really cold winters. I rather live next to the "slums" then talk to a hillbilly that still calls people colored people. If you want a glimpse of how 1955 was like, then move.

Wow, I lived in Iowa City for 22 years before moving to Chicago and traveling around the United States and Europe. I couldn't agree with you less. Those are extremely blatant opinions you have of the state - and not much to back it up.

The University of Iowa draws in over 2,000 new international students every year for school, and at any given time there are many thousands of international students living in Iowa City. No one ever said Iowa was diverse (it's not), but this is 2007, not 1950, it's rediculous to say that people in Iowa City think they're diverse if they see a black person on the street. As well, just because it isn't a diverse state, the people living there aren't inherantly racist...

My mother teaches 5th grade in Iowa, and her school is 56% minority with kids from 13 different countries. Last year Iowa registered 151 public schools with minority rates of 30% or higher in 35 different cities/towns. The 255,000 minority residents in Iowa do quite well for themselves.