looking for opinions on certain iowa towns/cities (Dubuque, Ottumwa: crime, neighborhoods)

[musicwriter]

chiming in from the west side of the state. I live in Red Oak, it is about 45 minutes Southeast of Council bluffs. The town i live in is a pretty small town. For major shopping, cultuer, and entertainment you would have to go to Council Bluffs, or Omaha, Nebraska. Jobs are pretty scarce here too, 5 factories, then your average minimum wage jobs, and the Hospital. The Hospital is the largest employer in town next to a couple of the factories.
I hope someday to be able to move to another part of the state where i can have less of a drive time to work, and everything else. If i could live somewhere around Ames/ DSM that would be great. Unfortunately, my wife has pretty much set her mind on staying here, and forcing me to make do I don't have a whole lot of say in it, since she bought the house we live in before we married, and we've spent 1000s renovating it, making it livable.

[DBQer]

Originally Posted by jasperhobbs

Rent for $350-$450? nowhere you would want to live. More like $500-$700

Jasper

Don't exaggerate, sir.

Median contract rent in the city of Dubuque in 2007 was $438, with the lower quartile being at $350, and the upper being at $544. The medain rent for vacant (for-rent) units in 2007 was $426, and all of these prices are from the PRE-housing crisis period... prices are unlikely to be significantly higher than these stats.

Perhaps a more accurate estimate of the true typical rent would be in the $400-500 range, but $700 is grossly overstating it. By anyone's standard... (even within Iowa), Dubuque is an affordably-priced housing market.

Go to this page, and scroll to the "Rent Paid by Renters in 2007" chart & list. Its pretty self-explanatory.

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by DBQer

Don't exaggerate, sir.

Median contract rent in the city of Dubuque in 2007 was $438, with the lower quartile being at $350, and the upper being at $544. The medain rent for vacant (for-rent) units in 2007 was $426, and all of these prices are from the PRE-housing crisis period... prices are unlikely to be significantly higher than these stats.

Perhaps a more accurate estimate of the true typical rent would be in the $400-500 range, but $700 is grossly overstating it. By anyone's standard... (even within Iowa), Dubuque is an affordably-priced housing market.

Go to this page, and scroll to the "Rent Paid by Renters in 2007" chart & list. Its pretty self-explanatory.

if you look at Dubuque advertiser and this can be viewed online, look at apartments for rent and you will see a few for rent at $450. However they are in bad areas like Jackson or Washington St. Try and rent an apartment on the west end for $450.

Jasper

[DBQer]

Originally Posted by jasperhobbs

if you look at Dubuque advertiser and this can be viewed online, look at apartments for rent and you will see a few for rent at $450. However they are in bad areas like Jackson or Washington St. Try and rent an apartment on the west end for $450.

Jasper

Sorry, but I just don't see the facts backing up your argument.

Just checked the listing you gave (of which there are only a TOTAL of 13 non-senior apartments listed for rent in Dubuque... hardly representative of hundreds of apartments in the city) and none of them are west of Grandview Ave, or even the Hill District, for that matter! Indeed... the most expensive unit on the list is downtown! Where are you coming up with these extraordinary rents you say are being charged?

[summer grace]

I have a question- I've been around Dubuque- but just how bad are the bad areas of town? I never saw anything in Dubuque to rival Waterloo.. AT ALL.

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by DBQer

Sorry, but I just don't see the facts backing up your argument.

Just checked the listing you gave (of which there are only a TOTAL of 13 non-senior apartments listed for rent in Dubuque... hardly representative of hundreds of apartments in the city) and none of them are west of Grandview Ave, or even the Hill District, for that matter! Indeed... the most expensive unit on the list is downtown! Where are you coming up with these extraordinary rents you say are being charged?

Below are apartments on the north end of Dubuque or near downtown. None are in areas I would classify as safe areas to live. Now if they are asking $450 a month to live in these places, what do you think they are asking for nicer, safe apartments on the west end? There are no apartments listed in the Dubuque Advertiser for west end units for some reason. Perhaps they advertise in regular newspaper.

1 BR, $450, h/w paid, 901 White
1 BR, 2ND floor, by new Walgreens, 2033 Washington, $450/mo.+ deposit.
2 BR, HARDWOOD floors, patio, lots of storage space, 703 E. 22nd St., 2nd floor, $525/mo.+ deposit.

Jasper Hobbs

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by summer grace

I have a question- I've been around Dubuque- but just how bad are the bad areas of town? I never saw anything in Dubuque to rival Waterloo.. AT ALL.

Dubuque does have bad areas. I have no idea how familiar you are with Dubuque to point them out. I have heard several people say, do not go to Eagles grocery street on Elm street at night. It is not safe.

I worked for city for a while and can tell you there is a lot more going on than people know.

Jasper Hobbs

[summer grace]

I am not that familiar with Dubuque(someone mentioned East Dubuque once to me as not being great- I've never been there)- nor with Waterloo. Waterloo though, when I saw it, near downtown, it looked bad to me.

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by summer grace

I am not that familiar with Dubuque(someone mentioned East Dubuque once to me as not being great- I've never been there)- nor with Waterloo. Waterloo though, when I saw it, near downtown, it looked bad to me.

Waterloo has been an economically depressed town for quite some time.

Dubuque is a quite a bit smaller and a decent town which is focusing on tourism more and more. However the hype about a lot of great paying jobs is just that hype. The town is still run by old time money which wants controlled growth. If not for ties to the area, I would be getting out.

Jasper Hobbs

[DBQer]

Originally Posted by summer grace

I have a question- I've been around Dubuque- but just how bad are the bad areas of town? I never saw anything in Dubuque to rival Waterloo.. AT ALL.

I've lived in Dubuque for over 20 years now... The city, even in its "worst" areas, remains a SAFE place to live. Indeed, people move to Dubuque from larger cities for this very reason!! The only people who think Dubuque is dangerous (perhaps some of the other posters on here included...) are those who haven't ventured very far from it, and don't know what TRULY dangerous neighborhoods look like. Some of these people would consider the shoplifiting of candy to be a major crime spree!! pretty silly. lol

Dubuque does NOT have a ghetto, major gang/drug problems, or rampant crime, for that matter. The argument that it has "bad" areas is weak at best, and based upon the "I-once-heard-somebody-say-something-bad-happened" logic. Not exactly factual, as is also the case with saying that housing is expensive in the city. I'm sorry, but both are laughable!

I see it this way: There is a certain element of the population in Dubuque that is trapped in a time warp, seeing things always in comparison to the white-picket fence neighborhood they lived in in 1951. Many became discouraged when the economy was tough in the 1980s, but, unfortunately, have remained in a perpetual state of pessimism since.

And you don't have to believe what I say on any of these issues... look at the crime and median rent statistics on the city's information page! Its all there for you.... clear and unbiased.