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Old 07-24-2014, 01:17 PM
 
204 posts, read 421,356 times
Reputation: 136

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O Hi we are thinking of relocating to Decorah with our 4 kids. My husband will be traveling for work so I will be alone mostly with the children. I would like an honest opinion regarding life in the area. I am not knew to this forum, will ppl. Be friendly
To us out of staters? Mostly for my kids than me? Can some local people please tell me about schools, housing,weather etc.Anything to help. Also my husband will be flying out on the weekends so info on airports would be great too
Thanks in advance
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Old 07-24-2014, 11:09 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis
1,704 posts, read 3,431,982 times
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I went to college in Decorah and have lots of friends up there. It's truly about the best you can possibly get from a small town anywhere in the country. The only thing you might miss is urban density (and Taco Bell), otherwise there's not much you can't get in town.

Since it's a college town, there are people in and out from everywhere all the time. It's very welcoming and friendly and I'd be surprised if you ran into any problems there.

Decorah Public Schools is a great district. Especially strong arts. The music program specifically is very cohesive and VERY strong all the way through K-12.

It's a town of 8k so housing is a bit of a who-knows. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's impossible. There are a few towns within 10-15 minutes of Decorah, but it is the cultural center of the Iowa Driftless and it's very isolated.

Weather is comparable to Twin Cities or Madison, i.e. hot summers, cold winters, mild autumns, and wet springs. Decorah is pretty much gorgeous year-round, if a little extreme in January.

Unless your husband is the one doing the flying, he'll be driving to La Crosse, Rochester, MSP, or Cedar Rapids depending where he's going. Most people I know in Decorah usually fly out of MSP.

I love Decorah with all my heart and I would live there in a second if it wasn't so isolated.
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Old 07-25-2014, 12:47 PM
 
204 posts, read 421,356 times
Reputation: 136
Thank you for the info. By isolated what stores are there? I assume no Walmart,target etc I am excited about the music program our family is musical!! My husband will be flying to North Dakota then home on the weekends. I like the area we are looking at other spots too any area within a four hour flight of Minot ND. Thanks so.much

It seems there would be a lot of outdoor things for us to do in Decorah and I love the rolling hills!!
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Old 07-26-2014, 10:55 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis
1,704 posts, read 3,431,982 times
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Target no (I wish), Walmart yes (it's a Supercenter and it serves all of northeast Iowa).

For groceries, most people go to Fareway or Walmart. There's also a really nice co-op downtown that's bit more expensive and a Quillin's on the south side of town. And the farmer's market in the warmer months.

For other retail, Walmart is the go-to. There's a tiny JCPenny downtown, as well as a drugstore I've never been inside. There's a Verizon store too. It's mostly small business. Off the top of my head, there's a music store, a book store, a record store, several different kinds of clothing retailers, a knitting store, a movie 3-screen movie theater, a fancy hotel, a flower shop, a candle shop, a bike shop, and a specialty Scandinavian crafts store all on the main drag downtown, and all independent. Also downtown are the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and ArtHaus, a sweet little arts venue that does all sorts of classes and shows and hosts a poetry slam every couple months.

For food, there's a Subway, a Pizza Ranch, a Happy Joe's, a Culver's, a Pizza Hut, a McDonald's, and a whole lot of GREAT independent restaurants, including an amazing pizza place (Mabe's), two ice cream shops, two coffee shops, a sports bar that serves peanut butter burgers, a barbecue place, several pubs/bars, a brewery, a Mexican place, a Japanese place (their sushi is incredible and they have a good all-you-can-eat deal Sun-Thurs), a couple Chinese buffets, three especially nice/expensive restaurants, etc.

Lots of recreation options, yep. In the summer, canoeing and tubing and swimming in the river are popular. There's an 11-mile bike trail around that loops around town, lots of hiking, good places to go sledding, fishing, etc. Most of the town is bike-friendly and walkable, including downtown. Phelps Park and Dunnings Spring are especially beautiful. I was actually just up in Decorah today and yesterday for Nordic Fest.

To get to ND every weekend, that will be a 2.5- or maybe 3-hour drive each way between Decorah and MSP Airport. I'm sure they have a direct flight to Minot.
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Old 07-28-2014, 07:22 PM
 
204 posts, read 421,356 times
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Wow thank you!! Hmm that trip to the airport is to long I think. Bummer I guess maybe I need to look in WI
Or MN as someone suggested. A lot to think about..
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Old 07-28-2014, 10:00 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis
1,704 posts, read 3,431,982 times
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You should check out Northfield, MN. It's very similar to Decorah, but about twice the size and less scenic I think. It's a great town, and much closer to MSP. I even have a friend who grew up there whose dad was a pilot, so it's definitely within reach of the airport. Another good option might be Stillwater, MN.
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Old 07-29-2014, 01:10 AM
 
12 posts, read 23,143 times
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Home is a place where we spent the most time to stay, where we can gather together with our family members or friends, where we can have a comfortable sleep after a tiring day of working or learning, where we can listen some soft music or playing with our pets when we feel blue, and the like. So decorating our home and making it more comfortable and special is of much importance. Here are some modern home decorating ideas which might be helpful.
1.Welcome mats represent your welcome and happiness with your guests’ arrival.

2.After entering the house, clock on the wall is usually the first thing comes into your sight,
so using cool clocks to decorate the wall is considerable.

3.Everyone loves flowers. Arranging some flowers to your house will make your room lively and
smell good.

4.Wall pictures reflect the house owner’s taste.

5.Do you usually want to have a romantic candlelight dinner with your loved one? Then a candle
holder is a necessity for your home.

6.With these modern home decors, your home will be full of originality and warmth, and every
guest will be attracted by it.

How do you like them?I hope my ideal can help everybody,I discovered this ideal from living123.com
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Old 07-29-2014, 09:20 AM
 
459 posts, read 2,224,322 times
Reputation: 422
Quote:
Originally Posted by kbug3 View Post
Wow thank you!! Hmm that trip to the airport is to long I think. Bummer I guess maybe I need to look in WI
Or MN as someone suggested. A lot to think about..
Consider Clear Lake, IA. Quaint, small town on a nice recreational lake. It's about 6 miles to Mason City for all your Target/Walmart/HyVee/ApplebeeMcFridays needs. Clear Lake is right off I35 and you can be at MSP airport in under 2 hours.
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Old 07-29-2014, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
219 posts, read 312,535 times
Reputation: 205
Maybe I'm being captain obvious here, but why wouldn't you just live in Minot if your husband is working in Minot? You're going to spend 2-4k per month flying him back and forth...that is not a cheap flight. Great arts community and all the amenities of a small city of 40k. That's a lot of wasted time and money, more time away from family, etc. What about Bismarck, which is a two hour drive south of Minot?
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Old 05-26-2015, 07:29 PM
 
204 posts, read 421,356 times
Reputation: 136
been off for awile..sorry...the reason we don't want to live in Minot...WINTER! and more winter! Looks like we are going to Decorah or somewhere in IA>..and may not be working in ND at all! We are always searching and searching for our new place. Thanks for all the help!
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