California to Des Moines (Job Transfer)

[Luke9686]

Also what are you doing up in Duluth?? I lived there for a year back in 2001-2002.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

Also what are you doing up in Duluth?? I lived there for a year back in 2001-2002.

The girlfriend's family is from up this way so we're visiting them for the (late) holidays.

Duluth is a cool little town. It kind of reminds me of Des Moines in the 80's mixed with Iowa City, plus a big lake, some pine trees and funny accents. Lots of outdoorsy stuff to do around here and some good scenery.

This area, especially Superior WI is an alcoholic's dream. I don't drink anymore, but Superior was one of my favorite places to drink. I will be going out for an Anchor Burger tomorrow though - can't wait!

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by Grapejuice

Greetings,

We will be moving to Des Moines. If anyone can answer my questions below I appreciate it.

1) Mold is a terrible problem in Ca. which unfortunately we've experienced first hand. How big of an issue is it in Iowa or DM specifically?

2) A couple of our family members don't do well in cold weather. I've been looking at Thenorthface's Triclimate jackets for them. Will those jackets be good enough?

3) We can't drink tap water in Ca. Is the tap suitable to drink in DM? I've been trying to research bottled water brands in IA. Crystal Clear and Nestle are the only brands I've found so far. Could someone list other brands of bottled water available and specifically what water Sam's Club sells (we currently drink Arrowhead water).

4) We will probably be renting. Are Clive, Urbandale and Windsor Heights nice places to live? How do they rank (best to worst) and why?

5) We only eat all natural or organic meat and chicken. Does Campbell's Nutrition sell organic or natural meat? Do any other stores?

We don't have school age children and don't need a lot of excitement or entertainment. We're just really concerned about finding a nice, quiet neighborhood, staying safe, warm and eating good food.

Thank you for your time.

I wouldn't be attending any bbq's if i was you.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Steve_W

I wouldn't be attending any bbq's if i was you.

...unless you wanna bring some good, organic meat to one of mine, then you're welcome.

[Steve_W]

Hey, I was listening to some radio show out of Minneapolis and they were saying organic foods are actually less healthy than normal. They said the process to get that food (produce in particular) robs them of vital nutrients.
I guess, in order to get organic produce to markets it has to be harvested before it is completely ripe which is a crucial time for the produce.

Any truth to that?

[El Rhino]

Hmmm.... I've never heard that before.

The diet/nutrition industry is kind of a funny one because if you want you can find evidence for nearly anything it seems like. You can read all kinds of studies about how this and that is bad for you and then another one about how this and that are highly recommended.

I think a lot of people, myself included, like organics for their environmental benefit though.

[scimitar12]

Originally Posted by El Rhino

The girlfriend's family is from up this way so we're visiting them for the (late) holidays.

Duluth is a cool little town. It kind of reminds me of Des Moines in the 80's mixed with Iowa City, plus a big lake, some pine trees and funny accents. Lots of outdoorsy stuff to do around here and some good scenery.

This area, especially Superior WI is an alcoholic's dream. I don't drink anymore, but Superior was one of my favorite places to drink. I will be going out for an Anchor Burger tomorrow though - can't wait!

Why is the area an alcoholic's dream? Not that I am an alcoholic wishing to find "greener pastures", but what is the booze appeal?

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by scimitar12

Why is the area an alcoholic's dream? Not that I am an alcoholic wishing to find "greener pastures", but what is the booze appeal?

Superior, WI is FULL of bars. Seriously. Bars are the largest employer in the town, followed by an alcohol treatment clinic and then probably the police department.

Tower Avenue is pretty much nothing but bars for a couple blocks. University of Wisconsin-Superior is there and then U of Minnesota-Duluth is across the bridge. Lots of drunk college students...and local cheeseheads.

Beer is very cheap there compared to virtually everywhere I've been. Not much costs over $3.

Duluth isn't as bad, but that area I think is ranked in the top ten as far as most booze consumed per capita.