What do you love and hate about living in Iowa? (Cedar Rapids: property taxes, cost)

[ronncee]

Originally Posted by El Rhino

I really don't understand what you mean by this.


...and the word I think you're trying to use is "gnaw".

meaning of course you guys excel at those majors its alot of Iowan lifestyles,and yes UI is a good college but`why are there so many air heads.Common sense isn't common.Foot traffic anywhere is horrible.Try walking in a mall, everyone is scatterd walking into each other. Not the most social people (unless their drunk)and they only care where ya from other then that you get the cold shoulder. Some people are nice and willing to have a chat. But one thingI failed toask..Is why do Iowans, of all ages have to stare,passing by ina car or waling downthe street, I believeits the Iowa way or culture...Love the passion for the college teams but alotta the kids ruin it with the obnoxiousness, Its just overall can suck for coastal people or probably anyone, I hear "oh you get that everywhere in the US.Maybe so, but that is a wishy washy answer.But if so then its heavly consentrated here. I say againI have respect for the education,I gettin my MBA at Mt Mercy an i been here for 6 yrs(Iowa City an Cedar Rapids) I know the east coast are cocky in general, but were social very social, were not quick to judge....

[ashcody]

Love: standard of living is cheap, great place to raise a family, friendly people
Hate: snow (hopefully I will be moving somewhere warmer this fall!)

[orthosophy]

Originally Posted by xlioilx4

Iowa sucks! There used to be little crime but then all the immigrants moved here and gangsters from Chicago started to move into the outskirts and things really got bad around the time all the jobs started to move to China and all the labor based employees started to move out of the big cities and all the office based employees started moving to the big cities looking for work.
Things I hate about Iowa
1. Fat ugly women everywhere and even if they're not ugly they are all stuck up
2. you can't step 2 feet in the woods without getting about 40 lyme disease infested ticks on you
3. the redneck attitude
4 The stuck in the 70-90 music jamming people
5 the white guys and girls that were raised on farms who try to act black
6 the dry un-humid air (compared to Florida)
7 not a medical Marijuana state and if you get caught it's a felony So don't get caught or move to a state that cares about your health
8 the population really only cares about fishing hunting and smoking meth and everyone here has at least one piece of those stupid iowa hawkeyes with the yellow bird head clothing. So if your not in to that stuff don't move here or you're going to just be pissed
9 Everything is always brown or white here. the state turns green for about 2 months in the summer time then back to brown and then to white and nasty nasty weather

Things I like about Iowa
1 the empty well taken care of highways that are usually free of cops
2 tons of S-head factory jobs you can get a new job easy as cake as long as you have a good record.
3 the crime is usually fairly low. Most crimes here are stupid **** like dude stole a lawn mower or some kid blew up a meth lab.

You must live in the other Iowa. You know, the one in your head.

[MNtoAZ]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

The taxes are HIGH! There's a 5% sales tax and 1% tax for the schools throughout the state. And then there are the property taxes and high state income taxes.

Move to MN. Our sales tax is 6.875% for us non Minneapolis swellers. EVERYTHING seems to be taxed (except a few certain items in certain situations). Our property taxes and state income taxes are through the roof. Minnesota is tax H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by MNtoAZ

Move to MN. Our sales tax is 6.875% for us non Minneapolis swellers. EVERYTHING seems to be taxed (except a few certain items in certain situations). Our property taxes and state income taxes are through the roof. Minnesota is tax H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!

What about clothing? I grew up in northern Iowa and we all went to MN to shop for clothes because they weren't taxed. Is that no longer the case?

[Squeaky2012]

Likes:
1.) Cheap cost-of-living
2.) Low crime rate
3.) Adequate schools
4.) good governance (outside of some right-wing crazies in the state legislature)

Dislikes:
1.) Lack of diversity
2.) Cold and snowy/icy winters
3.) Lack of a major metro area over 1,000,000
4.) Passive-Aggressive attitudes by many

It is what it is, and that's why I'm leaving.

[orthosophy]

You get bang for your buck. Everything is cheaper here, except sea food.
You get some of the best food anywhere when it's the freshest (anyone who has never bought sweet corn out of the bed of a pickup the day it was picked is missing out.) The seafood in't as good as it was in LA.
You get seasons. You may not like them, but they're there.
If you like to see the stars, you will in a small town in Iowa. If you are from a city you may not realize what night really is until you are on a gravel road somewhere in western Iowa. If there is little or no moon, it is DARK, and it is QUIET. If the moon and stars are out and the night is clear you will never see anything more enthralling than a country night where it seems as bright as day. This could be a negative for some people.
You get overall decent people, Schools, and experiences.
You get a state that is generally politically moderate, that doesn't have a habit of taking away rights. You'll find that even if people think you are a political jackass, most of them don't have it in their heart to be mean to you. I guess this might be one of those case by case things (like the religion thing they were discussing earlier).

You also will get bored out of your mind driving anywhere but through the bluffs.
You will get sick of knowing instinctively what the dew point is, or conversely, the wind chill.
You will sometimes miss the non-stop of really big cities, if they are your thing.
You may like the deer, until you run into one. They are tasty, at least.
The wild geese and ducks you will see wandering around are the same story. Don't try to pet them. They will give you a new respect for birds.
Pollen or mold. One or the other. Always.
You will drive through a town of 700, stop to get gas, and see that the incredibly pretty girl on the till has a lip ring, a tongue ring, a nose ring, and several other rings all connected with a chain. That's just small town boredom right there.

Iowa isn't always fun to be at, but its one of the best places in the world to be from. I hated it until I wasn't here anymore. To me Iowa is almost like buying a truck...You may hate it, you may say you'll never get another one, you may have million reasons why, but in the end, you'll never want anything else, even if you have something else.

[Stavemaster]

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You get bang for your buck. Everything is cheaper here, except sea food.
You get some of the best food anywhere when it's the freshest (anyone who has never bought sweet corn out of the bed of a pickup the day it was picked is missing out.) The seafood in't as good as it was in LA.

Sad but true about the seafood. There are a few decent seafood places in the DM area (and no, I'm not talking about Red Lobster), but for the most part you're going to be looking at a lot of catfish, lake trout, and frozen shrimp. But on the other hand, if you like that sort of thing there are a lot of lakes in N. Iowa and nearby Minnesota where you can catch your own.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You get seasons. You may not like them, but they're there.

This is a huge one for me. I really miss spring and summer storms, and fall in general. I even miss the snow. What I don't miss is the sometimes oppressive heat in August or the way everything just turns crappy shades of gray and brown on either end of winter. But the good parts of the year more than make up for the bad IMO.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

If you like to see the stars, you will in a small town in Iowa. If you are from a city you may not realize what night really is until you are on a gravel road somewhere in western Iowa. If there is little or no moon, it is DARK, and it is QUIET. If the moon and stars are out and the night is clear you will never see anything more enthralling than a country night where it seems as bright as day. This could be a negative for some people.

I will add to that the experience of a meteor shower on a cold, clear country night, or driving near a river bank and watching the moonlight on the fog creeping along the low areas.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You get overall decent people, Schools, and experiences.
You get a state that is generally politically moderate, that doesn't have a habit of taking away rights. You'll find that even if people think you are a political jackass, most of them don't have it in their heart to be mean to you. I guess this might be one of those case by case things (like the religion thing they were discussing earlier).

This is a funny thing about the Iowan character- people like to discuss and debate, but rarely have I seen it get personal. Maybe it's something of the caucus culture that's been ingrained in us? We'll throw down on the internet with the best of them, but in real life I've rarely seen differences pop up that couldn't be resolved over a few beers, at least to a mature "let's just agree to disagree" level. Hell, most people probably get more riled up over Iowa vs. ISU debates than they do discussing religion or politics.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You also will get bored out of your mind driving anywhere but through the bluffs.

It gets better the further east and (somewhat) south you are. But yes, there are stretches of, say, old Hwy. 30 that are mind-numbingly boring. Between Ames and the intersection with 330, for example, or the intersection with 21 east to Cedar Rapids, for another. You need either a good driving companion, energy drinks, or something really interesting to listen to (and good luck finding it on the radio) to stay sane and awake.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You will get sick of knowing instinctively what the dew point is, or conversely, the wind chill.

However if you hone your skill well it can become a neat parlor trick. When I moved from IA to Mexico I was able to predict rain usually to within 5-10 minutes. My wife and her family thought I was some kind of oracle.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You will sometimes miss the non-stop of really big cities, if they are your thing.

No argument there, except that if you really need that big city fix, you can be in Chicago, the Twin Cities, or St. Louis within 6-8 hours or so, depending where you're located.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You may like the deer, until you run into one. They are tasty, at least.

You do eventually learn to drive slow in wooded areas and river valleys, and to distinguish fireflies from headlights reflected in eyes.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

The wild geese and ducks you will see wandering around are the same story. Don't try to pet them. They will give you a new respect for birds.

Applies double to the various hawks and eagles. A good rule of thumb is that if it has feathers, is bigger than your fist, and doesn't live in a coop, don't mess with it. On the plus side, as a rule our wildlife isn't usually very dangerous. On rare occasions we'll get a timber rattler or brown recluse, or a young mountain lion that wandered down from Wisconsin, but by and large you won't run afoul of anything more dangerous than a skunk or the previously mentioned deer. It's nice to be able to go on a camping trip without worrying about bear attacks or scorpions in your boot.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

Pollen or mold. One or the other. Always.

Never had a problem with mold, but the pollen will definitely make itself known. Also the corn dust from harvesting in the fall.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

You will drive through a town of 700, stop to get gas, and see that the incredibly pretty girl on the till has a lip ring, a tongue ring, a nose ring, and several other rings all connected with a chain. That's just small town boredom right there.

Some of us dig chicks with tattoos and piercings. Better that than the wannabe thugs and gangsters who try to act ghetto in that same small town. Fortunately 99% of them are all bark and no bite, and anyway they'll grow out of it within a few years. Assuming they don't get strung out on meth.

Originally Posted by orthosophy

Iowa isn't always fun to be at, but its one of the best places in the world to be from. I hated it until I wasn't here anymore. To me Iowa is almost like buying a truck...You may hate it, you may say you'll never get another one, you may have million reasons why, but in the end, you'll never want anything else, even if you have something else.

Nailed it. I've said many times that Iowa is a place you can't wait to get out of when you're 20 and can't wait to get back to when you're 30.

[scimitar12]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

What about clothing? I grew up in northern Iowa and we all went to MN to shop for clothes because they weren't taxed. Is that no longer the case?

It is true that as of 2010 Minnesota did not tax clothing sales, but it is also true that the state has some of the highest overall tax structures in the country, especially for small businesses. The Tax Foundation is a good resource for U.S. and state tax rates. Facts & Figures Handbook: How Does Your State Compare?, is a great read in comparing various tax rates for the states:
The Tax Foundation - Facts & Figures Handbook: How Does Your State Compare?

For most tax categories, Minnesota does not have the highest tax rates, but its taxes are up there with states like California, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York, and Vermont ; all high tax states. For example, Minnesota's state individual income tax rates are some of the highest in the U.S. - 7.05% > $23,100; 7.85% > $75,891.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by scimitar12

It is true that as of 2010 Minnesota did not tax clothing sales, but it is also true that the state has some of the highest overall tax structures in the country, especially for small businesses. The Tax Foundation is a good resource for U.S. and state tax rates. Facts & Figures Handbook: How Does Your State Compare?, is a great read in comparing various tax rates for the states:
The Tax Foundation - Facts & Figures Handbook: How Does Your State Compare?

For most tax categories, Minnesota does not have the highest tax rates, but its taxes are up there with states like California, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York, and Vermont ; all high tax states. For example, Minnesota's state individual income tax rates are some of the highest in the U.S. - 7.05% > $23,100; 7.85% > $75,891.

That makes the median household income for MPLS look more impressive. Do they calculate median income before or after taxes?