looking for jobs and trying to pick a location

[Chicago60614]

I've always liked the areas between Dubuque, Waterloo, Davenport, Iowa City and Des Moines. I'd look at those cities, or any area in the little "circle" that you make when you connect them all.

I've always been more partial to the eastern side of the state. It has more rolling hill generally, and very beautiful scenery near the Mississippi. The west has some hills, but outside that strip of hills, it's more flat than the eastern part of the state. Or at least it seemed that way.

The west is more rural and conservative, longer distances to get to cities of a decent size. The east is a little more democratic, more populated, and has more cities. It's also closer to Chicago, which is a pretty big draw for people in eastern Iowa looking for a quick getaway once or twice a year ( at least Iowa City ).

[Sweetes24]

I'm a little late in reply. I've lived in small town Eastern Iowa all of my life. We have beautiful countryside from farmland to heavily wooded hills to river valleys with huge limestone cliffs. The small towns here are boring, but safe and great for raising children. Almost anywhere you are in Eastern Iowa you only have to drive 20 min to get to the city.
I feel very fortunate to have been raised here. And chose to raise my kids here.
With your husbands degree, it should be fairly easy to find work in one of our many beautiful state parks. Here are some links for the parks and the Iowa State Jobs.
Good Luck

[Sweetes24]

The links for Iowa Jobs
IA DNR: State Parks
Iowa Workforce Development's IowaJobs - Iowa's Largest Job Bank -
Human Resources Enterprise
Iowa Department of Public Safety Public Information Bureau

[Milwife]

I would suggest that you check into Bellevue, it is a nice small town with a good school system right on the Mississipi river and only minutes away from Dubuque. If you look up some information on Dubuque, you will find that it is a very growing small city. Also you should check into some of the small towns around the Quad Cities, (Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island) there are a lot of small towns around there are what people call "bedroom" communities. People live and play in the small town, and work in the bigger cities. I grew up in Eastern Iowa, my whole family still lives there. I moved away about 13 years ago and can't wait to go back someday.

[gypsy77]

If you are considering Iowa, don't go to Burlington! That place is dead, dead, dead! It has a lot of potential, but it's just gone downhill in recent years. It's sad to see all the businesses closing up downtown. And all the young people are moving away. I was there a few months ago visiting family and it was like a ghost town.