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Old 01-08-2016, 10:37 AM
 
655 posts, read 1,121,165 times
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Love Decorah. My Mom's side of the family is from West Union (small town about 50 miles away) and we visit Decorah often. I also have a cousin that lives there now. Love the co-op grocery they have and some great shops in downtown. Tons of places to hike, bike, canoe. State parks and Fish Hatchery. Plus great breweries......especially the new one called Pulpit Rock.
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Old 01-08-2016, 11:23 AM
 
Location: Keosauqua, Iowa
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Anyone interested in a vegan- and sustainable building-friendly small town in Eastern Iowa needs to check out Fairfield before making a decision.
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Old 01-08-2016, 12:02 PM
 
Location: Jonesboro
3,874 posts, read 4,663,061 times
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Default Is Eastern Iowa...

Quote:
Originally Posted by duster1979 View Post
Anyone interested in a vegan- and sustainable building-friendly small town in Eastern Iowa needs to check out Fairfield before making a decision.
Yup..
I've long considered Fairfield to be a real jewel, if not THE jewel of southeast Iowa in a number of ways.
It may not have the majestic river setting or really old buildings en masse as compared to Burlington, Fort Madison or Keokuk but it has a diverse population & culture & a thriving economy.
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Old 01-09-2016, 11:57 AM
 
40 posts, read 25,721 times
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Quote:
My questions are: are these places welcoming to newcomers?
My experience (Iowa born and raised, currently living in Cedar Rapids) is that the smaller communities are friendliest. I think it's probably true everywhere that life in urban areas tend to be more hectic and the people more isolationist. Small community living is slower, more laid back and one runs into acquaintances more often which lends to a feeling of belonging to the community. I've only been through Decorah and can't speak for people there specifically but I'd think it would be a great place to live, especially if your folks are outdoorsy types. NE Iowa is the most scenic in the state and the beautiful Mississippi River valley is close by.

My only caveat about Decorah is its lack of proximity to larger cities. I lived in Keokuk for 25 years and got tired of having to drive 45 minutes either north to Burlington or south to Quincy, IL to find a Menards.

Good luck in your search, and welcome to God's country should you choose to move here.
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Old 01-09-2016, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Des Moines, IA, USA
577 posts, read 423,624 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atler8 View Post
Yup..
I've long considered Fairfield to be a real jewel, if not THE jewel of southeast Iowa in a number of ways.
It may not have the majestic river setting or really old buildings en masse as compared to Burlington, Fort Madison or Keokuk but it has a diverse population & culture & a thriving economy.
I lived there for a while in about...1997-98. I was not impressed. The number of businesses seemed very limited. Everybody shopped at Walmart. It looks like they have opened a Hy-Vee since then though, so maybe there are other new businesses as well.
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Old 01-09-2016, 09:56 PM
 
389 posts, read 666,296 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atler8 View Post
Yup..
I've long considered Fairfield to be a real jewel, if not THE jewel of southeast Iowa in a number of ways.
Your comment presupposes there are numerous jewels in southeast Iowa. I guess if you dramatically lower the bar for what constitutes "a jewel" in the first place, you might be able to make that statement work mathematically.

Using my standards (which are probably higher than yours) I'm unable to locate even a single jewel in all of southeast Iowa.
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Old 01-10-2016, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Jonesboro
3,874 posts, read 4,663,061 times
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My comment in this thread on the 8th does nothing of the sort, as in presupposing anything. It's a straightforward comment... not too difficult to comprehend & without any hidden meaning. It's also not intended to slight any place nor insult anyone.
It would be a surprise to me to find that my standards are low as regards communities. I've never been accused of having low standards before in regard to any aspect of life.
I know nothing firsthand about Burlington given that it is the largest city in Iowa that I've never been to & I spent very little time in Keokuk & some in Fort Madison but it was along, long ago. I do though recall the many extremely old buildings that I'd love to see rehabbed in the latter 2 cities.
As for time spent there, the same could be said for Mt. Pleasant.
Other than Fairfield, I don't think that far southeast Iowa has another town of 5,000 or more population south of Muscatine or Washington or Ottumwa.
But, I did like what I saw of Fairfield the times I was there & in the interim have kept abreast of it via friends and online resources.
So, due to the lack of a current familiarity with most of the larger towns in the region, I can't state unequivocally that Fairfield is The jewel of southeast Iowa nor do I know positively either way whether or not there are any other jewels in that region.
There may be some diamonds in the rough though awaiting historic preservation.
I do know that I'd love to find a clean & progressive rural town such as Fairfield in my own current neck of the woods. Let me emphasize the word "progressive" and add in "welcoming" to the mix.
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Old 01-10-2016, 07:42 PM
 
Location: Traveling
7,019 posts, read 6,228,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scatteredthunder View Post
I lived there for a while in about...1997-98. I was not impressed. The number of businesses seemed very limited. Everybody shopped at Walmart. It looks like they have opened a Hy-Vee since then though, so maybe there are other new businesses as well.
Do you seriously think there was no growth since you were there? Be real.
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Old 01-10-2016, 08:06 PM
 
Location: Des Moines, IA, USA
577 posts, read 423,624 times
Reputation: 785
Quote:
Originally Posted by meo92953 View Post
Do you seriously think there was no growth since you were there? Be real.
Be real? Historically, a lot of Iowa towns have shrunk or disappeared. People nationwide are moving to the cities where the jobs are. When I lived in Fairfield, much of what I saw was pretty rundown (not that I had much to do with the university area, which I imagine would be better). So I am kind of surprised that it has developed further.

Plus, if I recall, atler8 has been gone from Iowa for quite some time - 30+ years? So for all I know, he could have been basing his recommendation on the Fairfield of 30 years ago. After reading his post, I just decided to get on the Chamber of Commerce site, to see what businesses it actually had (since I didn't recall many), and noticed that it had gained the Hy-Vee. That's great for the people living there.
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Old 01-11-2016, 10:27 AM
 
Location: MetroWest Boston
317 posts, read 427,539 times
Reputation: 412
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anomaly75 View Post
My experience (Iowa born and raised, currently living in Cedar Rapids) is that the smaller communities are friendliest. I think it's probably true everywhere that life in urban areas tend to be more hectic and the people more isolationist. Small community living is slower, more laid back and one runs into acquaintances more often which lends to a feeling of belonging to the community. I've only been through Decorah and can't speak for people there specifically but I'd think it would be a great place to live, especially if your folks are outdoorsy types. NE Iowa is the most scenic in the state and the beautiful Mississippi River valley is close by.

My only caveat about Decorah is its lack of proximity to larger cities. I lived in Keokuk for 25 years and got tired of having to drive 45 minutes either north to Burlington or south to Quincy, IL to find a Menards.

Good luck in your search, and welcome to God's country should you choose to move here.
Sometimes the opposite is true, though. I personally have found it more difficult to fit into a small community if you do not fit the 'mold' of what the average person is like/is expected to be like in that area, whereas in a larger area, people tend to be more open and accepting of others who are different than themselves.
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