New to Webster City (Ames, Fort Dodge: for sale, apartments, lease)

[Sioux06Alum]

I'm moving from Grand Forks, ND to Webster City for a new job (first job after completing Graduate School) and I need to know a few things:

Is WC expensive?
Are there decent places to live (townhomes, newer quiet apartments)?
To eat?

I guess I'm just asking for you Iowans and former Iowans to give me a good idea what I should expect in WC. Thanks.

[Sioux06Alum]

No advice yet? C'mon, someone has to know something about Webster City

[metro223]

All I know is it's near the intersection of i-35 and US 20 - which is wind turbine country. I bet it's a nice town.

[pepe1]

Webster city is a pretty nice, clean little town. I believe it does have some newer apartments in town - at any rate there is a good deal of newer housing for such a small town. It is not expensive - in fact, your probably going to have a lot of "buying power" if you are looking to move into Webster City as the City recently lost its largest employer, Frigidaire.

[metro223]

Originally Posted by pepe1

Webster city is a pretty nice, clean little town. I believe it does have some newer apartments in town - at any rate there is a good deal of newer housing for such a small town. It is not expensive - in fact, your probably going to have a lot of "buying power" if you are looking to move into Webster City as the City recently lost its largest employer, Frigidaire.

That's too bad to hear. I did not know that.

[DMRyan]

I don't think the plant is closed down yet, but I believe it's supposed to close down this year or next year. That's 700-800 jobs out of a town of less than 9,000 people, so the impact will be felt.

I thought Webster City was a pretty nice town. There's a few newer developments on the south side of town near Highway 20 you may want to look into. The NW side seemed to be a little run down, but it's got a great little downtown, and some nice historic neighborhoods just south of there. You're 20 minutes from Fort Dodge, which is probably where you'll do the bulk of your regular shopping. For some odd reason, Webster City seemed to have more new townhomes and condos being built than in Fort Dodge (around 2005), which is 3 times it's size. There's some parks along the Boone River that you can enjoy too. Not sure about restaurants though. You'll have the chains that a town of 8,000 people has, but you'll be heading out to Ames and Fort Dodge for finer dining.

[Sioux06Alum]

Thanks guys. That's too bad about the job loss. I read that too while I was doing a little reading on the town. Hopefully that is not a trend that continues.

[hardrocker]

Electrolux closed down? you mean my employment there over the last 6 years has been just a dream? you people need to get your facts straight. It is true that 1/3 of the production, here at the Webster City plant "was" scheduled to leave late 2007, as you can see, we are still here. The latest is that the company has put moving there "next level" line to Mexico off until next year. According to Electrolux management, they have no immediate plans to shut this plant down. As far as Webster City goes, i have lived here for 6 years and it is a nice, clean, quiet (except during racing season) town with relatively low crime levels. For a city of its size, it has a lot to offer. Compared to a lot of towns of its size, utilities do tend to run a little high, and if your looking to rent a decent house, you're pretty much S.O.L., but there are several smaller apartments available at a fairly decent price. Lots of houses for sale though...

[hardrocker]

Originally Posted by Sioux06Alum

I'm moving from Grand Forks, ND to Webster City for a new job (first job after completing Graduate School) and I need to know a few things:

Is WC expensive?
Are there decent places to live (townhomes, newer quiet apartments)?
To eat?

I guess I'm just asking for you Iowans and former Iowans to give me a good idea what I should expect in WC. Thanks.

just for info purposes, i have been renting a nice townhouse for $650 a month, close to schools and the hospital, there are several townhouses available for lease for about the same price, on the other side of town, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 2 car garage, nice area

[WoodwardGirl]

hardrocker, I'm visiting Webster City for a livestock show next weekend. Any restaurants you'd particularly recommend? Also, a LONG time ago, there was an actual outlet store there -- not the franchised fake ones of today, but a place that sold returns and out-of-season items from the BIG (expensive) department stores (Saks, Nieman-Markus, etc). I don't suppose it is still there...?