Moving To Fort Dodge Area - Advice? (Des Moines, Humboldt: transplants, real estate market)

[airforcematt]

Hello all! I'm active duty Air Force and will be moving to Fort Dodge sometime in the next couple to few months. Anyone currently living there that can fill me in on what to expect? How bad was the flooding? What area's of town would I want to live in? Are there any locations within commuting distance that would be a better bet to live in? Hoping to find a house or nice apartment to rent - got any recommendations?

[DMRyan]

**Disclaimer: I am not a fan of living in Fort Dodge**

If you have to move to Fort Dodge for job or personal reasons, please do not judge the entire state of Iowa on this place. Fort Dodge has a few merits, but by and large, it's considered by many I've talked with to be one of the bigger armpits in the state. Even the locals are very down in the dumps about the place.

It's the hub of a dying agricultural region in North Central/NW Iowa. While there have been some strides made to improve the local economy, the place is still hurting from the huge local job losses of the 1980's farm crisis.

The same river that flooded the town is the same one that provides it it's best local amenity. There is a nice trail along the river, and it's a nice place to relax and take in the river view in town. They are taking steps to improve the riverfront. By and large, the people are good. Fort Dodge is a pretty working-class place and it has a high poverty rate. Not many professionals around, but if that's not your circle, you'll be fine. People from the town can be very insular. If you're not from Fort Dodge, you're not quite in the circle yet. I spent two and a half years up there, and ended up meeting some great people (some of which were not originally from FD), if you give a little effort to get to know them.

If you're looking at housing, you'll want to stay on the north side. The far NE and north sides have newer housing and clean neighborhoods. There are pockets of good places scattered throughout the rest of the north side, but plenty of small rental house mini-ghettos that are falling apart only the next block over. Many of the more well-heeled in that part of Iowa either live in the country or commute in from the town of Humboldt (about 20 minutes away). There is a small shopping mall, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. and most of the basic chain restaurants to be found in Fort Dodge. A great little art museum, mini-golf place, some local diners/restaurants that are decent thing to look into.

If you do move up there, my guess is that it will be a temporary stopping point for you in your life. The big thing for both the young locals that aren't stuck and transplants working in decent jobs like myself was to get out of town as soon as possible.

[airforcematt]

Thanks for the feedback and advice, especially the neighborhoods to avoid - greatly appreciated. Yes this will probably only be for a couple years, the opportunity the job I was offered presented was too good to pass up

[DMRyan]

If you'll be there temporarily, I would recommend just renting instead of buying. The real estate market there isn't too vibrant. There's a row of apartments (there really aren't many apartments in town that are newer and not income restricted) located near the mall near the N. 27th Street area you may want to look at. They're a little older, but the rent is dirt cheap. I had a 1970's apartment that was never really updated, but huge for only $400 a month. It's an area close to nearly all the shopping/restaurants in town and within a few minutes from a few watering holes too.

Good luck on your relocation, and make the best of it. Again, living in Fort Dodge is not like living in all of Iowa. I did what I could to get involved in the community during my stint there, but was happy to take a better opportunity to move on and come back home to Des Moines.

[wilkins1234]

Hi my family and i are planning on moving here to be closer to family there. I have a large family of seven and was wondering what the schools are like there and the jobs for the nursing area both my husband and i are in that field, expecially in nursing homes and such, was wondering how much it cost average to rent a larger home of at least 4 bedrooms and so on. thank you.

[airforcematt]

Originally Posted by wilkins1234

Hi my family and i are planning on moving here to be closer to family there. I have a large family of seven and was wondering what the schools are like there and the jobs for the nursing area both my husband and i are in that field, expecially in nursing homes and such, was wondering how much it cost average to rent a larger home of at least 4 bedrooms and so on. thank you.

As a single guy I'm not really qualified to answer most of your questions but I'll give it a shot.
For schools all I have to go on is my boss telling me that this is a good place to raise kids. I have noticed several smaller nursing home/assisted living centers in town, don't know what the employment situation is with them - I suggest you keep an eye on the messenger news website to get a feel for what jobs are available. News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Messenger News
The only realtor in town that I was able to find that handled rentals was egemo realty Home Page but once again the messenger news classifieds is a good place to look, thats where I found my apartment (1200 square feet two bedroom for $475, utilities included)

Hope this helps!
Matt