Tired of moving...I need HELP!!! (Des Moines, Davenport: home, find a job, schools)

[ditchdoctor]

Hay everyone, I am 52 born in the burbs of San Francisco raised in the Joaquin Valley of California, please don't hold it against me, last time there was 22 years ago. LOL.
Here’s my problem... Where do I call home? I have raised and am still raising a close family, wife and 5 kids 2-20 years old. Older ones want to move with us. Has ANYONE faced the same kind of problem? I'm a paramedic, my wife is a at home transcriptionist, we have moved and lived in MT,RI,NH,MS and now SC. We have always moved to different areas because I became restless and did not know where to go, so my wife would pick a state and area and we go. I didn't care to much where we went. We have continuously looked for the "Right spot" and thought SC was it... HATE IT. So here we go again but with one exception I don't want to move after this, when we came west to east the area that I remember the most enjoying and just felt (for lack of a better word) "right" was in was Iowa. I remember stopping at the Machine Shed for dinner and loving the area. So it's been left up to me this time, my wife is tired of me being unhappy, living without the things I enjoy doing (every move was based on her and the kids needs). I help people for a living but don't like my neighbors to close. Ok here comes the Y chromosome thing I love to work on my cars I need a shop, I love to road race, don't hang with the guys, not into sports except hockey and racing, I'm happy inside my own fence with my family, doing stuff with and for them. Man I’m tired looking for Nirvana just want to get close. ANY IDEAS??

[pinetar10]

racing is big around knoxville, iowa. i do not live in iowa, but from what i understand, you will usually not be bothered by neighbors. Pella is a nice town near Knoxville. Oskaloosa is also a nice town that isn't too far away.

[iowegian]

Yeah, Knoxville is home to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. If you're interested in a more small-town atmosphere, and can find a job there, (as a paramedic, I imagine you could find a job most places) it might be a good place for you. I can't tell you anything about schools or quality of life as I don't live there, but I have driven through it and it seems nice enough for a small town. It's home to a large reservoir as well, so there are opportunities for recreation there.

Continuing on the racing theme, there is a brand new race track in Newton. (Iowa Speedway - Season Tickets Now On Sale!) Newton is only about 30 miles from Knoxville, so I suppose this area is arguably the center for racing in Iowa.

If you're looking for a more urban area, Des Moines isn't far from either of these places. If not, Monroe is halfway between the two, Pella isn't far and is quite nice (famous locally for its Dutch heritage), and there are plenty of even smaller towns around the area if that's what you're looking for. You could certainly live in either of the above mentioned towns as well. Newton has had some hard times with the loss of its main employer, Maytag, but it is recovering and in my personal experience, Newton is a nice place. However I haven't lived in either place, just visited, so hopefully a native can give you some more information.

[QuadCityImages]

Davenport and the Quad Cities (which is probably where you stopped at the Machine Shed) would also work. A couple hours to the west is Newton and their new racetrack, 2-3 hours to the east is Chicago and everything that offers. Right here we have dirt track racing at the Fairgrounds most Friday nights during the summer, and Cordova Dragway Park is just outside of the Quad Cities. I'm not into the racing scene myself, so that's about all I can offer.

[dmguy30]

I'd suggest Newton, Pella, Knoxville or any other town in that area. Close enough to Des Moines (for the big city shopping and entertainment), but nice size towns in the area. It also has the racing feature you'd enjoy. Also, the Iowa State Fairgrounds has dirt racing as well.

There is also an Iowa Machine Shed in Clive, IA (suburban Des Moines) if you ever want to go back there.

[ditchdoctor]

Thanks Everyone !

[wingit]

You folks missed the "road racing" comment he made. I do not know of any really big time road racing activity in Iowa. For those of you who don't know, road racing and dirt track racing are two entirely different types of racing. I do believe there is some autocross racing interests in this state, but haven't really dug into it to know where and when events are going on. Iowa at one time, had more dirt tracks than any other state in the nation, don't know for sure if that still rings true, but there are quite a few should your interests change.

BTW, if you do move here, I hope I never need the "ditch doctor", very intersting name, fits your profession well.