Sheldon, Iowa....how is it? (Sioux City, Spencer: employment, community college, shop)

[Porter_boy]

hey there, posted a thread earlier but didn't get much results, so I'll be simplistic.... like the other user, theres three things I gotta know about o'brien county.

Hows the economy effecting the area?
Hows the outdoor life? (fishing, hunting?)
How's the employment opportunity? (either seasonal or annual, prodominately laboring jobs)

any replies are greatly appreciated

Rob the Alaskan

[Northern Traveler]

Well... since you aren't getting any results I'm going to try to help. I don't think a lot of people in this forum know that much about O'Brien county. (including myself)

Outdoor life is pretty good in all of Iowa, I don't think Sheldon is in a very woodsy area however, so definitely don't expect that. I think town is set in a mass area of featureless cropland and not much water besides your occasional stream or small river in the region. (I happen to like that look oddly)

Nonetheless I am sure you will find places and people to fish and hunt with ... Okoboji isn't all too far which has quite a few big lakes.

Do you know a lot of people in this area? If not, it will take awhile to meet people - Iowans overall are reserved - especially in an area like Sheldon ... just be prepared for that. This is going to be vastly different from Alaska I think. Then again some winters I swear I'm in Alaska.

[Porter_boy]

Yeah I do know one person there....and that's it. kind of looking forward to it seeing how I've been here all my life..but I do thank you for the info!

Rob the Alaskan

[bsanva]

The economy is largely based on farming. And corn is in demand, therefore their economy is doing significantly better than most of the country. That being said, there aren't a whole lot of employers. If you are pretty good at finding odd jobs, there are a resonable amount in the area.
The hunting is limited to a couple of types of animals. People travel to Iowa to hunt some birds. And it isn't exactly difficult to find fat deer. Fishing is for small river fish. Not really stuff people eat. Mostly people who fish do it occassionally to have an outing with their kid, not like what you would find in Alaska. Best of luck

[mofford]

I noticed that part of Sheldon is in Sioux County, I did some checking up and am impressed with the statistics of Sioux County. Even though it's halfway between Sioux Falls and Sioux City, the county is growing with a population of 32,500. It seems to buck the trend of all the other counties in NW Iowa that lose population or break even, and property values are ABOVE the state average. Lyon County to the north sits in the back yard of Sioux Falls, and actually lost some population. Plymouth County to the south broke even, Woodbury lost some. It's also unusual that Sioux County is full of smaller towns with the largest being Sioux Center at 6300, but the county seat is Orange City, pop 5600. It's also the most republican county in Iowa and one of only 2 counties in the whole country that went more than 70% for Bush in 2004. Across the river in SD, Lincoln County has also shown high growth.

So I would say that you might be OK in Sheldon. Coming from Alaska, people might want to ask you about Sarah Palin. O'Brien County, however, is losing people like most the others around there, so you might have better luck finding work close by in Sioux County.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by mofford

I noticed that part of Sheldon is in Sioux County, I did some checking up and am impressed with the statistics of Sioux County. Even though it's halfway between Sioux Falls and Sioux City, the county is growing with a population of 32,500. It seems to buck the trend of all the other counties in NW Iowa that lose population or break even, and property values are ABOVE the state average. Lyon County to the north sits in the back yard of Sioux Falls, and actually lost some population. Plymouth County to the south broke even, Woodbury lost some. It's also unusual that Sioux County is full of smaller towns with the largest being Sioux Center at 6300, but the county seat is Orange City, pop 5600. It's also the most republican county in Iowa and one of only 2 counties in the whole country that went more than 70% for Bush in 2004. Across the river in SD, Lincoln County has also shown high growth.

.

Sioux County also has one of the highest concentrations of people with Dutch ancestry of any county in the country. Rural Dutch people lean much more conservative than average, and that is also fairly true in areas like Holland, MI near Lake Michigan.
Edit: I agree with Chris that these "Dutch-centric" places are usually quite clean and tidy with lower than average unemployment rates.

[mofford]

Whatever their doing in Sioux County, it's working. Unusual for a rural county with all smaller towns to gain population especially when it's a 50 mile drive to the nearest larger City. It's been 30 years since I've been to Orange City, ought to drive up there and to Sioux Center someday to have a look at these miracle towns.

[Chris19]

I agree that Sioux County has a high concentration of Dutch people and many are very industrious. Most of these areas are very tidy, clean areas. The Dutch are known to be thrifty, tidy, and picky. I know of a few people who come from Sioux County and they are nice people but are conservative, which is not bad.

Sheldon and nearby areas are generally clean and safe and Sheldon has a community college if you want to take classes to get an associates degree, learn a trade, or further enhance your knowledge in your line of work. It has about 5,000 people and has your basics and is not too far from Spencer, Sioux Falls, and Sioux City for additional shopping and medical care.

The city is in an area that is relatively flat with few smaller hills, but is hillier further west in Sioux County. In addition to nearby streams, rivers and Okoboji, there are other good hunting opportunties within several hours. There is some better hunting areas closer to the Big Sioux River and for fishing, it is not too far from the Missouri River. A couple hour drive west in South Dakota along the Missouri River reservoirs have good fishing and areas in nearby South Dakota (in areas two or three hours west) have good pheasant and deer hunting. Another good area for fishing would be the lakes in Minnesota, which has a ton of lakes.

There is a cheese plant going up near Hull. There should be employment when that is up and running. I would agree with other posts with finding employment in Sioux County. For a rural county, there is some industry. Sheldon has some employers, but they are more industrial type employers.

It would be good to check it out and visit the people before moving there. It will give you some idea of how the people are and get a general bearing of the area.

[mofford]

Also noticed that if you count the one in Sheldon, there are 4 liberal arts colleges in Sioux County, amazing.

[Northern Traveler]

Originally Posted by mofford

Also noticed that if you count the one in Sheldon, there are 4 liberal arts colleges in Sioux County, amazing.

It is a unique rural county.