Everything and anything about Fort Dodge (Des Moines, Waterloo: apartments, crime, school)

[adren456]

I am looking at possibly moving to Fort Dodge for school this fall. It would just be my daughter and I, and i'm hoping to find out whatever i can about the town. Where are the best apartments? How nice is the college? what are the job opportunities? whats the life like for a person in their mid twenties who doesn't live in the bar? anything anyone can tell me would be helpful!!

[DMRyan]

I'm not a fan after spending a few years there. See this thread for some decent discussion on this issue:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/iowa/...ort-dodge.html

Good luck and make the best of it. I tried hard, but something about this place sucks you in to the negativity that is so prevelant with the locals there. It has all the shopping essentials, a few things to do outdoors and a beautiful river valley, but it's a down on its luck type of city.

Here's a link to a photo gallery of the city from 2005:
absolutedsm.com - Fort Dodge

[scimitar12]

Why do you wnat to move to Ft. Dodge? Can't you move somewhere else? Just curious.

Ft. Dodge is really a nubbs town.

[Dodgerdude]

Fort dodge is as nice as you make it out to be. There are many nice apartments on the northeast side of town, also very convenient to shopping. I believe many of them are on 17th ave. N. Or possibly 16th ave. N., just west of n. 32nd street. Try also the n. End of knollcrest drive. (17th ave. N. Runs between n. 32nd st. And knollcrest dr.)

as for iowa central community college--it's a very nice modern college with many new buildings and some excellent programs. I've lived in many different areas and this college is nicer than just about all.

The job situation is relatively good considering the economic situation. The cost of living in fort dodge is exponentially less than des moines, but still has many of the shops that larger areas have, since fort dodge is a retail center for a nearly 40 mile radius.

Life in ft. Dodge for a person in their 20's can be fun. There are plenty of beautiful parks (kennedy lake [as locals call it], snell park, loomis park, olsen park which has a small zoo that kids enjoy, dolliver memorial state park, and brushy creek state recreation area, to name just a few). The last are just outside of f.d. And are beautiful. There are also several trails in the area. Des moines is a quick 1 1/2 hr. Trip if you feel like going.

Fort dodge is trying to improve its image, as it plans to improve the 5th ave. So. Corridor and also has plans to build a large downtown park. Additionally, they will start building this year one of nicest water parks in iowa.

I am a native dodger and i too am thinking of moving back to f.d.

[Dodgerdude]

DMRyan: I DON'T MEAN THIS RUDELY, BUT WHAT IS YOUR FIXATION WITH FORT DODGE? IF YOU'RE NOT A NATIVE I CAN'T IMAGINE WHY YOU WOULD SPEND SO MUCH TIME READING POSTS ABOUT FORT DODGE LIVING. I, TOO, HAVE LIVED IN DES MOINES, AND I THINK THE PARKS ARE BETTER IN FORT DODGE, ALTHOUGH THE TRAIL SYSTEM IS BETTER IN DSM. ALSO, I BELIEVE THAT THE CITY OF DES MOINES ITSELF IS AN ARMPIT, WHEREAS THE SUBURBS ARE DECENT.

Mod note - In the future please make sure your caps lock button is off before posting. - El Rhino.

[RonnieJonez]

They have Taco Tico...that's all that matters.

Love that place. I wish Des Moines had one.

DMRyan is mad because he misses Crosstown Mall.

[DMRyan]

What is this, some kind of discussion forum for sharing opinions? I gave my opinion on Fort Dodge and I didn't see anyone else jumping on to give theirs until now--well after the original comment in several of the Fort Dodge threads was posted.

I stick by my views of the place, people can judge on their own (and many who live there or visit there already have and it's not pretty).

I do agree with you though that the parks system is nice and large for a town that size. Also, I think my photo gallery I posted is a pretty fair representation of the city since I was trying to show it in a positive light when I took the photos. Kudos to Fort Dodge for finally making improvements because they're sorely needed.

[RonnieJonez]

Realistically, most mid sized Iowa cities don't look any different than DSM excluding a few blocks downtown where there is commerce and the suburbs (specifically WDM & Clive).

If you dropped parts of Ft Dodge, Marshalltown, Waterloo in the south side, east side and Merle Hay area, you wouldn't even notice the difference.

[DMRyan]

Yeah, but at least there are these areas of commerce to rely on (as you would expect in a much larger city) that aren't found in many of the mid-sized cities. I'm not talking about having a Target and an Applebee's either.

I'm not trying to make it out to sound like DSM doesn't have it's share of dumpy and slummy areas too. There's a tremendous blue collar element to these cities, which doesn't bode well for maintaining an attractive city that is welcoming to many young, educated people. This mentality isn't bad, it's just not my bag. And it's not a small town thing either, I wouldn't talk down on Pella, Adel, even Newton, because they are generally nice towns and pleasant places to live. I can't speak of the attitude of the people in these places because I've never lived there, but it certainly appears these residents have more pride in their community (by and large) because their towns are in much better shape than Fort Dodge.

I wish Fort Dodge the best in making community improvements. There's such a tremendous amount of historical building stock in their downtown for such a small place, it's a crime to see it rot away like it is.