Illinois Firefighter & Wife Looking To Retire In Viton Area (Des Moines: income, income tax)

[FIREFIGHTER]

HELLO ALL,
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER TRIED ANYTHING LIKE THIS,SO PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN.
I AM A FULL TIME ( OUTSIDE OF CHICAGO ) FIREFIGHTER LOOKING TO RETIRE WITH MY WIFE IN IOWA. WE REALLY LOVE THE STATE AND ALL THE GREAT PEOPLE WE MET ON A RECENT TRIP THERE. WE WERE IN THE VINTON AREA AND REALLY LOVED WHAT WE SAW. THE TROUBLE IS THAT IT WAS OUR LAST STOP AND WE DID NOT GET TO DO AS MUCH AS WE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO. IT SEEMED THAT IS WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO RETIRE TO. WE LOVED THE PEACE AND QUITE THERE COMPARED TO WHERE WE ARE AT NOW. ARE WE WRONG?? ANY GENERAL INFO.WOULD BE GREAT. I WILL READ IT ALL.
THANKYOU,
FIREFIGHTER

[Alloy]

Dear Firefighter:

We just moved from the Chicago metro area to Dakota Dunes, SD, which is right across from Sioux City, IA. I spend a lot of time in Iowa on business, and I agree that it is a great place to live. You'll find a calmer lifestyle and still quite a bit to do. Maybe we weren't taking full advantage of Chicago, but all the entertainment and recreation we did there we can do here--only it is much easier to drive to and costs less. I love the two minute commute to work! And parking at the baseball game costs $1. That's right, $1.

On your next trip, see if you can come further west. The Iowa City area is great. Depending on what you're looking for, there are a lot of towns that are within a short drive of Des Moines. And Sioux City and northwest Iowa is worth a look as well. The Loess Hills here are a great backdrop. Then of course, as long as you're in NW Iowa, check out SD as well. No state income tax.