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Every county in northeast Iowa voted for Trump. It's not that socially conservative by rural American standards (big craft beer culture, lax attitudes towards marijuana, LGBT acceptance higher than average) but it's definitely not liberal either.
I think Kansas definitely has a more socially conservative culture, but if you're measuring this by how people vote, there's little difference - if any.
Manhattan is a nice place and would fit the OP, I believe. But saying "northeast Iowa isn't conservative at all" isn't accurate. It's a different kind of conservative from Kansas, but definitely on the reddish side of purple.
This is a very good post, glad for your clarification. I guess it's been my experience that Kansas is much more socially conservative. I think NE IA votes red sometimes (it often goes blue) because of the abortion issue (lots of Catholics in NE IA) and because of the growing general anti-urban feeling among rural people (which I share.) Would you say that's so?
Which state would you prefer for a living? I've been researching each US state for quite a while and narrowed my search to these two states. Let's say getting papers and job wouldn't be an issue.
I'm young European with a family and interested in several things:
-how does feel of a place compares? I'm really interested about feel and vibe of KS/IA. Meaning climate, landscapes etc. Which state has more natural sights? We're nature lovers. I prefer strong 4 season climate. What about tornadoes and other natural disasters?
-major towns, which offer more in terms of culture and nightlife? What about small/college towns? Which state has better Universities and public schools in general? Cities/towns with a historical core would be our preferences even though I know middle US isn't like the east coast when it comes to that.
-how does culture of two states compares? This is major question for me. Which state is more close knit and traditional? We are pretty conservative and prefer to live surrounded by people similar to us. Vibrant places with lot of young conservatives would be a good fit. We also wish for a family oriented place.
-how does cost of living compares, taxes etc?
-which state has better sports culture? But that I don't mean having pro sport teams, but having more locals who are into sports. I like sport crazed towns a lot and would pick a place where my kid can chose between several sports from early age.
-which state has more educated population and intellectuals?
-finally, are these any differences between demographics of tow states? We have a preference to live in a white majority area. I'm also curious about weather are there any east euro and catholic groups present in these two states.
-which state is safer in terms of less violent crime, less registered sex offenders etc?
Thanks.
Iowa has the best job market overall and the most reasonable housing costs. Coming from eastern Europe, Iowa will feel much more familiar culturally compared to Kansas. Cedar Rapids, in particular, has a greater Polish population to a certain extent. I would pick Des Moines as it offers the best value overall based on a very solid job market with reasonable housing costs, especially for rural areas 30 minutes outside of the city. Iowa is more culturally conservative but politically more moderate than Kansas. Johnson County, KS, as some have mentioned could be an option, but housing costs there are much greater than anything you'd find in Iowa. In terms of climate, Iowa has four well defined seasons with an actual winter without the extreme heat and humidity that is much worse the further south you go. Des Moines also isn't far from Ames (Iowa State), and is located a short interstate drive away from Iowa State where the University of Iowa is located.
Eastern Kansas is heavily influenced by Kansas City and thus you'll have access to a lot of Kansas City amenities.
Also, Kansas is getting more politically moderate these days, if that's something you're interested in.
Additionally, Kansas is actually a pretty well-educated state these days, moreso than Iowa I believe.
The only reason why Kansas educational attainment stats look somewhat good is because of Johnson County, and that is one county out of 105 in the state.. If the OP wants reasonable housing costs, Johnson County is much more expensive for housing overall compared to just about anywhere in Iowa.
This is a very good post, glad for your clarification. I guess it's been my experience that Kansas is much more socially conservative. I think NE IA votes red sometimes (it often goes blue) because of the abortion issue (lots of Catholics in NE IA) and because of the growing general anti-urban feeling among rural people (which I share.) Would you say that's so?
Yes. NE Iowa turning red is absolutely driven by the belief that Democrats are city dwellers looking to impose their will on the rural populace.
Kansas is Wichita and Johnson County. The rest is the space you have to go through, dodging tornadoes and baseball size hail, and occasional blizzards, and blazing heat to get to something of value. The lonesomeness can be appealing to some and can drive some folks crazy. I go there on photography trips because it is oddly pretty, not scenic -- it's like a blank canvas with a straight line and fantastic clouds.
Iowa is an actual state with real cities and terrain and the Mississippi River and Missouri River valleys and an interesting cultural mix. Almost every available square inch is planted with corn (maize), or so it seems. There is probably more diversity in Iowa. The politics is also more diverse.
Kansas has sports teams with a college attached. Iowa has colleges with sports teams attached. That was my impression of educational priorities.
A similar trip to Iowa included a minor league baseball game in Davenport and a stop at the Amana Colonies. I then lived in a rural part of Missouri -- a border state with a little bit of mild southern-ness in the culture and Iowa seemed more in line with that feel than Kansas did. Think of chubby rosy-cheeked women in aprons bringing you apple pie compared to chubby rosy-cheeked women in aprons bringing a plate of deep fried bull testicles. Kansas is distinctly plains culture once you lose sight of Kansas City, Missouri.
Southeast Iowa definitely has that feel of eastern Missouri/western Illinois, but northern Iowa west of the Driftless Area and the western 2/3rds of the state are more chicken gizzards than apple pie. It's an extension of South Dakota and Nebraska. Western Minnesota is this way as well. The weather is harsher, the land flatter and emptier.
Iowa politics and general culture are becoming more plains and less eastern midwest with what seems like each passing day. Purple moderate is becoming straight red.
Eastern Iowa is still much more attached to that quintessential Midwest, but the rest of the state has more in common with the plains both culturally and geographically than anything east of the Mississippi.
If forest was our main concern, I'd pick Pacific Northwest or mountain states. We're used to midwestern like landscapes. It's just that semi-arid parts of states like Kansas or Nebraska scare me a bit. They feel so empty. Eastern parts of these states are nicer IMO, as well as most of Iowa.
Then why not pick eastern Oklahoma, not too far from Tulsa and not have winters as cold? It seldom drops below zero there. Tahlequah, while not standing out as very conservative as the rest of rural Oklahoma, is a nice scenic college town famous for the fast flowing Illinois River, and not too far from Tulsa. Tulsa is bigger than Des Moines or Wichita. Southwestern Oklahoma around Lawton might be interesting for its rocky hills, but gets hotter during the summer. Severe storms with tornadoes in Oklahoma tend to die down once they cross I-35.
Kansas is actually much more like Nebraska than Iowa. You might like Lincoln, NE.
Nope
Wrong
False
Any part of Kansas North and East of Salina is somewhat more similar to Nebraska than the othe 2 sections of the state.
Western Kansas wants to cede from the state entirely as it has zero in common with anywhere in Kansas east of the 100th meridian
Wichita and environs is culturally, agriculturally and economically in common with Oklahoma and The Metroplex def not NE.
Johnson County is a big typical American suburb.Every state has at least one. Its cheap living tho.
Why Iowa vs Kansas? Id love to know why OP decided on those 2 out of 50 plus territories and the District. Very odd.
Johnson County is the only county in Kansas that saves it from being a complete laggard in most important categories. Wichita is below average across the board in most key metrics, and has a substantial brain drain problem.
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