Thoughts on Spencer...? (Des Moines, Washington, Alleman: 2013, house, school)

[atler8]

jmgg
You hit a home run there, at least it was one in my book!
As a child, we stayed at resorts on West Okoboji, East Okoboji & Spirit Lake & had a heck of a great time enjoying the lake life.
Then, if we wanted a change of pace, we headed into downtown Spirit Lake for shopping or on down to Spencer if we wanted a taste of the regional "big town".
It's all a matter of seeing things through a child's eyes I suppose.

[Backintheville2]

Originally Posted by lurtsman

Negatives.... You'd be in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Unless you want that...

Family that live outside Iowa will be vastly less likely to visit.

Hmmm, sounds more like a positive to me...especially the last line!

[corruptthug]

It is not a grudge just the other side of the "Good Neighbor" project. Spencer's main attribute is that it is one of the easiest communities to raise your child in, other than that to each his own. You are not going to make money here unless you have old money and are established through generations of Spencerites. Just like many other communities of this size it has it's ups and downs, but it's not always "Peaches and Cream" like those diehard Spencer fans would like you to think.

The facts are there are many homes for sale people are leaving every year and the graduates have to leave because there are no opportunities.

As for the lakes area just north of Spencer, you can only be entertained by Okoboji and Spirit Lake so much. Unless you are a drunk you cruise the lakes and your done. The only people I see spending endless hours there are alcoholics. I could never understand why people would spend the kind of money they do for lakeshore property there. I mean if you got that kind of money go where there is life man

And if you think Spencer's taxes are high try the lakes area

[atler8]

I've never had to engage in alcohol consumption to enjoy a lake or any other natural setting in the midst of water or woods.
So I don't know why there is an assumption here that that is all there is to life by a lake.

[corruptthug]

Why is when someone has an opinion that is somewhat negative but true do people have to say "Oh someone has a Grudge"? It's not a "Grudge" it's the other side of the coin.

[corruptthug]

Which part of the community are you referring to when you say The Spencer Community is reasonably accepting of outsiders? Surely you are not including a Police Department with a Chief of Police that is a liar and a corrupt (POS)

Originally Posted by Movingrightalong...

...anyone? Fairly easy to get to know people? Friendly? Reasonably accepting of outsiders?

Any negatives anyone can think of off the top of their head?

Which SE Iowa community is Spencer most like?

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by corruptthug

The facts are there are many homes for sale people are leaving every year and the graduates have to leave because there are no opportunities.

Spencer is hardly unique in that category. Most every town in Iowa under 25,000 people (that isn't a suburb) has seen their young flee to the two hot spots (Des Moines and IC-CR) after high school graduation. Most kids don't want to live in a really small town. The ones that do are usually FFA-types who feel obligated to keep the family farm going another generation.

I wouldn't want to be a real estate agent in small-town Iowa. Within the next 20 years, you won't be able to make a single commission in that field. Nobody wants to move to a town where the median age keeps ticking past 40 years, and the school district's footprint keeps getting larger due to repeated forced consolidations.

Rural Iowa is in sad shape. I don't see that trend reversing itself either. So, Spencer needn't feel alone in its despair. The Des Moines-shaped parasite that keeps sucking the life out of rural Iowa is only getting bigger and more powerful. Resistance is futile.

[jmgg]

Let me get this straight, responders with the handle corruptthug and funksoulbro don't like small town Spencer. My guess is you don't want to live by any smaller town in Iowa since you're "big city" people. I've never graded a community by the size of their tallest building, but if that's your criteria, so be it.

I've been to Spencer multiple times and I think it's a very nice, stable community. Your response as to the police department may be right on as I have never had any connection to them AND sometimes local little police forces (A big example being the Dickinson County Sheriffs Dept. around the Iowa Great Lakes) can often be very unfair and yes, even corrupt.

Based on the communities that I've visited over the years in my business travels, I believe Spencer is one of the nicest.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by jmgg

Let me get this straight, responders with the handle corruptthug and funksoulbro don't like small town Spencer. My guess is you don't want to live by any smaller town in Iowa since you're "big city" people. I've never graded a community by the size of their tallest building, but if that's your criteria, so be it.

LOL. You sooooo have me pegged wrong. The Des Moines folks think tall buildings are the way you judge a city, but not me.

In fact, I live in a town that has exactly zero office buildings over six stories. Skylines, lifestyle centers, and "wannabe" big cities aren't my thing. Give me a place with some scenic bike trails and the modest trappings of civilization, and I'm happy. Truth be told, I prefer a smaller-town mindset as long as people aren't constantly up in your personal business. I've found that elusive balance of modest civilization and John Cougar Mellencamp "Small Town" charm where I live.

If I want to see tall buildings, big traffic jams, or an IKEA store...I'll head over to Chicago. I actually lived there in the 1990s (when the Bulls were winning every NBA championship in sight) and decided big city life is more about hype than it is about substance.

Spencer is a lovely town. I've been there before. Unfortunately, kids think skyscrapers and Apple Stores will bring them happiness...so they move to Des Moines. That's just the reality of Iowa, and Spencer isn't the only pleasant little town paying a steep price for the restless dreams of youth. Fort Dodge, Ottumwa, Mason City, and Carroll have all found that the Principal Building's blinding glow is all too seductive for their recent high school graduates.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

LOL. You sooooo have me pegged wrong. The Des Moines folks think tall buildings are the way you judge a city, but not me.

In fact, I live in a town that has exactly zero office buildings over six stories. Skylines, lifestyle centers, and "wannabe" big cities aren't my thing. Give me a place with some scenic bike trails and the modest trappings of civilization, and I'm happy. Truth be told, I prefer a smaller-town mindset as long as people aren't constantly up in your personal business. I've found that elusive balance of modest civilization and John Cougar Mellencamp "Small Town" charm where I live.

If I want to see tall buildings, big traffic jams, or an IKEA store...I'll head over to Chicago. I actually lived there in the 1990s (when the Bulls were winning every NBA championship in sight) and decided big city life is more about hype than it is about substance.

Spencer is a lovely town. I've been there before. Unfortunately, kids think skyscrapers and Apple Stores will bring them happiness...so they move to Des Moines. That's just the reality of Iowa, and Spencer isn't the only pleasant little town paying a steep price for the restless dreams of youth. Fort Dodge, Ottumwa, Mason City, and Carroll have all found that the Principal Building's blinding glow is all too seductive for their recent high school graduates.

Sorry, I pegged your posts wrong.