NC to Iowa City/Ames/Cedar Falls

[lurtsman]

For anyone reading this and contemplating a move: You should do research equal to what RMB has done. This is the right way to prepare for a move.

[rmb0971]

Thanks for the compliment lurtsman! That's the magic of city-data. On one handy-dandy site, you get to do a bit of research and then ask the folks who live/have lived there about the reality of encountering those numbers (and others you've found) on a day-to-day basis.

[Serious Conversation]

I've lived in Iowa and east TN and have spent a considerable amount of time over the years in western NC, and have also spent some time in the Charlotte and Triangle metros.

NC has a far greater diversity of things to do - bar none - than in IA. NC is one of the few states where a person can be within a few hours drive of excellent hiking/fishing/biking/hunting in the mountains, boat most of the year, ski (in season), and beaches (in season), all within state borders. The only place I can think of with the same things all within state borders would be California. Outdoor recreation in IA is going to be vastly substandard compared to NC, if you're into that.

IA is overwhelmingly rural and I'd say that even rural parts of NC are not as isolated as very rural parts of IA. In IA, you may go for dozens of miles before running into the next decent sized town. Towns are generally smaller and more spaced out. It's hard to describe this coming from the South, where there is just a greater population density but it is there. The Des Moines metro is a fraction of the size of Charlotte/Raleigh. From IA City, your closest major metros are Chicago (3.5 hrs), followed by St. Louis and Minneapolis. From Ames, your closest metros are going to be Kansas City and Minneapolis (3.5 hrs away each). If you want to be close to major metros, NC probably wins.

With that said, I understand the differences in crime between the rural South and IA. I live in Kingsport TN, which has some of the worst crime rates in the state, even worse than Memphis. Drug busts, domestic violence, burglaries, etc, is in the news every day. I lived in Des Moines and felt very safe there. You and your possessions are likely going to be far safer in IA than NC.

The job market in IA, at least in IT, was excellent. I was probably getting call backs at the rate of 4 to 1 for other jobs in Des Moines vs. the places I've been applying in the South (Raleigh, Greenville SC, Knoxville TN), had several offers with the pay usually being at least 25% higher, if not closer to 50%, for the same position. My position in IA was $41k base, 6% bonus target, 4 weeks vacation, medical/dental/excellent 401k match, etc. The same position here in TN was $24k on W2 contract, no benefits. Over the last few years I've had a couple other offers in TN and almost all are below $25k. I'm sure the pay in IA is not as high as DC/SF/NYC, etc, but for the poster talking about poor pay in IA (relative to cost of living), I have no clue what you are talking about.

Taxes are absolutely awful in Iowa coming from TN, but likely won't be as harsh coming from NC. State income tax for the top bracket, which starts at $64k for a single person, tops out at almost 9%. Registering my 2005 Murano cost almost $200 in Iowa - in TN, the same registration was $31.50. A colleague bought a new F150 and claimed he paid $500 to register the vehicle. Cans/bottles have a $.05 refundable deposit - so a 12 pack of sodas that would normally cost $2.50 goes up to $3.10. Most food for consumption off-premises is exempt from taxation. Sales tax, at least in the West Des Moines area, was either 6% or 6.5%. IA is a pretty high tax state IMO.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned from other posters is that IA is a "sticky" state meaning most of the people, especially out in the rural areas, are native Iowans. I worked at a Fortune 500 in Des Moines and was the only non-Iowan in the department. Most of the people I worked with were native Iowans who would never leave Iowa. I may have been the only non-Midwesterner on that floor of the building and I never heard another Southern accent on the corporate campus. Iowans are cordial to outsiders, but it takes a long time for most to warm up to you on a close personal basis. It may be more difficult to establish ties in a small community in Iowa than in the South. However, once you do make friends, they seem to be "truer" friends than down South. I wouldn't say the average Iowan is more accepting of alternate lifestyles, I saw very few gays holding hands in public, but they will be more live and let live than the average Southerner.

The best things about Iowa are the low crime rate and excellent job market. You can leave your doors and cars unlocked and come back and everything be there. I never had any fear of being mugged, burglarized, etc, and I can't say that about TN or most parts of NC I've been. Public schools are also excellent. It would be an excellent place to raise a family, almost frozen in time like a kind of Mayberry. Being that you're a single gay guy and don't want kids, you won't realize some of the benefits. Even if you don't like Iowa, it's probably worth at least checking out, as it's certainly not a bad place to be.

[rmb0971]

I'm glad I waited until my exams were over to continue this thread, so many responses!

As I'm from a Mayberry-esque town, that's really what I want in the long run. I do realize the benefits, as I'm a community-oriented individual. I don't want kids, but I'd like to marry in the future, I suppose, so I will have a family in a way. I REALLY like the idea of an extremely rural state, where you have to drive forever to get to larger towns. More breathing room! Like I've said, in the long run I want to live in the middle of nowhere - but within driving distance of a town of course haha Des Moines is the largest metro area I would ever care to be around, honestly. I'm strangled by Raleigh/Durham and the thought of larger is horrifying to me.

I'm a BIT of an economic liberal, so I appreciate the higher taxes for what they are, past their annoyances. Again, no kids, so I can afford to pay a little to the government.

Having a wide array of things to do doesn't excite me exactly. A drive to and a walk through a state park or preserve suits me just fine. I think IA can accommodate that. Also: hunting and fishing happen 'round here I'm told, so I'm in. I'm also a biker, so having RAGBRAI won't just be a traffic nightmare for me.

[lurtsman]

Emigrations - you were working in the best possible sector in the state of Iowa. I assure you that the other sectors are not the same. As a highly qualified individual I was rarely getting call backs/interviews despite years of experience as the director of a small successful business. I ended up riding scholarships into a master's program in another state because of my exceptional qualifications. Iowa City's job market is also VASTLY worse than that in Des Moines due to the large college crowd. The two are not comparable. The job market in IC, especially outside of tech/medicine is absolutely horrible. I was there for five years, and since I had **** for work, I'd know if it was bad. Yes, in DM you can get over paid for working in the right fields, because they have to pay more to attract those people. If you don't work in those areas, they'll leave you for dead. I was essentially told to **** off and die in a ditch (indirectly) more times in Iowa than anywhere else. The job market SUCKS outside of those fields, and in IC it is ruled by nepotism because there are so few people coming from outside unless they have already accepted a job.

It is true that the state is sticky. Children are shamed for wanting to leave, and few people from other areas decide to move there. When my wife and I announced that we were moving some "friends" became very upset that we would leave Iowa and demanded to know when we would be returning. They couldn't understand that Iowa was a swing and a miss on the vast majority of the things we felt were important to our lives. Some of those things: Decent winter weather, decent summer weather, low humidity, low property taxes, reasonable house prices, great views, access to club stores, a good job market (Not in IT), access to good deals on higher education, being able to drive places and actually park at the destination, low income taxes, racial diversity, reasonable prices on services/goods, bugs (less is preferred), nepotism (less is preferred), access to an airport (to visit family). If I really took the time I could put together a longer list -- but those are all areas that I felt IC fell short of our desires and where we could find a much better deal by moving. Moving to DM would've improved the job market substantially, IDK about education (didn't check Iowa State Master's tuition), nepotism, airport, housing prices, and being able to park at our destination. That's certainly a large improvement, but we still found much better options as a whole when we started looking out of state.

I guarantee you, I know the job market **** well, and in IC, it sucks.

To the OP: I never thought to ask about your race. There is a very strong under current of racism against black people throughout IC.