****Hi there retired, looking at Decorah IA as possible retirement location

[KsStorm]

Oh and thanks so much 601 for all your awesome links!!

[steel03]

Originally Posted by KsStorm

Is there ample Natural places to escape to near Decorah? I must have woods, lake(s), places to escape Humans... Otherwise it sounds just wonderful!

Decorah is basically our version of a hippie mountain town.

[folkguitarist555]

Problem is in Decorah, there is hardly any housing inventory, I have looked high and low, just not many homes at least that I can find, that are for sale.

[atler8]

A shortage of housing seems to be a commonly-found problem in many small towns unfortunately.
But I did a search of the topic "Decorah real estate" & the first response site I visited had 36 listings of homes/units for sale.

[Movingrightalong...]

Decorah is a pretty nice town. Friendly folks. It's one of the more scenic areas of the state.

Just keep in mind that Iowa has a relatively high state income tax and high property taxes to go along with that so financially speaking it may not be the most-retiree friendly place if you're watching the budget. Also, utility bills in the state tend to run a little high partly because of the weather, partly because of the rates.

[folkguitarist555]

ok

[atler8]

I should have posted this earlier but I've read up on the state by state tax burden info & analysis found at The Tax Foundation web site which places Iowa squarely in the middle of the pack of the 50 states.
Additionally, info at that site noted that among the 50 states, Iowa's relative standing for tax burden has improved in recent years.
Another fact found there & elsewhere is that the property tax rate can vary widely among the municipalities & counties in the state but the overall average still places Iowa squarely in the middle when overall tax burden is measured. Some places indeed are quite high in their tax rate but conversely, there are many places that are low-taxed.
In the past there have been people who lived in one location in Iowa & posted here about their own tax burden experience as being indicative of the entire state, as in they have extrapolated that Iowa "is a high tax state" or that Iowa is a "low tax state."
Comparatively speaking, the truth is somewhere in the middle & thus very average.

[909er]

I'd rather live in a small town around Cedar Rapids / Iowa City than be so isolated as Decorah. It's nice and all, but too far from major urban area for the medical services you desire. Rochester has the Mayo Clinic but if you lived in Tiffin, Central City, Palo, Mount Vernon or Center Point, you would be small town very close to larger cities and the UI Hospitals.