What do you love and hate about living in Iowa? (Des Moines: universities, income)

[PDXby7]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

The taxes are HIGH! There's a 5% sales tax and 1% tax for the schools throughout the state. And then there are the property taxes and high state income taxes.
HIGH corporate taxes, the highest in the nation actually. Don't expect Iowa to attract much new business in the future.
Extremely high cigarette taxes

I've been on here lately trying to get a feel for Iowa, too. We're moving from Oregon sometime in the next few months. Just gotta add my two cents.... Washington has a sales tax of somewhere around 8%, it may have gone up since I moved to Oregon a year ago.

Oregon has a 9% income tax rate....


5% is CHEAP! And I'm sure California is just as high, or higher, than Oregon or Washington.


As far as cigarette taxes... I say they raise them higher! Haha. I quit a couple years ago & I think that everyone should.

[Repubocrat]

I guess, Iowa could be renamed "South Minnesota". Very similar to Minnesota culturally and I really like it. Living in Des Moines is like living in Minneapolis minus the negatives (crime, traffic, high cost of living etc). For those who say Iowans are not friendly, are you freaking out of your MIND? Maybe if you moved to IA from another part of the country, you are experiencing culture shock but this place feels a lot like Minnesota, I really like it

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

The taxes are HIGH! There's a 5% sales tax and 1% tax for the schools throughout the state. And then there are the property taxes and high state income taxes.
HIGH corporate taxes, the highest in the nation actually. Don't expect Iowa to attract much new business in the future.
Extremely high cigarette taxes

But, if you dont mind high taxes and are married you might like it.

It's not really that extreme though compard to many states. Iowa is ranked 23rd as far as cigarette taxes, ranks 31st overall in state and local tax burden, 23rd in alcohol taxes, 24th in sales taxes, 15th in property taxes, 25th in effective state income taxes paid, and 1st in corporate taxes.

The corporate taxes are definitely bad, and property tax is in the top 30%, but overall the state isn't at the top of the overall worst taxed states.

[fadedgirl]

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

For those who say Iowans are not friendly, are you freaking out of your MIND?

To continue with the generalities...

Iowans are "friendly" in the strictest interpretation of the word: polite, well-mannered, kind to strangers, quick to smile, etc.

This is NOT the same thing as a population that is open to, or even remotely interested in, developing real "friendships" with newcomers.

[Persimmony]

Originally Posted by fadedgirl

This is NOT the same thing as a population that is open to, or even remotely interested in, developing real "friendships" with newcomers.

I don't know exactly where this perception comes from unless you're talking about a very rural area - even then I've lived in those areas and it doesn't seem that bad.

Whenever the people I know have met a "newcomer" it's just a part of the conversation when you meet them. For instance - when I meet someone from out of state and they seem like a cool person - I'm interested in where they came from - but from that point on it's just like talking to anyone else. Maybe other Iowans are different than me. I donno.

The only newcomers that get on my nerves are the ones that constantly complain about the boring scenery and cold weather.

[fadedgirl]

The perception comes from the fact that people mistake politeness/surface-friendliness with that of a willingness or desire to make new friends. And I agree its an easy assumption, but they are not the same thing, in Iowa or elsewhere. And I think that perhaps folks expect more from Iowans (or are harder on them) in this regard as a result.

[QuadCityImages]

When I meet someone new, "Are you from Iowa originally?" is rarely part of the conversation. But as people have said, maybe in more rural areas you get more of the "you aren't from around here" kind of thing.

[ronncee]

would if i could, i meam i am leaving but any body w/ common sense (that means non-iowans) know it takes a min. But really, I lived here for 8 years, it was fine in IC to start, then went to CR for work. U people are so self absorbed and self centered. People got the biggest mouths and couldnt beat their way out of a paper bag,(quick to call the cops if u give em grief back and they feel threatend)Was even told by some people that are from Iowa and visited the East Coast. They said the problem is that they are not as social or out going and the men are less masculine.HE HIT IT RIGHT ON THE HEAD,THATS WHY UR A FLY OVER STATE

[DMRyan]

Holy sh*t, he just nailed it right out of the park. The reason why Iowa is a flyover state and the reason why Iowans are such HIPOCRATS is because our men aren't masculine enough!

Now that we're aware of the REAL problem with this state, we can get to work on acting hard in front of friends and co-workers, not snitching to the po-lice, and walking down the street with a limp.

[El Rhino]

Yeah, y'all iz ig'nant.

Originally Posted by ronncee

if it wasnt for the college football team,their colleges wouldnt have half the prestigie,

Pray tell, Ronncee, how much attention do you pay to the fields of agricultural science, engineering, astronomy, physics, creative writing, law and journalism? While the public universities of Iowa may be short on "prestigie", they have quite a bit of prestige in the above-mentioned fields, regardless of how their team of half-witted "students" majoring in chasing balls around are doing.

...as far as questioning the masculinity of Iowa's males, I know we have one of the highest rates of military service and one of the highest rates of people serving in actual combat-related positions. Myself, for instance, I'm a Marine Corps combat veteran, but don't let that stop you from regaling me with your tales of bumping chests with native Iowans outside Cedar Rapids bars.


Other than that, thanks for sharing your opinion. It's post like these that keep us coming back day after day.