Is it me or just the people I have talked to so far?

[aw48203]

Originally Posted by nicolejc

Have you moved there yet or not? I am headed that way and could use a little like minded-ness for most of the same reasons

Me too. I'm moving back soon, if job offer comes sooner.

[misplaced1]

operaphantom2003,
I have been through Iowa but haven't lived there so I can't offer any help there but I did move from the west coast to a midwest small town with nothing but research on the internet and I had a wonderful time. We're back on the west coast due to health issues, not choice, and we'll be moving back to the midwest pretty darn soon.

I have found google street view to be a tremendous help in looking at neighborhoods online. I have actually been able to say nope wouldn't live there to a few places just by looking around the neighborhood on google.

The suggestion you were given about calling the sheriff dept and asking about crime is a super idea. I did that in one area and found the house was smack in the middle of what they called "the high crime area" of the city.

If the cities you are interested in have online newspapers, read them and see what goes on and read the court reports also because it can give you a good idea of what and where things are going on.

I fell totally in love with the boring, small town, midwest lifestyle.

[lefselady2]

I've lived in Iowa over 13 years and it is a great place to raise a family. We live in Indianola, which is a town of 13,000 (4 elem., 1 middle school, 1 HS) and I think we get the best of both worlds --small town life and bigger city options because we are only 20-30 minutes away from Des Moines. When we moved here we had several neighbors come over and welcome us to the neighborhood (cookies and all). I can see where some people might feel that especially smaller townspeople are less open to new friendships, but our family has not experienced that. We found our church to be very friendly, and I think it helped that I worked locally (in the schools) for a while. If you get involved in kid's activities, church, or community events, you will likely meet and make friends. Some school districts are better than others, but the great thing about Iowa is, you can apply to any district you would like through their open enrollment option (and although the receiving district has the option to decline, most accept additional students). Of course, you likely will have to provide your own transportation if going out of your neighborhood district, and I think open enrollment needs to be declared by a deadline near the beginning of the calendar year. But it gives you choices. There should be web information available to tell you about each district's educational "report card" and also you should be able to tell if a school is on the SINI list --"school in need of improvement". This doesn't give the entire picture, but can add to information you've already found. I like Iowa. I feel like my family is safer here than many other areas we've lived. There's no real traffic to complain about in the cities unless you are driving in a snowstorm or if there's been an accident. The only thing I haven't liked is the weather - too humid-- which makes summer hotter & winter colder. This will be a major change from living in any western state... And it doesn't have all the exciting tourist-y things that some states have, if that's a priority for you. I hope you find it a great place to call home!

[missikie]

My husband may have a job offer in the Le Mars area. We are currently in California. He was born in Iowa, I in California. However, I was raised on a farm in California. Yes, there are still a few. We hate the politics, expense, crime and poor education in this state. I have a 9 year-old son and want him to enjoy a great education and farm life. I understand I will definitely experience culture shock, but to you think we might me more welcome since my husband is originally from Iowa?