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And I take it I am not allowed to have my own opinion ?
I was not aware that this forum was a monarchy and you its tyrant.
Oh come on now, guys. You're both right.
As a southern Iowan myself, I can tell you that it is a beautiful area, good for families and very safe. On the other hand, I can also tell you that it is also the poorest and most economically challenged are of the state too.
The small town schools in Iowa are (with a few exceptions) very good. However, the smaller districts might not have the resources to work with your son that a bigger city might have. (I'm sure you know that already, though.)
The job market in SE Iowa isn't great, but it isn't great anywhere. I think unemployment in that area is somewhere around 8-10%, where the rest of Iowa is about 6-7%. So you might have to work at finding a job.
There typically aren't a whole lot of rental properties in smaller towns in Iowa, and they don't typically advertise a whole lot. If the job starts looking serious, you might want to ask a local at the prison--locals usually know who to talk to.
Weather is likely to be similar to W. Michigan, but a bit hotter and more humid in the summer and a bit less cold and snow in the winter. (But you probably knew that already, too.)
We moved from Lansing to the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area two years ago (and still go back to Michigan every few months). Weather-wise, here it is a little less pleasant than Michigan--hotter and more humid in the winter, colder and icier (but less snowy) in the winter, and more "extreme" events--tornadoes, flash-floods, ice storms and so forth. Now, folks tell me that the past two winters are not representative (not to mention last year's flood!), but in general we get the weather here about a day and a half ahead of my parents in Lansing, and it's usually about 5 degrees harsher than what they get. The big plus is that it is much sunnier in the winter than mid-Michigan--none of those months where you never see the sun at all. Also the thunderstorms are terrific, and the sunsets can be fabulous. The light around here in the evening is a gorgeous, buttery yellow, and the weather and vistas lend themselves to spectacular rainbows and even snowbows.
As for the economy, Iowa is in the recession along with the rest of the country, but it is still a lot better off than Michigan, at least in this part of the state. Folks are a little worried, there have been a few small-scale lay-offs here and there, but most folks are still secure in their jobs. I don't know exactly what the hiring situation is, though--a lot of businesses are in kind of a battening-down-the hatches mode. I imagine there are still sales jobs to be had, but they might take more searching.
State taxes are similar to Michigan, at least in the tax brackets with which I'm familiar, but calculated rather differently (there's this complicated thing with taxing last year's refund)--also, we've had trouble getting the withholding right. State sales tax is lower than Michigan, but we have a local-option tax that makes it the same. Property taxes in our small town are lower than in Lansing, but people around here complain that they are very high.
We quite like Iowa, and I suspect you would too--good luck with your decision, and if you do make the move, welcome!
Thank you, Nedibes, that was very helpful Taxes where I am at are atrocious (we live on one of the counties on the shores of Lake Michigan and the multi-million dollar vacation homes are driving the regular property taxes through the roof!). I told my husband last night that no matter where we land, it cannot possibly be worse than Michigan is right now. Unemployment is unreal, taxes just got jumped by another 8% in my neighborhood on property, and the utilities are charging paying customers to cover the unpaid bills. Now Insurance companies are charging an extra amount of money to cover the cost of two people who have 24 hour care from auto accidents. It's unreal, and we can't afford it anymore. We need out!!!
Please see my posts regarding Fort Madison. We just relocated here from Arizona. In short, I really like it here. It is small though and depending on the kind of work you do you may be commuting. As for taxes - I was surprised that state income tax is almost double Arizona. This made a big difference when comparing my husband's raise and negotiating salary. I don't know alot about the schools because I have preschoolers but I'm told Fort Madison is very good and that the county school outside of Fort Madison (which has open enrollment) is excellent. There is also a very good Catholic school I'm told. If you have other specific questions feel free to post - I don't get on here much but I'll try to check back. OH - the renting vs buying thing. Not a lot of rentals around here - at least not that were what we were looking for. We do have an excellent realtor if you're interested.
If you end up visiting Fort Madison, we could give you a little tour. Let me know if you end up this way. We've visited Mt. Pleasant but not enough to have an opinion really.
Reading some of these posts is too funny. If anyone from Iowa doesn't think Southeast Iowa does not have the worst economy in the state is a fool or just uneducated. The uneducated explanation would make the most sense being that SE Iowa regionally the worst performing schools when look at High School graduation rates and College Graduation rates. The median income and per capita income is very low also. What’s interesting is the cost of living isn't reflected in the low wages. Homes are expensive relative to the area because very few new homes are built (low supply) causing prices to remain artificially low. Sure it might be a pretty area if you like looking at corn fields; god knows you will have plenty of time to stare out into nowhere because this area is limited on any activity’s. If I were going to move for scenery I would choose somewhere like: (Colorado, Florida, California) not SE Iowa. Some of these people posting might not know these place exist because they can't afford to leave the area or just don't read much. You would think you could get a good steak in this area. Not true, most restaurants serve Ribeyes. No filet or Prime Cuts of meat here, not that anyone around SE Iowa would know what that is because they are too poor to buy quality meat. I travel all over the country for business and over the past 5 years spent a reasonable amount of time in the Burlington, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Mount Pleasant area. They are all truly bad. Fairfield might be the only light in the dark, for some reason there are a few places to eat that are not half bad. But it’s still fairly dumpy compared to other parts of the country. Call me a snob, but I am comparing these towns to what I see nationally. If some of you in SE Iowa don’t like it clean up your towns, get some more education, replace your city leaders. Don’t get mad at those of us who can see the blight and misfortune in your area. We are trying to inform you of how disfuctional your towns are. FIX IT, don’t cry! If you are moving to Iowa, the Des Moines area is full of opportunity. Even Council Bluffs outside of Omaha is booming. SE Iowa is truly the armpit of Iowa. It's similar to Detroit but smaller and with less opportunity!
I actually work for the Iowa Department of Corrections so I may be able to give you a bit of insight. The Iowa DOC is in a huge changing process as most corrections are in the United States. WE are going to the more "gentle" rather than lock them up and throw the key away mindset. A lot more treatment oriented. I myself grew up around the Cedar Rapids/Dubuque area and love the area. The Anamosa State Penetentiary is around that area and a lot of people from Dubuque and Cedar Rapids commute to that prison. The Iowa State Penetentiary in Fort Madison is in the process of hiring for their new maximum security prison that is just finishing up being built. Mount Pleasant is down around that area too. I actually work at Oakdale or Iowa Medical and Classification Center. Been here for 6 years and lived in the Iowa City area for 5 years. Out of all the areas with prisons-Iowa City has the best schools-particularly Iowa City West High. But-the taxes are astronomical in Johnson and Linn counties. Jones county where Anamosa is located is almost half of Linn and Johnson county for taxes. Fort Madison in Henry county has fairly reasonable taxes and the cost of living is very cheap. It's an old river town but the people are very friendly. Mount Pleasant is an old town as well with friendly people. And also on the flipside-Mitchellville home of the Iowa Women's Prison will be hiring a large pool of corrections officers due to the women's reception center being built as we speak. It will be opening around the first of next year. They will be hiring probably 20-50 officers. I would be glad to answer any corrections questions or anything else you may have.
Reading some of these posts is too funny. If anyone from Iowa doesn't think Southeast Iowa does not have the worst economy in the state is a fool or just uneducated. The uneducated explanation would make the most sense being that SE Iowa regionally the worst performing schools when look at High School graduation rates and College Graduation rates. The median income and per capita income is very low also. What’s interesting is the cost of living isn't reflected in the low wages. Homes are expensive relative to the area because very few new homes are built (low supply) causing prices to remain artificially low. Sure it might be a pretty area if you like looking at corn fields; god knows you will have plenty of time to stare out into nowhere because this area is limited on any activity’s. If I were going to move for scenery I would choose somewhere like: (Colorado, Florida, California) not SE Iowa. Some of these people posting might not know these place exist because they can't afford to leave the area or just don't read much. You would think you could get a good steak in this area. Not true, most restaurants serve Ribeyes. No filet or Prime Cuts of meat here, not that anyone around SE Iowa would know what that is because they are too poor to buy quality meat. I travel all over the country for business and over the past 5 years spent a reasonable amount of time in the Burlington, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Mount Pleasant area. They are all truly bad. Fairfield might be the only light in the dark, for some reason there are a few places to eat that are not half bad. But it’s still fairly dumpy compared to other parts of the country. Call me a snob, but I am comparing these towns to what I see nationally. If some of you in SE Iowa don’t like it clean up your towns, get some more education, replace your city leaders. Don’t get mad at those of us who can see the blight and misfortune in your area. We are trying to inform you of how disfuctional your towns are. FIX IT, don’t cry! If you are moving to Iowa, the Des Moines area is full of opportunity. Even Council Bluffs outside of Omaha is booming. SE Iowa is truly the armpit of Iowa. It's similar to Detroit but smaller and with less opportunity!
There's so much wrong with this post that I'm not even going to try to address it all. I'm just going to say that if you want a better cut of meat in Southeast Iowa you might want to try someplace besides Ryan's Steakhouse and Sirloin Stockade.
Last edited by duster1979; 08-14-2013 at 09:41 AM..
TommyG, You haven't seen blight and misfortune anywhere else you have traveled? I'd say there is plenty of it scattered here and there around the country. It's easy to say fix it as you drive through, much harder to actually think of and implement logical solutions. Yes, those places you mentioned have more natural beauty but they are also far from perfect.
There's so much wrong with this post that I'm not even going to try to address it all. I'm just going to say that if you want a better cut of meat in Southeast Iowa you might want to try someplace besides Ryan's Steakhouse and Sirloin Stockade.
What I don't get is why he went to the trouble of digging up a four-year-old thread to file his grievances with SE IA.
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Taxes where I am at are atrocious (we live on one of the counties on the shores of Lake Michigan and the multi-million dollar vacation homes are driving the regular property taxes through the roof!). I told my husband last night that no matter where we land, it cannot possibly be worse than Michigan is right now. Unemployment is unreal, taxes just got jumped by another 8% in my neighborhood on property, and the utilities are charging paying customers to cover the unpaid bills. Now Insurance companies are charging an extra amount of money to cover the cost of two people who have 24 hour care from auto accidents. It's unreal, and we can't afford it anymore. We need out!!!
