Possibly retiring in Iowa

[nidena]

I'll be retiring from the military in just over four years and am considering Iowa as one of my options to settle down. I've been to Council Bluffs and Altoona to visit because my best friend lived there. She's now further north of Altoona and she and her family are part of the reason that I'm considering Iowa. I have no hubby or kids and my family all lives on the west coast. I've seen parts of Des Moines but feel it's too crowded for me. I was thinking either Davenport/Quad Cities or Iowa City. Would love to have input about any/all cities with populations between 30,000 and 100,000.

[MN-Investor]

There's a very good website you should check out - www.city-data.com/city/Iowa.html. They have scads of information about every city in the U.S. It's a good starting point.

I lived in Iowa from 7th grade through college. It's a good state.

[nidena]

MN-Investor: yep, it's a starting point. I read quite a bit on there this week. I think I'm leaning towards Ames. I wonder if my growing up in California and being stationed in Washington, Okinawa, and Delaware will have prepared me for the midwest? lol.

[dancinmama]

Feb 24, 2012 9:26:41 GMT -5 nidena said:

MN-Investor: yep, it's a starting point. I read quite a bit on there this week. I think I'm leaning towards Ames. I wonder if my growing up in California and being stationed in Washington, Okinawa, and Delaware will have prepared me for the midwest? lol.

All I can say is brrrrrrrr.

[Sam_2.0]

Trent from SD is from Ames, I believe And there is your random fact of the day.

I am from MO. Been to IA several times, but never lived there, so I can't really give any advice. I know we have several posters here from IA though. Hopefully they all chime in.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

All I can say is brrrrrrrr

Not really. I'll still take Iowa over North Dakota.

I live in Council Bluffs so I am not really considered "part of Iowa" by hte rest of the state. I like living here, the COL is reasonable and I am only a few minutes away from Omaha.

It's big enough that we aren't a middle of no where farm town but isn't as big as Des Moines, it is a decent middle ground town, IMO.

I don't know much about the state beyond that to be honest, I know more about Nebraska than I do Iowa!

[MittenKitten]

Hope you like corn.

Never lived in IA but have stayed there.

Minnesota has some nice cities. We have 17000 in our city but Maple Grove not far away has like 30,000 and I can drive there in 25 minutes. Plenty of people here I am 45 minutes away from downtown Minneapolis if I need to go there, 45 minutes from Mall of America/airport but really everything I need is within 10-15 minutes. And I don't have to deal with traffic

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Hope you like corn.

Hey, not all of us live by corn fields thank you very much!

[MN-Investor]

I think I'm leaning towards Ames.

If I were thinking of moving to Iowa, I would investigate both Ames and Iowa City. They have the vibrancy of college towns and are both close to larger cities (Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, respectively). I know that Des Moines has had a low level of unemployment, which is a good thing for an area.

And don't knock the corn! We have great corn in late summer in the upper Midwest!

[Deleted]

Hi
I live in Des Moines. I was born in Iowa City and my family moved to Des Moines when I was 7. I attended college on the East Coast, lived in NYC and returned to Iowa City for law school.
So I have lived in Iowa most of my adult life. I imagine there are both better and worse places to live. Winters can be very, very cold or mild such as this year.(North Dakota is worse-my sister lives there) Summers are hot and humid.
COLA is fairly low.

Iowa City is a great small city in which to live. Due to the presence of the University, tons of activities exist. Hancher Auditorium brings a lot of theater, Prairie Life Bookstore is nationally recognized and the University sponsors many programs.

Although I have never lived in Ames, I have spent some time there. Personally, I prefer Iowa City- both parents and two siblings and I attended the U of I so I am a bit biased.

[nidena]

I'm not specifically seeking out college towns. I'll be just over the hill when I retire (turn 40 May 2016 and retire sometime between April and November of that same year) so I'm looking for a slightly older crowd with a leaning towards more males than females that are my age. I've looked at the average age for most of the cities and they all hover around my current age so I consider that a good thing. I don't have any desire to live in the Dakotas though I may visit because I've got friends there (that's the military for you...friends end up in the most random places).
I like Council Bluffs proximity to Omaha (love Westroads Mall and that other shopping center where Cheeseburger in Paradise is) but I don't want to live there. Like I said, my best friend lived in CB for just under a decade. She moved to Altoona a few years ago and has since moved again so that her husband has a shorter commute. I think they live between Altoona and Marshaltown. She has given me the big thumbs down on Marshaltown and, from what I've read about it, I'm tending to agree with her.
I've been to Bloomington, MN--went there for a Cher concert and visited the MofA while there--but I don't want to live there. That's a little too far north for me.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Crescent is a nice place to live. It's right next to Omaha and Council Bluffs.

[nidena]

Feb 24, 2012 11:09:22 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Crescent is a nice place to live. It's right next to Omaha and Council Bluffs.

I would prefer to be no more than an hour or so from where my friend lives. That way if we want to meet up for lunch, we can. Haven't been able to do that since 1999.

[murphath]

nidena:
I'm an east coast and midwest transplant to California. Iowa is a great state but the weather would truly not be my cup of tea. Shoveled enough snow to last a lifetime. But I guess it is a good COL area. There's a reason Calif is more expensive and it's the weather. Perhaps it's my age, but I couldn't live anywhere else. Can't take the cold in winter and can't stand the heat/humidity in summer. Do like to visit other states (especially the Dakotas) in spring and fall.

There was a gal (Jenny's mom) who used to participate on the boards that moved from Calif. to Iowa a year or two back. Haven't seen her post in a very looong time. She seemed to like it after first moving there. I think she's a little outside Des Moines.
Good luck with your decision.

[formerroomate99]

If she's in a college town, it probably wouldn't be hard to find somebody to shovel snow. Bad weather is an issue, but less so if you're an indoorsy person.

[zibazinski]

Get a duplex and have your tenant shovel as part of rent!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Invest in a snowblower, takes cleaning the sidewalk down to mere minutes, even in the worst blizzards. My dad has one we can borrow but someday I plan on owning one ourselves. Especially handy when the damn plow comes by and buries yoru driveway.

[MittenKitten]

Hey no offense to IA, just normal neighborly state stuff! ;D The part I was in was BORING but hey there is more to a state then a city or two.

I wouldn't live in Bloomington MN either. I did live there for 2 years and grew up 10 minutes from MOA but it wasn't built when I was growing up. Just wouldn't live in that area again. Plus everything is more crowded then I like.

I can see why people don't want to live in MN, I always give my family crap about staying here lol.

[queenofcorona]

Depends what you're looking for. As you know Davenport is part of the Quad Cities: Davenport IA, Bettendorf IA, Rock Island IL and Moline IL. The Mississippi River separates the states but the 4 towns/cities are pretty interwoven due to their close proximity.

There's plenty to stuff for someone in their 40's (and beyond) to do - Water activities on the river, great summer festivals, Figge Art Complex, Adler Theater, Minor League baseball, hockey & arena football teams, okay shopping, riverboat gambling, bike paths, running clubs, etc.

If you're looking to take any classes after you separate service, you'd find plenty of options in the QC's: St. Ambrose University, Augustana College, Western IL Univ.-QC Campus, and several community colleges.

Night Life - a couple of my fave places in Davenport are Front Street Brewery and Great River Brewery (crowds aren't super young), Rock Island offers The District (variety of places, including Blue Cat Brew Pub), and Moline offers I-Wireless Arena and Bent River Brewery. I think I've told you all you need to know (brewery locations! ) for the Davenport/QC area.

P.S. I'm older than you'll be in 4 years - 44 (so way over the hill) and reside about 45 min. south of the IL side of the QC's.
P.S.S. Cost of living is pretty low (more so in a small town like where I am), but the weather can suck. This winter has been awesome, but it can get miserably cold and miserably hot. Though I like having 4 distinguishable seasons.
P.S.S.S. The female/male ratio .... I'm signed up on on online dating site and the majority of men who contact me are from the QC's. I'm a little ways away, so they must be hard up for women.

[queenofcorona]

Message deleted by queenofcorona.
*couldn't get a pic to post*

[lynda in iowa]

I live in a river town just south of the Quad Cities, and if I had to do it over again, I would move there in a heartbeat. Too old now, and my job/family/friends are in my town. But, I LOVE to go to the "Cities"...so much to do! And lots of quiet neighborhoods, too, if you prefer that. Although in the downtowns, lots of historic, old buildings near the river in the downtown are being re-purposed into beautiful apartments and lofts with spectacular river views.

[servant_of_dog]

I grew up in MN, spent 15 years in a college town in WI, visited Iowa City two years ago for one of my best friend's wedding, and was utterly charmed by it. College towns tend to have more cultural events - if you're interested in that stuff - than non- college towns/cities of comparable size.

[nidena]

Feb 24, 2012 11:41:20 GMT -5 murphath said:

nidena:
I'm an east coast and midwest transplant to California. Iowa is a great state but the weather would truly not be my cup of tea. Shoveled enough snow to last a lifetime. But I guess it is a good COL area. There's a reason Calif is more expensive and it's the weather. Perhaps it's my age, but I couldn't live anywhere else. Can't take the cold in winter and can't stand the heat/humidity in summer. Do like to visit other states (especially the Dakotas) in spring and fall.

There was a gal (Jenny's mom) who used to participate on the boards that moved from Calif. to Iowa a year or two back. Haven't seen her post in a very looong time. She seemed to like it after first moving there. I think she's a little outside Des Moines.
Good luck with your decision.

There is no way that I would move back to California on my choice. Living there for 18 years was more than enough for me. lol. I didn't know that JennysMom moved to Iowa. I will have to email her to see if she still uses the same email address.
I've suffered through the 110+ degrees in Cali and the 90%+ humidity here on the east coast and have been to Iowa during the summer. It seems to be a nice medium. I'm sure there are days that will be miserable but that should help me appreciate the good. I'm not really looking forward to the winter but, thankfully, it doesn't snow year round and it doesn't snow "meters" of snow.
Someone mentioned breweries...I can't stand the taste of beer so I may have to go to those purely for the scenery.
I am looking for the "things to do" aspect of the various towns. Museums, live music (that doesn't blow your eardrums), wine tastings, little shops to browse through, that kind of thing.

[murphath]

There is no way that I would move back to California on my choice. Living there for 18 years was more than enough for me. lol. I didn't know that JennysMom moved to Iowa. I will have to email her to see if she still uses the same email address. I've suffered through the 110+ degrees in Cali and the 90%+ humidity here on the east coast and have been

You must have been stationed in one of the desert areas: by Needles or Bakersfield? I wouldn't live there either. My little town in Norcal rarely goes above 100--maybe 3x. It's usually high 80's-mid-90's. Winters are mild--especially this last one. We need to start doing a rain dance!

[nidena]

Actually, I'm from the grand metropolis of Fresno or, as I like to call it, "Little L.A." Been all over the place visiting when I was a kid. The only place that I didn't get to was San Diego and I'm okay with that. Seen enough of L.A., Salinas, Monterey, Fresno, Clovis, Blythe, San Jose, and Frisco, and most places in between to last a lifetime. I go back now just to visit.

[1wisdomseeker]

I grew up & graduated from High School in rural WestCentral Iowa. I've been in the military now for 20+ years.
I, also, would like to retire in Iowa but the frau won't let me.
If your looking for a great place to retire in Iowa, go to NW Iowa. Very inexpensive housing and good people. The Western side of Iowa has a negative population growth (just don't need as many farmers' kids to get the crops in). Again, inexpensive housing in some of the small communities.

[nidena]

1wisdomseeker: rural is not what I'm looking for. I have to have people around me nearby. If rural was my desire, I would have no problem moving to the little town that my best friend lives in. It has fewer than 3000 people. I couldn't live in a town that has fewer people than the total population of my high school. Thank you for the input though.

[phil5185]

I'll be just over the hill when I retire (turn 40 May 2016 and retire sometime between April and November of that same year) so I'm looking for a slightly older crowd with a leaning towards more males than females that are my age.

Have you ever been to Juneau, AK? If you're leaning toward males, the AK saying goes - 'the odds are good but the goods are odd'. But that applies more to the recluse trapper/dog sledder types - not Juneau. If you check the weather on a daily basis you'll see that it is seldom colder than Mpls - the coastal region is way warmer than central AK. (Personally I prefer Haines, great little town)

[cronewitch]

I like the beach in Haines, rocky but you can have fires. At least in Haines you aren't stuck on in island like Petersburg. I lived in Petersburg one summer and you have to have ferry fare to leave so when broke you are trapped and no jobs to be had. We had to wait until someone got sick so my ex could get his job to get money to leave. We both applied everywhere in town and there wasn't a single job for a non native of the town. I loved the harbor we would go watch the boats and feed the ravens crackers. You can fly the crackers like Frisbees and they will get them mid flight. They got to the rocky beaches and get clams then fly up and drop them to open them, cool birds.

[nidena]

I've been to Alaska for a two week trip for work. It's beautiful but truly too far away from family and friends. I like distance between us but not that much.