Comments on: You Don’t Need Six Figures: The Financial Realities of Living in Iowa

By: Jill

Jill — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:45:33 +0000

I should also add that although I am a fan of Chicago, I am not a fan of the Chicago suburbs even though I grew up there. I now live on the city’s north side and love it. If I had to move away from Chicago, I would pick Iowa City over a Chicago suburb in a heartbeat.

By: Jill

Jill — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:24:11 +0000

I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago but have family in Iowa. I spent a month every summer with my grandma in my mom’s tiny home town (no stop lights!) and always loved my time there. I often get homesick for that town even though I never actually lived there. I still visit every year and always feel like I have come home. There is nothing better than sitting on the porch swing chatting, snacking and having some drinks while waving to every car that goes by.

I went to school at the University of Iowa and loved the four years I lived in Iowa City. It is a great town with plenty of great restaurants and culture. My husband and I almost moved there when a job opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, we needed to stay in Chicago to be closer to a family member with health problems. Although we love Chicago and love the culture that living in the city provides our kids, we often think about what it would have been like to have moved to Iowa City.

Where you live is certainly a personal choice but it always amazes me to see how people who have never been somewhere can judge it. Iowa is a beautiful place with beautiful and kind people. That is not to say that everything is perfect there but no place is perfect and there will always be people you encounter that are not worth your time. I have traveled all over the country (NY, PA, NJ, MN, MI, WI, IN, FL, CA, AZ, WA, DC, GA, NE, MO, OH, TX, AK, UT) and have found something to like about every place I have visited. However, I can honestly say that Iowa is my tied for my favorite place to live along with Chicago. I would truly be happy living in either place.

By: Teri Davis Newman

Teri Davis Newman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:05:05 +0000

I live in a small town in rural Illinois and I agree with the Iowa plan–I wish I lived there as the taxes in IL are insane–ONE THIRD of my house payment is frigging TAXES and I have no children so the excellent schools make no difference to me, but they do attract an affluent white population as we are 34 minutes from downtown St. Louis but the demographics here (courtesy US Census Bureau) are 99.1% White, .04% Asian, .04% Hispanic, .01% African American and .01% Other. This translates to a crime rate so low that people don’t lock their doors or cars, no prepay at the gas pumps needed, no need to worry about being out after dark and if you get so much as a PARKING TICKET your name will be in the bi-weekly newspaper. I love it here and I am close enough to the Lou to make a living there (I’m a wedding planner) and still have the small town life.

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:57:48 +0000

true that moving can really change costs, and also quality of life. My sister recently relocated from New Jersey (where she had moved as a Katrina refugee) to Colorado Springs: taking a 25% cut in headline salary but getting a 40% increase in disposable income after housing and utilities costs (mainly by paying rent of $1000 pm for a 4 bed 2 bath home rather than $2000 for 3 bed 1 bath in NJ). And swapping a 30 minute commute on an over-crowded highway for a 5 minute drive on clear suburban roads!
And I still live in the UK- with some of the highest living costs in the world

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:28:56 +0000

True, Iowans are everywhere. I know of a few teaching in North Korea right now also. And everywhere I’ve lived, in many different towns and states, I will run into someone from Iowa, and they will talk about their hometown fondly, and almost always, they say they plan to move back there someday. Iowa can’t be all that boring if everyone wants to move back there, even after seeing the world! I am moving back there this Spring to raise our daughter and be closer to my husband’s family. I was born and raised in Northern CA. I like Iowa. Yes it can get very cold and gray and sometimes be a bit too quiet, but once you learn to embrace that lifestyle, going back to the crowded city life doesn’t sound appealing to me at all.

By: Laurel Wetzel

Laurel Wetzel — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:36:51 +0000

But you have to remember a lot of good people and things come from Iowa. Like Curt Warner, quarterback for the Cardinals in his 3rd Superbowl tomorrow, Johny Carson, John Wayne, Field of Dreams the movie, Bridges of Madison Count the movie, Fist, the Movie. We are always guaranteed to have changing seasons of weather and when you are used to that you almost always come back to Iowa for that. (Any way I did). Once and Iowan, always an Iowan no matter where we live and move and roam. You will see us all around the world. I know of one that is in Malaysia right at this very moment.

By: Accroyer

Accroyer — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:26:55 +0000

I have read all of these comments and there are lots of valid points. I grew up in Los Angeles but have lived everywhere (Cleveland,D.C., Baltimore, Las Vegas, Dallas, Portland(OR), Seattle,Montreal,Biloxi,Vancouver (B.C.). Each place had certain qualities (except for Cleveland) that made them unique.I think a major factor people are missing is the current economic situation we are in. this will dictate where we will migrate too. I believe that many people will move to more rural areas in the future as major cities cut back on employment opportunities and crime escalates. Food, energy, cost of living will play into this also, people will move where they can survive.

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:50:38 +0000

Must be real exciting watching that corn grow!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:04:06 +0000

I have a love-hate relationship with the state. I attend school in Chicago, my bf in Des Moines. I’ll probably end up in Iowa after graduation. Partially because of him, partially because I’m scared to death to try to get a PR job in Chicago and really don’t want to become a corporate slave. If things work out, we’re thinking of Northwest IN – lower taxes, but still close to Chicago.

My only qualm with Des Moines is actually West Des Moines. I’ve only spent a little time in Des Moines (he tends to come back to Chicago), but W. Des Moines seems to be nothing but a consumer orgy, with not much in downtown Des Moines.

By: John

John — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:36:37 +0000

Iowa does suck, but it grows on you. Been in Iowa City for 4 years, for school of course, then I’m out of here. Could be worse I guess, we could be in the south dakota.

By: SBT

SBT — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:20:20 +0000

I love Iowa City. It’s a terrific cultural center, more racially diverse than most of Iowa, and has the best schools in the universe.

BUT TRENT, YOU WERE’NT SUPPOSED TO TELL!!!

By: Raphael

Raphael — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:06:15 +0000

You should check out Fairfield Iowa down in the southeast sometime.
Inexpensive iowa lifestyle, big culture. Over 50 restaurants in a city of approx. 10,000. Monthly “first friday’s art walk” http://www.fairfieldartwalk.com/

Don’t know where in iowa you are, but if you get a chance stop on by.

By: K

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:31:46 +0000

I have lived in Iowa my entire life and have never suffered from lack of transportation…I have never suffered from lack of coffee shops, restaurants, music venues, opera, ballet, you name it. We do have people from all over the world where I come from in Iowa. Yes, living here is much cheaper than a lot of places and I am thankful for that. When you piss and moan about how boring the state is and how we have “nothing to do or see”, please do the collective population of this state a giant favor and go somewhere else. We don’t need you. As for comments from the peanut gallery about Iowa sucking and being full of drunken college students in the university towns, take a good hard look at your own school. And hey Minnesota, we couldn’t care less about this contest you guys seem to “try” to have with us. Do you think if we don’t acknowledge they exist, they’ll go away? Iowa schools are some of the best in the nation, so please, don’t go by what they say online or what’s in the newspaper as far as ratings. Do your own search, find your own truth. Even if the kids don’t want to stay here, it’s their loss. My state is wonderful, be it rural or city life…you really have to make your own fun and not worry about what other big places do. Who cares? If you really wanted to be there, you would.

By: Someone

Someone — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:51:28 +0000

Everything in the midwest (or most rural or suburban areas) seems to be so automobile-centric: like your life has to revolve entirely around your car. I like not having to own a car, and factoring in having to buy a car, I don’t see how my total cost of living would be any better in the midwest.

I refuse to move to an area that’s so automobile centric that I’d have a difficult time getting by without one– it would be too big a decrease in quality of life from being able to walk places, like I do now.

By: wendy

wendy — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:37:20 +0000

I took my last vacation to Iowa. Everybody I knew looked at me like I was nuts when I said I was going to IOWA for my vacation. I came into the state by the quad cities, went up to Dubuque, diagonaled to Des Moines and had a grand time.

My only regret was I didn’t have more time to keep going kinda in a number 8 loop and hit the SW and NW areas also.

I just rambled around from one town to the next hitting big ones and small ones and I LOVED IOWA.
wendy

By: boardmadd

boardmadd — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:07:21 +0000

I’ve had the opportunity to watch the “small” town I grew up in become a fairly big town (Danville, CA), I lived in San Francisco for many years, and I now live in a suburb of San Francisco. One thing that has proven to be very interesting is that, while it’s a challenge, I am able to make a life here in the Bay Area for myself and my family for about $60K per year. It’s not a flush life, and we have to make sacrifices and live frugally, but overall we do pretty good. One of the reasons we live where we do is the fact that my wife wants to stay close to her family (only child of only family in the area, thus staying here is *really* important to her). However, I’m not married to this location, and would be willing to relocate if the circumstances were favorable and made sense (we may well follow our kids when they grow up and decide to abandon the Bay Area, which I think is a pretty good bet at the rate that prices are today and likely may be in the future).

By: BradM

BradM — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:22:59 +0000

I grew up in a small town in Canada (8000 people) and moves south of LA (orange county) about 4 years ago. I can’t imagine moving back to the small city. I enjoy never seeing the same people, and never having to deal with the small town BS (Excuse my French)

I would do it if I really had to, but I’d have to change my entire life. Quit my job, divorce my wife and give away my dog. So I have to pass, though it IS enticing. ;)

By: tightwadfan

tightwadfan — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:36:03 +0000

plonkee and monica-

my husband grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and from what he says there is room to be yourself. HOWEVER, what he hated is that everyone knows everybody else’s business. He still talks about that as the main reason he doesn’t want to live in a small town. His mother still lives there and she admits that it’s probably her biggest dislike.

By: SmurfyHoser

SmurfyHoser — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:19:31 +0000

KoryO,

For Sushi, in Iowa City try Formosa. I’m not even much of a sushi fan but loved loved loved it there.

http://formosadowntown.com/

The Iowa City end of the Corridor (with Cedar Rapids at the other end) tends to have the more eclectic food choices – Devotay and Linn St Cafe and many many more. Cedar Rapids has a handful of decent eateries, but not nearly what IC does.

joanE, the eastern iowa airport in cedar rapids is maybe 15 or 20 minutes away and has connections to about everything, including minneapolis and chicago that i presume you’d use. it’s a perfectly sized airport, too, easy to get in and out of, rarely are there lines (i fly thru there a couple times a month and you can arrive 40 min before your flight, no problem).

By: Heidi

Heidi — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:52:56 +0000

It makes me sad to see so many people knocking my home state. I have traveled the world – spent time in Hong Kong and nearly a year in Chicago – and I love Iowa. I love that I have never had to buy sweetcorn or pumpkins (my Dad is a farmer). I love that there are only a few perfect 70 degree days a year (makes you appreciate them more). I love that the people are nice, the air is clean, and that my neighbor’s know my dog’s name.

I know that we don’t have oceans or moutains – but that’s what makes us so smart. I read somewhere that Iowans are more well-read and well-traveled than those from other parts of the US. It’s not because we’re all dying of boredome -It’s because we’re aware that the world is bigger than our little corner of it, and we want to see it and know about it.

I live, in Iowa, within a mile of an Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and French restuarant, there is an excellent community playhouse just down the street, five coffee shops (one starbuck’s) on my way to work, and three concert venues within biking distance, and to top it all off – my commute to work is less than ten minutes (at a job where I make over $80k annually + bonus). There is a ten acre dog park nearby wonderful bike trails and a nature preserve. I came here kicking and screaming (I was think I’d land NY or the Twin Cities), but staying in Iowa is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.