Learn Me: Iowa, apparently.

So it's beginning to look distinctly possible that a job opportunity could have me relocating to the Waverly, Iowa area. So, anybody know anything interesting or important about living in Iowa? 

Iowa, where East fades away and West tapers off.  Nothing productive to add, sorry. I've just blasted through it on I-80 more times than I can count.

Look for low and away...but watch out for in your ear.

I've been to Burlington and Middletown.  I did not enjoy the 100 yard walk from the parking lot to the facility I was visiting in January.  Nearest tree, as far as I could tell, was 20ish miles behind me back in Burlington.  No wind break sucks

Everybody I know who has lived there - ranging from smalltown mechanics to accountants to Princeton/Harvard Lawyers, and everything between, have really enjoyed Iowa and have nothing but good things to say. They're also all white, so take that for whatever you will. Don't interpret that as anything other than there is little diversity, in the sense of garlic may be considered spicy. 

That is all I know that is really worth mentioning here.

Hope you like corn

In reply to Appleseed :

I love that movie!

Living in grain growing country is a different thing.  I lived in Fernie, BC for a winter, which is right in the Elk Valley in the eastern Rockies, and it drove me nuts.  Except for a few hours in the middle of the day, in the shadow of mountains.  Couldn't tell whether it was going to blow in some rain six hours later.

Berkelying mountains got in the way of the view.  I like being able to see my dog run away for three days.

When my wife rode with me on her first 2-up Iron Butt Saddlesore 1,000, I mapped an easy 1,000 mile course from Chicago to Des Moines to Kansas City to St Louis, and back home.

When we were going through Iowa she stated "It's like Wisconsin without all the excitement".

She fell asleep at least 4 times on the back of my V65 Sabre during that trip.

 

The reason why native Americans who lived in the plains were nomadic is because there was nowhere worth stopping to live in the plains. 

I lived there, it's like living in any other rural area.... 

Only drove there once and it was in the summer , 

real hot  and sweaty  which might just be the midwest , 

and real nice people......

I drove through Iowa when I was traveling north from Kansas City to Minneapolis. My comment to my wife was "it was as exciting as I thought it would be."

" why does the missippi river flow south?"

"because Iowa sucks"

that's the running joke around here.   Waver let?It's a small rural area.  Waterloo is a little bigger.
 

 You'll be going to cedar or Iowa city for motor sports. Blackhawk is the closest track(Wisconsin). they autocross in cedar. 

I live in ruralish minnesota. I wouldn't move there, but from the people I know who live there they love it and won't move at all. Good place to raise a kid they say. 
 

mtn (Forum Supporter) said:

Don't interpret that as anything other than there is little diversity, in the sense of garlic may be considered spicy. 

There's one sushi place in Burlington, Iowa.  Its right next to the hotel I normally stayed at.  Every time I left for whatever reason I looked at it and wondered... well, everything.

corn fed wimmen

I live a stretch down the Cedar River from Waverly in Vinton-- about an hour's driving time.  If you want to find out more, I'm sure we can find a way to connect.  Classmate of my wife's is a veterinarian up there.

High school wrestling in Waverly is a pretty big deal-- they always do quite well at the state level.  To tell the truth, at least pre-COVID, high school sports are a pretty big deal in most of small town Iowa, though not Texas high school football level.

Waterloo/Cedar Falls will be the closest towns approaching significant size.  Cedar Falls is a university town, Waterloo is very blue collar-- the joke they hate is "Waterloo-- as seen on COPS!"

Politically/diversity-wise, Iowa has many flounder level issues at the moment, but you can get decent Mexican food anywhere there's a meat packing plant near by.  There is a certain native brand of humor which the (primarily) t-shirt store Raygun provides an excellent example-- it's where the COPS joke came from.

For some reason the sandwich of Iowa is the breaded pork tenderloin-- the tenderloin must be at least twice the diameter of the bun.  Not so great a BBQ here-- my assertion is that to do good BBQ, you have to start with lesser cuts of meat, which just isn't done around here.

Property tax burden can vary greatly by which county and/or school district you live in, and there is a state income and sales/use tax.  There are no state automobile inspection requirements, but license tags are expensive-- essentially 1% of what they mark as the car's sale price for the first 11 years, from new, then dropping to a nominal ~$50/yr by the 12th year.  Plus surcharges for hybrid and electric.  If you're buying property, also take a hard look at what's available as far as broadband.

Weather happens here, and it's whatever it is at the moment.  Winters can be pretty harsh and severe weather is primarily winds and flooding, with an occassional tornado tossed in for excitement-- the town of Parkersburg, just southeast of Waverly was pretty much wiped off the map in 2008.

Traffic is not an issue unless you get stuck behind a school bus or farm equipment, or get stopped at a railroad crossing.

Autocross/rallycross is run by the Iowa Region SCCA, and events are as close as Waterloo.  Des Moines Valley Region also runs a lot of events a little farther away.  Any road course driving is pretty much a minimum 4-5 hour drive.  Car shows/cruises can be a big deal summer weekend event in small Iowa towns.

We have some friends that moved to Des Moines as part of a job transfer.  They really like it. 

Hope it's not Terex.

I did a project in Charles City, a few years ago so I flew back and forth into Waterloo every few weeks for a few months.  Here is what I remember about the area:

1. Client staff was super friendly.  Great down to earth, middle America types.  One of the nicest batch of people I've ever worked with.  

2. The Waterloo airport was always an experience.  One room, with a glass wall down the middle.  One of those airports where the TSA person arrives 30 minutes before the flight, turns on the machine, and runs everyone through.  Food options = vending machine.

3. On a positive note, the rental car guy's cell phone number is on the counter, and he'll drive over whenever your flight arrives to give you your car rental even late at night.

4. Charles City was busy during some type of annual bicycle race.  Charles City went from small rural town, to packed wall to wall with bikers, and chase crews.  Roads blocked,  etc.  

wake74 said:

4. Charles City was busy during some type of annual bicycle race.  Charles City went from small rural town, to packed wall to wall with bikers, and chase crews.  Roads blocked,  etc.  

Yeah, that's RAGBRAI.  You'll find plenty about it if you google for it, including that there may now be two competing events due to political/leadership issues.  Not sure what the COVID cancellation state of it is for this year.

Takes a variable route across Iowa every July to prove to people that the state isn't really flat.  The results of the ride passing through a town is similar to a locust plague-- pretty much anything edible or drinkable has been consumed.

Maybe Iowa is a best kept secret.  My guess is it's a land of people who grew up there and plan to stay.  

In general, this thread is an interesting contrast to this Denver Thread which seems to largely say, "its a great place where many want to now be and that infux makes it hard to be there."  

Make moonshine. Plenty of corn around.

Also, because these are too good not to share---

Fueled by Caffeine said:

 

I live in ruralish minnesota. 

 

That explains alot.