Learn Me: Iowa, apparently.

Thanks for the input, everyone. 

Karacticus said:

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.

Interesting, I remember a couple things about being there when the passed through.  It seemed like every person in town was monetizing something.  From places to pitch a tent, take a pee, sell you breakfast, let you sleep in their camper, etc.  I was coming up to a crossroad where the bikers were passing, it had a cop, so I was expecting him to stop the bikes long enough for me to cross.  I was sorely mistaken about the priority on the road and his purpose :-)

Oh-- there's also a 1/4 mile dragstrip in the Cedar Falls area. 
 

In reply to wake74 :

Those cops also have the job of moving the riders along with the equivalent of "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here"

Oh, on the flatness of Iowa: 

I have been to Des Moines a couple of times and Ames twice. Illinois is flat. Iowa is rolling. 
 

I've been through a few times but never spent more than a few weeks.  I'll present this as a metaphor to avoid appearing political because I try not to judge anyone for their beliefs.

I love it, but I think I would tire of it very quickly.  I don't mind extremes; left/right, city/country, mountains/plains, but my brief experiences in Iowa seem to suggest that you get one flavor 24/7.  It's like listening to a radio station that plays only Tim McGraw.  If you love Tim McGraw, it's a great station.  If you like the occasional Emerson Lake and Palmer or Alicia Keys, maybe not the station for you.

A state like CA is like having 20 radio stations at your disposal ranging from Ranchero to Rap and Country to NPR.  States like Mississippi or Louisiana have just the Rush Limbaugh station, and states like Oregon and Washington only have the Vegan, gluten-free Yoga channel.

If you're good living in a one-channel, Tim McGraw state, do it.  If you crave variety, or if you are more of a R&B listener, it might not hold your interest.

mtn (Forum Supporter) said:

Oh, on the flatness of Iowa: 

I have been to Des Moines a couple of times and Ames twice. Illinois is flat. Iowa is rolling. 
 

It's all relative.  To me, PA with it's mountains is what I call "rolling."  Texas hill country has what they call "mountains," but to me they're a cute pile of rocks.  Out west, there are warnings on the highway for a 4% grade with water faucets for the uphill side and runaway truck ramps for the downhill side.  In PA, you have two-lane roads with switchbacks on a mountain and all you get is a tiny sign at the top of the hill that says "9% grade, trucks use lower gear."

I remember driving charter buses in PA and figuring out when to physically downshift the auto transmission to keep it in the sweet part of the torque curve.  Then when I drove in Mississippi, the other drivers insisted that the transmission knew what was best and every time we drove somewhere like Branson MO, they were miles behind me going uphill, or leaving a trail of brake smoke going downhill.

All relative.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been through a few times but never spent more than a few weeks.  I'll present this as a metaphor to avoid appearing political because I try not to judge anyone for their beliefs.

I love it, but I think I would tire of it very quickly.  I don't mind extremes; left/right, city/country, mountains/plains, but my brief experiences in Iowa seem to suggest that you get one flavor 24/7.  It's like listening to a radio station that plays only Tim McGraw.  If you love Tim McGraw, it's a great station.  If you like the occasional Emerson Lake and Palmer or Alicia Keys, maybe not the station for you.

A state like CA is like having 20 radio stations at your disposal ranging from Ranchero to Rap and Country to NPR.  States like Mississippi or Louisiana have just the Rush Limbaugh station, and states like Oregon and Washington only have the Vegan, gluten-free Yoga channel.

If you're good living in a one-channel, Tim McGraw state, do it.  If you crave variety, or if you are more of a R&B listener, it might not hold your interest.

From my limited experience there, this feels pretty correct.

I used to live a little further south in waterloo for about a year. For what it's worth, Only thing I remember is it's similar to Minnesota and they have plastic bottle tax/refunds.

My daughter is going to school there (well, in Iowa City) and loooooooves it. And yes the whole "a college town is not the same" and I agree, but she's spent a bunch of time in smaller town with friends and likes that even MORE. It's likely to be smaller, slower, whiter and more churchy than you're used to, and I can say that to anyone outside the midwest and I'm likely to be right because outside of the major cities it's smaller, slower, whiter, and more churchy than most of the rest of the country. 

I will note that your Kentucky accent will make you rather exotic to a percentage of the population that has spent VERY little time outside the midwest. 

I figure that Iowa is a lot like Ohio (the parts that are not Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati.)  Or, it's like Indiana without Indianapolis and Metro Chicago.  

I dipped into Zillow for the town you're considering.  This looks good by GRM standards: $170k for modest home but with 4 car garage and nearly 3 car free standing garage.  Located just 15 minutes from Waverly and 10 minutes to Cedar Falls.  Find yourself a nice local girl who finds you accent "exotic" and as a dual income couple, you could afford this house which should have a total house payment of about $1k per month. 

List of places to never move to:

1. Boulder/Denver. 
2. Iowa. 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been through a few times but never spent more than a few weeks.  I'll present this as a metaphor to avoid appearing political because I try not to judge anyone for their beliefs.

I love it, but I think I would tire of it very quickly.  I don't mind extremes; left/right, city/country, mountains/plains, but my brief experiences in Iowa seem to suggest that you get one flavor 24/7.  It's like listening to a radio station that plays only Tim McGraw.  If you love Tim McGraw, it's a great station.  If you like the occasional Emerson Lake and Palmer or Alicia Keys, maybe not the station for you.

A state like CA is like having 20 radio stations at your disposal ranging from Ranchero to Rap and Country to NPR.  States like Mississippi or Louisiana have just the Rush Limbaugh station, and states like Oregon and Washington only have the Vegan, gluten-free Yoga channel.

If you're good living in a one-channel, Tim McGraw state, do it.  If you crave variety, or if you are more of a R&B listener, it might not hold your interest.

If you have satellite radio you can listen to anything you want, anywhere you want. If you have internet access you can hook up with people who have the same interests anywhere else in the world. Now that more people can work from home or work from anywhere including places like Iowa, that will soon change places like Iowa. Silicon Valley people are on the move. After Covid, high housing prices and hordes of homeless in places like San Francisco and Los Angeles being in a big congested city is no longer a good thing. People are on the move and places like Iowa will change. 

Come to think of it, places like Mississippi and Louisiana may have their Rush Limbaugh stations, but those are also the states where the blues and jazz actually came from. That music and that culture didn't come from San Francisco.

Scotty Con Queso said:

List of places to never move to:

1. Boulder/Denver. 
2. Iowa. 

If you have a lot of money and like to ski, move to Boulder/Denver. If you have not so much money and want a big garage, move to Iowa. 

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been through a few times but never spent more than a few weeks.  I'll present this as a metaphor to avoid appearing political because I try not to judge anyone for their beliefs.

I love it, but I think I would tire of it very quickly.  I don't mind extremes; left/right, city/country, mountains/plains, but my brief experiences in Iowa seem to suggest that you get one flavor 24/7.  It's like listening to a radio station that plays only Tim McGraw.  If you love Tim McGraw, it's a great station.  If you like the occasional Emerson Lake and Palmer or Alicia Keys, maybe not the station for you.

A state like CA is like having 20 radio stations at your disposal ranging from Ranchero to Rap and Country to NPR.  States like Mississippi or Louisiana have just the Rush Limbaugh station, and states like Oregon and Washington only have the Vegan, gluten-free Yoga channel.

If you're good living in a one-channel, Tim McGraw state, do it.  If you crave variety, or if you are more of a R&B listener, it might not hold your interest.

If you have satellite radio you can listen to anything you want, anywhere you want. If you have internet access you can hook up with people who have the same interests anywhere else in the world. Now that more people can work from home or work from anywhere including places like Iowa, that will soon change places like Iowa. Silicon Valley people are on the move. After Covid, high housing prices and hordes of homeless in places like San Francisco and Los Angeles being in a big congested city is no longer a good thing. People are on the move and places like Iowa will change. 

Come to think of it, places like Mississippi and Louisiana may have their Rush Limbaugh stations, but those are also the states where the blues and jazz actually came from. That music and that culture didn't come from San Francisco.

I wasn't actually talking about radio stations.  I was using a metaphor to say that some places like CA have a wide variety of cultures, beliefs, and viewpoints.  Others like Iowa are almost entirely white, churchy, conservative... and others like Portland are mostly hippie, vegan, yoga, liberal.  I was simply mentioning that moving to Iowa would mean that you have to be OK with only having one primary socio-political structure surrounding you.  If that's your thing, Iowa is great.

I was just using radio stations to demonstrate it without having to talk politically.

I personally like my variety.  I don't want just the Tim McGraw station or just NPR.  I want everything in between.

Speaking of music... if anyone sees Ariana Grande, remind her that she's desperately in love with me and give her my number.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been through a few times but never spent more than a few weeks.  I'll present this as a metaphor to avoid appearing political because I try not to judge anyone for their beliefs.

I love it, but I think I would tire of it very quickly.  I don't mind extremes; left/right, city/country, mountains/plains, but my brief experiences in Iowa seem to suggest that you get one flavor 24/7.  It's like listening to a radio station that plays only Tim McGraw.  If you love Tim McGraw, it's a great station.  If you like the occasional Emerson Lake and Palmer or Alicia Keys, maybe not the station for you.

A state like CA is like having 20 radio stations at your disposal ranging from Ranchero to Rap and Country to NPR.  States like Mississippi or Louisiana have just the Rush Limbaugh station, and states like Oregon and Washington only have the Vegan, gluten-free Yoga channel.

If you're good living in a one-channel, Tim McGraw state, do it.  If you crave variety, or if you are more of a R&B listener, it might not hold your interest.

If you have satellite radio you can listen to anything you want, anywhere you want. If you have internet access you can hook up with people who have the same interests anywhere else in the world. Now that more people can work from home or work from anywhere including places like Iowa, that will soon change places like Iowa. Silicon Valley people are on the move. After Covid, high housing prices and hordes of homeless in places like San Francisco and Los Angeles being in a big congested city is no longer a good thing. People are on the move and places like Iowa will change. 

Come to think of it, places like Mississippi and Louisiana may have their Rush Limbaugh stations, but those are also the states where the blues and jazz actually came from. That music and that culture didn't come from San Francisco.

I wasn't actually talking about radio stations.  I was using a metaphor to say that some places like CA have a wide variety of cultures, beliefs, and viewpoints.  Others like Iowa are almost entirely white, churchy, conservative... and others like Washington are mostly hippie, vegan, yoga, liberal.  I was simply mentioning that moving to Iowa would mean that you have to be OK with only having one primary socio-political structure surrounding you.  If that's your thing, Iowa is great.

I was just using radio stations to demonstrate it without having to talk politically.

I wasn't talking about radio stations either, other than to say that technology makes more different cultures available in more areas. I am just saying that as people spread out from the coast into new areas, culture changes. Texas is a lot more like California now than it used to be. Now that Texas is getting expensive, people are looking to places like Iowa and Oklahoma for relocation. It will change as people move in from different places. 

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

No disagreement here.

I did this exact progression.  New Orleans until Katrina hit and it changed.  Los Angeles until the bubble and it changed.  Austin until the gentrification and it changed.  Pittsburgh until the GenZ and Millenials took over and it changed.  Now I'm in Harrisburg PA where I think we have a while to go before it turns to crap.  We are just starting our renaissance so I figure I have 10 good years here before they tear down all the historic buildings to replace them with luxury high-rises.

I went from the SF Bay Area  to Denver to Dallas. Sometimes I feel like stupid real estate prices and high rents follow me everywhere I go. They don't want me to go to Iowa and bring million dollar condos to Downtown Des Moines. 

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I went from the SF Bay Area  to Denver to Dallas. Sometimes I feel like stupid real estate prices and high rents follow me everywhere I go. They don't want me to go to Iowa and bring million dollar condos to Downtown Des Moines. 

Well, Des Moines has put together a hipster community (really!) so they may not need your help 

And coincidentally, I just received the results of our home being reassessed in today's mail (not that this is not the tax assessment)-- increase of 27%.  42% on the land and 25% on the dwelling.

It has however, been several years since they've re-assessed the property, and then we had the derecho through last summer which probably eliminated at least 10-15% of the assessable dwellings in the county.

So, I'm pretty sure it won't matter if Snowdoggie moves here or not 

Karacticus said:

And coincidentally, I just received the results of our home being reassessed in today's mail (not that this is not the tax assessment)-- increase of 27%.  42% on the land and 25% on the dwelling.

It has however, been several years since they've re-assessed the property, and then we had the derecho through last summer which probably eliminated at least 10-15% of the assessable dwellings in the county.

So, I'm pretty sure it won't matter if Snowdoggie moves here or not 

My house went up 18% in the last year. Maybe I need to move to Detroit. 

Well, I Spent almost 4 years in Iowa and 4 in Nebraska. I recently returned to Omaha due to family.  

1. Friday night dirt track racing is a lot of fun. I am thinking I may get back into some stock car racing.  Great Sprint car racing at Knoxville and of course the IMCA supernationals is a huge event in Boone.

2. Land is cheap but so is pay for the most part. I am very lucky to keep my Colorado salary in Omaha. 

3. Ames and Iowa City are a lot of fun. I spent 3 years in Ames and it's a great community. 

4. Don't expect a large amount of variety and you won't be disappointed. 

5. It's not that far to Chicago and MSP for some variety if you want a weekend. 

6. I think you'll probably fit in just fine. 

03Panther said:

Fueled by Caffeine said:

 

I live in ruralish minnesota. 

 

That explains alot.

I'm sorry for that one time I hurt your feelings on the internet. 

Karacticus said:

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.

 

 

Actually, our rallycross program has events even closer, at Cedar Falls Motorsports Park (the 1/4 mile drag strip) 15 minutes from Waverly and at Allison, IA - 20-ish minutes away.

Despite a lot of the negative comments in this thread, Iowa definitely has some major positives. The tax levels aren't terrible, people are generally friendly, and there is a variety of stuff to do.  Sure it's a bit on the mono-culture side, but I can't imagine Glasgow, KY isn't significantly different in that aspect. Living near Chicago now, I really miss Iowa, but who doesn't hate Illinois?

Adding to Karacticus's weather comment, be sure that whether you're buying or renting, the place has a basement for sheltering in for severe storms.

Waverly's roughly 1 hr 15 from Cedar Rapids, 1 hr 45 from Iowa City, and 2 hours from Des Moines.  Between those three cities, you can pretty much find any kind of event/culture you'd like to participate in.

Iowa is odd in the SCCA, as we technically have four regions covering the state.  If you're willing to drive about 2 hours one way, you can literally autocross every weekend from April to October due to all the events.