Tell me about Iowa please....

ErinP · #41 04/05/10, 01:11 PM

I diots
O ut
W andering
A round

(Seems Nebraska has the same jokes about Iowa that Missouri does.)

ErinP · #42 04/05/10, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewie

haven't read all posts, but i used to live in iowa. that fact that i no longer do should speak for some of my feelings. we lived in the country, but with such good farm ground, there were ppl everywhere, a farm every quarter mile. and dont' dare think you'll ride a horse on it either! seems a bit more snobby than here in s.d. there was more money to be earned however, and the price of land is crazy-high. schools are good. some nice attactions to go see, fun to do kinda stuff. but that humidity, oh good grief, it was horrible. i miss seeing home, but don't feel like moving back there anytime soon.

And that's pretty much my opinion of Iowa, too. I didn't grow up IN Iowa, but we were pretty darned close.
Crowded (perfect example:

Quote:

there is a county on the missouri/iowa line that has 450 sq miles and less than 4000 people.

humid, and expensive.

I guess I've never really noticed "snobby", but people seem to appreciate their neighbors when there aren't so many of them, consequently I tend to think the western Dakotas, Nebraska, KS, etc. is a bit friendlier because of that...

DW · #43 04/05/10, 01:15 PM

Lee County, IA? Grew up in se IA(6 blocks f/Miss.)...Dad born/died there. I moved to Colo at 18...the bad thing of IA & good thing. Mississippi R., cool but the humidity...too much for me. When you go farther north, you lose some of the humidity. Having lived in Colorado for yrs ...water, water,water everything...it always amazed me that I think you could stick anything in the ground in IA and it would grow!

arabian knight · #44 04/05/10, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mel-

er, what DOES iowa stand for?

I 'm O ut W ondering A round

Pony · #45 04/05/10, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErinP

I diots
O ut
W andering
A round

(Seems Nebraska has the same jokes about Iowa that Missouri does.)

Looks like!

Caitedid · #46 04/05/10, 10:20 PM

Tilly- What part of Iowa are you looking at? I must be xrayman's neighbor, I'm also outside of Marshalltown. I know that grazing land is cheaper in southern Iowa, where the soil is worse. The soil in Grundy county, which is the next one north of us is supposed to be some of the best crop land in the world. I would say with weather as wet as we've been having most farmers would be more than happy to route all of their tile straight to your property!

The local food movement is really starting to take off here, so if you're looking to do grass-fed beef you should be able to move it pretty easily. I grew up here and moved back last year to start farming, after ten years of living in cities all over the world. I can't get a delivery pizza out here, but I've never been happier. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Caite

Tilly · #47 04/05/10, 10:27 PM

Why I'm not to worried about snobs.....

I'm on 4 acres, and every time I go outside and whistle to my dog, it irritates the neighbors! They think it's ridiculous that I would need to communicate with a working dog. Last fall I weaned our bull calf, and had calls every night for two weeks. I was also informed at our last neighborhood meeting that all dogs barking at night would have the cops called on the owners. My dog is inside at night, I replied that they need to learn the difference between coyote packs and a dog barking. I'm the only ag zoned property in this neighborhood, everyone else here let their ag status go. I was also asked at said meeting 'How long you gonna keep up this farming stuff'

So, comparatively, is Iowa still snobby?

I'm keeping track of all the jokes for future reference......
Tilly

Tilly · #48 04/05/10, 10:39 PM

Thanks, Caite, we are looking everywhere right now, just don't know how far 'out' we would be allowed to go. I have been finding some nice places that look like they would work well for us to the south. After visiting with the Family, it looks like we should try to get the most grazing acreage we can, and build homes on it. We would just need one adequate home on it to start with, not everyone will be moving out at the same time, and we can afford more if we work together.

We used to run a pizza restaurant, so I won't miss the pizza delivery....I will be upset if there is no Sonic! I live for happy hour sodas!!!

Another Q: What is there for grocery shopping? Costco, Sam's, I honestly have never traveled east of Denver, I feel like I would be entering another country!

Thanks,
Tilly

xrayman · #49 04/06/10, 06:39 AM

Caitedid I live by the big town of Green Mountain.

We had a sonic in Marshalltown it closed only lasted maybe a year.
There's sam's clubs in Ames and Des Moines. And some good grocery stores, HY Vee, Dahls, and Fareway. Dahls is Des moines only. Fareway and Hyvee's are everywhere and run some good deals.
The Ankeny area has boomed in the last few years. not alot of acerages around there for sale that are close to your price range and i'm sure they're zoned weird. That area is a suburb of des moines now.

ErinP · #50 04/06/10, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tilly

I honestly have never traveled east of Denver, I feel like I would be entering another country!

Thanks,
Tilly

You would indeed.

Eastern Colorado is more akin to western South Dakota than it is the Front Range!
I could happily park my backside in any number of areas of the high plains of eastern CO. But you would have to drag me kicking and screaming to be within 100 miles of DVR/CO Springs!

Caitedid · #51 04/06/10, 11:56 AM

I know some farmers in the Des Moines/Ankeny area who've started having a lot of trouble with zoning and neighbors. FWIW, I've been interning at a goat dairy down in Knoxville, and they seem pretty pro-farming down there. Think the only snobbiness I've run into here is folks who think I don't farm big enough, but I seem to make a lot more money for what I put in to it than they do. I've had problems getting some specialty animal products for sheep and goats, but I can get all my feed custom mixed and we have a great locker near us.
There seem to be more and more folks here who are looking to buy local foods. I started an online farmers market recently, and it's been a huge hit so far. As far as grocery shopping, HyVee has better produce, but Fareway has better meat.
There doesn't seem to be much pasture land for sale near us, as it has all been tiled and plowed for row crops, but see more of it even 40 minutes south of here.

Ann-NWIowa · #52 04/06/10, 01:18 PM

You could not pay me to live in the Des Moines/Ankeny area ever again. The rest of the state is great tho! I'm now near Fort Dodge and we had around 80" of snow last winter with it staying on the ground for a record number of days. In fact, this winter set a lot of miserable records! The DOT does a great job of keeping roads clear. This area is prairie so its mostly flat with fantastic deep black top soil. Plenty of rain most years for good crops. Land prices here are in the $2,500 to $3,000 range up to the sky is the limit if someone really wants the land. There are smaller acreages where farms have been bought up and the homestead area sold off. Homeschooling is common and not an issue. You have to work with the local school district and can dual enroll your kids if you choose to. There is good medical care in the small county hospitals and expert care in the cities and at University of Iowa hospitals. Many people choose Iowa City over Mayo, but if you want Mayo its not that far from where I live. The septic situation might be an issue in building several homes on a small plat of land. I believe you now have to have a certain number of acres per septic system so that would be something to check out - that law came into being a few years back. The law just changed last July on septic inspection on all transfers of property. Even the Amish have to use a sealed pit under their outhouses these days. You'll find a lot of Amish have moved into the Southern two tiers of counties as the hilly, wooded land really suits their horse farming.

Tilly · #53 04/06/10, 01:25 PM

I think we are definitely going to be looking way outside of Des Moines metro area. Talked to Hubby last night, he's currently traveling for work, and he thinks we can live wherever we want to within the company's 'region' , all of Iowa and northern Missouri. And we are looking at no less than 40 acres.

Thanks again everyone for your responses, it really does help!

Tilly

ibcnya · #54 04/09/10, 05:48 AM

Born and raised in Iowa Tilly as the 5 generations before me. I left as a kid for a 20 year stint in the Corps and told myself and many others I wouldn't live there again. Guess where I'm at? HOME. I could write and write about this state. Some bad, mostly good. Any questions and I'll give you an honest answer.
And the jokes about Iowa? Those folks are just jealous of our way of life here.