HighDesertSage
Well-known member
Any hunt talker from the Hawkeye state? Spent the weekend SW of Des Moines, would love to chat with any locals in that area. Thanks!
Iowa
- Thread starter HighDesertSage
- Start date
duckhunt
Well-known member
butler county here.
Gellar
Well-known member
NE Iowa.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Central Iowa
Phantom
Member
Central Iowa here too. Used to deer hunt quite a bit in Taylor county.
Yooper906
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2020
- Messages
- 288
I hunt Taylor County near Bedford.
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
Thanks guys for the replies, and PM's. I'm just looking for general info on quality of life, schools, healthcare, economy, cost of living, and anything you'd be willing to share, be it good or bad. PM's welcome.
Thanks
Thanks
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
I've lived in IA a total of 12 years. I love living here and would chose it over any state. I've lived in SW, SE, central and E part of the state in 6 different counties, small town, country, and city. As another point of reference I've also lived in MN, ND, CO, SC, and spent quite a bit of time in South Africa.
Coincidentally (?), I have also hunted deer in Taylor County many times.
Here's my 2 cents on IA:
Quality of life High. The pace of life is relaxed. It's clean, good infrastructure, friendly people. Low crime. Winter is just 4 months, and there is nice summer weather for 5. Great communities for the most part, with some exceptions. Overall a wonderful place to raise a family. IA has the smallest % of public land of any state, so there are limits on outdoor recreation. It pays to get to know landowners to have a combination of public and private outdoor opportunities for fishing, hunting, etc. A decent % of landowners are friendly and allow access.
Schools Variable. There are a few nice schools in some of the cities and suburbs. Rural communities face ongoing shrinking population, consolidation with neighboring districts, and tough time recruiting teachers. We'll be homeschooling our own kids.
Healthcare Decent. Best is Iowa City (University of IA), although Des Moines and Council Bluffs (Omaha) are also good. Rural counties face closing hospitals and clinics, inability to hire or retain doctors, and generally you have to travel for specialized care. If someone in your family has a chronic health issue it is important to have a plan in place to access care, as it can be spotty and involve significant travel depending on how far away you are from the three cities I mentioned. Mental health care in the state is abysmal - one of the worst states in the nation. Extreme shortage of mental health providers.
Economy Strong. Would be very strong, if not for the ag sector woes (flooding, depressed commodity prices, labor shortage, trade wars). Extremely low unemployment, increasingly diverse sectors of employment, good wages, business opportunities, growing communities, great infrastructure. Many sectors are facing shortages of skilled workers and seeking to recruit persons to relocate to their areas, and are offering incentives such as signing bonuses and other perks.
Cost of living Cheap to modest. I'd argue that SW Iowa has one of the best balance of quality of life and cheap cost of living of anywhere in the country. Most other areas of the state are reasonable as well. Iowa City is the most expensive, and some Des Moines suburbs are pricey too. My house in central IA cost over twice as much as my house in SW Iowa did.
So why don't more people live here? (speculation)
There isn't much in the way of "high culture" or vacation-quality destinations. People who want to go to a highly desired sports, music, professional event, or just a nice place to take a vacation all go out of state. Lots of people regularly drive many hours to get out of state to desired destinations such as Lake of the Ozarks (MO) or northern MN for cabin life, or KC, Minneapolis, or Chicago for city life. The state has a reputation as being plain, boring, simple.
Personally, I don't mind having to travel for such things a couple weeks out of the year, as the other 50 weeks it's a nice overall place to live.
Coincidentally (?), I have also hunted deer in Taylor County many times.
Here's my 2 cents on IA:
Quality of life High. The pace of life is relaxed. It's clean, good infrastructure, friendly people. Low crime. Winter is just 4 months, and there is nice summer weather for 5. Great communities for the most part, with some exceptions. Overall a wonderful place to raise a family. IA has the smallest % of public land of any state, so there are limits on outdoor recreation. It pays to get to know landowners to have a combination of public and private outdoor opportunities for fishing, hunting, etc. A decent % of landowners are friendly and allow access.
Schools Variable. There are a few nice schools in some of the cities and suburbs. Rural communities face ongoing shrinking population, consolidation with neighboring districts, and tough time recruiting teachers. We'll be homeschooling our own kids.
Healthcare Decent. Best is Iowa City (University of IA), although Des Moines and Council Bluffs (Omaha) are also good. Rural counties face closing hospitals and clinics, inability to hire or retain doctors, and generally you have to travel for specialized care. If someone in your family has a chronic health issue it is important to have a plan in place to access care, as it can be spotty and involve significant travel depending on how far away you are from the three cities I mentioned. Mental health care in the state is abysmal - one of the worst states in the nation. Extreme shortage of mental health providers.
Economy Strong. Would be very strong, if not for the ag sector woes (flooding, depressed commodity prices, labor shortage, trade wars). Extremely low unemployment, increasingly diverse sectors of employment, good wages, business opportunities, growing communities, great infrastructure. Many sectors are facing shortages of skilled workers and seeking to recruit persons to relocate to their areas, and are offering incentives such as signing bonuses and other perks.
Cost of living Cheap to modest. I'd argue that SW Iowa has one of the best balance of quality of life and cheap cost of living of anywhere in the country. Most other areas of the state are reasonable as well. Iowa City is the most expensive, and some Des Moines suburbs are pricey too. My house in central IA cost over twice as much as my house in SW Iowa did.
So why don't more people live here? (speculation)
There isn't much in the way of "high culture" or vacation-quality destinations. People who want to go to a highly desired sports, music, professional event, or just a nice place to take a vacation all go out of state. Lots of people regularly drive many hours to get out of state to desired destinations such as Lake of the Ozarks (MO) or northern MN for cabin life, or KC, Minneapolis, or Chicago for city life. The state has a reputation as being plain, boring, simple.
Personally, I don't mind having to travel for such things a couple weeks out of the year, as the other 50 weeks it's a nice overall place to live.
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
Thanks ElkFever2, I appreciate the feedback. We put and offer on a house last night. I will truly miss CO.
SandyCreek
Active member
Decatur and ringgold counties here.. the deer hunting is obviously great but we just had CWD turn up in several new counties this year mine of Decatur included. Turkeys have been on the downhill slide for awhile, pheasants are so-so the glory days are long gone. Quality of life is pretty good but if you are looking to go out to dinner its one or two places or the gas station lol. also we're still waiting on that high speed internet or internet in general in some cases.. be happy to answer any ?'s. i took a Colorado girl out of Colorado and there's not a day that goes by where the discussion isn't had about moving back 
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
Thanks Sandy Creek. My wife and I don't really do "out to eat" or shopping, so I think it'll be ok. How much of a decline are we talking for turkey/pheasant? Not that it will deter me from coming, but I would be bummed about that. Moving somewhere for hunting got me in trouble in the first place, lol.Decatur and ringgold counties here.. the deer hunting is obviously great but we just had CWD turn up in several new counties this year mine of Decatur included. Turkeys have been on the downhill slide for awhile, pheasants are so-so the glory days are long gone. Quality of life is pretty good but if you are looking to go out to dinner its one or two places or the gas station lol. also we're still waiting on that high speed internet or internet in general in some cases.. be happy to answer any ?'s. i took a Colorado girl out of Colorado and there's not a day that goes by where the discussion isn't had about moving back
If you come back to co, best advice I can give is visit first. Homes are expensive where the high paying jobs are. The western slope has moderate home costs, but jobs pay low.
SandyCreek
Active member
we spend a lot of time out there as that's where my wife family is, Turkeys are still decent but 10 years ago was insane. Pheasants are still around but the current Ag practices have really changed the landscape and have made it fairly tough. I would recommend pheasant hunting the NW part of state as bird numbers are much better that way
Outlaw99
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2019
- Messages
- 207
SW Iowa here, Council Bluffs. Our elk and mule deer population over here sucks!
Good luck! Curious what's bringing you here if you don't mind.
I'm a life long resident and don't plan on ever leaving. Almost stayed in CO when I was younger but I really do like it here. I live in the far East Central part of the state but get around quite a bit, especially in the fall. I also have the Mississippi here to keep me happy when not hunting Southern Iowa. I have some concerns about the future of our deer hunting but who knows what will really happen.
I'm a life long resident and don't plan on ever leaving. Almost stayed in CO when I was younger but I really do like it here. I live in the far East Central part of the state but get around quite a bit, especially in the fall. I also have the Mississippi here to keep me happy when not hunting Southern Iowa. I have some concerns about the future of our deer hunting but who knows what will really happen.
We have pics of 2 separate mule deer north of Council Bluffs so they do exist at least! also seems like at least 1 elk randomly passes through every year. oh and a bull moose a few years ago.
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
Cost of living and reasonable wages = more money to hunt. I am cutting my mortgage by 2/3rds. Also have family in Cumberland.
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