Gotcha. They're adding another runway and have done major expansion work in the past 5 years, so I'm not sure it's as bad as all that. It's no MSP, for sure, although the layout is not dissimilar.
Thinking about moving out of Iowa
- Thread starter mschmitty17
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I chose the Treasure Coast of Florida. That was 15 years ago. Relatively affordable to be in a high rise directly on the beach in those days. Still relatively affordable.
I absolutely HATE traffic and congestion. The traffic there was moderate then even during season (Jan-Apr). During/after COVID we got overrun with northeasterners and the traffic is now a bit more troubling. Not horrible but worse.
Then we got hit by assessments for a few items, then the biggie-exterior concrete repairs. Got through that but the Quarterly HOA's are now more than triple what they were in 2011. Partially because of laws to protect future owners from HOA's that don't do maintenance and partly because of the superescalation in insurance costs (which I'm sure you know all about - being in the industry)
I will say most of the residents are retirees, but not all.
Still, there's something about having that great big ocean right outside your window/deck 24/7 is still amazing to a native Iowan who never saw a body of water I couldn't see across until I was in my late teens.
That, and the low property taxes and no Florida state income tax are nice. But slightly offset by higher vehicle insurance. And annual vehicle license is less that $100/year.
YMMV
I absolutely HATE traffic and congestion. The traffic there was moderate then even during season (Jan-Apr). During/after COVID we got overrun with northeasterners and the traffic is now a bit more troubling. Not horrible but worse.
Then we got hit by assessments for a few items, then the biggie-exterior concrete repairs. Got through that but the Quarterly HOA's are now more than triple what they were in 2011. Partially because of laws to protect future owners from HOA's that don't do maintenance and partly because of the superescalation in insurance costs (which I'm sure you know all about - being in the industry)
I will say most of the residents are retirees, but not all.
Still, there's something about having that great big ocean right outside your window/deck 24/7 is still amazing to a native Iowan who never saw a body of water I couldn't see across until I was in my late teens.
That, and the low property taxes and no Florida state income tax are nice. But slightly offset by higher vehicle insurance. And annual vehicle license is less that $100/year.
YMMV
My son and I sent to the Clemson/ND football game three years ago or so, he lives outside of Columbia, and the Clemson area of the state is really very pretty, lots of trees, small town area, like you said, a lot like Ames. I was surprised by the number of trees across the area as a whole the first time we went down, just huge pine tree forests every where.
ISU should study what Clemson is doing getting people in and out of the stadium area, they have a much larger stadium and they cleared it out in half the time it takes getting out of JTS. Lots of off site parking with buses running back and forth, and they use bus only lanes which speed things up a lot. ISU should be doing more of this getting people to park further away from the stadium.
Minneapolis! End of thread.
I'll end up in Tahoe if I had to bet. Or Canada (Banff)
Sorry to hear of your relationship. I recently ended mine of 13+ years. Not easy.
San Diego!
Great weather, beaches and hot women as far as the eye can see.
Great weather, beaches and hot women as far as the eye can see.
If you can afford housing, it's a little less than three times higher than in Ames, on average over 900K in SD while Ames is around 330K for the average home.
I'm always amazed at people who would move elsewhere in the United States. I mean, Iowa is not perfect, but at least it's relatively quiet, and I really haven't visited anywhere that I thought was better than here as far as living conditions go, all things considered.
If I were to relocate, I think I'd choose Spain...Barcelona, Seville, or Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The last one has mountains AND beaches AND electric buses. Hell, it's even got penguins (at the Loroparque). Spent a couple of weeks there last February and I would go back in a heartbeat.
Yeah, there are a few hoops to jump through if you want to work there, but these days nothing says you can't live there and work online if you don't want to quit your day job.
If I were to relocate, I think I'd choose Spain...Barcelona, Seville, or Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The last one has mountains AND beaches AND electric buses. Hell, it's even got penguins (at the Loroparque). Spent a couple of weeks there last February and I would go back in a heartbeat.
Yeah, there are a few hoops to jump through if you want to work there, but these days nothing says you can't live there and work online if you don't want to quit your day job.
Looking in the Midwest? Reasonable cost of living? College town? Ranking of major insurer as one of best employers in the State of WI is Sentry Insurance, in Central WI. That area has fishing, hunting, low natural disasters, plenty of water resources.
I have no great advice as there are so many places with so many variables. My only take is you should definitely do it. Get out. See somewhere else. If you have a fairly transferable job skill, do it twice even. Best of luck.
If for some reason you've thought of living on the sun, I'm happy to answer any AZ questions
If for some reason you've thought of living on the sun, I'm happy to answer any AZ questions
I love the Twin Cities too. I don't mind winter, but it's a little much there.
While I love all the things to do, one thing I always kind of forget until I spend time in a city is that it's pretty hard to do much of anything without crowds, waits, etc. Not a big deal, but whether it's living in Ames, Des Moines, or even a pretty good sized metro in Colorado Springs, you can't just randomly pick something and not have a little strategy or allowance to deal with the extra crowds, parking etc. But the locals figure out those strategies pretty well.
Had always thought I would end up there mainly because growing up I was a MN sports fan. Spent a good amount of time there growing up and also for work for a few years. Came close when we moved out of CO, but ended up in Des Moines, then ultimately Ames instead. Brother in Law has lived in some of the NE burbs for about 15 years, and now is in Stillwater, so we spend a lot of time up there.
Like any city, it's not for everyone, but I think it's a great metro and being in reasonable distance to some awesome outdoors stuff.
Carolinas offer proximity to both mountains and beaches coupled with a reasonable cost of living and some change of seasons. As a recruiter you become aware of what we call "migration patterns". People who move to Carolinas from the Midwest tend to stay there. Versus people who move from Midwest to the Upper Atlantic seaboard who typically tend to move back.
My wife and I have been looking at retiring in Europe somewhere actually when the time comes. Montenegro is pretty high up on the list for us. We've been finding 2-3 bedroom water view condos on the Bay of Kotor for under 400k euros. It looks like you're in Alaska without the snow.
I kind of want to head there when the kids are gone but am wondering if I could tolerate winter. After 40 years in the midwest I've been roasting in az for 10. Might shock the system.
I think that's a pretty good call, but I tend to prefer some of the NC towns vs. Virginia. Maybe I didn't have a good impression because driving by Richmond a couple years ago on the way to OBX I saw the biggest flag of any kind in my life, and it was not an American Flag.
I still have my top two states when/if we retire and leave Iowa as CO and NC. Really loved Charleston too, but have only been there in spring. Not sure I could handle it June-Aug.
It's not the greatest hub to connect in, but CLT is not an airport I'd avoid by any means, and have never had any airport related delays there like I have had at ORD. They're currently undergoing a massive project to modernize the airport and terminals as well, including building a brand new runway.
I've spent time in Lisbon and did a couple of day trips while I was there, one of which was to the summer palace in Sintra. It was okay, but I don't remember enjoying it as much as I have the last couple of times I've gone to Spain. I do remember the same blind lady begging for money every day in the Lisbon subway. I think I could probably do her job given that her approach was exactly the same every day (even though I don't really speak Portuguese).
P.S. Just in case there's a misunderstanding (which there probably isn't), the Canaries belong to Spain and Portugal owns the Azores.
