I still live here and have never left, but I've traveled the rest of the country extensively. This is why I stay in Iowa (besides job and family):
-There is a real pride in maintaining property and communities, especially in the rural areas. We talk about how rural Iowa is declining, but when you travel the country, you realize that there's a pocket of the rural northern/western Midwest (that includes much of Iowa) that is far more well maintained - to the point of almost thriving in some spots - compared to what you see in the eastern/lower Midwest, South, and farther West. Traveling through places like Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana, New Mexico, eastern Colorado, and you just see these bombed out and dilapidated rural communities. Buildings falling apart and not maintained, and things just abandoned. There's much less of that in Iowa.
-I see on an almost daily basis that people in Iowa do actually try and take care of their neighbors and help each other get through. I'm not saying that's unique to Iowa, but it's definitely still very present in how people interact with each other every day. I probably have a skewed view on that as I'm on a volunteer fire department, and you're there to help people regardless of politics, and you see more of people at their best in that situation.
-I have uncrowded access to the things I love to do. I live on the western edge of the Driftless Area, and within 20 minutes of home I have the best kayaking/canoeing in the state. The best mountain biking in the state. 3 different paved bike trail systems. 3 excellent breweries. Some really good/cool local restaurants. I don't have to fight crowds to enjoy these things. Any time we travel to more noted recreation destinations, it feels like you're fighting people. I don't have traffic jams. I'm not dealing with high strung, angry people on a frequent basis.
