Le Mars living?

[2speedy1]

I want to be distinguish something too, many people lump everything under 4A school size as small towns/schools.

There is a major difference in towns between a class A /8 man size and a 3A size.

A town of 1000 or less is far different from a town of 10-15K. Just as a town of 10K is different from a town of 200K.

The quality of schools in Iowa also should look at the actual Iowa metrics from the State, to compare against places like US News, because we all know that the US News reports are somewhat flawed.

I would say on average the Mid range schools are probably the best overall in Iowa, allowing the best opportunities but still maintaining the smaller size classes and teacher to student ratio, as well as having the proper funds as well as access to the vast variety of classes and extra curricular activities.

The smallest schools in Iowa struggle to keep up, in offerings, but offer some of the best personal experience for the students. The mid level schools have the best of both worlds for the most part.

I know nothing of Le Mars, as I have never been there, but as far as school size I would think they fit in the mid range, both school and town size in Iowa. Not the tiny towns that people confuse with every town under 100K.

 

[mj4cy]

Probably depends on what you value and where would help your career paths the most. Omaha has a lot more to do and greater opportunities but if you have kids and you wanna get away or have a babysitter...family is helpful.

And of course if you live in Omaha you can venture over to Counciltucky for some gambling...

 

[Clone83]

Probably depends on what you value and where would help your career paths the most. Omaha has a lot more to do and greater opportunities but if you have kids and you wanna get away or have a babysitter...family is helpful.

And of course if you live in Omaha you can venture over to Counciltucky for some gambling...

There is a lot of development in Council Bluffs, like the John Kerry bridge and the park along the river, and new housing development there. The county fairgrounds and Playland Park and Speedway used to be close to there, until they moved the fairgrounds to land near I-80 east of IWCC on the east side of town, about 35 years ago. Downtown Omaha is a very easy commute from that part of Iowa.

The nonprofit that owns the gambling licenses throws off a lot of money into Council Bluffs and neighboring communities and has always been better managed than the similar entity in Polk County, that created Prairie Meadows.

 

[madguy30]

On the other hand, people never steal stuff in "the city."

Right...point being it happens everywhere.

I get told when I visit the home town I grew up in, which I really do love, that it doesn't have the drugs etc. from other places and it's basically a blind eye to reality.

 

[mj4cy]

There is a lot of development in Council Bluffs, like the John Kerry bridge and the park along the river, and new housing development there. The county fairgrounds and Playland Park and Speedway used to be close to there, until they moved the fairgrounds to land near I-80 east of IWCC on the east side of town, about 35 years ago. Downtown Omaha is a very easy commute from that part of Iowa.

The nonprofit that owns the gambling licenses throws off a lot of money into Council Bluffs and neighboring communities and has always been better managed than the similar entity in Polk County, that created Prairie Meadows.

I was being silly with calling it Counciltucky. I actually have really enjoyed spending time there.

 

[Dr.bannedman]

There is a lot of development in Council Bluffs, like the John Kerry bridge and the park along the river, and new housing development there. The county fairgrounds and Playland Park and Speedway used to be close to there, until they moved the fairgrounds to land near I-80 east of IWCC on the east side of town, about 35 years ago. Downtown Omaha is a very easy commute from that part of Iowa.

The nonprofit that owns the gambling licenses throws off a lot of money into Council Bluffs and neighboring communities and has always been better managed than the similar entity in Polk County, that created Prairie Meadows.

john kerry lol... in western iowa/nebraska?~

its bob kerrey

 

[Clone83]

john kerry lol... in western iowa/nebraska?~

its bob kerrey

My bad. I knew that.

 

[Dr.bannedman]

My bad. I knew that.

im now going to call it the john kerry bridge

 

[ISUTex]

I want to be distinguish something too, many people lump everything under 4A school size as small towns/schools.

There is a major difference in towns between a class A /8 man size and a 3A size.

A town of 1000 or less is far different from a town of 10-15K. Just as a town of 10K is different from a town of 200K.

The quality of schools in Iowa also should look at the actual Iowa metrics from the State, to compare against places like US News, because we all know that the US News reports are somewhat flawed.

I would say on average the Mid range schools are probably the best overall in Iowa, allowing the best opportunities but still maintaining the smaller size classes and teacher to student ratio, as well as having the proper funds as well as access to the vast variety of classes and extra curricular activities.

The smallest schools in Iowa struggle to keep up, in offerings, but offer some of the best personal experience for the students. The mid level schools have the best of both worlds for the most part.

I know nothing of Le Mars, as I have never been there, but as far as school size I would think they fit in the mid range, both school and town size in Iowa. Not the tiny towns that people confuse with every town under 100K.

There are plenty of small (A-1A) size districts that are great districts. Usually correlates with how nice the community is. Same with 3A size districts.

 

[BigTurk]

On the other hand, people never steal stuff in "the city."

I am not convinced there are fewer criminals in rural towns than large cities percentage wise. There are just more in one concentrated area in a city. sh*t happens in the country too.

 

[CheapClone1202]

Of course the day after I post this I get an interview for a white collar stepping stone job in Omaha

 

[ISUTex]

I am not convinced there are fewer criminals in rural towns than large cities percentage wise. There are just more in one concentrated area in a city. sh*t happens in the country too.

Yes. That is why a lot of rural folks are well armed. Takes a while for the county deputies to show up.

 

[Mr.G.Spot]

Dual enrollment classes do not factor into the Iowa State GPA that I am aware of. They do count the credits. I believe it is similar to AP in that regard. A bunch of guys in one of my son’s Calc II classes had taken the AP version but retook it at ISU thinking in would be an easy grade. My boys all just moved on from the classes they got credit in to save money and graduate earlier. They all took ISU math and sciences courses online in high school, as they were all grade accelerated in math and ran out of math classes they could take otherwise. I do not believe their grades for the ISU dual enrollment was included in GPA at ISU. It was counted in high school GPA as weighted course.

The one that did not attend ISU went to a university that did not even accept the credits for AP or dual enrollment.

Higher end universities, none of Iowa's, only give credit if you get a "5' on the national ap exam.

 

[Saul_T]

I've had a few friends from the area. They seemed like they were normal. They both thought LeMars was all white with them.

 

[Clone83]

Yes. That is why a lot of rural folks are well armed. Takes a while for the county deputies to show up.

A decade ago or so there was a prisoner escape in southern Iowa, ultimately with just the escapee on foot running through the corns fields with a bunch of police cars chasing him. If I recall correctly he was armed, I think took the officer’s gun when he escaped.

Everyone knew to beware, and of course was on edge going into that night. Hearkening back to when the Register covered all of Iowa, they interviewed people in the nearby town, knowing this guy was loose, and dangerous, like the young waitresses at the local diner.

That night, the escaped prisoner paid a visit to a local farm. It was a small house, owned and occupied by an elderly retired couple, who owned the farm.

They talked for two or three hours, until at some point the husband got his gun from its hiding place — which wouldn’t have been easy to hide in such a small house — and shot and killed the guy. The couple didn’t talk to the media at all about what happened or anything. No charges were filed though as it was determined that it was in self defense.

Besides farming, the husband was retired as a prison guard in nearby Maryville, Missouri.

 

[nwiafan]

A decade ago or so there was a prisoner escape in southern Iowa, ultimately with just the escapee on foot running through the corns fields with a bunch of police cars chasing him. If I recall correctly he was armed, I think took the officer’s gun when he escaped.

Everyone knew to beware, and of course was on edge going into that night. Hearkening back to when the Register covered all of Iowa, they interviewed people in the nearby town, knowing this guy was loose, and dangerous, like the young waitresses at the local diner.

That night, the escaped prisoner paid a visit to a local farm. It was a small house, owned and occupied by an elderly retired couple, who owned the farm.

They talked for two or three hours, until at some point the husband got his gun from its hiding place — which wouldn’t have been easy to hide in such a small house — and shot and killed the guy. The couple didn’t talk to the media at all about what happened or anything. No charges were filed though as it was determined that it was in self defense.

Besides farming, the husband was retired as a prison guard in nearby Maryville, Missouri.

And now you know......the rest of the story.

Couldn't help myself.

 

[SeaClone]

Wasn’t expecting this thread to be this popular lol. Read every reply so far, appreciate the advice and experiences. My future father in law works in the blue bunny factory and has informed all of his kids to make sure they never do that for a living. I’ve obviously been to Le Mars a bunch, and am generally familiar with the area, I feel like a big obstacle would be explaining to my mom (whom I’m not all that close to but I have lived with her my entire life) that I’m moving to Le Mars Iowa and it’s something that is wise for my career and life. I did mention the girlfriend has no real ties keeping her there, but she does sort of have an in with her current part time employer to be promoted to middle management, but her employer has chains in Omaha too, so that’s not entirely keeping “us” in Le Mars but it is a factor

As some others have said, I'd select for option C: Move somewhere else in the country, preferably somewhere a plane ride away. After ISU, I went and explored, and wouldn't trade the experiences for anything....DFW->SEA->AUS->SEA->MSP. This is the best time in your life to go experience living somewhere else intriguing to you. It can seem daunting, but it is also a really cool experience to go explore a new city/region. Family/friends will come visit. At the end of the day, you may find out that you prefer moving back to Iowa or the Midwest. Or you may not. But you'll never know for sure if you don't go for it. FWIW, I grew up on a farm near Sioux City and went to a small school. My ex grew up in a small town near LeMars. I've spent enough time in both to know that, personally, I'd never live in or near LeMars (or SC). The white collar job prospects are more limited, and personally for me, I've found I generally prefer to socialize with people that have more than a HS education and have life experience than extends beyond the small town where they grew up.

 

[carvers4math]

Higher end universities, none of Iowa's, only give credit if you get a "5' on the national ap exam.

He went to a high end university and had 5’s on all of his AP classes but you simply don’t get credit for anything you don’t take there.

They had exams before they started to make sure they didn’t have to take remedial calculus lol. I had no clue proof calculus was a thing until I looked at his textbook.

 

[drmwevr08]

I guess it depends on your skill set, but seems like finding a job would be first. Much more likely to find two of those in Omaha. If you want to live in a place like LeMars it seems like you'd have to find one really good job or be willing to both take whatever you get.

 

[RotatingColumn]

I have a white collar job in Sioux City, grew up in the area and moved back here after spending a few years in Omaha.

Here’s the deal with professional jobs in the Siouxland area. Not a ton of opportunity compared to Omaha or Des Moines, but there are jobs. This can work for and against you.

FOR:
When a company lands good professionals they tend to do what they can to hold onto them. It’s hard to talk anyone into moving here and staying long term. So when they get a hold of you they do what they can to keep you. That’s been my experience anyway. I think a lot of my friends would say the same.

AGAINST:
I’ve held the same position for over 20 years. If I ever lost my job I would probably have to find something else to do or pick up and move. I don't know if I could find another job in my field within 6 months. But in Omaha I could find one in a few weeks.


Le Mars is big enough to not be “clicky” but small enough to be a tight community. It’s a clean town with good schools. Just don’t go any smaller than Le Mars, being from the city you will definitely regret it.

Good luck to you.