What do you miss/appreciate about Iowa?

[yowza]

Backbone State Park from when I was a little kid and it was still maintained as a traditional jewel of a park with the lower level picnic grounds and shelters.

Redbuds and ground cover blooming in the spring on campus.

Outside of that, not much. Moved away a lifetime ago and I don't have much in common these days with 21st century Iowa.

Camp up to that park at least once a year. My all time favorite.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Never seen a road abandoned that someone lives on. If the county considers it a road it is illegal for anyone else to maintain it in anyway. I was at a supervisors meeting where snow removal was discussed, myself and another mentioned that we would move snow as needed on a small tract of level Bs to get to a place and the supervisors said it was against the law.

Most farmers will reclaim the farm ground if given the chance.

I have friends who's family owns a one mile stretch of dirt road that the county abandoned. It even has a bridge that goes over the river that they have to maintain.

 

[BCClone]

I have friends who's family owns a one mile stretch of dirt road that the county abandoned. It even has a bridge that goes over the river that they have to maintain.

Do they live on it? Hope they closed it off from traffic or else they are liable for accidents.

 

[cyclonesurveyor]

I miss the lushness of Iowa. Along with the variety of trees and colors of fall.

Out here people rave about the aspen trees changing, but it's nothing compared to Iowa in the fall.

I agree with the aspens but with the right view, they are pretty righteous.

 

[WooBadger18]

I agree with some others that the 'niceness' in IA is overrated. Surprisingly, I think NJ folks are just as welcoming if not more. Also driving, despite popular belief, NJ drivers are much better. We HAVE to be because there is so much more traffic. IA drivers act like there is no one else on the road.

I think “Iowa nice” can be superficial/shallow. So it’s things like smiling at someone as you pass them, asking them how they are, small talk with the cashier, wishing someone a good day as you leave, etc. All of which I like and all of which I think makes day to day life a lot more pleasant. But they aren’t deep meaningful gestures. Plus, when you do something like ask someone how their day is you don’t really want them to say anything worse than fine, and even that’s pushing it.

I’m not saying Iowans aren’t actually nice, just that people in other places will also do the nice things that require more effort (e.g. shovel the old neighbor’s driveway when it snows).

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Do they live on it? Hope they closed it off from traffic or else they are liable for accidents.

Now that I think about it no, there are no acreages left on that road.

 

[MeanDean]

Half year resident (not legal-resident, just here for 5-6 months)

For driving rural county roads in a classic car or convertible it's tough to beat Iowa. Florida there are some great areas and some beautiful areas, but the ability to just drive for 45-60 minutes and not experience crowds and traffic is something I adore. (Farmers and farming equipment crawling is not usually an issue.)

Eastern Iowa has it's own specific things I like that most haven't mentioned being central Iowa-centric.

Like I mentioned in another thread I MUST have Rudy's enchiladas (cheese and onion, smothered chicken) when I get back in the spring. I know they're not authentic. Covered with shredded cheddar cheese etc. But they are comfort food of the first order for me.

Kitchen Cooked brand potato chips. Actually "imported" from rural Illinois. Their whole line of snack food products are pretty damned good. I have Floridians craving them now so every fall I have to take a half dozen bags or I get the stink-eye.

Grocery products I miss when away are Tones brand liquid smoke. All the other brands suck. Also Ott's poppy seed salad dressing.

The "nice" thing is definitely more small town than even suburban Iowa. Just moved from small town to a QC bedroom community and I notice the difference in the overall "random stranger waves at me" factor.

And I find Florida residents are very friendly. The retirees are happy to be in the warm. And the natives are much like Iowan's who hate rude new residents and tourists. Realizing that it's the lifeblood of the economy so a necessary part of life.

 

[BCClone]

Half year resident (not legal-resident, just here for 5-6 months)

For driving rural county roads in a classic car or convertible it's tough to beat Iowa. Florida there are some great areas and some beautiful areas, but the ability to just drive for 45-60 minutes and not experience crowds and traffic is something I adore. (Farmers and farming equipment crawling is not usually an issue.)

Eastern Iowa has it's own specific things I like that most haven't mentioned being central Iowa-centric.

Like I mentioned in another thread I MUST have Rudy's enchiladas (cheese and onion, smothered chicken) when I get back in the spring. I know they're not authentic. Covered with shredded cheddar cheese etc. But they are comfort food of the first order for me.

Kitchen Cooked brand potato chips. Actually "imported" from rural Illinois. Their whole line of snack food products are pretty damned good. I have Floridians craving them now so every fall I have to take a half dozen bags or I get the stink-eye.

Grocery products are Tones brand liquid smoke. All the other brands suck. Also Ott's poppy seed salad dressing.

The nice thing is definitely more small town than even suburban Iowa. Just moved from small town to a QC bedroom community and I notice the difference in the overall "random stranger waves at me" factor.

And I find Florida residents are very friendly. The retirees are happy to be in the warm. And the natives are much like Iowan's who hate rude new residents and tourists. Realizing that it's the lifeblood of the economy so a necessary part of life.

That only happens when they’ve had too much PBR.

 

[RezClone]

I think “Iowa nice” can be superficial/shallow. So it’s things like smiling at someone as you pass them, asking them how they are, small talk with the cashier, wishing someone a good day as you leave, etc. All of which I like and all of which I think makes day to day life a lot more pleasant. But they aren’t deep meaningful gestures. Plus, when you do something like ask someone how their day is you don’t really want them to say anything worse than fine, and even that’s pushing it.

I’m not saying Iowans aren’t actually nice, just that people in other places will also do the nice things that require more effort (e.g. shovel the old neighbor’s driveway when it snows).

That's fair. I think instead of "Iowa Nice" it's more apt to call it "Iowa polite".

Lots of places that are more rural have more of a politeness-based communication and interaction style that prioritizes cooperative social cohesion, as opposed to an individualistic direct style of communication and interaction found in more urban societies that prioritizes accuracy and efficiency. In Iowa and similar places, we tend to spend a lot of time and energy dancing around things and behaving in a way not to offend subconsciously in order to maintain good social standing and appearance for practical reasons.

It IS often superficial to the extent that it can obviously be disingenuous and forced. However, it's necessary to the extent that you will probably spend a lot of time in the future interacting with the same people, and it keeps life functionally tolerable in a beneficial sense for said individual and the whole.

 

[WooBadger18]

That's fair. I think instead of "Iowa Nice" it's more apt to call it "Iowa polite".

Lots of places that are more rural have more of a politeness-based communication and interaction style that prioritizes cooperative social cohesion, as opposed to an individualistic direct style of communication and interaction found in more urban societies that prioritizes accuracy and efficiency. In Iowa and similar places, we tend to spend a lot of time and energy dancing around things and behaving in a way not to offend subconsciously in order to maintain good social standing and appearance for practical reasons.

It IS often superficial to the extent that it can obviously be disingenuous and forced. However, it's necessary to the extent that you will probably spend a lot of time in the future interacting with the same people, and it keeps life functionally tolerable in a beneficial sense for said individual and the whole.

Oh, I just meant superficial as in surface level, not that is a bad thing at all. But when most Iowans ask someone who they don’t know how their day is going they don’t want to hear how your spouse was laid off, your mother died, and Timmy is having difficulty at school

 

[TitanClone]

Being able to go to Hilton regularly. It's hard to justify driving 3.5 hours from KC for a basketball game when I already make the trip for every home football game. It's 1 of the main reasons I'm moving to Des Moines this fall after being in KC for 7+ years.

 

[Bipolarcy]

I don’t think that’s true.

1) We farm in Minnesota too, and that’s the general rule there too

2) There are large chunks of Iowa (look at maps of Allamakee, Clayton, Dubuque, or Winneshiek Counties) that don’t conform due to geography.

Sure, a portion of Minnesota may be laid out in square mile grids, but not all of it. You get up in some of the northern parts of that state and you're not going to find square mile grids.

 

[Al_4_State]

Sure, a portion of Minnesota may be laid out in square mile grids, but not all of it. You get up in some of the northern parts of that state and you're not going to find square mile grids.

Same with Iowa

 

[Nelcyn]

Miss
thunderstorms
Jordan Creek Mall
decent people
cost of living


Don't Miss
wind
winters
cicadas

 

[KnappShack]

Oh, I just meant superficial as in surface level, not that is a bad thing at all. But when most Iowans ask someone who they don’t know how their day is going they don’t want to hear how your spouse was laid off, your mother died, and Timmy is having difficulty at school

In their defense....who really wants to hear about that?

 

[12191987]

The sense of nostalgia triggered by this thread pushed me down to the local fish market looking for something I’ve not made in 30+ years.

While it isn’t the same as pulling it out of the river and cleaning it myself, I’m still puttin’ catfish on in my belly tonight.

 

[dmclone]

When I retire and move somewhere warm, I'll probably miss how green Iowa is. Low crime and LCOL.

 

[Gunnerclone]

What is with all the “lushness” and “green” stuff about Iowa? There is green and “lushness” (whatever the **** that is) for like 3 months of the year.

 

[burn587]

We moved from Iowa in 07 with every intention of coming back, but after a couple of years knew I would never live there again. We went to Chicago initially, then Denver, then St Louis before settling permanently in Denver.

Things I miss:
Proximity to family
ISU sports
Sweet corn
Summer nights- those nights when the humidity is just right there just seems to be this perfectly electric feeling in the air. I don’t know if I even recognized it growing up but I was working in Iowa a few years back and it just hit me like a ton of bricks.
Cost of living
Good grocery stores
Naturally occurring water

Things I don’t miss:
Tavern hoks (I have a good amount of friends that are Hawkeye fans out here and the rivalry is good natured and not a big deal to any of us. Back when I lived in Iowa I would almost get physically ill in the lead up to the Cy-hawk game.)
Hickory park- it seriously sucks.
Proximity to family-we’ve got some busy bodies and guilt trippers in our family so being far enough away that they can’t always be in our business is nice.
Casey’s pizza- see hickory park above
Endless political ads
The lack of variety in entertainment- people like to talk about the slower and more relaxing pace of life which I kind of understand, but it’s mainly code for “there’s not much to do.”

 

[JP4CY]

The biggest thing for me is ISU athletics.

After that, shoreline access to lakes and rivers. Every place has a boat launch, but without a boat most easy-to-get-to places are surrounded by houses or farmland. The high alpine lakes are a couple hour drive on minimum maintenance forest roads. We finally bought some kayaks late last year.

We live in a relatively rural part of western WA so we can still get a lot of the Iowa ag and solitude feeling pretty easily. Life is pretty easy going here.

I traded pork for seafood and am happy with it, but I still buy a slice of Casey's pizza whenever I'm back.

I prefer the temperate WA weather. It's 73° and sunny outside right now. And it rarely gets below freezing in the winter. Green year round.

Frankly I'm not sure there's anywhere else I'd rather live than where I am. We just road tripped home for vacation and I asked myself that very question as we drove through IA, SD, WY, MT, ID and eastern WA.

I could easily live in the PWA. Wife not as much.
We drove (in no hurry) the 101 from Newport to Aberdeen once, then went NE to Seattle. Really nice drive. Although, I could totally plop down in Hood River/White Salmon forever...