Iowa

I live in a small city that boasts low cost of living, excellent schools, safety, short commutes, growing downtown, and numerous jobs.

And yet, I find so many people who "hate" Iowa, would never live there, or hate that they do live here. I understand that those things that I listed are not necessarily the priorities of all people. But for many, they are exactly, so why don't people LOVE Iowa!? I do!

The number one reason people hate Iowa is because they don't have any idea what Iowa actually is. I've lived in 3 cities of Iowa. The smallest was 59,000 residents. That's pretty small, but not definitely doesn't add up to small town living as many see it. The others were 100,000 and 127,000 residents, and have larger "metro areas." I've never lived on a farm, although similar to many other Midwestern states, there is a lot of farmland. Small town life is fine too of course, but even as an Iowan, I've never lived the small town life that many people assume. Even when I went to school in Milwaukee, which is in Wisconsin (that touches Iowa, in case you didn't know, and I think has more small towns and just as many farms) people assumed that I rode a tractor to school and wouldn't know anything about "big city living" in Milwaukee. Yikes.

We've made a great life for ourselves in Iowa. We enjoy Farmer's Markets and other outdoor festivals. We enjoy biking, running, and walking around parks, trails and neighborhoods. We enjoy road trips to nearby towns and cities when we want to visit friends or just experience something new. We enjoy local restaurants and trying local food. We've gotten into the local craft beer scene, which takes us to local breweries and festivals. We've enjoyed local theater productions and concerts of both big and local bands. We've played on volleyball (indoor and outdoor), soccer, softball, and other leagues. We've gotten involved with the occasional service project with housing, local schools, and other opportunities. We've loved meeting new friends and having cookouts, game nights, dinners out, and other fun nights. All of these things are affordable, fun, close to home, safe, and part of why I love to call Iowa home.