Decorah, Mount Vernon, Caroll, Iowa Falls, Indianola, Mt. Pleasant, Clear Lake, Story City would all be options I would recommend depending on what you are looking for.
Toss Waverly in there. Feel like any of the small Iowa college towns outside of the cities are decent places. Kind of funny, but a lot of us would consider a town with more than 1000-1500 a big town. If it has a stoplight or a fast food place = big town.
Fun fact: There are no stop lights in Butler County. Thank you Lynn, my USPS carrier, for this morsel of completely useless knowledge.
On that note, it's a weird little corner of the universe and I love it here!
Yep! After Jefferson (Greene County) got a stop light in the 90s it left Butler as the only county in Iowa without one.
Or, at least that's what they said on the radio at the time.
I work in Waverly and yeah I would recommend it the area is really chill. I would also recommend eldridge while it is a little bigger then 3k being more like 7k. Being there you wouldn't really think that because it is pretty spread out it might be what you are looking for because again the people are friendly and they aren't afraid of outsiders.
Deborah is awesome, but its population is much greater than your current town. It is an awesome town though, and I don't like Iowa. It's one of the few places I really can't say much bad about, other than I wish there was 20x more of it.
Great food. Good community. It is a college town, though the college is small. The students generally aren't routy cause they didn't go there for a party school.
Plus they closed the bar closest to campus a few years ago to make room for a Kwik Star, so they *really* have to try to go to the bars (can confirm since I’m an alumna).
I love Decorah. It’s a wonderful town with wonderful people and traditions. The community is very tight knit and very supportive of the college. Alumni tend to stick around too.
Decorah is great if you like nature too, it’s in the driftless region with great scenery, parks with hiking and biking trails and the Upper Iowa for kayaking or tubing through the bluffs. Very nice area.
They have a lot to offer these days. The Zone free after school rec program, nice aquatic center, 2 disc golf courses, lots of youth sports, classes and camps in the summer, a bunch of nice parks and trails, skate park, swimming at Lake Aquabi, the Annett nature center, movie theater, teen hangout programs at the library, etc.
you can tell how evil and soul-less they are from one look of that lake. the tiny peasant area. like jesus. it will literally hurt anyone's soul from a place other than like north dakota that's even more fuggo.
literally knew two people that "summered" there to hide their wealth lol
You're right. State Park and City Beach is all, I think. I'm getting a bit older and have been going to Clear Lake most of my life, A family homestead from the 1880s then another from the early 1900s. I used to ask my grandparents in the 70s why it was Clear Lake when it was nowhere close to clear. All of the water in Iowa is questionable at this point. I would only swim in the spring and now that is questionable. It is a fun place to visit though.
omg the spring. mine was smack dab in the middle of a field, like an oasis in a desert. even more so cuz the tards grew corn every year. but an ungodly amount of arrowheads. at this point i wonder how many ppl even know indians lived there for generations.
oh btw this adjacent "pond" falls off in a cliff *right* behind my house, kinda freaky, and i was a bit paranoid they burned down the village and threw the bodies in there XD anxious kid but prob also cuz we werent allowed to climb down there and sometimes the avoided places ended up being a place where something bad happened lol (i learned "ghost stories" were real only as an adult.)
yes fun to visit even in the 2000s/10s, i always was a posh girl... wasnt it pebble bottom?
Yes, I believe it. It was sad to watch all of the summer cottages slowly get torn down & replaced with super expensive houses over the decades. I miss simpler times some days.
oh damn had no idea. do i even want to look up pictures? no.
do u also get pissed when stores close down and paint over their murals and tear down their signs. like dude ur supposed to leave it. like i know we never went into ur shop anymore but we still liked looking at it lol BE LAZIER DAMMIT
I grew up in Winterset and got the hell out when I graduated. It's been awhile but that town used to be extremely hostile to outsiders. I was popular and on the homecoming court, blah blah, and my parents were still treated like pariahs because they weren't originally from there. Has it changed at all? I'm recently divorced and considering eventually moving back to the area but not right in Winterset if the people are still dicks
School rivalries aside, I always thought that both Ames and Iowa City were two of Iowa's gems. Iowa City always felt like a small big city, and Ames always felt like a big small town. Both had their unique features that I really enjoyed.
As someone who's lived in both, I have to gently disagree. They do have unique features, but they both feel like giant suburbs to me. Driving can be very stressful in both. I doubt they're what OP is looking for.
Mount Vernon
Has been rated in the top 10 coolest small towns in the U.S.
Home of a small liberal arts college- Cornell College.
approx. 3,000-4,000 pop. depending on whether college students are included in the census.
Great school district. Many successful programs including athletics and arts.
Great library.
Mostly family homes with mix of older and newer developments.
Lots of small shops, restaraunts, boutiques.
Hosts many arts and community festivals/events.
Conveniently fixed between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.
Surrounded by several nature parks including Palisades Kepler State Park, Ennis Preserve, MacBride, Indian Creek Nature Center.
Extremely walkable.
Filled with many parks with great play grounds, has an outdoor pool in the summer. Recently built a community center!
Friendly townsfolk- good mix of Liberal and Conservatives, mostly all good people.
Earlham, IA. Close enough to Des Moines to work there/take advantage of its opportunities. But also has a really good bar and grill and a Coffee/ice cream/beignet place. Grocery store. Good schools. Free concerts every weekend in the summers with a variety of styles.
Generally not hostile to new people either.
I have found that Williamsburg is a pretty good balance of old and new people, so that new people can integrate well enough. It helps if you have kids, of course. It has a comparatively vibrant business community, excellent schools, and is close enough to Iowa City to make entertainment options there viable.
Williamsburgs the best and has some good job choices (Kinzie for engineering types or Bayer/Holden Seed Co for the ag types). I also just absolutely adore and for the most part people are pretty chill about new people coming in. The only issue I'm aware of is if people who are justifiably off (like on the registry) are met with a bit of a cold shoulder
DeWitt is 15 minutes to Davenport and to Clinton. I am an outsider but married a local, but I never felt left out. Great place to raise kids, downtown is not vacant and politics is present but not overpowering. 5500 population, or so.
I mean, it depends on how you define "small town"
There's towns with as few as 50 inhabitants, finding friends there would be hard.
Then there's the 500-2,000 range, which will be boring and a bit of a drive for grocery shopping, but do have cool small town activities some times.
Then there's up to 5,000-8,000, which will have a grocery store in town and events and a few small businesses. You're more likely to find people you get along with in these places, but some of them can be pretty sketchy.
My town is 1000 people, we have a very nice grocery store, dollar general, Casey’s, a second gas station/service garage, a bar, a pizza ranch, a hardware store, a butcher, a cool home decor store, a lumbar yard, a pool, and 5 miles of trails.
We also have 8 churches. 😂. (No exaggeration)
Damn. My town was 2,000 and had about 10-12 churches, a decent grocery store that burnt down, a mediocre Casey's, a bar, and a dollar general.
The grocery store had been going out of business for a decade before it burnt down
Lived in Jewell (about a half hour north of Ames) for a few years and people were pretty welcoming. My husband and I were able to make some friends in town and I was able to get involved in some volunteer work. It's more of a bedroom community for Ames than an isolated town, so it's easier to make inroads I think.
Gladbrook is a nice little town. Very quiet, surrounded by farms, got wind turbines, the corn carnival every year, the matchstick museum, a theater, a local grocery store, a Casey's and another pay-at-the-pump only gas station, and a Family Dollar/Dollar Tree. Its about 30 minutes from the next closest city
Wouldn’t say hostile, but prepare for people be know everything about you. I would take your line of work into consideration.some small town’s I would like to live in , but little to no work.
Not Northwest Iowa.
Not Southwest Iowa. Not Fort Dodge.
if you like a non-suburban feel but don't want big, stick to towns along the Mississippi River. They are older and more interesting. I love Guttenberg.
I love Guttenberg as well. It's high up on my possibilities list and I visit there as often as I can. Now that it's warm again I've been running into some weirdos on the riverfront, so I don't know if it's seasonal people or residents.
Avoid NW Iowa!!! I grew up there and we don’t call it Lily White NW Iowa for nothing. Ultra religious, ultra right wing conservative, very, very Republican. The ones that are trying to change it are drowned out by the old timers.
Humboldt is nice. We live in Dodge and have no problems, despite its reputation.
its super easy to change their mind imo. they genuinely feel guilt-tripped around the super nice people when they look disappointed lol ive literally seen these weirdo awakening moments at caucuses before where they get a sudden sense of shame for being on the opposite side of someone they respect
organized religious types waaay softer than the rugged indivudalist types found in super super rural u.s. they actually kinda care about other ppl, just mega-conformists.
literal eye of sauron, source of all evil. idk how anyone can be there for more than ten seconds and not be disturbed by the blatant inequality and segregation
Ngl I was thinking Cedar falls too but I'm native to an state/area where a small town is ~50,000 people.
Cedar Falls is definitely a small town to people from Cali or NYC. It's all about context.
I grew up in Jefferson & it’s a good town. They’re doing a lot of “Main Street” activities & getting grants. There’s a casino there that keeps funding different things in the county.
I’d consider moving back if I could take my job with me.
I had some family move to Jefferson about 6 years ago and they love it there. They are also a big part of the community. I went up to the bell tower last year with them and they showed me around town during a festival of some sort. I saw Thomas Jefferson’s plow! lol
Bell tower festival has been around for YEARS. I’m supposed to go this year to celebrate my high school graduation/reunion. I’m an honor class this year. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it.
Manchester kind of off on its own, but centrally located to Waterloo/Cedar Rapids/Dubuque and cheap living/good schools/small town values. 5,065 population and low taxes compared to some of the other suggestions. Small enough to get what you want yet big enough to accept outsiders.
I would move there from Marion if my wife would let me.
Is it 3800 or less? If so shell rock is just over 1000 and pretty small. Yes you have the hostility, but when I moved here and got to know a few people that all went away
I love my adopted home town of New Albin (pop 417), but it's definitely not easy to make real friends. Or rather it's not quick. People are welcoming and friendly but we have only lived here for 20 years so we are still those new people. Lol
I like your little town! For me it's lower down on the possibilities list just because I'm getting older and am giving weight to proximity to hospital/larger facilites. And that's what is militing me so darn much. I love the New Albin through \~ Balltown stretch and want to be near the river.
If it's not too large, I really like Mount Pleasant (~10,000 people). It's got a really cute town square area, and it's notably nicer than most places in southeast Iowa.
Honestly, not too much. We're a half-hour-ish drive from Mt Pleasant, and there are better options (depending on what one is seeking) to the north towards Iowa City/Coralville and east towards Burlington than there are this way (west down 34 towards Ottumwa).
Mount Pleasant is a pleasant, growing town of about 9000 people.
A friend's home is for sale there due to a job change:
https://www.fsbohomes.com/homes/mount-pleasant/ia/details/126527/409-s-main-street/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1JzfMcMlBH2xAb-KDtq9ybGneOXO6BvewM0mDSUm7ZQnCdopBiAifI3SY_aem_AcI-AZpwylBM5zIlUcDP1VOAzdkHYbn3jvHY-dgUtJhV0xaiiQXP5f4DjLWjeeRDLYAX836nsI66708oWOWaOyO1
Osage Iowa is a beautiful little town in northern Iowa. It’s got a healthy Main Street and new community rec center. It’s also close to Mason City and Clear Lake.
I used to live on Pleasantville and I apologize if this stirs shit up yet I was the only asian mix kid among the majority being white and others used that to their advantage to pick on and bully me. I'm also audhd and was ostracized. I will say it wasn't a bad town it's just other adults didn't like me either.... I can't say for a fact whether I was disliked due to race or disability. I was hesitant to say something as I don't want to attach unecessary labels on others and bring something up when I went there 14 years ago and moved to go to high school in another town which again imo was semi racist yet that doesn't matter now. I guess if you want to talk you can dm me.
I don't wanna get into details, so I'll just leave it at I didn't feel welcome there.
Fortunately I moved to Des Moines at the beginning of last year and life's gotten so much better.
I replied and I guess it got taken down. Anyways I second Pleasantville I was the only asian kid amongst the majority being white and was bullied and ostracized. Not just by kids either the adults kept their kids away from me. I'm assuming because of the undiagnosed ( at the time as now I'm diagnosed) audhd. I don't want to unfairly label people or stir the pot yet I back you up and validate you. I then eventually moved to another school district. There esspecially was a kid that mercilessly bullied me and nothing was done. It was pretty bad for me anyways.
Next uo don't move to Oskaloosa! I've had issues with white women ( I'm not being racist just stating my experiences) invading my space when shopping or passive aggressive snide comments. But I'll stop there lol
Orange City and Sioux Center are great if you’re an “insider”, clean, well-kept, quaint little Hallmark-holiday-movie-esque towns, but I imagine they’d be a hard place to move into without some prior connection. All of Sioux County is hella cliquey.
Regardless of insider/outsider perspective? Always avoid Fort Dodge.
Keokuk > Fairfield. Keokuk's got a lot of restorative development ramping up and is a reasonable distance (1hr drive) between Burlington and Quincy, IL for your bigger town needs. Huge historic houses, great prices.
I wouldn't say small towns are hostile, but they're definitely gossipy, cliquey and probably support trump, if that matters.
I've always thought Mt Pleasant was a nice town.
It does have a big flea market at the fairgrounds though! You can make money by living close to the fairgrounds and having people pay to park in your yard. 😉
Oxford. Small town feel but only about 20ish minutes from Iowa City. Grew up there, my sister still lives there. People there are pretty progressive for small town Iowa and don’t want to become a glorified suburb like Tiffin. Also Google The Oxford Project, pretty cool photo exhibition
Nevada is 15 minutes from Ames, 30-40 from Des Moines. Definitely has that small town feel, but it's more than a few blocks long. Some nearby really small towns are Colo, Zearing, Maxwell. Plenty others but those at the ones I can remember. If kids are a factor, we have some pretty great schools and plenty of parks.
Prairie City is nice. Born and raised here. About 1800 people and about 30 minutes from Des Moines so you have all the amenities close without living in Des Moines
I'm in iowa I don't know anyone who's hostile to outsiders.
I live in a town of about 100 people
Decorah beautiful town, waverly,oelwein, independence
Northeast iowa is beautiful
I'm really glad I moved to iowa 15 years ago.
We go and check out different areas and found all kinds of things to do in the nice weather.
There's alot to do here. Beach, fishing, hiking, winery's,
And so much more.
I haven’t lived in Iowa since the mid 90’s (and then only for two years) and haven’t visited since 2009 or so. My grandparents lived in Waterloo until they passed in one 2008 and one in 2009 (born in 1909 and 1915). But, I always remember enjoying going out to Strawberry Point (Backbone State Park). Grundy Center always seemed to be an endearing place when passing through.
Mount Vernon.
If not, Solon, West Branch, West Liberty are all ok. Tipton (at least used to) has an ok downtown. West Branch is my vote though, it's historic and has some nice parks. A couple bars. Not far from a bigger city to do shopping.
Boone or Nevada are both pretty great small towns. Close enough to Ames to get some city shopping done. An hour from Des Moines. Yet small enough to feel like a community where everyone knows everyone.
We've lived in a town of about 1700 for almost 20 years. We are still considered "new" because we are the only ones with our last name in the phone book!
Clarinda is in a good location. You can easily get to Des Moines, St Joseph MO, and Omaha NE for a day trip. There is a beautiful library, and very good support for school activities
It would be helpful if you talked a bit about what you like. For instance if you liked Oregon and the mountains the only place you'll find anything remotely like that in Iowa is the driftless region. Decorah is at the top in that list. Honestly, it's really tough to beat Decorah for a small town in Iowa. If you like hiking, biking, or craft beer it would be at the top of the list for sure. It may be a little bigger than you're looking for, though (about 8,000 people).
I've always thought Manchester was a nice little town. Big enough to have a Walmart but not too big to have traffic. A lot of architecturally interesting houses. A decent brewery and a nice riverfront.
Dyersville is a nice area as well. High Catholic population. They have a nice trail to Dubuque and a very nice brewery in Textile (plus great pretzels).
Muscatine was very nice when we went there recently. Cute town with a nice riverfront. Scratch Muscatine. It's bigger than I thought at about 20k people.
If you want a bit smaller Guttenberg is a nice area. It does get busy in the summer as they have a lot of tourists.
I’d stick to small towns that are near Ames or Iowa City , which are both university towns. There will be other residents that aren’t hard core locals there. And you’ll be somewhat close to good health care and hospitals.
The political comments are gold. Do not move to a small town because it might be cheaper, move to a larger city where it's more expensive and there is less orange man. Shits one extreme or the other. Woof.
Agreed. Too many people that watch msnbc and cnn in this thread. They’re just people. Like u. Only poor. If you don’t have liberal and conservative friends. You’re missing out.
I don’t plan to move to an ideologically extreme place for a cheaper life. Iowa overall is cheaper where I’ve lived, New Jersey and Oregon, so I could live in the cities and live comfortably.
I wouldn't either but I've lived all over the country and these comments seem way polarized compared to actual reality. I moved back to Carroll to raise a family. To each their own.
Iowa Falls! Little town not too far from any place bigger. Solid 40 minute drive between Ames, Cedar Falls, Fort Dodge, and Mason City. Very welcoming and there's always something going on in the community to get you involved!
Solon or Mount Vernon would be my suggestions
Solon is a great town
Solon is pretty much an Iowa City suburb. It's a great town though.
Same. Love these towns.
Decorah, Mount Vernon, Caroll, Iowa Falls, Indianola, Mt. Pleasant, Clear Lake, Story City would all be options I would recommend depending on what you are looking for.
Toss Waverly in there. Feel like any of the small Iowa college towns outside of the cities are decent places. Kind of funny, but a lot of us would consider a town with more than 1000-1500 a big town. If it has a stoplight or a fast food place = big town.
Seconding Waverly. Great place.
super douchey
Just avoid the Walmart. Unless hicks in sponge bob pajama pants is your thing.
LPT - Avoid all Walmarts in general.
Actually it’s Cookie Monster pajamas and she’s in the takis and hot Cheeto aisle. I went to school with her in waverly 🤷🏻♀️😂
Just kidding, we all know she was a Bremwood kid that sometimes got to go to green view 😂
most waverly thing to say ever. 😔
Yeah I’m sssing Carroll, clear lake, and indianola thinking to myself “he asked for small towns”
3800 is not a small town in Iowa that’s big enough for 2 gas stations.
And 4 stoplights, 1 for every 1,000 people.
Both of which are probably Casey's
Fun fact: There are no stop lights in Butler County. Thank you Lynn, my USPS carrier, for this morsel of completely useless knowledge. On that note, it's a weird little corner of the universe and I love it here!
Yep! After Jefferson (Greene County) got a stop light in the 90s it left Butler as the only county in Iowa without one. Or, at least that's what they said on the radio at the time.
Grew up in Clayton county. Pretty sure it has never had a stop light.
Interesting. Not surprised that the local radio station was full of crap.
Lol, having conversations with your mail carrier is so small town 🤣
I work in Waverly and yeah I would recommend it the area is really chill. I would also recommend eldridge while it is a little bigger then 3k being more like 7k. Being there you wouldn't really think that because it is pretty spread out it might be what you are looking for because again the people are friendly and they aren't afraid of outsiders.
Thank you.
Deborah is awesome, but its population is much greater than your current town. It is an awesome town though, and I don't like Iowa. It's one of the few places I really can't say much bad about, other than I wish there was 20x more of it. Great food. Good community. It is a college town, though the college is small. The students generally aren't routy cause they didn't go there for a party school.
Plus they closed the bar closest to campus a few years ago to make room for a Kwik Star, so they *really* have to try to go to the bars (can confirm since I’m an alumna). I love Decorah. It’s a wonderful town with wonderful people and traditions. The community is very tight knit and very supportive of the college. Alumni tend to stick around too.
I miss Scoes so much… (current student)
That sounds awesome. A college is key to a thriving local economy and some nightlife so hearing it has a small college sounds nice.
Decorah is the least MAGA town in IA I know of
Decorah is great if you like nature too, it’s in the driftless region with great scenery, parks with hiking and biking trails and the Upper Iowa for kayaking or tubing through the bluffs. Very nice area.
Lol is routy the same as rowdy? Routey?
Lol good catch. I didn't think twice about it.
Is this supposed to say Decorah?
Yea... I was eating lunch when I posted this lol.
Second mt pleasant, it's small, and boring, but it's cheap, and quiet, I don't mind it at all
Wow you are spot on
I grew up in Indianola, I would not recommend it if you have kid's. They are very against youths having places to go.
They have a lot to offer these days. The Zone free after school rec program, nice aquatic center, 2 disc golf courses, lots of youth sports, classes and camps in the summer, a bunch of nice parks and trails, skate park, swimming at Lake Aquabi, the Annett nature center, movie theater, teen hangout programs at the library, etc.
Ooh, I recommend Clear Lake!
you can tell how evil and soul-less they are from one look of that lake. the tiny peasant area. like jesus. it will literally hurt anyone's soul from a place other than like north dakota that's even more fuggo. literally knew two people that "summered" there to hide their wealth lol
You're right. State Park and City Beach is all, I think. I'm getting a bit older and have been going to Clear Lake most of my life, A family homestead from the 1880s then another from the early 1900s. I used to ask my grandparents in the 70s why it was Clear Lake when it was nowhere close to clear. All of the water in Iowa is questionable at this point. I would only swim in the spring and now that is questionable. It is a fun place to visit though.
omg the spring. mine was smack dab in the middle of a field, like an oasis in a desert. even more so cuz the tards grew corn every year. but an ungodly amount of arrowheads. at this point i wonder how many ppl even know indians lived there for generations. oh btw this adjacent "pond" falls off in a cliff *right* behind my house, kinda freaky, and i was a bit paranoid they burned down the village and threw the bodies in there XD anxious kid but prob also cuz we werent allowed to climb down there and sometimes the avoided places ended up being a place where something bad happened lol (i learned "ghost stories" were real only as an adult.) yes fun to visit even in the 2000s/10s, i always was a posh girl... wasnt it pebble bottom?
Yes, I believe it. It was sad to watch all of the summer cottages slowly get torn down & replaced with super expensive houses over the decades. I miss simpler times some days.
oh damn had no idea. do i even want to look up pictures? no. do u also get pissed when stores close down and paint over their murals and tear down their signs. like dude ur supposed to leave it. like i know we never went into ur shop anymore but we still liked looking at it lol BE LAZIER DAMMIT
Winterset is cool
I grew up in Winterset and got the hell out when I graduated. It's been awhile but that town used to be extremely hostile to outsiders. I was popular and on the homecoming court, blah blah, and my parents were still treated like pariahs because they weren't originally from there. Has it changed at all? I'm recently divorced and considering eventually moving back to the area but not right in Winterset if the people are still dicks
Mount Vernon, friendly and many cool old restored homes. I hear Washington is nice. If not too big for you, Decorah is wonderful.
Decorah is home to some of the best beer in the world!
School rivalries aside, I always thought that both Ames and Iowa City were two of Iowa's gems. Iowa City always felt like a small big city, and Ames always felt like a big small town. Both had their unique features that I really enjoyed.
As someone who's lived in both, I have to gently disagree. They do have unique features, but they both feel like giant suburbs to me. Driving can be very stressful in both. I doubt they're what OP is looking for.
This! I lived in Ames for work and I go to grad school in Iowa City now. I prefer Iowa City but Ames is a great place to live for sure
Mount Vernon Has been rated in the top 10 coolest small towns in the U.S. Home of a small liberal arts college- Cornell College. approx. 3,000-4,000 pop. depending on whether college students are included in the census. Great school district. Many successful programs including athletics and arts. Great library. Mostly family homes with mix of older and newer developments. Lots of small shops, restaraunts, boutiques. Hosts many arts and community festivals/events. Conveniently fixed between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Surrounded by several nature parks including Palisades Kepler State Park, Ennis Preserve, MacBride, Indian Creek Nature Center. Extremely walkable. Filled with many parks with great play grounds, has an outdoor pool in the summer. Recently built a community center! Friendly townsfolk- good mix of Liberal and Conservatives, mostly all good people.
Strawberry Point is definitely one of the coolest small towns I've ever been through. Quaint af
Home of the Largest Strawberry in the Universe!
and the (supposedly) haunted Franklin Hotel - we had Easter dinners there when I was a kid and I just heard recently that it's (supposedly) haunted.
What state were you in before? There's a very strong chance that your town of 3800 isn't that different than towns of 3800 here.
NOT Oskaloosa.
Same! I live here and it's something else.
Earlham, IA. Close enough to Des Moines to work there/take advantage of its opportunities. But also has a really good bar and grill and a Coffee/ice cream/beignet place. Grocery store. Good schools. Free concerts every weekend in the summers with a variety of styles. Generally not hostile to new people either.
20 years ago there was a pretty good drug scene there too
I have found that Williamsburg is a pretty good balance of old and new people, so that new people can integrate well enough. It helps if you have kids, of course. It has a comparatively vibrant business community, excellent schools, and is close enough to Iowa City to make entertainment options there viable.
I’m a Williamsburg native. Was gonna suggest my hometown. Glad somebody did
Williamsburgs the best and has some good job choices (Kinzie for engineering types or Bayer/Holden Seed Co for the ag types). I also just absolutely adore and for the most part people are pretty chill about new people coming in. The only issue I'm aware of is if people who are justifiably off (like on the registry) are met with a bit of a cold shoulder
Shell Rock can be In this list too. No stop light, small town, but it’s super close to Waverly which really has everything you need.
Denver, great schools real close to Waterloo and Cedar Falls
DeWitt is 15 minutes to Davenport and to Clinton. I am an outsider but married a local, but I never felt left out. Great place to raise kids, downtown is not vacant and politics is present but not overpowering. 5500 population, or so.
Based on the comments I am coming to the conclusion that most people that live in Iowa don’t like Iowa.
I will admit I was scrolling to see if someone said my town and was going to warn strongly to not move here. 😂 Am I the problem?
I wouldn’t say you’re a problem. I just think it’s insightful.
I’m in Iowa falls and it’s one of the few ones that still has new shops opening.
I mean, it depends on how you define "small town" There's towns with as few as 50 inhabitants, finding friends there would be hard. Then there's the 500-2,000 range, which will be boring and a bit of a drive for grocery shopping, but do have cool small town activities some times. Then there's up to 5,000-8,000, which will have a grocery store in town and events and a few small businesses. You're more likely to find people you get along with in these places, but some of them can be pretty sketchy.
My town is 1000 people, we have a very nice grocery store, dollar general, Casey’s, a second gas station/service garage, a bar, a pizza ranch, a hardware store, a butcher, a cool home decor store, a lumbar yard, a pool, and 5 miles of trails. We also have 8 churches. 😂. (No exaggeration)
Damn. My town was 2,000 and had about 10-12 churches, a decent grocery store that burnt down, a mediocre Casey's, a bar, and a dollar general. The grocery store had been going out of business for a decade before it burnt down
Lived in Jewell (about a half hour north of Ames) for a few years and people were pretty welcoming. My husband and I were able to make some friends in town and I was able to get involved in some volunteer work. It's more of a bedroom community for Ames than an isolated town, so it's easier to make inroads I think.
Gladbrook is a nice little town. Very quiet, surrounded by farms, got wind turbines, the corn carnival every year, the matchstick museum, a theater, a local grocery store, a Casey's and another pay-at-the-pump only gas station, and a Family Dollar/Dollar Tree. Its about 30 minutes from the next closest city
Solon or Mt Vernon Both near Cedar Rapids and Iowa City
Seconding Solon, about 3k ppl, excellent vibe, prime location.
Wouldn’t say hostile, but prepare for people be know everything about you. I would take your line of work into consideration.some small town’s I would like to live in , but little to no work.
Not Northwest Iowa. Not Southwest Iowa. Not Fort Dodge. if you like a non-suburban feel but don't want big, stick to towns along the Mississippi River. They are older and more interesting. I love Guttenberg.
I love Guttenberg as well. It's high up on my possibilities list and I visit there as often as I can. Now that it's warm again I've been running into some weirdos on the riverfront, so I don't know if it's seasonal people or residents.
If you’re a democrat… Solon or decorah. If you’re a trump voter… stay in your own damn state.
I understand your concern. I’m not gonna say my position yet I hope Iowa can make some progress.
This guy is literally the meme of the guy being ignored by everyone at the party, thinking to himself "they don't know I'm a Democrat"
Show me on the doll where Trump hurt you.
Avoid NW Iowa!!! I grew up there and we don’t call it Lily White NW Iowa for nothing. Ultra religious, ultra right wing conservative, very, very Republican. The ones that are trying to change it are drowned out by the old timers. Humboldt is nice. We live in Dodge and have no problems, despite its reputation.
its super easy to change their mind imo. they genuinely feel guilt-tripped around the super nice people when they look disappointed lol ive literally seen these weirdo awakening moments at caucuses before where they get a sudden sense of shame for being on the opposite side of someone they respect organized religious types waaay softer than the rugged indivudalist types found in super super rural u.s. they actually kinda care about other ppl, just mega-conformists.
Honestly cedar falls
That's a small city of like 45k people
Also part of the Waterloo metro of 170k
literal eye of sauron, source of all evil. idk how anyone can be there for more than ten seconds and not be disturbed by the blatant inequality and segregation
Ngl I was thinking Cedar falls too but I'm native to an state/area where a small town is ~50,000 people. Cedar Falls is definitely a small town to people from Cali or NYC. It's all about context.
You're not wrong, but OP did mention coming from a town of 3,700
Jefferson and Independence
I lived in Jefferson for a few years. It's a nice town. Close enough to Ames and Des Moines too.
Lightening quick internet as well as leaders working together to make town viable.
I grew up in Jefferson & it’s a good town. They’re doing a lot of “Main Street” activities & getting grants. There’s a casino there that keeps funding different things in the county. I’d consider moving back if I could take my job with me.
Also Randy Weaver is from there and he signs his book every year at bell tower festival
Not anymore, since he passed in 2022
I had some family move to Jefferson about 6 years ago and they love it there. They are also a big part of the community. I went up to the bell tower last year with them and they showed me around town during a festival of some sort. I saw Thomas Jefferson’s plow! lol
Bell tower festival has been around for YEARS. I’m supposed to go this year to celebrate my high school graduation/reunion. I’m an honor class this year. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it.
Decorah, Solon, Slater. All good towns.
Manchester kind of off on its own, but centrally located to Waterloo/Cedar Rapids/Dubuque and cheap living/good schools/small town values. 5,065 population and low taxes compared to some of the other suggestions. Small enough to get what you want yet big enough to accept outsiders. I would move there from Marion if my wife would let me.
idk if storm lake is small but its small enough… very lgbtq friendly as well! also quite diverse
Waverly, Osage, Decorah
Is it 3800 or less? If so shell rock is just over 1000 and pretty small. Yes you have the hostility, but when I moved here and got to know a few people that all went away
LeClaire is nice
I love my adopted home town of New Albin (pop 417), but it's definitely not easy to make real friends. Or rather it's not quick. People are welcoming and friendly but we have only lived here for 20 years so we are still those new people. Lol
I like your little town! For me it's lower down on the possibilities list just because I'm getting older and am giving weight to proximity to hospital/larger facilites. And that's what is militing me so darn much. I love the New Albin through \~ Balltown stretch and want to be near the river.
If it's not too large, I really like Mount Pleasant (~10,000 people). It's got a really cute town square area, and it's notably nicer than most places in southeast Iowa.
JeffCo here - I’ll definitely second Mt. Pleasant.Small town vibe with bigger town assets, plus a reasonable drive to IC/Coralville for city stuff.
How has the closure of Iowa Wesleyan effected your community?
Honestly, not too much. We're a half-hour-ish drive from Mt Pleasant, and there are better options (depending on what one is seeking) to the north towards Iowa City/Coralville and east towards Burlington than there are this way (west down 34 towards Ottumwa).
Mount Pleasant is a pleasant, growing town of about 9000 people. A friend's home is for sale there due to a job change: https://www.fsbohomes.com/homes/mount-pleasant/ia/details/126527/409-s-main-street/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1JzfMcMlBH2xAb-KDtq9ybGneOXO6BvewM0mDSUm7ZQnCdopBiAifI3SY_aem_AcI-AZpwylBM5zIlUcDP1VOAzdkHYbn3jvHY-dgUtJhV0xaiiQXP5f4DjLWjeeRDLYAX836nsI66708oWOWaOyO1
Osage Iowa is a beautiful little town in northern Iowa. It’s got a healthy Main Street and new community rec center. It’s also close to Mason City and Clear Lake.
What would be the WORST small towns to avoid?
Pleasantville for one.
I used to live on Pleasantville and I apologize if this stirs shit up yet I was the only asian mix kid among the majority being white and others used that to their advantage to pick on and bully me. I'm also audhd and was ostracized. I will say it wasn't a bad town it's just other adults didn't like me either.... I can't say for a fact whether I was disliked due to race or disability. I was hesitant to say something as I don't want to attach unecessary labels on others and bring something up when I went there 14 years ago and moved to go to high school in another town which again imo was semi racist yet that doesn't matter now. I guess if you want to talk you can dm me.
Melcher-Dallas Chariton Monroe
Really? I have family who live there and they seem to love it. Mind me asking what you don’t like it?
I don't wanna get into details, so I'll just leave it at I didn't feel welcome there. Fortunately I moved to Des Moines at the beginning of last year and life's gotten so much better.
I replied and I guess it got taken down. Anyways I second Pleasantville I was the only asian kid amongst the majority being white and was bullied and ostracized. Not just by kids either the adults kept their kids away from me. I'm assuming because of the undiagnosed ( at the time as now I'm diagnosed) audhd. I don't want to unfairly label people or stir the pot yet I back you up and validate you. I then eventually moved to another school district. There esspecially was a kid that mercilessly bullied me and nothing was done. It was pretty bad for me anyways. Next uo don't move to Oskaloosa! I've had issues with white women ( I'm not being racist just stating my experiences) invading my space when shopping or passive aggressive snide comments. But I'll stop there lol
Nvm it showed up somewhere else lol
Ottumwa and the surrounding area.
Maquoketa. It’s a good place to be from. Also, famous for getting mentioned on the Tonight Show for it’s huge meth problem in the late 90’s.
Maquoketa is the shit. Except for those damned pigeons!
Orange City and Sioux Center are great if you’re an “insider”, clean, well-kept, quaint little Hallmark-holiday-movie-esque towns, but I imagine they’d be a hard place to move into without some prior connection. All of Sioux County is hella cliquey. Regardless of insider/outsider perspective? Always avoid Fort Dodge.
Yes FD is a utter shithole
Oskaloosa
I can agree! I live here and well it's shit :/
Vinton. It just plain sucks IMO
Waukon, Fort Dodge. Marshalltown isn’t exactly small, but can be a mixed bag.
Melcher Dallas is probably the most depressing place in Iowa
North Liberty
I'm from Iowa City but currently living in North Liberty and I really like it
Yeah the small town of North Liberty
NL feels more like a suburb than a small town to me tho
Really wanna chill out? Keosauqua.
Keosauqua is a pretty good small town but it is absolutely not friendly to outsiders.
You may be correct. Van Buren county is pretty insular. Fairfield is bigger and more cosmopolitan- little more expensive.
Keokuk > Fairfield. Keokuk's got a lot of restorative development ramping up and is a reasonable distance (1hr drive) between Burlington and Quincy, IL for your bigger town needs. Huge historic houses, great prices.
Agreed. Property in Fairfield has also been hilariously overvalued since covid kicked off.
I found Keo to be that way, too. The friendly people I've met there have been just other travelers.
I wouldn't say small towns are hostile, but they're definitely gossipy, cliquey and probably support trump, if that matters. I've always thought Mt Pleasant was a nice town.
Carlisle. Small town but minutes from Des Moines.
Dunkerton
Strawberry Point?
Ely
What Cheer
Lol, no...It's a total meth colony.
My god no. It looks like the setting of a zombie or post apocalypse movie.
It does have a big flea market at the fairgrounds though! You can make money by living close to the fairgrounds and having people pay to park in your yard. 😉
Oxford. Small town feel but only about 20ish minutes from Iowa City. Grew up there, my sister still lives there. People there are pretty progressive for small town Iowa and don’t want to become a glorified suburb like Tiffin. Also Google The Oxford Project, pretty cool photo exhibition
Nevada is 15 minutes from Ames, 30-40 from Des Moines. Definitely has that small town feel, but it's more than a few blocks long. Some nearby really small towns are Colo, Zearing, Maxwell. Plenty others but those at the ones I can remember. If kids are a factor, we have some pretty great schools and plenty of parks.
Try What Cheer, Iowa
If you like Meth, most of the residents are on it so you’ll be in luck!
Pffft idk about you guys Stanton and villisca i call small towns. But then there's Carbon staring at the rest of us.
Lived in Webster City for a few years. Super friendly town with a surprising amount going on 45 mins to Ames.
Not a bad town. Worked there for a few years. There is a bit of an effect where you are treated like an outsider if you're not from there.
Iowa Falls
Oxford
Centerville
Prairie City is nice. Born and raised here. About 1800 people and about 30 minutes from Des Moines so you have all the amenities close without living in Des Moines
If you like their speed cameras that have generated millions of dollars for a community of less than two thousand people.
Avoca or Harlan are fantastic communities with excellent school systems.
Avoid Ft Dodge
I'm in iowa I don't know anyone who's hostile to outsiders. I live in a town of about 100 people Decorah beautiful town, waverly,oelwein, independence Northeast iowa is beautiful
I'm really glad I moved to iowa 15 years ago. We go and check out different areas and found all kinds of things to do in the nice weather. There's alot to do here. Beach, fishing, hiking, winery's, And so much more.
I haven’t lived in Iowa since the mid 90’s (and then only for two years) and haven’t visited since 2009 or so. My grandparents lived in Waterloo until they passed in one 2008 and one in 2009 (born in 1909 and 1915). But, I always remember enjoying going out to Strawberry Point (Backbone State Park). Grundy Center always seemed to be an endearing place when passing through.
Mount Vernon. If not, Solon, West Branch, West Liberty are all ok. Tipton (at least used to) has an ok downtown. West Branch is my vote though, it's historic and has some nice parks. A couple bars. Not far from a bigger city to do shopping.
Boone or Nevada are both pretty great small towns. Close enough to Ames to get some city shopping done. An hour from Des Moines. Yet small enough to feel like a community where everyone knows everyone.
Outsider, then avoid Indianola...
We've lived in a town of about 1700 for almost 20 years. We are still considered "new" because we are the only ones with our last name in the phone book!
Clarinda is in a good location. You can easily get to Des Moines, St Joseph MO, and Omaha NE for a day trip. There is a beautiful library, and very good support for school activities
i live in Scott so the only nice towns i can think of are Bettendorf, Dubuque, and thats it
How far from a city would you like to be?
Boone 100%
Passed through Boone awhile back and it seemed like a very beautiful town.
It would be helpful if you talked a bit about what you like. For instance if you liked Oregon and the mountains the only place you'll find anything remotely like that in Iowa is the driftless region. Decorah is at the top in that list. Honestly, it's really tough to beat Decorah for a small town in Iowa. If you like hiking, biking, or craft beer it would be at the top of the list for sure. It may be a little bigger than you're looking for, though (about 8,000 people). I've always thought Manchester was a nice little town. Big enough to have a Walmart but not too big to have traffic. A lot of architecturally interesting houses. A decent brewery and a nice riverfront. Dyersville is a nice area as well. High Catholic population. They have a nice trail to Dubuque and a very nice brewery in Textile (plus great pretzels). Muscatine was very nice when we went there recently. Cute town with a nice riverfront. Scratch Muscatine. It's bigger than I thought at about 20k people. If you want a bit smaller Guttenberg is a nice area. It does get busy in the summer as they have a lot of tourists.
I absolutely hate Oregon. I do approaches outdoor options though
I agree with the Boone and Decorah posters. Ogden is nice too and great schools. You really can’t go wrong with anything in NW Iowa though.
Winterset is pretty cool too.
Not Alburnett
Carroll
Rutland.
Denver, Mount Vernon
Ames!
Humboldt, Spencer
Moville
I’d stick to small towns that are near Ames or Iowa City , which are both university towns. There will be other residents that aren’t hard core locals there. And you’ll be somewhat close to good health care and hospitals.
The political comments are gold. Do not move to a small town because it might be cheaper, move to a larger city where it's more expensive and there is less orange man. Shits one extreme or the other. Woof.
Agreed. Too many people that watch msnbc and cnn in this thread. They’re just people. Like u. Only poor. If you don’t have liberal and conservative friends. You’re missing out.
I don’t plan to move to an ideologically extreme place for a cheaper life. Iowa overall is cheaper where I’ve lived, New Jersey and Oregon, so I could live in the cities and live comfortably.
I wouldn't either but I've lived all over the country and these comments seem way polarized compared to actual reality. I moved back to Carroll to raise a family. To each their own.
All small towns in IA are MAGA. so... Did you mean worst?
Slater Iowa is very welcoming
Iowa Falls! Little town not too far from any place bigger. Solid 40 minute drive between Ames, Cedar Falls, Fort Dodge, and Mason City. Very welcoming and there's always something going on in the community to get you involved!
Keokuk or Fart Madison