OT: Anyone from Dubuque, IA? Good place to live/retire?
 

Only one thread on Dubuque from back in '17.

We are trying to narrow down where we want to retire.
My wife and I both like the Midwest, but we wouldn't mind living somewhere where the geography is a little more interesting than Northern IL or Chicagoland.
MW climate is not an issue at all...

We plan to get an RV and travel quite a bit, i.e. we don't want to maintain a mansion in an expensive area (taxes, etc.).
More along the lines of a smallish house with a barn.

Love the Driftless area that Dubuque borders on; it is great for motorcycle rides and even though I never cycled in the area, it seems to have a really good reputation for cycling as well.
Madison, WI is close, Chicago is only 3 hours in case we get the city itch.

Since it might help to answer another important question these days, here is our list of areas that we would never move to: TX, FL, and anything in the Bible Belt ;)

Dubuque: pros/cons/thoughts?

Cycling in the region between Dubuque and Madison is pretty nice.

I live down in Iowa City. Can’t speak for living in Dubuque, but can agree the riding is nice around there.

A nearby route:

https://bikepacking.com/routes/yellow-river-loop/

I've spent a good amount of time in Dubuque, and the surrounding areas. I'm from Madison, currently in the middle of a move to Spring Green.

Dubuque is a city that is reinventing itself from an industrial town to a more tourist friendly place with nice shops and places to eat.

The area is nice, as is the riding. I think you'd enjoy living there.

Happy to answer any more questions you have. I know my response was pretty general.

Don't think IA is in the Bible belt, but it's a good bet many of your neighbors will be church goers.

Its a cool area in that it is not part of a large metro, but it also isnt a dying area.
The city population has stayed pretty much the same for 30 years and the county population has has a slow slight increase in that same time. To me, this is pretty important since so many parts of the upper midwest are dying out as population moves towards mid and large metros(MPLS/SPM, Mad, Chi, Des Moines, Iowa City, etc) in the area.
Having a stable population means better odds of keeping local healthcare, shopping, etc.

Dubuque metro has good riding and further out is a ton of great quiet riding. NE IA Driftless area is filled with gravel roads and the exact same type of riding in SW WI across the river is filled with paved roads(dairy industry).

Dubuque has a few small colleges which means lots of activities if you like watching local sports, music, art.
And there is a ton of local shopping as its a bit of a touristy area during warmer months, especially since Galena is so close.

Agreed, a huge Pro.

It definitely isnt in the Bible belt, and the county as well as area have politically been firmly purple over the last 25 years. There is a large Catholic following due to historical migrations, but the area seems pretty middle of the road overall. Its nothing like NW IA, for context.

Spent a fair amount of time, my friend that I went ti High School with in Chicago was the chief of Police in Guttenburg 45 north of Dubuque. We cycled some, motorcycle and fished a lot. We did a fair amount of alcohol consumption too. Late 70's and early 80's there was some pretty fun night life there and East Dubuque.

You could do much worse IMO.

I may buy a house in a year or two just northwest in a little town that also starts with a D.

Nice area.

When you think of that area, do you also consider things like taxes? Only asking because looking at a map it's clear three states come together right there, so I wonder pros and cons of each state.

Yeah - Canada's NW Territories perhaps. Brrrrrrrr.

Easy there nanuk no that far!

i am, it is
 

moved from Chicago to Dubuque a little over seven years ago.
sort of "pre-retirement" for me.
No regrets.
(pm'ed you too)

Pro: You can bike-kayak down the Mississippi river
Con: Winters are cold.