OT, Dubuque Iowa. New job prospects?

Cicli · #1 07-28-2017, 04:17 AM

Anyone know the area?
I am looking at a bit opportunity there with a well established company. Sort of interested in the riding there? I have been through the area on RAGBRAI and love the hills.
Thoughts?
I would likely live outside the city in some nice suburb.
Looking for advice, expierences.

Nooch · #2 07-28-2017, 09:56 AM

My friend runs a Gran Fondo in Dubuque -- he lives in NJ now, but still goes back and runs this event every year (I believe it's still happening).

I'll see if he's got any insight

Tandem Rider · #3 07-28-2017, 10:02 AM

I'm familiar with the area, having just left Iowa in June. Dubuque is undergoing a revival of sorts, formerly it was a typical industrial/agricultural river town, hard times came in the '80s, they seem to be diversifying and putting that largely behind them. There are still some rough neighborhoods as well as some nice ones. The schools have a pretty good reputation.

All of the surrounding towns are pretty much just bedroom communities and the population of these towns travels to Dubuque for food, entertainment, schools, and most everything else. There is a small, family friendly, reasonably priced, ski hill just west of town.

The cycling is pretty good, lots of small paved roads in the area, riding gravels just about triples your choices. There was recently a small, active racing team, they might still be active, there is a much larger group of enthusiasts. TOMRV is an annual ride that goes from Bettendorf to Dubuque on Saturday and returns to Bettendorf on Sunday via a different route, fun party at Clarke University, buffet by the Culinary Arts students at Clarke.

earlfoss · #4 07-28-2017, 10:31 AM

The fondo you're referring to isn't happening any more, unfortunately. It was a pretty awesome event, and Dan did a great job with it. The gravel roads in the area are really excellent, as are the paved ones. I love that area.

It was scheduled on dates that conflicted with other bigger events going on in the state (Race the Lake and USAC state championships) which reduced the draw by quite a bit over the years he put it on.

There is a fondo series in WI called Dairyland Dare. Definitely worth checking out, and within driving distance of Dubuque.

I don't know what the riding scene is around there. I'm in Madison and don't know too many riding out of the Dubuque area, myself.

gavingould · #5 07-28-2017, 09:55 PM

my wife grew up there and we go back to the area frequently.
mother-in-law lives about 20mi south of DBQ now and i ride out there.
good hilly riding, good gravel/secondary roads.
i've found that generally people give pretty wide berth to cyclists and i get a lot of waves and hat-tips.
the gran fondo only ran a couple years, unfortunately - i didn't get the chance to ride it.

Cicli · #6 07-29-2017, 05:42 AM

Thanks all. And thanks for those that sent a PM.

I am possibly moving the family. Schools and environment are important to me. Riding is too. Sort of exciting though.
I will be out there next Friday.
The potental company sent me this super complicated personality assessment. Hope I didnt blow it right there. Frekin algebra. Not even required for my position. Well, not algebra.
Anyway, we will see what happens.

Thanks again.

11.4 · #7 07-29-2017, 11:13 AM

The city itself is still a bit rough -- no problem for work but you may want to live elsewhere. If you don't mind a slight (15 mile or so) commute, Galena is a beautiful old town that's been restored and turned into a tourist destination, and it's also a superb place to live. The place is a picture postcard and a great place to ride from as well. It puts you in Illinois so you may want to consider tax issues. There are a number of communities around, such as Bellevue IA, right down the river, that have very nice districts. You can also live in a small place like the county seat of Maquoketa (population about 4000), which has struggled to survive but has beautiful old tree-lined streets with magnificent homes at magnificent prices. Did you say anything about schools and kids? Education is a priority in the region but budgets are tight so you should check individual communities carefully.

As for cycling, there are endless rolling paved roads and countless more that are hard-packed crushed rock. Traffic isn't bad, though in Dubuque some of your rides can be constrained by the Mississippi -- there's really only the Dodge Street Bridge that you'd want to ride across. However, you can get out of town quickly and at that point the riding is excellent. There's great trail riding, amazing gravel routes, plus endless and mostly very well maintained asphalt. The only drawbacks are the frigid winters and the steamy summers. I've stopped at a light in the area in the summer and then rolled forward, but when I looked back I'd see a cloud of humidity condensed right where I'd been waiting -- it's that humid and hot. In the early evening the humidity and temperature have both decreased and riding is great.

Cost of living is pretty low. There's not a lot of arts, high quality entertainment, and such around the area, but you can drive to Madison WI in 90 minutes and to Chicago in about 3 hours or so. Roads are cleared well in the winter so you can actually get around reasonably well. Iowa is superb in how it treats the elderly -- you didn't mention your age but if you can handle the weather it's a great place to be if you're older at all. Decent bike shops. Lots of riders, though with so many roads you tend to be all alone on country rides unless you plan to meet up with people.

texbike · #8 07-29-2017, 11:18 AM

I've never been to this part of the world (Madison has been the closest), but would love to check it out after seeing this thread.

Texbike

Cicli · #9 07-29-2017, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 11.4

The city itself is still a bit rough -- no problem for work but you may want to live elsewhere. If you don't mind a slight (15 mile or so) commute, Galena is a beautiful old town that's been restored and turned into a tourist destination, and it's also a superb place to live. The place is a picture postcard and a great place to ride from as well. It puts you in Illinois so you may want to consider tax issues. There are a number of communities around, such as Bellevue IA, right down the river, that have very nice districts. You can also live in a small place like the county seat of Maquoketa (population about 4000), which has struggled to survive but has beautiful old tree-lined streets with magnificent homes at magnificent prices. Did you say anything about schools and kids? Education is a priority in the region but budgets are tight so you should check individual communities carefully.

As for cycling, there are endless rolling paved roads and countless more that are hard-packed crushed rock. Traffic isn't bad, though in Dubuque some of your rides can be constrained by the Mississippi -- there's really only the Dodge Street Bridge that you'd want to ride across. However, you can get out of town quickly and at that point the riding is excellent. There's great trail riding, amazing gravel routes, plus endless and mostly very well maintained asphalt. The only drawbacks are the frigid winters and the steamy summers. I've stopped at a light in the area in the summer and then rolled forward, but when I looked back I'd see a cloud of humidity condensed right where I'd been waiting -- it's that humid and hot. In the early evening the humidity and temperature have both decreased and riding is great.

Cost of living is pretty low. There's not a lot of arts, high quality entertainment, and such around the area, but you can drive to Madison WI in 90 minutes and to Chicago in about 3 hours or so. Roads are cleared well in the winter so you can actually get around reasonably well. Iowa is superb in how it treats the elderly -- you didn't mention your age but if you can handle the weather it's a great place to be if you're older at all. Decent bike shops. Lots of riders, though with so many roads you tend to be all alone on country rides unless you plan to meet up with people.

I am in Illinois now. My 10k in taxes sucks. I love Galina for lunch and a ride but wont live in Illinois if I move. I have been in Dubuque as a passer through of RAGBRAI. Thats it.
Schools are very important to up. Kids are in school and will be for a while. I dont mind paying to be in a nicer area at all and I dont mind a comute of half hour or so. Lots of options it looks like.

11.4 · #10 07-29-2017, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cicli

I am in Illinois now. My 10k in taxes sucks. I love Galina for lunch and a ride but wont live in Illinois if I move. I have been in Dubuque as a passer through of RAGBRAI. Thats it.
Schools are very important to up. Kids are in school and will be for a while. I dont mind paying to be in a nicer area at all and I dont mind a comute of half hour or so. Lots of options it looks like.

I rather assumed that. So Galena becomes a place to start a ride from.

Do look into Maquoketa. It has a weak main street, a big local antiques presence, and a couple long streets with gorgeous late 19th century homes. Most are in very good shape and prices are very low. It's a small town, but that means you can get out on sweet country roads in less than five minutes. Taxes are low. You may want your kids in a private school, but Iowa does support its schools pretty well. In that part of the country, schools are always an issue. Maquoketa is a very photogenic place -- old farm equipment, huge trees, old storefronts, and the like. And Maquoketa is only one of many towns. Andrew is smaller and even prettier. Bellevue is bigger and overall more upscale, and you can have a home on a rise looking down at the Mississippi.

gavingould · #11 07-30-2017, 08:48 AM

my mother-in-law runs a small bed & breakfast about 5 miles N of Maquoketa. the riding's great, i've gone through Andrew and Belleview quite a few times.
i have no idea about the schools...

Plum Hill · #12 07-30-2017, 09:51 PM

TOMRV overnites in Dubuque (the only time I've been to Dubuque).
http://www.qcbc.org/tomrv/

biker72 · #13 07-31-2017, 06:37 AM

I used to motorcycle through Dubuque back in the late 80's. I can remember some rather challenging hills in the area.

In those days I made at least one trip a year from Dallas to Milwaukee for the beer and German food then rode across Wisconsin to Dubuque then south to Clinton to stay a few days with my in laws.

You've got my interest up in bicycling in Dubuque.....

marsh · #14 07-31-2017, 09:12 AM

What part of Illinois are you in now? Finally ditching the city for the burbs, we've had enough. I recently tried to ride from Harvard, IL to Galena in one shot. It didn't end too well. As a flat-lander, the hills destroyed me, plus I was way under geared. We've been visiting the Galena/Dubuque area since I was a kid. It is beautiful country. By and large the people out there have been super nice - not always the case in rural areas.
You can get a really nice house for not a whole lot of money.
Plus you can host a Paceline gravel ride!

Fatty · #15 07-31-2017, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marsh

What part of Illinois are you in now? Finally ditching the city for the burbs, we've had enough. I recently tried to ride from Harvard, IL to Galena in one shot. It didn't end too well. As a flat-lander, the hills destroyed me, plus I was way under geared. We've been visiting the Galena/Dubuque area since I was a kid. It is beautiful country. By and large the people out there have been super nice - not always the case in rural areas.
You can get a really nice house for not a whole lot of money.
Plus you can host a Paceline gravel ride!

I was born in Chicago and spent the following 28 years living the cool city cat lifestyle. Understand why you want out. If you don't want to go full rural I'll you nice house in Lemont. Plenty of hills for tuning up flatlander legs.