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

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by biker72

I lived in Iowa for 20 years just down the river from Dubuque in Clinton. This was back in the 40's & 50's so I have no current info on taxes.

The Dubuque area is very scenic. When visiting relatives I motorcycled in that region including the Lansing bridge. It felt like I had a hinge in the middle of my motorcycle.

My big complaint was the long cold winters. I can remember driving to work in the dark and driving home in the dark. Not very many hours of sunlight in the winter.

You lived there in the 40s and 50s and you remember driving to work in the dark, so you were working then?
Thars 70 to 80 years ago...
How old are you?

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

Well, going back to Europe is another option we seriously consider, maybe the only viable one after November.

Please plan for a guest quarters

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

I'm getting ready to retire to the Blue Ridge in western NC later this year, in part because of the natural beauty of the landscape which I fell in love with since I was a kid, and also because there is an enclave here and there of cultural things and people that I like - including a very good cycling community. That said, I've lived throughout a lot of the rural mid-south for >20 years and it's all bible beltish - everywhere and especially these days - with respect to both politics and religion. You cannot easily escape that, but rather, you'll likely just have to find a niche and weigh the various trade-offs at each place. GL.

My parents are surrounded by it in TN right by Knoxville, and my dad seems to do ok as an atheist and neutral politics. there is a Baptist church on every corner. I feel like we are an alien family from the big city when visiting with my Eastern European wife with clear Slavic features but everyone is always kind and friendly. In fact, it’s one of the few places where I feel safe still riding on rural roads.

[biker72]

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

You lived there in the 40s and 50s and you remember driving to work in the dark, so you were working then?
Thars 70 to 80 years ago...
How old are you?

My first full time job after 3 years in the Navy was in 1959 in Cedar Rapids IA. I'll be 86 this coming June.

[Cyzemup]

Originally Posted by capt_velo

Your dad is mistaken. God's Country is Hondo, Texas. It's literally on the sign!

Lol well some of Clayton county’s towns don’t want you driving like hell either… ask me how I know. Got a $200 speed ticket in the mail!

[gavingould]

my wife was born and raised in Dubuque, but hasn’t lived there in a bit over 20 years. her parents have both passed, but she has a brother still in East Dubuque (which is actually across the river in IL) and nieces/nephews there, we end up going a couple times a year.
it does have some good riding for sure.
if you’re retiring, don’t need to be concerned with job prospects, which I’ve gathered are not great, but probably pretty industry-dependent.
it is solidly Catholic if that matters to you.
I don’t know anything about the taxes.

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by biker72

My first full time job after 3 years in the Navy was in 1959 in Cedar Rapids IA. I'll be 86 this coming June.

Very cool.

[JMT3]

Solutions to non -existent problems. Taxes happen. I live in Illinois so I pay my fair share. I control my retirement income so taxes are low except property taxes. Winter and snow? N + 1. Buy a fat bike and embrace the snow. Have fun with it. Tired of snow? Be a snow bird. When I have had enough of the snow I visit my daughtert in the Bay area for a few weeks at a time. I have a great bike at her house.

[Marvinlungwitz]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Obviously people need to plan around it. I plan around it too. When I moved to Illinois I knew what I was getting into and have zero regrets as of right now. And I came here about 5 years ago. I probably won’t stay here in retirement but it’s not because of the taxes that I would leave.

When I made the move I did a quick search on “overall tax burden by state”. Turns out the so-called free states aren’t quite as free as they think and not all the crazy tax states are as bad as they’re purported to be. Everyone needs to do their own research and decide what works best for them. Taxes are part of that equation.

Anyway, I don’t wish to go off on that tangent. My point is that yes, people need to plan for this but an obsession with it isn’t usually where happiness is found.

Pretty much how we feel, we may stay in IL. But we’ll want to downsize and pay a bit more attention to precisely where we land. We’re paying a lot in property taxes, but that can be cut to a fraction of what we’re paying now.

Easy access to IA, WI, MI, and IL’s own driftless area. And year round cycling nowadays! (There’s a thin silver lining to climate change, I guess.)

Edit: A prior teammate is a prof at SIU, and he tells me riding is great down there. (Very hilly.) Something to investigate.

[cnighbor1]

The amount of conservatives values tend to go up. If you can live with that than move to a smaller city or town
My choice would be a college town because those towns or cites have more liberal values
Charles

[christian]

I've never been to Dubuque, but the Driftless has great cycling and good trout fishing. I'm gravitating toward retiring in California, but the Driftless is a super nice place.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by zap

When we "retired" we moved from Maryland DC burb to Triangle, NC. We wanted some place south of D.C. (not FL) with top tier healthcare, a decent airport, large enough for variety but less chaotic than D.C./Atlanta.

We head out to the NC mountains once a year or more.....most recently Brevard, Flat Rock and Saluda. Saluda for a gravel race. Nice little town. So is Brevard. Been to Boone too for cycling events.

Went to the Waynesville area once.....let's just say the Asheville, Brevard, Saluda triangle is the sweet spot in western NC.

You got it!

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

My parents are surrounded by it in TN right by Knoxville, and my dad seems to do ok as an atheist and neutral politics. there is a Baptist church on every corner. I feel like we are an alien family from the big city when visiting with my Eastern European wife with clear Slavic features but everyone is always kind and friendly. In fact, it’s one of the few places where I feel safe still riding on rural roads.

Funny that you mention that. I lived in East TN ourtide of Knoxville for years, and indeed the rural South for more than a decade. YOU ARE an alien family (you're in my family...HAR), but it's just one of those things. Much of what you might not like about politics and religion is ubiquitous, but there's no escaping that nowadays - no matter where you go. Like I said, you have to find you niche somehow. I love the Blue Ridge and have worked and studied up there, but I am now revisiting the possibility of looking up in the Knoxville environs somewhere - Townsend, Wears Valley, Seymore, perhaps. I have a ton of long-time friends there, and K'ville really has a lot of cultural stuff to offer. Not sure about the riding, though....

[tv_vt]

Seeing this thread this morning reminded me of an occasionally recurring dream I have - where I somehow have moved to another town and bought a house I didn't really want to buy. I've moved a bunch of times in my life so maybe it's tied into that. But it's very strange. Like serious buyer's remorse - about the house and about the town that it's in. Sometimes it's in a town where I formerly lived and, for some reason, I decide to move back there and then come to my senses - 'huh, what am I doing here again? I hate this town!'

Very strange. Anyone else ever have that dream?

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by cnighbor1

as a city becomes smaller The amount of conservatives values tend to go up. If you can live with that than move to a smaller city or town
My choice would be a college town because those towns or cites have more liberal values
Charles

Dubuque hasnt gotten smaller- population has stayed constant for decades while the county population has increased a bit.

Dubuque has 3 small colleges. They are all religiously founded, but I know multiple agnostic adults and kids who have attended all over the last 15 years and have yet to ever heard about something they take issue with.

Dubuque and the local region is firmly purple in politics this century.





Just figured I would again mention some specifics on the topic, as they relate to your post.